BigCommerce Unveils Open Source Version of B2B Buyer Portal

BigCommerce has debuted an open-source version of its business-to-business (B2B) Buyer Portal platform.

The new offering gives “enterprise manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, developers and agency partners creative control to build and customize the optimal B2B buyer experience with speed, at scale and at a lower total cost,” the software-as-a-service (SaaS) company said in a Tuesday (May 7) news release.

According to the release, getting full access to the Buyer Portal’s open-source code gives B2B brands the foundation needed to craft tailored buyer experiences aimed at meeting the demands and workflows of their industries.

“Sellers can deliver a bespoke customer experience throughout the entire buyer life cycle from product discovery to the sale, and can now extend into service and warranty support directly from a single portal,” the company said.

“By leveraging this customizable starting point, B2B brands can potentially decrease the time and costs involved in developing their eCommerce sites, streamlining their operations and enhancing customer satisfaction.”

The new offering from BigCommerce follows the recent debut of a new storefront technology designed to simplify the process of building online stores with a composable architecture.

Launched in February, Catalyst is designed for mid-market and enterprise B2C and B2B brands and retailers, and combines popular headless technologies and best practices.

“Catalyst introduces BigCommerce’s reference composable architecture, equipping developers with the most preferred, highest performing technology, and brand users with the world’s best no/low-code Next.js visual editor,” Brent Bellm, CEO at BigCommerce, said in a news release.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week examined the small business world’s shift into the eCommerce space, noting comments from Alex Burgin, vice president of Authorize.net.

He told PYMNTS that there are several pillars that support a successful online strategy, regardless of the business, such as a simple, clean and easily navigable website, with a shopping cart that leads directly to a wealth of payment options.

At a high level, Burgin said, “Whether it’s a lemonade stand on the side of the road, or a complex PC computer company, every business needs to accept payments. And at the core, every business needs to think about what their digital presence looks like and how they interact with their clients.”

“Apps and connected devices make [shopping] experiences seamless, secure and efficient. And unobtrusive,” PYMNTS’ Karen Webster wrote in a feature last fall. “It takes three minutes between meetings to place an order on Instacart — it takes 60 minutes or more to drive to and from the store and shop.”