Industrial Ecommerce: A Guide for B2B Manufacturers

Moving to online sales is a big shift for a sector renowned for its complex products and sales driven by personal relationships. 

Many suppliers have found it challenging to replicate those relationships at scale through a digital interface. Hence, the industrial sector’s slower adoption of digital channels, with only 7% of sales happening online—but that is changing fast.

A digital-first approach empowers manufacturers to gain more control over their branding and customer relationships. It also allows for margin expansion, since intermediaries are removed, which can save 10%–15%. 

Ahead, you’ll learn what industrial ecommerce is all about and how Shopify can help you meet the demands of today’s B2B buyers. 

What is industrial ecommerce?

Industrial ecommerce refers to buying and selling industrial goods and services online. It includes both heavy and light products, each with its own buying process:

• Heavy products are large-scale, high-cost assets such as complex machinery and highly configured equipment. Their online experiences focus on providing technical specifications, customization tools like 3D models, and easy ways to request a formal quote (RFQ).
• Light products cover suppliers' needs for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO). These are typically commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, such as safety equipment, raw materials, and fasteners—and are perfect candidates for online sales. Buyers can easily place bulk orders with minimal stakeholder involvement, reorder consumables, and manage their accounts through self-service portals. 

Industrial ecommerce requires the right B2B ecommerce platform. With Shopify B2B, you can build consumer-like online experiences for buyers that drive sales, all while connecting to major enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like NetSuite and SAP. 

Key characteristics of industrial commerce

Industrial is complex, and selling involves tailoring many elements to your buyers. Unlike retail shopping, different stakeholders need different things from a partner. 

Engineers typically interact directly with suppliers just to get the detailed 3D models or technical spec sheets they need for a project. Ecommerce solves that, as anyone can log in to their account and get the info they need without phone calls or emails. 

Other characteristics of industrial ecommerce include:

• Complex product configurations: Industrial products often require customization at different levels. This could be as simple as adding one cable, or as complex as customizing an entire machine or production line. Buyers rely on detailed technical specs, 3D models, and datasheets to make a purchase.
• Intricate quoting and pricing: The B2B buying cycle for industrial products can average between 6 and 18 months, and prices are rarely fixed. An industrial ecommerce site must accommodate tiered pricing, volume discounts, customer-specific contracts, and RFQs.
• Specialized ordering processes: Buyers need tools like bulk ordering from a SKU list, and easy reordering of past parts. Younger buyers also appreciate (and prefer) self-service portals to manage their accounts, view order histories, and handle invoices.
• Integration with existing systems: A critical feature is connecting with a company's back-end systems to keep inventory, pricing, and buyer information accurate and up to date. Your ERP is the nucleus of the entire company, so successful ecommerce relies on seamless data transfer between platforms. 
• Flexible payment options: The platform must support purchase orders, payment on credit terms like net 30, and even subscription models for recurring needs.

Transitioning to online sales is not an overnight process. It’ll take some coordination and work, but leading brands are already making the move successfully. 

How industrial ecommerce differs from traditional B2B sales

Moving to ecommerce is a big jump from the sales methods the industry has trusted for decades. While traditional channels remain important, ecommerce offers a more efficient, scalable, and customer-focused way to do business.

For years, industrial sales have depended on:

• Direct sales reps: Field teams building personal relationships with clients
• Phone and email orders: Using contact centers to handle quotes and purchases
• Distributor networks: Third-party sellers who stock and sell a manufacturer's products

These traditional methods still account for most of sales in North America. But while traditional sales are constrained by geography and human capacity, ecommerce platforms are available 24/7, globally. 

It’s a strategy being embraced by industry leaders like Caterpillar and Stanley Black & Decker to create a more streamlined buying process that meets modern B2B buyer expectations.

The industrial ecommerce transformation imperative

For industrial manufacturers, the question is no longer whether to adopt ecommerce, but how quickly they can do it. 

The pressure to get online comes from all sides, from buyer expectations to C-suite pressures to capture more market share. Relying solely on traditional sales is not a reasonable long-term strategy. 

Limited current online sales penetration

The industrial sector has low digital maturity compared to most industries. As mentioned above, only around 7% of total sales come from online channels. 

There are a few reasons for this. One is that in the United States, there are many manufacturers with revenue under $100 million per year. 

These are the equivalent of mom-and-pop retail stores; they tend to innovate more slowly than larger behemoths with the resources to spend on robotics, AI, and automation. 

Some of these manufacturers also face low competition, so the pressure to adopt digital solutions isn’t there just yet. However, as more millennials and Gen Z individuals enter manufacturing, whether as buyers or sellers, the growth potential ahead is limitless for ecommerce. 

Massive market opportunity ahead

That said, the incentive to capture even a fraction of the market is enormous. The North American Industrial Distribution market is projected to reach $10 trillion by 2028.

Within this landscape, the addressable digital commerce market in North America alone is estimated to be $54.9 billion, with projections indicating it will grow to $259 billion by 2027. This reality is not lost on industry leaders. Fifty percent of B2B manufacturersnow consider ecommerce a primary focus of their digital transformation efforts over the next 12–24 months.

Ecommerce is essential for future success

It’s clear ecommerce is becoming a critical channel for the industrial industry. Those who are defining the future are blending their physical and digital operations. 

Look at Carrier, a world leader in HVAC and refrigeration. They were struggling with legacy systems where launching a new ecommerce site took 9-12 months and cost up to $2 million. After migrating to Shopify, they transformed their digital capabilities and reduced the launch time for new experiences to just 30 days at 10% of the previous cost.

Direct-to-consumer growth acceleration

Perhaps the most significant driver of this imperative is the growth of direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. Manufacturers who have opened up a direct online channel have experienced a 176% year-over-year increase in orders, with the sector's DTC sales growing from $77 billion to $213 billion in 2023.

Technical requirements for industrial ecommerce platforms

Complex product catalog management

Industrial catalogs can grow fast. A single configurable item can explode into tens of thousands of sellable SKUs once you layer in length, diameter, material grade, pressure rating, regional certifications, and pack sizes.

A quarter-inch hydraulic hose that ships in eight bore sizes, six reinforcement options, nine end-fitting types, and 20 length increments already yields 8 × 6 × 9 × 20 = 8,640 discrete SKUs for one product. Multiply that across 250 hose families, and the catalog passes the two million SKU mark before you’ve added clamps, seals, or service kits.

Attribution data helps here. Engineers want to filter by burst pressure (psi/bar), bend radius, or ISO standard, fields that don’t exist in a retail schema but can live in Shopify metafields or a connected product information management (PIM) system.

Plus, regulatory documents must accompany SKUs. Safety data sheets (SDS), certificates of conformity, CAD drawings, and installation PDFs attach as digital assets, so field technicians can retrieve them on mobile.

ERP and legacy system integration

A major challenge for industrial buyers is the difficulty of integrating legacy systems with modern commerce platforms. Most importantly, the ERP holds all your information like orders, schedules, pricing, and part data from the bill of materials (BOM).

Therefore, a critical requirement is seamless integration with existing complex systems, including ERP, electronic data interchange (EDI), order management systems (OMS), warehouse management systems (WMS), and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Events like the mandatory SAP S/4HANA upgrade present a moment when companies reevaluate their entire platform ecosystem, making deep integration a top priority. 

Shopify's flexibility, agility, and extensive partner ecosystem enable integration with existing ERP and financial systems. Explore Shopify’s Global ERP Program to see what integrations are possible. 

Custom configurators and product personalization

Confirming an industrial product online is hardly ever a two-option dropdown. It usually resembles a branching decision tree that requires AND/OR logic and dependency rules to prevent impossible builds. 

A key requirement is a tool that allows buyers to configure products with multiple components based on a set of business rules, see the price adjust dynamically, and submit the final configuration for a formal quote. For example, a buyer might need to select a specific coil, voltage, and torque for a specialized motor.

When building a product online, the two most important pieces of information the configurator must provide are the final price and the lead time. This is because the cost of materials can change frequently, so prices may need to be requoted often.

Bulk ordering and volume-based pricing

Industrial customers often purchase in large quantities, so they require a platform that offers flexible pricing and discounts for bulk orders. The system must handle special pricing that varies based on the quantity a customer purchases. 

It also needs to offer specific prices to certain customers based on their contracts. A key feature is an online portal where business customers can easily manage and place their own bulk orders. Shopify offers these tools through its B2B features, helping businesses handle large-scale orders and set up automatic reorders for customers.

Overcoming common industrial ecommerce challenges

Industrial and manufacturing companies face a unique set of hurdles when moving their businesses online.

Breaking free from traditional sales

A major hurdle is the industry's deep trust in traditional sales. Most sales still come from direct reps, distributors, and phone orders.

Smaller manufacturers are usually slower to adopt new tech, because they are led by an older generation, hesitant to invest in tools like ecommerce. However, the pressure is on as competitors leveraging modern technology are gaining more market share. As these companies hire younger engineers and managers, they’ll accelerate adoption of ecommerce as a sales channel. 

Managing supply chain volatility

Unstable supply chains and rising costs for raw materials like copper and steel are causing major disruptions. To manage this, many companies adopt strategies like nearshoring to reduce risk.

For complex jobs with long sales cycles, a common approach is to give non-firm price quotes with a wide margin, like +/- 30%. They then requote as material costs and project details become final.

Simplifying complex B2B purchasing

Industrial purchasing is complicated, often requiring product customization, special pricing, and complex order fulfillment.

While B2B sales involve stable, predictable batch orders, many companies are also adding direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. DTC can be profitable but brings unpredictable demand, which makes production scheduling difficult.

Addressing technical debt and innovation

Internal IT teams often struggle with outdated systems (technical debt) and a shortage of developers. This leads many companies to choose out-of-the-box ecommerce solutions.

The biggest trend in innovation is Industry 4.0, driven by adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. The best strategy is to focus technology spending on automating the biggest cost-drivers, whether it's using AI for engineering or robotics on the factory floor.

Navigating regulatory complexity

The regulatory landscape is getting more complex. Manufacturers must continuously update their pricing and operations to comply with rules for trade tariffs, cybersecurity, and worker safety.

Growing pressure comes from the drive for sustainability and ESG compliance, largely driven by regulations. This forces companies to get environmental certifications and prepare for new rules on waste and chemical disposal.

Volatility from tariffs and trade wars is adding stress to the process. For example, a US servo-motor maker that uses 250 grams of magnet material per motor saw their magnet cost jump from $15.75 (0.25 kg × $63) to $29.50 (0.25 kg × $118), an 87% increase. 

With margins already thin, the manufacturer has little choice but to pass most of that delta straight through to customers, which raised motor prices by $13–$15 per unit.

Meeting evolving customer and buyer expectations

Delivering seamless, frictionless online experiences

Believe it or not, B2B buyers also buy parts from Amazon. The ease of finding and purchasing off-the-shelf components has influenced buying behavior across organizations. 

Complex checkouts are a point of failure. A modern platform must offer an intuitive, self-service experience that simplifies the entire ordering process, meeting buyers’ current expectations.

Providing personalized and mobile-first experiences

A manager's worksite is also on their phones, and your commerce platform needs to be too. 

A mobile-first experience is essential, especially for field technicians who need to order parts, view schematics, or manage budgets directly from the jobsite on a phone or tablet. The platform must be just as powerful and easy to use on a mobile device as it is on a desktop.

Offering flexible payment options

Industrial commerce runs on purchase orders and credit terms. Buyers need payment options that align with their company’s procurement processes. This means B2B payment methods like negotiated pricing, payment on networks, and automated approvals and invoicing are a must to make large-scale orders easy. 

Supporting sustainability and transparency demands

Both consumers and business buyers increasingly demand eco-friendly products and greater transparency from manufacturers. This pushes companies to meet sustainability standards and ensure regulatory compliance in their operations. 

While the C-suite is sometimes cautious about the investment, they see potential in a "green premium" driven by customer demand. Platforms must support this by offering tools to showcase eco-certifications, track environmental impact, and help businesses with their sustainability reporting requirements.

Why composable architecture matters for industrial businesses

In 2025, industrial brands have enough going on with supply chain volatility and fluctuating costs. The last thing they need is an ecommerce system that breaks or lags once all the customizations are made. 

Shopify’s composable approach, built on hundreds of open APIs and pick-your-own commerce components, lets teams plug in the exact building blocks they need. This Lego-style model, known as composable commerce, is an architecture for modular services that can be snapped together and swapped out without rewriting the whole stack. 

💡Did you know? Shopify is the only vendor named a Leader by both Forrester (B2B Wave 2024) and IDC (B2C MarketScape 2024). Learn more about how Shopify powers enterprise commerce.

Flexibility to integrate with existing systems

• ERP and product information management (PIM) accelerators for SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, and Infor keep contract pricing, inventory, and order data in sync.
• API-first design means teams can bolt on Algolia (search), Optimizely (CMS), or any bespoke microservice without touching core checkout.
• Carrier proved the model, migrating from a legacy stack and launching fully-integrated B2B sites 90% faster at 10% of the previous cost.
• Shopify’s Shop Component library and more than 1,800 public APIs give teams plumbing out of the box, plus Lego bricks for anything bespoke.

Scalability for growing product catalogs and customer bases

• Shopify’s global edge network now spans over 300 points of presence and is tested at 40,000 checkouts per minute with 99.9% uptime.
• Commerce Components let brands clone storefronts, localize pricing, and serve OEM, aftermarket, and DTC audiences, all on one codebase.

Customization capabilities for unique business requirements

• Hydrogen (Shopify’s React framework) powers field-service portals, RFQ-first flows, or punch-out catalog experiences and leverages Shopify’s PCI-compliant payments and tax logic.
• Each component, like catalog, cart, and checkout, can be versioned and deployed independently, so product teams ship updates quickly. 
• Over 12,000 verified apps and 2,100 technology partners let IT leaders integrate best-in-class services without custom code.

Unlocking aftermarket and service opportunities

Selling parts and services after the initial purchase is a huge opportunity for industrial companies to grow. This aftermarket is worth $405.6 billion, and it's 2.5 times more profitable than selling brand new machines.

Companies sell aftermarket parts to both other businesses (B2B) and regular customers (DTC/B2C). This includes selling replacement parts, offering repair services, and providing maintenance packages and extended warranties.

For big companies, especially in the heavy machinery sector, revenue generated through aftermarket sales is a key performance indicator (KPI) they watch closely.

Strategies for monetizing aftermarket digitally

More companies are turning to ecommerce to sell aftermarket parts and services. But throwing up a website isn’t enough, especially when distributor marketplaces like DigiKey and Amazon have made the sales process nearly instant. 

Here are some high-impact plays for monetizing the aftermarket:

• Self-service portals: Buyers want 24/7 access to BOM-level catalogues, real-time availability, and VIN/serial-number lookups. 
• Auto-replenishment and subscriptions: Consumables like filters, lubricants, and PPE can drive predictable recurring revenue.
• Predictive maintenance and pay-per-output models: Internet of Things (IoT) data enables outcome-based service contracts that lock in lifetime value (LTV).
• Dynamic pricing: Contract customers expect negotiated discounts, which can be implemented with Shopify’s B2B price lists. 
• Service plan bundles: Bundled coverage increases attachment rates and keeps customers on OEM parts.

This is where platforms like Shopify come in. They help businesses sell directly to customers, automate recurring orders for parts and services, and bundle items together. 

How Shopify enables rapid industrial ecommerce success

Reducing total cost of ownership and customer acquisition costs

Shopify is a top option for industrial companies that want to start selling online. A big advantage is that it costs less to own and run than more complicated options like SAP or Magento. 

On average, Shopify offers a 36% lower TCO than competitors. It’s an excellent way to get stores online faster and offers smart tools to help lower the high cost of finding new customers in this industry.

Streamlining buying processes with self-service capabilities

Shopify makes the difficult industrial buying process easier by giving business buyers the smooth, self-service online experience they are used to. 

A main feature is the B2B self-service portal, where business customers can manage their accounts and easily place large orders on their own. The platform also supports creating custom products using partner apps, which makes it simpler for customers to find what they need and buy it.

Enabling rapid testing and monetization of new business ideas

Shopify's platform lets manufacturers test and launch new business ideas quickly and cheaply. Rapid deployment is essential for monetizing innovative ideas, like selling directly to customers or offering subscriptions for parts and services. 

“There’s a massive opportunity for us to unlock new selling motions, channel partners, and other areas of the business. Commerce allows us to get very close to our buying audience. For us to monetize a new idea in 30 days is essentially an opportunity to test billion-dollar ideas. Instead of waiting years to do it, Shopify allows us to do it in weeks,” says Steve Duran, associate director of global commerce at Carrier. 

“If you want lower TCO, rapid deployment, and a platform that is growing at a rate faster than you can develop it yourself, then I would encourage you to look at Shopify.”