EP112 Unlocking the Power of Headless Commerce for B2B E-commerce
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[00:00:06] JOSHUA WARREN: Hey 

[00:00:06] everybody. Welcome to another episode of Commerce Today, where we explore the strategy tools and ideas for your e commerce business today. 

[00:00:13] I'm Joshua Warren. I'm the CEO of Creatuity. I serve on the board of the Magento Association. And of 

[00:00:19] course I host Commerce Today. At Creatuity, I specialize in helping B2B businesses with complex e commerce needs.

[00:00:26] So I'm really excited to talk about what I think is. A warming topic in B2B, but not quite hot yet. And I think it needs to get there. And that is headless commerce and why it matters specifically for B2B use cases. So why should a B2B company care about headless? B2B e commerce is huge and growing. In the U S alone, it's on track to hit 3 trillion by 2027, climbing from 17 percent to 24 percent of all B2B sales.

[00:00:52] So much at stake. You can't afford an e commerce platform that holds you back. And too many of the monolithic platforms are going to do exactly that. [00:01:00] So many B2B merchants are struggling with their current platforms. They might have a really rigid and flexible system. Traditional all in one platforms often come with kind of rigid templates and workflows.

[00:01:11] If you have any sort of unique purchasing process, business rules, complex product configurations, you end up fighting your e commerce platform instead of working with it. A lot of integration headaches. B2B operations obviously require so many different systems. ERP for inventory and orders. A CRM for customer data, maybe a PIM for product info and getting a traditional e commerce platform to play nice with all of them, especially industry specific enterprise grade ones of those platforms, it's a never ending battle of custom scripting and sync errors.

[00:01:45] Also outdated buying experiences. Let's be honest. Some B2B sites feel like they're stuck in 2010. They have poor navigation, no mobile support, limited self service features. All of that frustrates today's buyers. Uh, in fact. 85 [00:02:00] percent of B2B buyers report frustrations with ordering online. That's why so many of them just revert back to calling you instead of ordering on your website.

[00:02:07] And many are just switching to your competitors if the experience isn't improving. So if any of this hits close to home, please stick around today. We're going to discuss how a headless approach could solve many of these challenges for you. So I'm gonna draw on my experience and some real world examples show how a headless architecture for an e commerce project gives B2B companies the flexibility and integration capabilities they desperately need.

[00:02:28] By the end of this episode, you'll know what headless commerce really means, why it's worth considering and how to get started without derailing your business. So grab a coffee, let's dive in. So what is headless commerce? Let's keep it really simple. No buzzwords. Headless commerce means that the front end of your website, the head, what the user sees and interacts with is separate from the backend, the engine that handles business logic, databases, e commerce functions, et cetera.

[00:02:52] Instead of one big system doing everything, you decouple the two pieces. The front end and the back end then communicate through APIs, like a messenger [00:03:00] passing notes to each other. Why would you want to do this? Because it gives you freedom and flexibility. Decoupling the front and back end lets you develop and deploy customer facing features independently from back end processes.

[00:03:11] In a traditional platform, if you want to add a new customer portal, custom checkout flow, you often have to tinker with both the back end and the front end. It can turn a small project into a massive undertaking. With a headless approach, you build that new front end experience, say a nice new mobile app or refreshed website UI, without any major changes to your core commerce platform.

[00:03:31] No disruption to the backend means you're not risking the stability of your order management or product data when you experiment with a new front end feature. This is huge for B2B companies. B2B commerce often demands custom user experiences and workflows. You might need special ordering interface for your dealers, a quick order path for wholesale buylers.

[00:03:49] The unique portal for different regions of brands and a headless architecture lets you build all of those front ends while keeping your robust back end logic intact. It gives you a level of flexibility that a traditional [00:04:00] monolithic approach just can't provide. Another huge reason headless matter should be to be as integration.

[00:04:05] I mentioned integration headaches earlier, things like getting your website to reflect real time inventory from ERP or pushing online orders into your accounting system seamlessly. Headless commerce is typically API first, meaning everything is built as a service you can connect to. Modern headless platforms make it so much easier to plug into your ERP, CRM, WMS, all those fun acronyms that we love to use.

[00:04:27] Um, in fact, a headless solution is designed to remove many of the roadblocks that older platforms face when talking to other software platform. Uh, one source that I'll link to, uh, in the show notes puts it clearly headless architecture uses APIs, making it easier to connect with third party systems and therefore reduces the workload to integrate internal systems like a CRM and an ERP.

[00:04:49] For a B2B seller, that seamless integration means your e commerce site can finally be the central hub without lots of manual data entry on the side. Lastly, B2B companies usually have to support [00:05:00] long term growth and scalability. A traditional platform might get you online, but as you expand into new product lines, new markets, maybe adding a B2C channel, the cracks can start to show, pages will slow down, deployments get risky, you can't innovate quickly.

[00:05:14] Headless commerce by its nature is more modular and scalable. You can scale your front end presentation separately from the back end. So companies with a headless architecture are 77 percent more likely to expand into new channels successfully because they're not held back by one rigid monolithic tech stack.

[00:05:31] To sum it up, a headless commerce for B2B means flexibility to create the exact buying experiences your customers need integration and tie in all your enterprise systems smoothly and agility to adapt and scale your e commerce platform as your business grows. Now let's talk specifics. How does headless commerce solve these challenges?

[00:05:49] So let's get practical. I want to talk about some of the biggest challenges I see in complex B2B e commerce implementations and explain how a headless approach can help you tackle each one. So [00:06:00] first up, managing large catalogs and dynamic pricing. B2B companies often deal with huge product catalogs.

[00:06:05] Anything from tens of thousands of SKUs to millions of SKUs, multiple categories, complex product configurations. You often have customer specific pricing. So contracts, volume discounts, tier pricing for different customer groups. And all that complexity is just too much for your kind of standard off the shelf, monolithic e commerce platform.

[00:06:25] And I'm really looking at you, SaaS platforms. You often hit a limit on the number of variants, or you have to maintain separate sites, separate accounts for each customer segment. And Headless commerce makes this so much easier because the front end is separate. You can create custom catalogs and pricing displays for each user or segment without bloating out a one size fits all site.

[00:06:44] In fact, the leading headless B2B platforms offer out of the box features for curated catalogs and customer pricing per account. For example, you might need have a distributor who should only see the products they're allowed to buy at the contract prices you've negotiated. A headless solution can provide [00:07:00] exactly that, their catalog with their prices via the front end pulling data from an API for a pricing engine or an ERP.

[00:07:07] Does that without slowing down the site for everyone else. And there's even a case study I'll link to that noted that headless setup, a lot of businesses show. Custom product catalogs with account specific pricing for hundreds of thousands of customers without hurting speed or performance. Headless architecture handles complexity elegantly.

[00:07:25] It delivers personalized content to each buyer and scales up as your catalog grows since the backend can efficiently and effectively serve data through APIs. Next challenge. Integrations. Integrating with ERP, CRM, and other systems. B2B ecommerce never exists in a vacuum. It must integrate with the rest of your enterprise.

[00:07:44] If an online order doesn't flow into your ERP for fulfillment, does it even exist? If your sales reps can't see e commerce customer activity in the CRM, you're going to have chaos and unhappy customers. Challenge with old platforms is often the integration feels bolted on, fragile, and can seem [00:08:00] or actually literally is expensive to maintain.

[00:08:02] Headless commerce flips that around. Because everything is driven by APIs, integration is a core strength of a headless approach, not an afterthought. You essentially get an integration ready architecture just by selecting a headless approach. So for example, your headless front end can query the ERP through an API to get real time stock levels, to fetch a customer's unique pricing before they check out, All that great stuff.

[00:08:23] One industry report even highlighted that headless B2B platforms substantially reduced the effort needed to integrate with internal systems like CR, CRMs, ERPs, and WMSs making it far easier to keep data in sync. That API centric design means your e commerce site becomes a true extension of your IT ecosystem.

[00:08:42] Without all the pain that you probably think of when you hear the phrase IT ecosystem, no more nightly batch uploads of inventory. Your systems can talk to each other in real time. The result is fewer errors and customer service issues like someone ordering an out of stock item, less manual work and a more unified operation.

[00:08:59] You've [00:09:00] struggled with things like duplicate data entry or inconsistent information across systems. Headless can be a lifesaver. Third challenge, meeting modern buyer expectations, which in the B2B world now means delivering a consumer grade experience. B2B buyers today have the same expectations as when they shop on Amazon or any B2C site when they're buying from you on a B2B site.

[00:09:22] They want fast, intuitive, self service shopping experiences. Around 80 percent of B2B buyers expect a buying experience that's at least as good and smooth as the best B2C buying experiences. That means they want advanced search, rich product content, easy reordering, mobile friendly, one step checkout.

[00:09:39] These are no longer nice to haves for B2B. They're required to keep your B2B customers happy. Traditional B2B ecommerce platforms often fall short here because they were designed more for backend processes than frontend user experiences. Headless commerce enables you to give buyers the modern slick interface they crave.

[00:09:57] You want a completely custom lightning fast [00:10:00] react web app for your storefront? Or a PWA that works like a native mobile app? With headless, you can do either of those, you're not constrained by the old frontend, and you can do it without breaking your backend. As we discussed, any new frontend features won't disrupt order processing or data on the backend.

[00:10:14] That means you can continuously improve the customer experience. You can AB test in your checkout flow, add personalized product recommendations. All of these things in your core backend systems remain untouched. One article from digital commerce 360 puts it well. Decoupling allows sellers to upgrade the customer facing experience without risking the backend processes or site stability for your buyers.

[00:10:35] That translates to a smoother, more engaging experience, the kind of builds loyalty, and for you, it means you can keep up with UX trends and customer demands much faster than you're on a rigid monolithic platform. Headless commerce directly addresses these B2B challenges by providing flexibility for complex catalogs and pricing strong integrations, the ability to deliver a top notch user experience.

[00:10:57] Nothing speaks louder than real results though, so let's look at [00:11:00] some real world B2B businesses that made the switch to headless and see what they achieved. So first up, Trade Tools. So they blended B2B and B2C with a future proof architecture. They're a 37 year old industrial tools supplier in Australia.

[00:11:14] They serve both B2B and DIY retail customers. They had an ambitious vision for their online presence and decided a few years ago to invest in a headless architecture. They actually decided to run a headless setup on a Magento backend. And with a headless approach, they were able to swap out different components as they needed without having to change their front end.

[00:11:35] Their e commerce manager, Mark, has said in different interviews and case studies that I'll link to that their headless setup has proved its worth. They have transitioned backend platforms with minimal disruption, zero customer confusion, since the user facing front end didn't even change. After switching to a new checkout, for instance, they reduced support calls about checkout issues and they saw a 31 percent increase in online [00:12:00] revenue and a 19 percent boost in conversion rate.

[00:12:02] They were able to lower their total cost of ownership, and that just shows how it gave them that agility I talked about, the stability, and a better UX. It's a great experience and example of how a B2B business can use Headless to future proof their e commerce. When you decouple your frontend and backend, you can evolve each on your own terms.

[00:12:22] Ballard Industrial had a very old site. They're actually a 70 year old distributor of industrial equipment and supplies. Their site wasn't quite that old, but it was old. And a few years ago, it was just a catalog. Customers could see products, but couldn't purchase online. They had to call a sales rep to take orders, uh, over the phone, each on online order, uh, Ballard new buyers were expecting more self service.

[00:12:45] So they undertook a revamp using a headless approach. They were able to build out a fully functional e commerce site, tailored to their B2B needs. They implemented customer specific pricing to your discounts, and they were actually able to automate. Many of those discounting [00:13:00] prices, they added self service capabilities, such as quick order and the ability for customers to view past orders and reorders, all the things you would expect it to be, to be experienced.

[00:13:09] And the new headless experience was designed for ease of use because it pulls data via APIs and always shows accurate inventory and pricing for each logged in customer. The impact on Ballard's business was tremendous. After launch, they noted customers across the country replacing orders online that they had to phone in previously, and it actually freed up their sales team's time to really seek out those higher value, more expensive accounts.

[00:13:32] They also saw that when customers are using the website to order, it's saved their sales team a lot of time. And it saved the customers a lot of time. Um, they saw in the first year, an 83 percent increase in web traffic and a significantly higher level of page views and engagement. And they're out there winning industry awards for their B to B e commerce experience.

[00:13:53] Um, so this story highlights how a headless approach allowed a very traditional older B2B company. [00:14:00] To leap forward into a modern online experience by decoupling, they introduced new features like personalized catalogs and self service ordering without upheaval, and it paid off in customer satisfaction and new business.

[00:14:12] So those examples show you headless commerce. Isn't just a theoretical idea for B2B. It's delivering real benefits for these B2B organizations from smoother replatforming, lower costs to big gains in efficiency, scalability, and customer experience. So you might be wondering, how do we move to headless commerce?

[00:14:29] So I'm going to break it down in the next segment into the specific steps to move to a headless approach. It can be a significant project. So I really recommend you approach it in multiple phases. Here are the first four steps to start with. So first, as always identify your business goals and problem areas.

[00:14:48] Start with a really honest assessment of your current e commerce setup. What are the biggest pain points for your team and for your customers? Are pages loading too slow? Is your marketing team having to use a developer or IT to add content? [00:15:00] Are you losing orders or having to cancel orders because of a lack of real time stock info?

[00:15:04] Also clarify your goals. Do you want the site to be more scalable? Do you want to enable omni channel sales? Is personalization important to you? Document these needs to create a north star for the project. It also helps you build a business case. You're essentially answering why headless and what do we need to do to get there.

[00:15:21] For example, you might identify you need more flexibility in front end design and smoother ERP integrations. Those can be key requirements as you evaluate solutions. This step is critical as one online guide puts it, evaluating your current system strengths and weaknesses and really pinpointing if and where a headless approach can help will bring significant improvements in the success of the project and be specific.

[00:15:45] List out the few features you'll need in details. Must support customer specific pricing. Must support quick order forms. The constraints you want to eliminate, i. e. remove dependence on our existing CMS. And that clarity will really help you with the [00:16:00] following steps. So the second step, choose the right headless platform and tech stack.

[00:16:05] So armed with your requirements, you can explore the platforms or architectures that fit your business. There are a few paths you can choose. You might look at a headless ready e commerce platform, such as Adobe commerce, big commerce, and Magento open source, all of which have support for headless implementations and strong B2B feature sets, these platforms are going to give you really robust commerce back end capabilities out of the box.

[00:16:27] So they're going to have that. Complex pricing, the quoting workflows, the account management, and you build a separate front end on top of their APIs. Uh, on the flip side of that, some companies are going real deep into a custom microservices architecture using something like Medusa JS, you're assembling a commerce engine, a separate CMS.

[00:16:46] It's going to give you the ultimate in flexibility, but it's going to require more development resources. The key is to align with your goals, your team's capabilities, and of course your budget. You need lots of B2B features quickly than a platform known for [00:17:00] curated catalogs, custom pricing, personalized storefronts, and self service portals might be more beneficial from a complete build from scratch.

[00:17:07] However, if your focus is on a highly bespoke user experience, and you have a strong dev team that more composable microservices build it from scratch approach could work also consider the ecosystem as the platform you're looking at have good integration into your ERP and CRM, or you're going to have to build those from scratch.

[00:17:26] Does it support the front end framework you want to use? Look at API maturity as well. Since everything in headless depends on APIs, choose a solution with robust, well documented APIs and make sure they're not changing constantly. That will definitely bite you later on. So this step is basically about picking the foundation, the backend e commerce platform, and potentially a headless CMS or front end framework that will power your new site.

[00:17:48] Don't rush this. Involve stakeholders, perhaps get demos or trials. The right choice here will make everything smoother. As a side note, at Creatuity, we worked with Magento, Adobe Commerce, and many others for [00:18:00] headless. Each platform has pros and cons, so if you need some guidance or a second opinion, please Feel free to reach out to me.

[00:18:06] I'm more than happy to give an unbiased perspective. You can schedule a free 30 minute e commerce consult with me right on my LinkedIn profile. Next step, plan your integrations early. A headless project integration is not something to leave for. Last, make a blueprint for how all your systems are gonna connect in the new architecture.

[00:18:23] This means identifying which data and processes need to flow between the e-commerce backend and other systems orders to your ERP customer data, to your CRM inventory levels from ERP to front end product info from pim, et cetera. Map out all those flows and decide whether you'll use existing connectors, middleware, or custom API development.

[00:18:42] If your ERP has a modern API, great, plan out the endpoint you'll use, if not. You're probably going to need an integration platform or an iPast Bridget. Starting this planning now will surface any potential roadblocks. So for instance, maybe you discover your old ERP can't handle real time calls and has rate limits.

[00:18:58] Then you know you need a work around, [00:19:00] like a periodic sync or caching layer. Also get your integration partners or teams involved early. The last thing you want to do is finish this amazing headless front end and then discover it's not possible for it to connect to your backend systems by integrating early, even in a test environment, you ensure the headless front end is getting all the data it needs.

[00:19:18] Keep in mind, one of the big. Promises of headless or API first is smoother integration. So leverage that strength. And it's not just about building integrations, but also about aligning the data models and business logic. Since too many times where people get the technical integration, just perfect, but they didn't have a business analyst or solution architect really look at it and realize things like, Oh, Our e commerce platform expects quantity in whole numbers, but our ERP has quantities in fractional decimals.

[00:19:46] That is a real example I saw that threw a project off because they didn't sit down and look at the actual data models in each system. Make sure you're planning this out, and it is absolutely worth the effort to do a little bit of pre planning on your [00:20:00] integrations. So your final step then is launch.

[00:20:02] Launch in phases and iterate. When it comes time to go live, resist the urge to do everything in one big bang. Had a project once that I was involved in where they decided to launch a new e commerce platform, new PIM, new WMS, all in the same day. Do not do that. That was a long day. A phased rollout is much safer and usually more effective, especially for B2B where you have so many moving parts, so many integrations and lots of times, let's be honest, customers that just don't like sudden change.

[00:20:30] So one approach is to pilot the headless solution with a specific segment of your business first. So maybe Roll it out to a small set of customers or a particular region or launch only a part of the site, like catalog and ordering, but not full account management as phase one. This allows you to collect feedback and ensure all integrations are working under real world conditions.

[00:20:50] You might even run a beta site in parallel with the old site for a short period of time for a subset of users. Something that lots of people would call a soft launch. Um, this is a strategy echoed by many [00:21:00] other experts. Consider that soft launch or beta phase to gather initial feedback, then refine accordingly.

[00:21:05] During the soft launch phase, keep a close eye on performance, user behavior, and any bug reports. Monitor your key metrics. Are users completing orders successfully? Is the inventory syncing correctly? Iron out the kinks on a small scale. Once you're confident, gradually expand to all users. Internally, make sure that your team is trained and comfortable with the new system.

[00:21:25] A phase launch reduces the risk of unexpected issues affecting all your customers at once. It also helps in change management. Your team and your customers are adapting in steps. Microsoft After the full launch, continue iterating. Headless isn't a set it and forget it. It actually encourages and really lowers the cost of continuous improvement.

[00:21:45] You can keep enhancing the front end, adding new iterations or features without waiting for a big annual replatform, upgrade, etc. In other words, go live then keep going. The flexibility of headless means you can iterate in a very agile way. Following these steps, define the [00:22:00] goals, choose the platform, plan the integrations, and phase your rollout will greatly improve your odds of a successful headless commerce implementation.

[00:22:07] It's a journey, it can be a long journey, but it is a rewarding one when done right. B2B firms that have taken this path often say they gained Newfound agility and rarely look back. So that's about it wrapping up and summarizing our key takeaways. Headless commerce really gives you the flexibility and control you need in the complex, ever changing digital landscape of B2B e commerce by decoupling your front end and backend, you unlock the freedom to create better user experiences without breaking your operations and integrate deeply with all your critical systems for companies with large catalogs, custom pricing, and intricate workflows.

[00:22:41] Headless can truly be a breath of fresh air. It removes many of the limitations of your legacy platforms. It may sound like magic or hot, but it's not. It's just a practical approach to a technical architecture that aligns well with the needs of modern B2B e commerce. If you're a B2B leader or e commerce manager, I encourage you to take a hard look at your current e [00:23:00] commerce platform.

[00:23:01] Is it holding you back? Are you unable to meet customer expectations or internal needs because of the platform's constraints or the technical debt of your specific implementation? If so, might be time to consider whether a headless approach makes sense. Doesn't mean you should rip and replace everything on a whim, as we discussed, plan it out carefully, but don't be afraid to envision a better way of doing things.

[00:23:22] The success stories we talked about and many more you can find online show that with the right strategy, headless can lead to serious improvements in efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction. As always, really the goal is just to deliver an experience that keeps your buyers happy and your business thriving.

[00:23:36] Headless is just another means to that end. Whether you're looking to enable omni channel sales, personalize the buyer journey, or simply make your tech stack more future proof, it's one of the most powerful options available today in the commerce world. You found this helpful? You're wondering how you might apply it to your business?

[00:23:51] Let's keep the conversation going. Please connect with me on LinkedIn. I regularly share insights on B2B commerce there. I'm happy to answer questions there as well. Um, I also [00:24:00] do, if you're in North Texas, I do Monthly e commerce events around the North Texas area that I invite my connections to. Also like to encourage you to book a free e commerce problem solving session with me.

[00:24:10] And you can find that on my LinkedIn profile. Again, Joshua Warren, Creatuity Gold background behind my head. It's a free 30 minute e commerce chat, where we dive into whatever issue you're dealing with. It could be questions about headless. It could be e commerce strategy. There's no sales pitch, just a chance to talk about e commerce.

[00:24:26] So. Thank you for listening to Commerce Today. Hope you really enjoyed this episode. Got some value in a new perspective on the headless for B2B. Definitely encourage you. I would love for you to share the episode with others and you can find it on LinkedIn, on YouTube, on X and on all the major podcasting platforms.

[00:24:45] Thanks. And I'll see you in the next episode.

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