RETHINKING DIGITAL IN B2B COMMERCE: FROM DISCONNECTED SYSTEMS TO UNIFIED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

By Joe Prentis
Salesforce Core Leader, EMEA

Let’s be honest - there’s a lot of noise out there about digital transformation, AI, customer experience, and so on. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype, but if you’re actually on the ground delivering IT and technology projects, you know it’s rarely straightforward. That’s why I wanted to write this - not to pitch a product, but to share what I’ve seen work in practice.

As Andrew Sinclair (Director - Head of GTM, EMEA) mentioned in his recent article, most B2B buyers expect a seamless experience now. They want to move quickly, find what they need, and get answers without chasing someone down. They expect convenience, speed, and personalised experiences. The typical B2B buyer has also changed. Gen Z and Millennials prefer self-service and uncomplicated transactions, meaning there is a shift away from in-person meetings and phone calls.

What is less obvious is how disconnected most businesses still are behind the scenes. I’ve worked with organisations where commerce sits on its own island with no real link to sales, service, or marketing. The result? Missed opportunities, duplicated effort, and a whole lot of frustration on all sides.

This is where Salesforce B2B Commerce stands out - not just because it’s a great commerce platform, but because it doesn’t operate in isolation. It’s built on the same platform as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and the wider Core Salesforce platform. When these tools work together, you get something far more valuable than just a digital storefront.

B2B Commerce Success Stories

I’ve worked with clients across multiple sectors, from manufacturers building EV chargers to HLS firms (Health and Life Sciences) helping labs reorder critical supplies. In every case, the same issue surfaced early - digital B2B sales was a channel that was neglected. In some instances, companies were tracking orders over the phone and inputting the data into spreadsheets. In others, they had storefronts that on the surface looked great, but they didn’t have the personalised customer experience that B2B buyers now come to expect such as Account level pricing and discounts or integrated self service.

One of the most surprising B2B Commerce customers was a financial services client. You wouldn’t expect self-service ordering to be a focus there, but we helped them build a platform that let convenience stores order physical cash for their tills. Before that, it was an operational maze of phone calls and delays. Now, it’s a streamlined, digital experience, tying commerce into their wider business processes, focusing less on the product and more on the journey. That project turned what was traditionally a service-heavy process into something quick, controlled, and scalable.

I have worked with a number of clients in the Manufacturing space, who have each brought their own flavour to B2B Sales. The EV charging company mentioned above used both B2B Commerce and Revenue Cloud. Back then, Revenue Cloud was still maturing and compatibility was limited, meaning we had to navigate plenty of gaps. But the value was undeniable. Having both sales channels operate on the same platform meant order processing and servicing was much simpler. Service teams stopped context switching and no longer had to operate in multiple systems and spreadsheets. The roadmap of a unified product catalog and pricing, all managed in a single place, is so exciting. Salesforce is bringing both Revenue Cloud and B2B Commerce together throughout the next few releases, and it's going to unlock even more value in the platform.

In HLS, it was a different kind of pressure. We worked with a company that supplies DNA strands to research labs. They wanted to open up reordering to customers, giving labs a way to self-serve instead of ringing support every time they needed more materials. Accuracy was key - a wrong order wasn’t just a missed SKU, it could compromise entire experiments. By connecting B2B Commerce with Service and Order history, we gave labs confidence in what they were ordering and reduced strain on already-stretched service teams.

These examples have stayed with me because they cut through the theory. They show how platform synergy enables real, tangible benefits. These experiences are a great example of what happens when B2B Commerce isn’t just a website - it’s part of a larger operational model, designed and built based on business processes with customer experience at the heart of the solution.

Business Benefits of an Integrated B2B Commerce Platform

When Salesforce B2B Commerce is integrated with Sales, Service, and Marketing teams, things start to feel different. Sales teams aren’t just guessing at what the customer might need - they can see what’s been ordered, what’s in the cart, and what’s likely to come next. That changes the conversation from reactive to genuinely helpful.

Service teams get a full picture of the customer without having to switch between five tabs or fire off internal emails. Suddenly, updating an order or checking a delivery status doesn’t take 20 minutes and a prayer - it’s just there. And when you’re dealing with tight SLAs or demanding B2B buyers, that speed matters.

Then there’s pricing - which in B2B is rarely straightforward. Tiered discounts, negotiated terms, volume-based pricing - it’s a mess if you’re relying on manual overrides or disconnected spreadsheets. But when you bring Revenue Cloud into the mix, it becomes manageable. No surprises, no back-and-forth, no accidental giveaways.

One of the most overlooked wins, though, is self-service. So many portals promise it, but so few deliver. When your experience layer (Experience Cloud) runs on the same platform as your commerce engine, it’s far easier to let customers manage their own journey - place orders, track delivery, download invoices, raise support tickets - all without bouncing between disconnected tools or needing to call in a rep. And crucially, without making it feel like they’re being pushed away.

And then there’s data. If AI is anywhere on your roadmap - and let’s be honest, it probably is - then you need good data hygiene. Not perfect data, but at least connected data. The kind that flows across systems, updates in real time, and gives you some confidence in the insights you're acting on. Because without that, no AI model is going to save you.

Strategic B2B Commerce: Beyond Product to Connected Customer Experiences

Digital commerce isn’t just about putting a checkout online - it’s about reshaping how your business connects with customers, partners and employees.

Salesforce B2B Commerce gives you a solid foundation, but its real power shows up when it’s part of a bigger, integrated picture. That’s when you move from managing transactions to creating connected, intelligent experiences.

So if you’re mapping out your next step, don’t just look at features, think about the bigger picture: flexibility, data flow, and future readiness. Think about the full experience - for your buyers, your sellers, and your internal teams. Consider how commerce fits into your broader go-to-market strategy. The real value isn’t in launching fast. It’s in building something that actually fits your business, now and into the future.

Because that’s where the real value lies.