B2B Commerce — Definition

B2B (Business-to-Business) commerce is the commercial exchange between companies — a company selling products or services to another company, rather than to an individual consumer. Within the B2B eCommerce context, this specifically refers to the digital channel through which manufacturers sell to distributors and distributors sell to their business customers.

The Core Definition

“Business to business is a company selling to another company through digital channels or digital tools.”
— C1, Module 1 Lesson 1

The key distinction from B2C: in B2B, the buyer is a business entity, not an individual consumer. This changes everything — the buyer’s purchasing authority, their price (contract-based), their ordering process (POs, terms, approvals), and their relationship with the seller (long-term accounts, not one-time transactions).

The B2B Transaction Chain

For purposes of the B2B eCommerce Association (and this curriculum), B2B is defined as:

This is sometimes called B2B2B — the manufacturer’s B2B customer (distributor) itself has a B2B customer (the end business buyer). This is the primary chain in industrial distribution.

Key examples:

• 3M (manufacturer) → Grainger (distributor) → an electrician’s company (business customer)
• Honeywell (manufacturer) → HVAC distributor → a commercial contractor

What B2B is NOT (in this context):

• Brand → Retailer → Consumer (this is B2B2C — excluded)
• Amazon B2C marketplace
• Consumer transactions of any kind

Types of B2B Transactions

Transaction Type

Example

Manufacturer to Distributor

3M → Grainger

Distributor to Business Customer

Grainger → Electrician company

Distributor to Distributor

Master distributor → regional distributor

Manufacturer/Distributor to Marketplace

Grainger → Amazon Business

Via EDI/eProcurement

Any of the above, automated

Coopetition: Distributors sometimes sell products to competitors when a customer’s needs exceed one distributor’s inventory. Companies cooperate and compete simultaneously. See coopetition.

Why B2B Is Complex

B2B transactions involve:

• Complex customers — each account has unique contracts, pricing, approved products, and terms
• Complex products — technical specifications, compliance requirements, safety standards
• Complex ordering processes — POs, approvals, multi-step checkout, budget authorities
• Complex pricing — contract pricing, volume discounts, special pricing agreements (SPAs)
• Complex relationships — long-term accounts; “people buy from people”

“77% of B2B buyers report their purchasing process as complex, often due to multi-layered requirements.” — C1, Module 3 Lesson 1

The Shift to Digital

B2B buyers are changing rapidly:

• They are increasingly digital-native (Millennials and Gen Z now in purchasing roles)
• They want self-service — not always interacting with a sales rep
• But the B2B relationship dimension doesn’t disappear — it shifts from order-taking to advisory

The B2B eCommerce opportunity: automate the transactional so humans can focus on the relational.