The verdict in three sentences
For an industrial supplier serving Berlin and the German-speaking market with 5,000 to 50,000 SKUs and customer-specific price lists, a custom B2B catalog costs EUR 30,000 to 90,000 excl. VAT in 2026, depending on how deep the ERP integration goes. The main gain is an order processing cost divided by 3: less manual entry, fewer pricing errors, fewer calls to customer service. The real risk is not technical, it is product data quality: without a PIM or clean product sheets, technical search will find nothing.
What your buyers expect from an industrial catalog in 2026
A maintenance buyer in a plant in Brandenburg or a procurement office in Berlin does not browse like a consumer. They often know the part number, the dimension or the standard, and they want their net price, not the list price. The catalog therefore needs search by technical attributes (diameter, material, tolerance, DIN or ISO standard), quick order by typing part numbers or importing a CSV, reusable order history and, above all, the negotiated price displayed as soon as the buyer logs in.
Industrial price lists usually mix several logics: discounts per product family, net prices per item, quantity breaks, buying group conditions. The pricing engine should read these rules from the ERP (SAP Business One, Sage X3, Microsoft Dynamics, proAlpha) instead of duplicating them. This is what makes the budget vary by a factor of three.
| Functional block | Role for the buyer | Indicative 2026 budget (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog and technical faceted search | Find the part by attribute or standard | EUR 8,000 to 20,000 |
| Negotiated pricing engine (discounts, net prices, breaks) | See the contract price | EUR 6,000 to 18,000 |
| Quick order (part numbers, CSV import, reorder) | Order 40 lines in 3 minutes | EUR 3,000 to 8,000 |
| Customer portal (quotes, invoices, tracking, multi-user accounts) | Autonomy, internal approval | EUR 5,000 to 15,000 |
| ERP connector (stock, prices, orders, invoices) | Accurate real-time data | EUR 6,000 to 25,000 |
| PIM sheets, PDF drawings, CAD files | Validate technical compatibility | EUR 2,000 to 6,000 |
| Total project | EUR 30,000 to 90,000 |
Off-the-shelf PIM, custom build or B2B platform: comparing the options
A PIM (Product Information Management) centralizes attributes, visuals and technical documents. With 20,000 SKUs and product sheets in German, English and French, it is rarely optional. Three architectures dominate for a mid-sized manufacturer.
| Option | Setup cost | Recurring cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS platform (Shopify Plus B2B, Sana, OroCommerce Cloud) | EUR 25,000 to 60,000 | EUR 1,500 to 4,000 per month | Standard catalog, few pricing rules |
| Market PIM (Akeneo, Pimcore, Plytix) + custom front end | EUR 35,000 to 90,000 | EUR 500 to 3,000 per month for the PIM | Over 10,000 SKUs, multilingual |
| Custom build with light integrated PIM | EUR 30,000 to 70,000 | EUR 300 to 900 per month (hosting, maintenance) | Complex pricing, specific ERP |
| ERP e-commerce module | EUR 10,000 to 30,000 | ERP license on top | Small catalog, low UX expectations |
| Status quo (PDF, email, phone) | EUR 0 | EUR 15 to 35 per order in internal cost | Avoid above 300 orders per month |
For a manufacturer selling across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, managing languages, units and free-delivery thresholds per country matters as much as design. Plan for access rights too: the same customer may have a buyer who orders and a manager who approves anything above EUR 5,000.
Timeline and success factors
A project like this usually takes 4 to 6 months: 4 weeks of scoping and data cleaning, 8 to 12 weeks of development, 4 weeks of acceptance testing with 5 to 10 pilot customers. Product data migration is often underestimated: count 1 to 3 minutes per sheet to complete missing attributes, which means 300 to 900 hours for 20,000 SKUs if nothing is structured.
| Indicator | Before the portal | After 12 months (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Order processing cost | EUR 25 to 35 | EUR 8 to 12 |
| Price or part number error rate | 3 to 6% | under 1% |
| Share of orders placed online | 0 to 10% | 35 to 60% |
| Response time to a price request | 24 to 48 h | instant for 80% of items |
| Inbound calls to customer service | base 100 | 55 to 70 |
Mini case study
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Thomas, sales director of a manufacturer of fittings and machined parts near Strasbourg that ships heavily to Berlin and southern Germany, manages 18,000 SKUs and 1,200 active customers. His order desk handles 1,400 orders per month at an estimated internal cost of EUR 28 each, i.e. EUR 39,200 per month. He chooses a custom catalog with Akeneo PIM and a Sage X3 connector for EUR 62,000 excl. VAT, plus EUR 1,400 per month for PIM and maintenance.
After one year, 50% of orders go online at a processing cost of EUR 9. Monthly saving: 700 orders x (28 - 9) EUR = EUR 13,300, minus EUR 1,400 in recurring costs, i.e. EUR 11,900 net per month. The project pays back in just over 5 months after ramp-up, not counting the higher average basket driven by related product suggestions.
FAQ
Is a PIM mandatory for an industrial B2B catalog?
Above 5,000 SKUs with technical attributes, yes in most cases. A market PIM costs EUR 500 to 3,000 per month, while a light PIM built into a custom solution can be enough up to 10,000 single-language sheets.
How do we show each customer the right price without double entry?
The pricing engine reads ERP conditions (discounts, net prices, breaks) through a connector synced every 5 to 15 minutes or in real time. That connector represents EUR 6,000 to 25,000 excl. VAT depending on the ERP.
How long does it take to launch the catalog?
Count 4 to 6 months on average, including 4 weeks of scoping and data cleaning. Launching with 5 to 10 pilot customers cuts acceptance feedback in half.
Will field sales reps lose their role?
No, they get time back: 20 to 30% of their admin tasks disappear. The portal also gives them customer history to prepare their visits.
Can we handle German and French from day one?
Yes, and it is recommended for a cross-border manufacturer. Plan 10 to 15% extra budget for product sheet translation and per-country delivery rules.
Let's scope your project. We scope your B2B catalog (number of SKUs, pricing rules, ERP, languages) with an indicative budget and a realistic timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
