The verdict in three sentences
For a technical textiles manufacturer selling to 1,200 resellers from the Netherlands, Shopify Plus B2B gets you live fast, from USD 2,300 a month and EUR 25,000 to 50,000 of integration. A custom platform at EUR 70,000 to 130,000, with EUR 800 a month of maintenance, costs more on day one but becomes cheaper over 3 years once pricing, discount and ordering rules go beyond the standard. The right test is not the platform: it is how many business exceptions your sales reps handle manually today.
What Shopify Plus B2B does well, and where it stalls
Since 2023 Shopify Plus has offered native B2B: company accounts with several buyers, catalogues and price lists per customer, net 30 or 60 payment terms, minimum quantities. For a 2,000-SKU catalogue with 3 or 4 price lists, that is enough. Trouble starts with cascading discounts, prices per linear metre depending on fabric width, framework contracts or back orders.
| Business need | Shopify Plus B2B | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Price lists per customer | Native, up to a few thousand | Native, unlimited |
| Cascading discounts (family, volume, contract) | Third-party apps or scripts, fragile | Dedicated pricing engine |
| Price per metre, cut to length | Workaround with variants | Native calculation by width and length |
| Framework contracts and call-offs | Not supported | Dedicated module with back-order tracking |
| ERP sync (stock, credit, invoices) | Connector or middleware, EUR 200 to 500 a month | Direct ERP API |
| Time to launch | 3 to 4 months | 6 to 8 months |
| Code ownership | No, subscription | Yes |
The tipping point we see: beyond 5 to 6 paid apps to fill the gaps, every update becomes a risk and the monthly bill climbs on a platform you do not own.
Total cost over 3 years: two costed scenarios
The figures below are 2026 orders of magnitude for a manufacturer with 1,200 resellers and about EUR 8 million of online orders a year. The Shopify Plus subscription is converted at roughly EUR 0.92 per USD.
| Item over 36 months | Shopify Plus, simple case | Shopify Plus, complex case | Custom, complex case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integration or initial build | EUR 25,000 | EUR 50,000 | EUR 110,000 |
| Platform subscription (USD 2,300 a month) | EUR 76,000 | EUR 76,000 | EUR 0 |
| Third-party apps | EUR 11,000 | EUR 36,000 | EUR 0 |
| ERP middleware | EUR 7,000 | EUR 18,000 | Included |
| Maintenance and changes | EUR 14,000 | EUR 29,000 | EUR 29,000 (EUR 800 a month) |
| Hosting and monitoring | Included | Included | EUR 9,000 |
| 3-year total | EUR 133,000 | EUR 209,000 | EUR 148,000 |
In the simple case, Shopify Plus remains the best choice: less risk and a launch twice as fast. In the complex case, custom saves about EUR 61,000 over 3 years, and the gap widens each year since there is no subscription. Also check the variable fee: above a certain volume, Shopify charges a percentage on B2B revenue, so read your contract.
How to decide in two weeks
List your resellers' 20 most frequent orders and flag those that need a sales rep to step in: special price, cut length, negotiated lead time, split delivery. If more than 30% of orders are affected, custom is justified. Below 15%, Shopify Plus with a clean integration is enough. In between, a 3-week prototype of the pricing engine settles it for EUR 6,000 to 9,000.
Mini case study
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Joost, e-commerce director of a technical textiles manufacturer near Amsterdam, serves 1,200 resellers. Today 35% of 18,000 annual orders go through a sales rep to recalculate a per-metre price or a contract discount, at 12 minutes each, or 1,260 hours a year. With a EUR 110,000 custom platform whose pricing engine automates 80% of those cases, he recovers about 1,000 hours, or EUR 55,000 at EUR 55 fully loaded. Compared with the complex Shopify Plus scenario, he also saves EUR 61,000 over 3 years. The EUR 60,000 higher upfront cost is absorbed in about 13 months.
FAQ
Does Shopify Plus B2B handle several buyers per company?
Yes, natively, with roles and delivery addresses per location. The limit lies in complex pricing rules, which require apps at EUR 100 to 500 a month each.
Can we start on Shopify Plus and migrate later?
Yes, but moving to custom later costs EUR 20,000 to 40,000 of migration. If your business rules are already complex, paying twice is rarely worth it.
How long does a custom platform take?
Allow 6 to 8 months for 1,200 resellers, ERP connection included. A first release with catalogue, pricing and ordering can open to 50 pilot resellers after 4 months.
Who owns the code of a custom platform?
The manufacturer, if the contract assigns the rights, which should always be the case. The EUR 800 monthly maintenance can then be taken over by another vendor.
Which ERP connects most easily?
Exact Online, AFAS, Microsoft Dynamics and Odoo all have usable APIs. Plan EUR 8,000 to 20,000 for the connector depending on the number of flows (stock, prices, credit, invoices).
Let's scope your project. Send us your price lists and a sample of reseller orders, and we will compare Shopify Plus and a custom platform over 3 years, with an indicative budget and a launch 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.
