Last issue, I talked about B2B platform selection being broken — and how most evaluation processes have their roots in B2C.

This week, the Magic Quadrant came out. And for the first time since I entered the B2B eCommerce space, I barely looked at it.

I voted with my time.

Here’s why: When it comes to B2B platform selection, these reports have little, if any, relevance. And it’s not because analysts aren’t smart or thorough.

It’s because they’re using the wrong tools for the job.

At first glance, analyst reports seem like they should help. They appear to offer an objective, standardized way to compare platforms.

There are many reasons the process is flawed. Likely a post for another day.

For the purposes of this post, the most relevant is that platforms are evaluated in the same manner. Analysts provide reports across many platforms and technologies. So, the efficiency of evaluating, for instance, all eCommerce platforms in the same manner makes sense – maybe included in one report.

But that’s actually the point: Whether included in the same report or not, the context of B2B complexity is completely disregarded.

But in B2B, where complexity rules, that’s the question that matters most: Does the platform have the very specific capabilities to manage the complex rules, processes and customers you have.

Imagine if an industrial and residential electrical gear were evaluated similarly. Like, a Square D Homeline panel against an ABB switchgear. One could even elevate certain criteria like:

• Easier installation (homeowner can install in an afternoon)
• Lower cost ($200 vs. $50,000)
• Better availability (every Home Depot carries them)
• Simpler interface (just flip switches, no complex controls)

Of course, this would completely ignore that your manufacturing facility would require:

• 480V three-phase power distribution, not 120V single-phase
• Arc flash protection and coordination studies
• Integration with your building management system
• Support for motor control centers and variable frequency drives
• Service factor for continuous industrial loads

The reality? Yes, the homeowner panel is simpler, less expensive and has better ‘ability to execute’. But using it in your industrial facility will literally cause it to explode – a lot like your implementation costs, should you make similar mistake.

As we know in B2B, one needs the right tool for the job and specification is EVERYTHING.

Why is this such a big factor with B2B platforms.

Quite simply, the margin of error is dramatically smaller.

I’m not suggesting B2C eCommerce is easy. It’s a fiercely competitive space. But B2B adds layers of complexity that B2C rarely encounters — and when you get it wrong, the consequences are severe.

In B2C, you’re typically working with:

• One customer type
• One catalog
• Relatively straightforward workflows
• Single-location fulfillment

In B2B? You’re managing:

• Complex organizational hierarchies
• Customer-specific catalogs and pricing
• Multi-location fulfillment and job site delivery
• Approval workflows and budget controls
• Contract pricing and RFP processes

When your evaluation process doesn’t account for these differences, you end up with:

• Years-long implementations that should have taken months
• Projects that balloon to 5-10x their original budgets
• Solutions still incomplete after launch because the platform fundamentally can’t do what you need

Maybe some of that sounds familiar. I hope not.  But that’s the danger of applying B2C evaluation methodology to B2B complexity.

So, what does that mean to you – especially since many platforms claim to support both B2C and B2B models? The question isn’t whether they’ve added B2B features, it’s about the platform’s architecture and the complexity it’s capable of supporting.

Here are a few areas that matters most:

Account Management
This is the foundation of everything in B2B. In a true B2B platform, every interaction ties to the account — catalogs, pricing, cart, checkout, order management. Many platforms treat accounts as relational elements to users when what you really need is support for true organizational hierarchy with inheritance and exception management.

Catalog Management
Customer-specific catalogs and visibility rules are fundamentally different from the one-catalog approach most B2C sites have. If you have complex catalog requirements, you need platforms that can parse catalogs by customer, manage exceptions at scale, and handle tens or hundreds of thousands of SKUs without performance degradation.

Multi-Store
As consolidation continues in distribution and manufacturing, spinning up new stores can’t mean rebuilding everything from scratch. The work you’ve done in account structures, catalog rules, and business logic should transfer. You need to scale without redoing a launch every time.

Order Management
When customers need to ship to construction sites, manage split shipments, or route orders through approval workflows, B2C-style order management breaks down. You need platforms that can support complex fulfillment rules, customer-specific workflows, and approval hierarchies that most B2C platforms never had to consider.

RFQ
The RFQ process brings together much of the complexity: customer-specific catalogs, approval workflows, and custom pricing — all in one flow. If the platform’s accounts, catalogs, etc. aren’t built for this, it will be a challenge rolling out to customers. 

Search and Merchandising
Large catalogs with high attribution (technical specs, compatibility, fit data) require fundamentally different search architecture than B2C. When you’re searching 100,000+ SKUs with dozens of attributes per product, search performance and relevance become critical platform selection criteria.

When evaluation methodologies don’t account for the margin of error difference between B2B and B2C, they can’t surface the information you actually need to make the right decision. And, analyst reports largely perpetuate this reality.

The circuit breaker works great in your house. But you’d never suggest it could power your industrial facility. This same reality should apply to your B2B platform selections.