The verdict in three sentences
A wholesaler serving 2,500 trade customers on negotiated terms cannot run a standard online shop: each customer must see their own price, credit balance and usual part numbers as soon as they log in. A realistic 2026 budget is EUR 35,000 to 70,000 for the catalogue, plus EUR 8,000 to 15,000 for ERP integration. The return comes from fewer manually keyed orders and fewer pricing errors, not from a spectacular jump in revenue.
What a B2B catalogue with customer pricing costs
The typical wholesaler, based in an industrial park on the edge of Berlin, lists 12,000 spare parts (ovens, dishwashers, cold rooms) and supplies hotels, restaurants, canteens and installers across Berlin, Brandenburg and Poland. Price lists live in the ERP (SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage or Odoo).
| Module | 2026 range (excl. VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 12,000-SKU catalogue, search by manufacturer part number and appliance model | EUR 10,000 to 20,000 | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Customer pricing, family discounts, negotiated net prices | EUR 6,000 to 12,000 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Quick order by part number and CSV import | EUR 3,000 to 6,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Credit balance, limits, invoices and credit notes online | EUR 4,000 to 8,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Multi-user accounts (buyer, head chef, accountant) with approval | EUR 3,000 to 7,000 | 2 weeks |
| Real-time availability and delivery lead time | EUR 4,000 to 8,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Polish language version and intra-EU VAT | EUR 5,000 to 9,000 | 2 weeks |
| Catalogue total | EUR 35,000 to 70,000 | 3 to 5 months |
ERP sync (EUR 8,000 to 15,000) covers customers, price lists, stock, orders and invoices. It is the riskiest module: a badly synced price shown to 2,500 customers creates dozens of disputes in a single day.
Off-the-shelf platform or custom build
Three families of solutions exist in 2026. The choice depends mainly on how complex your pricing rules are and how good your ERP's API is.
| Criterion | Shopify Plus B2B | Dedicated B2B platform (Sana, OroCommerce, Sylius) | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial cost | EUR 25,000 to 45,000 | EUR 40,000 to 80,000 | EUR 35,000 to 70,000 |
| Annual licence | about EUR 27,000 | EUR 15,000 to 40,000 (enterprise edition) | EUR 0 |
| Complex price lists (net price + family discount + promotion) | limited, workarounds | native | fully tailored |
| ERP integration | third-party connectors | native connectors for some ERPs | custom, lean |
| Search by appliance model | to be built | to be configured | native in the project |
| 3-year total cost (mid-range) | EUR 116,000 | EUR 145,000 | EUR 92,000 |
Custom comes out cheaper over 3 years for this profile because the needs are very specific (search by appliance model, exploded parts diagrams) and licences weigh heavily. Maintenance for a custom build, EUR 800 to 1,500 a month, is included in the calculation.
Adoption by trade customers
Head chefs and maintenance managers often order in a hurry, from a phone, with a part number read off an appliance plate. Quick order by part number and purchase history per site are the two features that tip usage. Realistic target: 40 % of orders online at 12 months, 60 % at 24 months for regular customers.
Mini case study
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Nathalie, sales director of a hospitality spare parts wholesaler in Berlin, handles 3,000 orders a month, 90 % by phone or email. Each one takes 9 minutes to key in and 3 % contain a price or part number error, each costing about EUR 60 (credit note, return, shipping). At 40 % online orders, she saves 180 hours of data entry a month (about EUR 5,400 fully loaded) and 36 errors (EUR 2,160). Monthly gain: about EUR 7,500. For a EUR 62,000 project (catalogue and ERP sync) and EUR 1,200 of monthly maintenance, payback comes around month 10.
FAQ
Can prices be shown only after login?
Yes, that is the B2B norm: the public catalogue shows part numbers and data sheets, while net prices only appear to logged-in customers. This is included in the customer pricing module (EUR 6,000 to 12,000).
Our ERP has no API, is that a blocker?
No, a file-based sync scheduled every 15 minutes is still possible, for EUR 8,000 to 10,000. It does limit real-time stock display.
How do we handle customers in other EU countries?
The catalogue must handle language, reverse-charge intra-EU VAT and VAT number checks via VIES. Allow EUR 5,000 to 9,000 for this module.
How long until the catalogue goes live?
Allow 3 to 5 months, including a 6-week pilot with 100 to 200 regular customers before opening to the full base. Launching in January or February avoids the hotels' peak season.
Should we keep the phone channel?
Yes, around 30 to 40 % of urgent orders will stay on the phone. The catalogue mainly frees inside sales staff to move from data entry to advice and upselling.
Let's scope your project. We scope your B2B catalogue with customer pricing, quick order and ERP sync, for EUR 43,000 to 85,000 in total and go-live in 3 to 5 months. 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.
