The Truth About Enterprise Ecommerce Platforms

Not all enterprise ecommerce solutions are created equal. If you're relying on outdated tech, you're leaving revenue—and customers—on the table.

If these questions sound familiar, you’ve probably wondered about how well your enterprise eCommerce software is serving you today, and how well equipped it is to serve you tomorrow.

An enterprise eCommerce platform needs to handle a myriad of tasks, from rendering product catalogs to managing orders to connecting with third-party systems. The complexity of these tasks is compounded when you factor in large order volumes, multiple currencies, and different languages.

Your eCommerce software is the glue that holds your company together, and if it’s struggling to keep up today, just think of how far behind your brand will fall tomorrow. After all, consumers are expecting more complex and engaging customer experiences by the day.

So, how can you select an enterprise eCommerce software that’s ready to grow with your company today, tomorrow, and beyond?

Hold on...What IS an enterprise business?

Nearly any business can be classified as an enterprise in a general sense, but not every business needs an ‘enterprise-grade’ eCommerce platform. Some companies meet the stricter definition of the term enterprise company, a definition that generally includes:

• A company that offers more than one kind of product or service
• A company that has annual revenues exceeding $7.5 million.
• A company that pools its financial and technical resources among its departments.
• A company that has its own marketing team or department.
• A company that has multiple brands (and likely a global presence).

If you tick most of these boxes, read on.

What do we mean by ‘Enterprise eCommerce Platform’?

In a nutshell, enterprise eCommerce platforms let enterprise businesses sell their products online. That's not to say smaller companies can't use these platforms, but enterprise-grade software typically has additional features than standard, off-the-shelf eCommerce solutions that’s ideal for enterprise-level business.

While some enterprise eCommerce platforms are delivered as software packages, today’s major platforms are cloud-based - simplifying, or even eliminating, the software installation and upgrade requirements. The higher price tag of enterprise eCommerce software comes with important features, let’s look at those now.

What are some enterprise eCommerce features?

Every major eCommerce platform has basic online retail features, right? But, enterprise businesses need more capabilities like:

• Managing multiple product categories from numerous stores for customers in various locations.
• Integration with other systems throughout the company such as accounting, inventory, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
• The ability to track a customer's previous purchases and recommend other items based on their purchasing history.
• Scalability to meet the likely high traffic demands of an enterprise level business.

If you think you’ll need some of these features, we’ll get into how to choose which platform next.

How to choose an enterprise commerce platform

If you're looking for your first enterprise eCommerce platform, the options can be overwhelming. If you've got an existing one already, finding a platform that you can migrate to can be even more daunting.

Modern enterprise eCommerce solutions come with many great features, but they usually require substantial effort to install, integrate, and learn to use effectively. Deployment, integration with third-party systems, and configuring products all take time. And that's not even taking into the upfront and ongoing monetary costs.

That's why choosing the right enterprise eCommerce platform is crucial for enterprise businesses. You’ve got to make sure you talk to the right people first.

1. Are you B2B, B2C, or DTC?

Many eCommerce platforms cater to a specific customer base, so you'll want to look at solutions that are either geared towards B2B, B2C, or D2C. Alternatively, you’ll want a solution that works equally well with all three business models — and you can figure that out by asking the vendor to show you how their software has worked with various eCommerce models.

And don’t underestimate the difference here. In the B2B space, for instance, transactions take longer and often require more managed company accounts and communication between the seller and the buyer before orders are placed.

When it comes to B2C and D2C eCommerce on the other hand, the buying process is often faster and less communication heavy. Many B2C eCommerce platforms lack the features necessary to foster long-term business relationships that B2B enterprises required such as corporate accounts, request for quotes, split shipping, multi-level user access, and deep integration with a CRM.

2. Ask your stakeholders

It's not easy to choose an enterprise eCommerce platform, so don't do it alone. You should involve several departments in the decision-making process. The IT team, for example, needs to make sure the software can integrate with critical systems.

The marketing team, on the other hand, will need to ensure the platform has the personalization and merchandising features to meet their requirements.

Each department will have its own requirements, so you need decision-makers from every team involved. Later on, we’ve listed some key questions to ask stakeholders.

3. Decide between SaaS, IaaS, PaaS

You now know what enterprise eCommerce platforms are, but how do you get and deploy the software? Most of today's solutions are cloud-based, but there are a few different service models:

• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Each of these software delivery models has its advantages and disadvantages, which you should consider when choosing an enterprise eCommerce software solution.

5. Know your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

The TCO can have a dramatic impact on the success of a replatforming, but many companies fail to predict the full costs of a new platform from the initial implementation to ongoing expenses. For the implementation, you need to factor in many expenses like consulting fees, development costs, and many other costs just to get the platform running. After the implementation, you’ll still have many recurring costs like licensing, hosting, support retainers, and more. You need to consider how these will affect the TCO before you make a platform decision.

Best enterprise eCommerce software platforms: 2021 edition (pros and cons)

In recent years, many leading software vendors have jumped into the market for B2B eCommerce platforms, from the largest software companies to small startups. With so many products on the market, you should take a closer look at what each provider has to offer.

While there are a few large companies that dominate the market share for enterprise eCommerce software, that doesn’t mean you should discount smaller vendors. Often, small vendors can adapt to changing requirements faster and offer a more personal service than the large software providers. So, here are some of the best eCommerce platforms we’ll be comparing in this article:

1. Magento Commerce
2. Shopify Plus
3. Salesforce Commerce Cloud
4. SAP Hybris
5. Oracle ATG Web Commerce
6. IBM Websphere Commerce
7. Core dna

Communication is key

With so many factors to consider and so much on the line, the choice between so many products in the marketplace can often be tricky. Communicating with your stakeholders and asking a long list of questions to all potential vendors is the key to choosing the best enterprise eCommerce software for your company.