B2B Digital: How to digitize the relationship between industry, distributors, and points of sale.

Business-to-business (B2B) trade already generates R$ 2,22 trillion annually in Brazil and represents 31,2% of the entire national industrial production , according to the 2025 Industry Commercial Digitalization Index (IDCI) from the Flexy Digital Industry Observatory . This impressive number hides a bottleneck: 82% of these sales still occur via WhatsApp and 73% via email, while only 27% of industrial companies sell through structured channels . It is in this gap that digital B2B ceases to be a showcase and becomes a strategy; the way industry, distributors, and points of sale connect is still largely tied to spreadsheets, phone calls, and handwritten orders.

Digitizing this relationship doesn't just mean opening an online store. It means integrating data and automating decisions throughout the entire chain, so that pricing, inventory, credit, and commercial rules operate automatically at each link (from the factory to the counter).

B2B digital in 6 points

1. B2B digital is the digitization of the commercial relationship between industry, distributors, and retailers.It goes beyond e-commerce, as it includes data integration and decision automation.
2. In Brazil, the channel between companies is already worth R$ 2,22 trillion per year.However, 82% of industrial sales still go through WhatsApp, according to... IDCI 2025.
3. The main benefit is not selling online, but rather eliminating rework: Handwritten order, outdated price list, and manually verified credit.
4. Platforms like VTEX and Shopify They automatically apply pricing per customer, registration approval, credit limit, and purchase clusters.
5. Integrating the channel with the ERP and CRM transforms each order into data., which supports cash flow forecasting, inventory replenishment, and commercial decisions.
6. Market maturity is still low: Only 27% of industries use structured channels, which gives an advantage to those who digitize first.

What is digital B2B, and why does it go beyond e-commerce?

Digital B2B is the set of platforms, integrations, and processes that digitize buying and selling between companies: from industry to distributor, from distributor to point of sale. A common misconception is treating it as synonymous with e-commerce . In content published in Época Negócios , IFM Brasil argues that digital B2B goes beyond e-commerce and needs to promote data integration and the automation of decisions . The difference is fundamental: e-commerce is the storefront; digital B2B is the entire operation functioning interconnected behind it.

This change follows the buyer. According to Gartner , most of the B2B decision journey happens before the first contact with a salesperson. Today's corporate buyer is the same one who manages their personal life via mobile phone and expects to consult catalogs, prices, and deadlines independently, at any time, without depending on an available representative.

Where does digitalization fit into the relationship between industry, distributor, and point of sale?

The B2B chain has at least three links, and each one carries a specific pain point when the process is analog.

At the end of the industry chain, distributor orders arrive via WhatsApp or email and need to be re-entered into the ERP system . This leads to errors, delays, and no real-time inventory visibility. A B2B portal receives this same order already structured, with the correct price list for that customer automatically applied.

In the middle of the supply chain, the distributor serves dozens or hundreds of points of sale, each with different commercial conditions, credit limits, and product mixes. Without a system, this becomes manual control in spreadsheets. With customer clusters and rules per group, the same catalog shows different prices, products, and deadlines for each profile, without duplicating operations.

At the point of sale, the retailer wants to quickly repurchase, track orders, and see what's available. A digital channel with history and repurchase capabilities in just a few clicks shortens the cycle and increases purchase frequency.

Data integration and decision automation: the core of digital B2B.

Digitizing the relationship only yields results when the systems communicate. The e-commerce platform or portal needs to be connected to the ERP system, which manages inventory, billing, and tax, and to the CRM system , which stores history and relationships. With information in a single, reliable source, rules that previously depended on a person start to run automatically: pricing by contract, volume discounts, credit limits, shipping policies, and order approval.

The effect is evident in two areas. First, in the reduction of errors and administrative costs: fewer incorrectly typed orders, less price discrepancy, less team time spent on repetitive tasks. Second, in the quality of decisions: each order becomes data, and this data feeds into cash flow forecasting, inventory replenishment, and commercial negotiations. This is what IFM Brazil describes as decision automation (operating based on what the operation itself records, not on guesswork).

The table is easy to read: the analog channel works, but it grows by adding people and spreadsheets. The digital channel grows by adding orders based on the same data, and that's what separates an operation that scales from one that freezes at the first peak in demand.

How e-Plus digitizes B2B operations in practice.

With over 13 years in e-commerce, e-Plus has structured B2B operations that demonstrate this digitalization is not just theoretical.

Global X , an importer and exporter of medical-surgical instruments, needed to serve audiences with different price points and access levels without duplicating its catalog or administration. Implementing the project in VTEX IO with the B2B Suite, the project unified retail (B2C) and wholesale (B2B) on the same platform, with mandatory login, segment-specific pricing, automatic product tax calculation, CNPJ validation during registration, and CRM integration. Recurring customers gained a faster checkout process, and the operation began managing two worlds with a single structure.

Bivik Jeans migrated from VTEX CMS to VTEX IO while maintaining minimal operational impact. The focus was on the business model: B2B registration with manual approval, customer grouping with visible pricing by cluster, and specific rules per group, such as minimum purchase value and individual credit. Using e-Plus' Fast Layout framework , the project went live in 75 days.

Both scenarios run on VTEX , but the same principle applies to operations on Shopify : what defines the outcome is not just the platform, but how the catalog, business rules, and integrations are designed for the reality of each supply chain. It's also worth understanding how the technology behind this works in VTEX B2B Commerce.

Which indicators to monitor

Digitizing without measuring is only half the battle. Several indicators show whether a digital B2B operation is actually working: repurchase rate and order frequency, which demonstrate channel adoption; average order value per customer; digital share of total revenue; average order processing time; and error or return rate due to discrepancies . Tracking the migration of orders from WhatsApp to the structured channel is perhaps the most revealing of all, because it translates digitization into numbers.

Talk to e-Plus

Each B2B chain has its own pricing, credit, and relationship logic, and that's where implementation makes the difference between a scalable channel and one that stalls. e-Plus works on the implementation, migration, and evolution of B2B operations on VTEX and Shopify, designing catalogs, clusters, and integrations according to each business model.

If your company wants to digitize its relationship with distributors and points of sale, talk to the e-Plus team of experts (click the button below).

Frequently asked questions about B2B digital