What is B2B and what does it stand for?
B2B stands for business to business. It describes a trading model in which a company sells its products or services to another company rather than to end consumers. A manufacturer selling to its dealers, a distributor selling to a spare parts shop or a wholesaler selling to a grocery store are all examples of B2B.
In business, the term “B2B” is used in two different senses. The first is the business model itself. The second is the B2B system companies use to take orders from their dealers: a closed online ordering portal. When a dealer searches for “company name + B2B”, this portal is what they are looking for.
The difference between B2B, B2C and C2C
The three models differ in who sells to whom:
| B2B | B2C | C2C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who sells to whom? | Business to business | Business to consumer | Consumer to consumer |
| Price | Customer-specific prices and discounts | Same list price for everyone | Price set by the seller |
| Payment | Open account, payment terms, credit limit | Mostly upfront or by card | Upfront, usually through the platform |
| Orders | High volume, regularly repeated | One at a time, small quantities | Usually a single item |
| Decision process | Several people, longer | One person, quick | One person |
| Example | A manufacturer selling to its dealers | Shopping in an online store | Second-hand classifieds sites |
The key difference that sets B2B apart is that each customer works under its own commercial terms. That is why B2B sales can't be managed with an e-commerce site that shows everyone the same price.
What is B2B sales?
B2B sales covers everything involved in a company selling to other companies: finding customers, setting prices and payment terms, taking orders, shipping and collecting payment. Unlike retail, a sale is rarely a one-off; the same dealer orders every week, or even every day. That is why the real work in B2B sales is not only winning new customers but also handling existing customers' repeat orders quickly and accurately.
If these orders still come in by phone, WhatsApp or email, your sales team spends its days writing up orders. This is exactly where B2B systems come in.
Examples of the B2B business model
- Manufacturer → dealer: A paint manufacturer selling to its dealers across the country.
- Distributor → retailer: A spare parts distributor selling to auto parts shops and repair workshops.
- Wholesaler → grocery store: A food wholesaler making regular deliveries to corner shops and supermarkets.
- Importer → reseller network: An electrical supplies importer selling to electrical wholesalers and contracting firms.
- Services and software: A software company providing ERP, accounting or cloud software to other businesses.
What is a B2B system (B2B portal)?
A B2B system is a closed portal through which manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers take orders online from their dealers and corporate customers. It is not open to the public: dealers log in with the username and password they have been given.
Once logged in, a dealer sees only the prices that apply to them, current stock, their account balance and open orders, and creates their own orders. Orders are transferred to the company's ERP or accounting software without a sales rep having to re-enter them.
In short, a B2B system moves dealer orders taken by phone and WhatsApp to a channel that is open 24/7, error-free and fully on record.
Features a B2B system should have
Every business has different needs, but a well-functioning B2B system includes these core features:
- Dealer-specific prices and discounts: Different price lists by dealer, dealer group, brand or product group.
- Live stock: Up-to-date stock by warehouse, so dealers don't order products that aren't available.
- Account balance and credit limit: Dealers see their balance and statement; orders that exceed the limit are sent for approval.
- Order approval flow: Defining who approves orders and under which rules.
- ERP integration: Product, stock, price and account data come from the ERP, and orders flow back into it.
- Promotion management: Promotions for specific dealer groups or products.
- Online payments: Dealers pay their balance through the portal via a payment gateway.
- Mobile access: Dealers can order from their phones, and field reps can enter orders while with the customer.
- Reporting: Dashboards for dealer performance, order frequency, credit risk and collections.
Industry-specific needs matter just as much. In the spare parts industry, for example, dealers need to be able to find parts by OEM number, vehicle or chassis number; see our spare parts B2B system page for details. How it works with your existing ERP is covered on our B2B and ERP integration page.
What does a B2B system bring to a business?
- 24/7 ordering: Dealers can order at night and on weekends, without waiting for business hours.
- Error-free orders: Dealers place orders themselves, eliminating codes misheard over the phone, wrong prices and re-keying errors.
- More time for selling: Sales reps focus on finding new dealers and growing existing ones instead of writing up orders.
- Lower collection risk: The credit limit is checked at the time of order, so dealers who exceed their limit don't receive unchecked shipments.
- Data-driven decisions: You can see which dealer buys which product and how often.
A quick checklist before moving to B2B
- Is your dealer and customer list up to date, including contact details?
- Are your price lists and discount rules documented and kept in one place?
- Are your product records (code, description, image, unit) in good order?
- Is stock and account data kept up to date in your ERP or accounting software?
- Is it clear who will approve orders and how credit limits will be set?
- Do you have someone to invite your dealers to the portal and support them in the first few weeks?
If you can't yet answer “yes” to some of these questions, that's fine; we work through them together during setup.
Move to B2B with BayiData
Dealer-specific prices, live stock, credit risk and payments in one portal; orders are transferred to your ERP.