Certified BigCommerce B2B Specialised Agency Partner

At DeeperThanBlue, we specialise in working with B2B businesses across a range of industries, including:

• Manufacturing
• Distribution
• Wholesale
• Building and Construction
• Beauty
• Catering, Hospitality and Events
• Musical Instruments
• Sportswear and Sporting Goods
• Professional

A BigCommere B2B project can vary in duration subject to the level of complexity and client requirements. A simple B2B BigCommerce solution may be implemented in around 6-8 weeks where as a more complex project where the number of backend applications and systems that are needed to be integrated, the introduction of a PIM and DAM capability as well as more advanced pricing capabilities will typically result in a project taking 12-20 weeks.

BigCommerce’s B2B Edition provides a template with a rich set of features and a richer experience through the buyer portal with multi store capability, and with DeeperThanBlue’s headless CXOne Storefront to help reduce time and risk from projects. BigCommerce Enterprise also includes some B2B capabilities for merchants with less complex needs.  Both editions provide marketing, analytics and support a number of partner plug-ins and payment options.

As a BigCommerce B2B partner DeeperThanBlue specialises in integrating applications and systems from inside the business including SaaS type solutions and external to the business from 3rd parties. These can include (but are not limited to):

• ERP – Kerridge K8, SAP, BPCS,  GEAC, Microsoft Dynamics, (AX, & Navision)
• CRM – Hubspot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics,
• Order Management
• PIM/DAM
• Search and Merchandise (Klevu, Algolia, Nosto)
• Personalisation
• CMS
• Payment
• Analytics (Klaviyo, MS PowerBI)

At DeeperThanBlue, we implement advanced features such as:

• Customer-specific pricing
• Bulk order tools
• Request for Quote
• Account management
• Organisation Hierarchy of Buyers
• Custom catalogues
• Real-time inventory
• Shipment notification and tracking

When starting a BigCommerce B2B project with a new client, the process typically involves several key stages:

1. Initiate Project Kick-off and Planning (1-2 weeks)
   • Understand the business’s specific needs and goals
   • Define project scope and timeline
   • Identify key stakeholders and their roles
   • Understand:
     1. Third parties who will participate in the project and who will manage and co-ordinate them
     2. Brand guidelines
2. Requirements Gathering and Analysis (2-3 weeks)
   • Create and prioritise a list of requirements
   • Conduct market research and competitor analysis
   • Define target audience and user personas
3. Design Phase (3-4 weeks)
   • Develop UI/UX journey
   • Create wireframes and mockup screen designs
   • Get client approval on designs
4. Development and Implementation (6-12 weeks, depending on complexity)
   • Provision and setup the BigCommerce store
   • Customise Storefront – Stencil theme or headless frontend along with the required features
   • Integrate necessary back-office, third-party apps and services
   • Implement SEO best practices
   • Load representative data
5. Testing and Quality Assurance (2-4 weeks)
   • Conduct thorough testing across devices and browsers
   • Perform:
     1. user acceptance testing (UAT)
     2. end-to-end testing including back-office and third party systems
     3. Performance testing
   • Address and fix any issues or bugs
6. Pre-launch Preparations (1-2 weeks)
   • Provide training to client team
   • Finalise store settings and configurations (shipping, taxation, store/sales geography, currencies)
   • Load go-live product catalogue data
   • Final data load/migration from the old eCommerce platform (customers, addresses, order history, etc)
   • Set up payment gateways
   • Conduct final checks
7. Launch and Go-Live (1 week)
   • Deploy the store to the live environment
   • Conduct post-launch testing
   • Monitor for any immediate issues
8. Post-launch Support and Optimization (Ongoing)
   • Monitor performance and gather user and client feedback
   • Implement ongoing improvements and updates

The entire process can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months, depending on the project's complexity and the client's specific requirements. It's important to note that these timelines are approximate and can vary based on factors such as the size of the store, custom feature development, and client feedback cycles.

BigCommerce provides a rich set of B2B features and capabilities at an attractive price point without the hassle of running your own eCommerce platform since it is delivered as a SaaS service. Some key reasons to consider it for your next eCommerce platform are:

1. Comprehensive B2B functionality: see above list of features
2. Scalability: BigCommerce can handle increased traffic, larger product catalogues, and complex order processes, making it suitable for growing businesses
3. Customisation: The open SaaS platform allows for extensive customisation, enabling businesses to tailor the platform to their unique needs, it supports headless storefronts to allow the customer experience including checkout flow to be adapted to a business’s needs. At DeeperThanBlue, we extend the capabilities further (where required) through complementary cloud and integration technologies to meet the most complex of requirements and connectivity to ERP, CRM, Warehouse & Order Management, Inventory Management, Fulfillment & Shipping and third-party services
4. Advanced pricing options: BigCommerce supports custom pricing structures, including volume discounts, tiered pricing, and customer group-specific pricing
5. Security and reliability: BigCommerce offers advanced security features to protect customers’ sensitive information and boasts 99.99% uptime, ensuring your B2B eCommerce operations run smoothly

By choosing BigCommerce for your B2B eCommerce needs, you'll have access to a powerful, flexible, and scalable platform designed to meet the unique requirements of B2B businesses while supporting your growth and enhancing your customers' experience.

We provide a 24/7 BigCommerce support and service desk for customers who require an elevated level of support, especially those running high-volume or multi-region sites. Our dedicated BigCommerce consultants, developers and support engineers diligently oversee and promptly respond to high and critical alert levels within your hosting environment. Proactively, we work with BigCommerce to deliver the utmost availability, ensuring your online presence is always ready to serve.

We also provide on-going development and improvement services to help keep your site at the forefront of B2b capabilities and optimised to help you trade more efficiently. You can find out more about the service options of our Managed Commerce offering.