The verdict in three sentences
A B2B site showing one list price to 400 customers with different negotiated terms creates more calls than it saves. A customer-specific pricing engine, synced with the ERP and handling tier discounts, net prices, promotions and free shipping thresholds, costs roughly EUR 15,000 to 35,000 excl. VAT in 2026 for 8 to 12 weeks of work. Shown well, these terms lift average order value by 10 to 18%, because buyers see in real time what they gain by ordering more.
Why a single-price catalogue fails in B2B
Lotte, sales director at a professional cleaning products manufacturer in Amsterdam-Westpoort, sells to cleaning contractors, municipalities, hotels and regional distributors in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Her 400 active accounts span 9 price lists, negotiated net prices on 1,200 SKUs, year-end rebates and free shipping thresholds that vary by country.
With one list price, three scenarios repeat: the buyer sees a higher price than their contract and calls, the buyer sees a lower price than they are entitled to and disputes the invoice, or the account manager disables the online account to stay in control. The site becomes a brochure, not an ordering channel.
Pricing rules to model
| Rule | Concrete example | Frequency among B2B manufacturers |
|---|---|---|
| Price list by customer group | Municipalities: list C, distributors: list D | Almost always |
| Net price per customer and SKU | Hotel X: 5 L jerrycan at EUR 11.40 | 60 to 80% of accounts |
| Quantity tier discount | 5% from 10 cartons, 9% from 50 | Very common |
| Order value discount | 3% above EUR 1,500 | Common |
| Free shipping by zone | Free from EUR 400 in NL, EUR 650 in DE | Always |
| Temporary promotion | 15% off a range in March | Occasional |
| Framework contract with fixed prices | Public tender over 3 years | Public sector and key accounts |
Priority between rules is settled before writing code: should a contractual net price stack with a tier discount? Does a promotion apply to tender accounts? These decisions make a pricing engine reliable.
Budget and European platform options in 2026
| Approach | Cost (2026 ballpark, EUR excl. VAT) | Timeline | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform pricing module (Shopify B2B, Shopware) | 6,000 to 15,000 | 4 to 6 weeks | Few combinable rules, weak at mass net prices |
| Dedicated B2B platform (OroCommerce, Sana, Intershop) | 20,000 to 60,000 plus licence | 10 to 16 weeks | High recurring cost |
| Custom pricing engine connected to ERP | 15,000 to 35,000 | 8 to 12 weeks | Needs clear rule priorities |
| Real-time price call to the ERP | 10,000 to 25,000 | 6 to 10 weeks | Depends on ERP performance (Exact, AFAS, SAP) |
A custom engine breaks down roughly as: rule scoping EUR 2,000 to 4,000, ERP sync EUR 5,000 to 12,000, engine and price cache EUR 4,000 to 10,000, cart and tier display EUR 2,000 to 5,000, testing on 50 real accounts EUR 2,000 to 4,000. At Kolonell, this work falls under custom applications: medium, 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (EUR 6,100 to 10,670), or complex, 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (EUR 10,670 to 22,870+) when the ERP needs specific connectors.
Displaying discounts to grow the basket
A pricing engine is wasted if buyers cannot see the effect of their choices. The elements that lift order value:
- Free shipping bar: "EUR 85 more for free delivery."
- Visible tiers on the product page, with unit price at each threshold.
- Cumulative savings shown in the cart against the base price.
- Add-on suggestions to reach the next tier, limited to the same product family.
Mini case study
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Lotte has 400 active accounts, 260 of which order online after the pricing engine goes live. Online average order value was EUR 620, with 9 orders per account per year.
- Observed AOV lift after showing tiers and free shipping: +12%, to EUR 694.
- Extra revenue: 260 × 9 × 74 = EUR 173,160 a year.
- At 32% gross margin, that is EUR 55,400 extra margin.
- Price-related invoice disputes: from 45 to 8 a year, saving about 37 hours of sales admin.
With a EUR 28,000 project, the engine pays for itself in about six months, before counting time account managers no longer spend recalculating quotes by phone.
FAQ
Should every ERP condition be copied into the site?
No: the ERP stays the source of truth and the site receives terms through a sync every 15 to 60 minutes. Double entry creates gaps within the first week.
Does the engine slow the site down?
Not with a per-account price cache. Catalogue pages should stay under 1 second, even with 1,200 net prices per customer.
How do we handle public tender customers?
Create a fixed-price contract that overrides all promotions, with an end date. About 15% of a cleaning manufacturer's accounts fall into this case.
Can account managers adjust a price online?
Yes with a quote module: the rep edits a line, the buyer approves in one click. This cuts quote turnaround from 2 days to a few hours.
How soon can we measure the basket effect?
Allow 3 months of orders for a reliable reading, comparing the same accounts before and after.
Let's scope your project. We start from your real price lists and ERP to define pricing rules and a go-live plan. 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.
