The verdict in three sentences
An industrial spare parts B2B e-commerce platform costs 40,000 to 90,000 EUR excl. VAT for a 45,000-reference catalog, with the range driven mainly by product data quality and ERP integration. The three features that make maintenance buyers order online are search by OEM part number, interactive exploded views and cross-reference management. A realistic target is 35% of orders online within 18 months, after a 5 to 6 month project.
The features that matter to a maintenance buyer
A maintenance technician looking for a bearing or a seal does not browse categories: they type the number engraved on the part or the machine maker's reference. If search fails, they email a quote request and your inside sales team spends 10 to 20 minutes answering. The platform must therefore replicate the knowledge of your technical sales staff.
| Feature | Purpose | Indicative 2026 budget |
|---|---|---|
| Part number search (OEM, manufacturer, internal) | Tolerant to dashes, spaces, superseded numbers | 6,000 to 12,000 EUR |
| Cross-reference management | Suggests the compatible part in stock | 5,000 to 12,000 EUR |
| Interactive exploded views | Click a callout on the drawing, add to cart | 6,000 to 15,000 EUR |
| Account-specific prices and discounts | Negotiated terms, net prices, free shipping threshold | 4,000 to 9,000 EUR |
| Real-time multi-warehouse availability | Stock by branch, supplier lead time | 4,000 to 10,000 EUR |
| ERP integration | Items, customers, orders, invoices | 8,000 to 20,000 EUR |
| Multi-user accounts and approval | Technician enters, buyer approves | 3,000 to 7,000 EUR |
| Data migration and cleansing | 45,000 records, attributes, images | 4,000 to 10,000 EUR |
The most underestimated line is data migration: without normalized attributes (diameter, material, standard), no faceted search works properly.
Choosing the technical foundation
| Option | 2026 annual license cost | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Magento Open Source (Adobe Commerce B2B optional) | 0 to 40,000 EUR and up | Complex catalog, technical team available |
| Shopify Plus B2B | from about 2,300 USD per month | Simple catalog, few integrations |
| Sylius or custom build (Symfony, Next.js) | 0 license, hosting 300 to 900 EUR per month | Specific business rules, advanced cross-references |
| Specialized B2B SaaS platform | 1,500 to 4,000 EUR per month | Fast start, limited customization |
| Search engine (Algolia, Elasticsearch) | 0 to 1,500 EUR per month | Essential above 20,000 references |
For 45,000 references with cross-references and exploded views, an open source or custom foundation is generally the most cost-effective over 5 years.
5 to 6 month schedule
| Phase | Duration | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping, data audit | 4 weeks | Data model, priorities, mockups |
| Catalog migration and enrichment | 6 weeks (in parallel) | 45,000 normalized records |
| Development and ERP integration | 10 weeks | Working platform in acceptance |
| Pilot with 30 customers | 4 weeks | Field feedback, search tuning |
| Opening to all accounts | 2 weeks | Go-live, sales team training |
Mini case study
Claire, managing director of an industrial spare parts distributor near Lyon, receives 1,200 quote requests by email every month. Each request takes 15 minutes of an inside technical sales rep costing 52,000 EUR a year fully loaded, about 33 EUR per hour. Monthly handling cost: 1,200 × 0.25 h × 33 EUR = 9,900 EUR.
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With a 70,000 EUR platform and 35% of orders online at 18 months, 420 monthly requests disappear, saving 3,465 EUR per month. Adding an 8% higher average order thanks to suggested cross-references (about 2,000 EUR extra margin per month), the gain reaches 5,465 EUR monthly. The project pays back in about 13 months once the target rate is reached, excluding recurring costs of 1,200 EUR per month.
FAQ
Should prices be public?
No, most distributors show net prices only after login. A public catalog without prices is still valuable for SEO, with 45,000 indexable pages that often generate 20 to 30% of new accounts.
How do we build exploded views without digital drawings?
We start from manufacturer PDFs and place clickable callouts manually, at 15 to 40 EUR per drawing. Start with the 200 most viewed drawings.
What do maintenance and hosting cost?
Budget 800 to 2,000 EUR excl. VAT per month for hosting, the search engine and ongoing development, or 10,000 to 24,000 EUR a year.
How do we reach 35% online orders?
Sales reps must also earn commission on web orders from their accounts. Without this rule, the rate often plateaus at 10 to 15%.
Can we launch with part of the catalog?
Yes, the 8,000 references that make 80% of revenue are enough to open. This cuts the initial budget by 15 to 25%.
Let's scope your project. Send us your reference count, your ERP and an export of 100 product records, and we will price your B2B platform between 40,000 and 90,000 EUR excl. VAT with a 5 to 6 month schedule. 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.
