B2B E-commerce Platform for Wholesalers in Amsterdam (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

For an Amsterdam wholesaler with 4,000 SKUs and 1,200 trade customers, Shopify Plus works if price lists stay simple and the ERP has a standard connector. Once every customer has its own negotiated prices, carriage-paid thresholds and 30-day payment terms with a credit limit, a custom build at €40,000 to €100,000 excl. VAT becomes cheaper over five years. The best decision metric is simple: how many hours of manual entry each order not yet placed online is costing you.

Shopify Plus or custom build: the real five-year cost

The headline subscription is rarely the real issue. What weighs is the B2B apps, the ERP connector and the time spent working around the model's limits. 2026 ballpark figures for a Dutch wholesaler:

Custom does not always win. With fewer than 300 active customers and a single price list with tiered discounts, Shopify Plus is faster to launch, often 10 to 12 weeks against 16 to 24 weeks.

The B2B features that tip the decision

A wholesaler does not sell like a consumer shop. Trade buyers order by the case, expect their own prices as soon as they log in and want to reorder in two clicks. Here is what each option covers out of the box.

The target of 35 % of orders placed online within 18 months is realistic if sales reps champion the platform. Keeping their commission on their customers' web orders stops them from slowing the project down.

Mini case study

Sanne, sales director of a hospitality supplies wholesaler in Amsterdam, handles about 18,000 orders a year, 95 % of them by phone, email or rep. Each entry takes 7 minutes on average, 2,100 hours a year. With 35 % of orders online she saves about 735 hours, half a sales assistant at €42,000 fully loaded, roughly €21,000 a year. Add a 6 % lift in average basket from reorder suggestions on €9M revenue at 25 % gross margin: about €135,000 of extra margin if half the customers adopt the tool. A €75,000 custom project pays back in under a year.

FAQ

Does Shopify Plus really handle customer-specific pricing?

Yes, through B2B catalogues assigned to each company. Beyond a few hundred different price lists maintenance gets heavy, and syncing with the ERP needs a connector at €6,000 to €20,000 excl. VAT.

How long does a custom B2B platform take?

Allow 16 to 24 weeks for a 4,000-SKU wholesaler, including 4 to 6 weeks for the ERP integration. A pilot with 50 volunteer customers from week 14 lets you fix issues before general launch.

How do 30-day terms work online?

The platform reads the approved credit from the ERP and blocks orders above the limit, offering card or iDEAL payment to release them. In the Netherlands, the statutory B2B term for large companies paying SMEs is 30 days, so it is the market norm.

What online order share should we target in year one?

20 to 25 % in the first year, then 35 % at 18 months, is a common 2026 order of magnitude in trade distribution. Repeat customers with small baskets switch first.

Can we move from Shopify Plus to custom later?

Yes, product, customer and order data can be exported. Migration still costs €15,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT and redoes part of the work, which is why the choice is best made at scoping stage.

Let's scope your project. We scope your B2B platform, SKU count, price lists and ERP, with an indicative budget of €40,000 to €100,000 excl. VAT and a 16 to 24 week plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.