Consumer platforms like Amazon have trained B2B buyers to expect the same level of personalization and clarity in their business transactions. A report from Sana Commerce shows that 73% of respondents prefer to buy online, and 75% are willing to switch providers for a better experience.  

Holistic, dynamic pricing is key to a strong experience. Consumer tech allows buyers to find new products and instantly generate accurate cost information. Some also notify them when there’s been a change in pricing, updates to inventory, or delays with delivery. To capture the business of today’s digitally savvy decision-makers, B2B sellers need to be able to match B2C agility, and respond to market conditions in real-time, especially around pricing. 

But many B2B ecommerce sites aren’t set up to handle frequent price changes, and struggle to respond to supply chain disruptions quickly. Disconnected, legacy systems foster a sluggish approach to pricing, creating data inconsistencies and a frustrating experience for buyers. The lack of connectivity makes it difficult to handle the complexities of B2B sales, including pricing, quoting and customer communication.  

The future of pricing is a connected, data-driven ecosystem where manufacturers and distributors adjust costs in real time, communicate changes transparently, and turn market volatility into a competitive advantage rather than a crisis. 

Buyers are sensitive to rising costs. K-ecommerce research shows that 78% of surveyed U.S. adults have already changed how they shop in response to economic strains. About 44% are cutting back, and 36% are delaying non-essential purchases. Transparent pricing allows buyers to evaluate options, make informed choices, and trust you as a brand to do business with. 

Connected systems also allow them to skip the middleman. According to a survey from Gartner, 61% of respondents would prefer not to deal with a sales rep during the buying experience, particularly early on in research and discovery. Armed with accurate quotes, B2B buyers can make decisions more quickly, and get buy-in from other stakeholders. 

Research from Trust Radius shows 45% of B2B buyers wish all vendors had transparent pricing, and 20% want vendors to stop contacting them before they’re ready to talk. This shows that buyers want more control over their customer journey, and need businesses to provide the right information at the right time.  

Enabling transparent, consistent pricing across channels allows you to lean into truly digitally native experiences. This is essential, as 71% of B2B decision-makers are Millennials and Gen Z, generations that prioritize digital, personalized experiences.  

Legacy systems were implemented with the traditional sales process in mind: high-touch, sales-enabled consultations and demos that require tons of back and forth over months. The more modern process is buyer-led and involves less direct contact with sales. Unfortunately, legacy systems and disconnected infrastructure can’t keep up. 

For one, legacy systems aren’t equipped to manage complex pricing without a sales rep. Custom deals are integral to B2B sales, but many ecommerce sites can’t facilitate volume-based discounts, customer-specific pricing, or unique payment terms. This creates delays and sends buyers searching for a better experience.  

Legacy systems are insufficient for handling constant shifts due to supply chain volatility. Conditions can fluctuate by the hour — the cost of raw materials goes up, demand suddenly surges, shipments are indefinitely delayed —  but disconnected systems can’t adapt in real-time. They require time-intensive, manual workflows, and don’t empower price updates based on changes in the market or supply chain. 

Without the ability to scale pricing on their e-commerce site, B2B sellers struggle to align listed prices with actual cost. This lack of flexibility means vendors will either lose margins or apply blanket price hikes to recoup costs. The former erodes your bottom line; the latter undermines customer trust.  

And because legacy systems don’t talk to other tools, it’s impossible to uniformly push updates across channels. Manual updates increase the room for error and the chances your customers will come across inconsistent data, depending on where they access your product.  

The future of pricing requires a connected digital infrastructure. B2B ecommerce vendors that want to build supply chain resilience, and future-proof their pricing can’t rely on disconnected systems. Integrating your e-commerce platform with other business data sources like ERP and CRM creates a single source of truth that synchronizes clean, accurate and consistent data across connected systems.  

This turns pricing from a static list to a data-driven ecosystem that adapts to market conditions. Through connected digital infrastructure, e-commerce sites can eliminate manual pricing updates using ERP-connected tools like price lists and customer groups. Supply chain data like this helps manufacturers roll out customer-specific surcharges in real time when costs jump. 

Sellers can leverage centralized product data to create personalized catalogs. Using up-to-date product information and customer data, like purchase records, contract terms and payment behavior, B2B ecommerce vendors empower customer-led browsing with dynamic, data-driven pricing. This can shorten quoting cycles from days to minutes. 

In the event of delays or shifts out of your control, a well-connected system allows buyers to message affected customers, and alert them to shipping delays. With access to their purchase history, it’s easy to recommend potential alternatives or provide refunds quickly. 

Disconnected systems are a liability in an era of constant market volatility and shifting buyer behavior. They widen the gap between what customers expect and what sellers deliver, causing the latter to lag behind the market.  

ERP integration creates the single source of truth vendors need to create a pricing ecosystem that adapts to customer preferences and supply chain volatility. The connectivity between e-commerce and other business systems allows sellers to respond to changes in real time, maintain consistency across channels, and communicate transparently. This is how ecommerce companies of the future can turn supply chain disruption into a competitive advantage. 

Michael Netto is the executive vice president at k-ecommerce.