B2B ecommerce site in Japan – see your wholesale ordering site before you decide

How a B2B ecommerce site differs from a regular online store

A B2B store still has a cart and a checkout, yet the rules behind each order are different. The site has to reflect how you already trade with businesses.

• Pricing: customer-specific discounts, price tiers and volume pricing
• Access: a members-only catalog where products and prices appear after login
• Payment: net terms such as month-end billing, invoice payment and credit limits
• Order units: minimum quantities, case packs and multiples
• Repeat orders: reorder from history and quick ordering of regular items

Pricing and access shape everything else. Decide how many customer tiers you need and who maintains prices, and the right features follow from there.

Signs you are ready for B2B ecommerce

If several of these sound familiar, an online ordering site can cut manual work and order mistakes considerably.

• Fax and phone orders are retyped by hand, and item codes or quantities get mixed up
• Price lists live in separate Excel files and are resent every time prices change
• Orders and stock questions that arrive after hours wait until the next morning
• New products are announced by PDF catalog and you cannot see who looked
• You have a consumer webshop, but it cannot show wholesale prices to trade buyers
• When one person is away, nobody knows which customer pays which price

Start with the task that costs you the most time today and design the first screens around it.

Feature checklist for a B2B ecommerce site

Before asking for quotes, mark each item as must-have, nice-to-have or not needed. It makes platforms much easier to compare.

• Company accounts: one account per business, several buyers per company, approval before access
• Price rules: per customer or tier, volume discounts, prices shown excluding tax
• Order rules: minimum quantity, pack sizes, minimum order value, shipping conditions
• Payment: net terms, invoice payment, cards alongside
• Documents: invoices and delivery notes that meet Japan's qualified invoice system
• Integrations: inventory, sales management and accounting software
• Ease of use: search by item code, reorder from history, ordering on a phone

Japan's qualified invoice system, in force since October 2023, affects how invoices are issued, so confirm the required details with the National Tax Agency's current guidance or your tax advisor. For connecting existing systems, see Shopify API integration.

Choosing a platform: Shopify B2B and the alternatives

You can build on an ecommerce platform or develop a custom system. The number of customers, the complexity of your pricing and the systems you need to connect decide which fits.

• Shopify B2B: built-in company accounts, customer-specific catalogs and prices, payment terms and quantity rules. These features are mainly offered on Shopify Plus, so check Shopify's current plan details
• Shopify with a wholesale app: on other plans, apps can add members-only or wholesale pricing. A good fit for a small number of customers with simple rules
• WordPress/WooCommerce: plugins add customer pricing and quote requests. Very flexible, though plugins need regular updates and maintenance
• Custom or packaged systems: for deep ERP integration or unusual price calculations, typically with a larger budget and timeline

If you sell to consumers and to trade from the same product data, one Shopify store handling both is often the simplest setup. To compare with a consumer store build, see ecommerce site development.

Rolling out B2B ecommerce without losing your customers

A B2B site only pays off once customers actually use it, so plan the move as carefully as the build.

• Clean the data: one sheet with item codes, pack sizes and every customer's prices
• Write down the rules: billing cut-off, payment terms, shipping and minimum orders
• Start small: invite a few cooperative customers first and fix what confuses them
• Guide customers: a one-page sign-up and ordering guide, plus a set period where fax orders still work
• Review after launch: top items, reorder rate and the questions customers ask

The usual pitfalls are starting the build while prices are still scattered across different people's spreadsheets, and under-explaining the new site so customers drift back to fax. If you also need a company site that brings in new trade inquiries, see B2B website production.

How UNANOBO builds B2B ecommerce: a free demo first

Before you commit, UNANOBO builds a free demo based on your products and trading terms. You can log in as a trade customer, browse the catalog and place an order at wholesale prices, on a computer and on a phone.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, so pricing rules and integrations are discussed with the same contact from start to finish. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English, and your Shopify store, domain and analytics stay in your name.