Mayank Patel
Oct 13, 2025
5 min read
Last updated Oct 13, 2025
Unlike traditional retail, where prices are mostly fixed, B2B buyers expect dynamic pricing that reflects order size, long-term value, and negotiation potential. That’s where tiered pricing and custom quotes (RFQs) come in.
Together, these two models let you cater to very different buyer needs. When implemented thoughtfully, they can help your marketplace attract larger clients, improve conversion rates, and boost overall sales volume, without sacrificing margins.
In this guide, we’ll break down how to set up tiered pricing from scratch, build a smooth custom quote (RFQ) workflow, and combine both approaches for a pricing strategy that scales with your business.
Tiered pricing (also called volume pricing or quantity break pricing) is the practice of offering better per-unit prices at higher quantities. In simple terms, “the more a customer buys, the lower the unit price becomes”. Setting up tiered pricing from scratch involves strategic configuration:
If you have any prior sales data (or industry benchmarks), identify common bulk order sizes. This helps determine logical breakpoints. For example, perhaps many buyers order in quantities of 50, 200, and 1,000; these could become your tier thresholds.
Create clear quantity tiers for each product (or category) and assign a discount or special price to each tier. Always ensure the discounts make business sense (maintain profit margins). For example, a product sold individually might have a 5% discount starting at 50 units, then a 10% discount at 200 units. The key is to carefully structure discount tiers to remain profitable while still being appealing to buyers.
Your marketplace software should allow multiple price points per product. If you’re coding this yourself, you’ll need a pricing engine that checks the order quantity and applies the appropriate unit price. Many B2B eCommerce platforms offer built-in support for quantity-based pricing (sometimes called price lists or quantity breaks).
Make sure buyers can easily see the tiered pricing structure on the product page or catalog. For example, show a table or note: “Buy 100+, get 5% off; 500+ get 10% off,” etc.
In B2B, different customer segments might have different pricing. Consider if you need login-based tiered pricing for certain buyer groups. For instance, perhaps “Gold” tier customers get an extra discount or have their own price tiers. Some marketplace solutions let you show different prices to different customer tiers (regular vs. premium members) when they log in.
Also Read: When Your B2B Ecommerce Site Doesn’t Talk to Your ERP
In B2B marketplaces, it’s not always practical to list a price for every possible order scenario. This is where Request for Quote (RFQ) or custom quote functionality comes in. An RFQ system lets buyers ask, “Here’s what I need, what price can you offer?” and receive a tailored quote from the seller.
It essentially brings the negotiation process online, within your marketplace, rather than over countless emails or phone calls. Here are key reasons an RFQ (custom quote) system is a must-have:
Perhaps a buyer needs a huge quantity beyond your normal tiers, or they have custom specifications (e.g. special packaging or product modifications). With an RFQ, the buyer can specify these needs and get a price that factors in volume, customization, or unique logistics.
Even if you set up tiered pricing, a client with an order much larger than your highest tier will want an even better deal. RFQ makes it easy for vendors to offer further tiered or volume-based discounts dynamically for such large requests.
In a marketplace with multiple sellers, a buyer’s quote request could go out to several vendors. Those vendors then compete to offer the best price. Buyers can compare multiple offers side by side, which creates a healthy competition and pushes sellers to give their most favorable pricing and terms.
Large or high-value B2B deals might involve negotiation on not just price, but payment terms, delivery schedules, or product bundles. An RFQ system aids these discussions in a structured way. All communication and terms can be documented within the marketplace platform. It also speeds up deal closure by keeping the process organized and trackable.
Also Read: How to Determine the Right Type of Marketplace to Scale Your B2B Ecommerce
Implementing custom quotes in your marketplace from scratch requires careful planning on both the user interface and the backend process. Here’s how to handle it:
Allow buyers to initiate a quote request wherever it makes sense. For example, on a product page you might have a “Request a Quote” button (especially for high-volume items), or in the shopping cart offer an option like “Request special pricing” for large orders. The process should be intuitive: the buyer selects the product(s) and quantities and can add any special
requirements or notes. Make the RFQ option visible especially when the purchase volume exceeds normal online checkout limits.
When a buyer submits an RFQ, collect all details needed for sellers to respond. This often includes the list of desired products, quantities, target delivery date, and any customization requests. A structured form helps here (e.g. fields for quantity, custom specs, comments) so the seller gets a clear picture.
Provide a dedicated interface for your sellers to manage quotes. For instance, a seller dashboard might have an “Requests for Quote” section where they can view each incoming request, then respond with their pricing. The seller should be able to input a custom price (per unit or total), set an expiration date for the quote, and include any terms (like shipping costs or volume breakpoints).
If your marketplace involves multiple roles (sales reps, managers, etc.), set up an approval process for special quotes. For example, if a vendor offers an unusually large discount or a unique deal, the system can automatically route that quote to a manager for approval before it’s sent to the customer.
Time is money in B2B sales. Implement notifications so that when a buyer submits a quote request, the relevant seller is instantly alerted (via email or an in-platform alert). Likewise, when the seller responds with a quote, the buyer should be notified immediately. To avoid delays, you can also send automatic reminders if a quote request hasn’t been answered within a certain timeframe.
A custom quote system shouldn’t be one-and-done. Often there’s back-and-forth negotiation. Your platform can support this by allowing buyers to ask questions or request changes, and sellers to adjust their quotes. Essentially, it becomes a secure communication thread tied to the quote, keeping all discussions in one place. (Some marketplace solutions even provide an inbuilt buyer-seller chat to bring about faster negotiations.) Make sure sellers can easily modify their offer, for e.x. if the buyer wants to increase the order quantity during negotiation, the seller should be able to update the pricing on the quote dynamically.
Once the buyer is satisfied with a quote, the system should let them accept it and seamlessly convert that quote into an order. This “quote-to-cash” step might involve generating a special
checkout link or adding the agreed items to the buyer’s cart at the quoted price. The buyer can then pay through the usual methods, and the order proceeds with the negotiated terms. By contrast, if the buyer declines the quote, have a mechanism to capture that outcome (which can provide insight, for e.x. did they find a better price elsewhere?).
Just as with tiered pricing, monitor your RFQ process and performance. How many quote requests convert to sales? What is the average turnaround time for quotes? Are certain products frequently triggering RFQs? Tracking these metrics helps you pinpoint where to improve. For instance, if you see that quotes with very long response times seldom convert, it’s a sign to streamline your quote workflow. Or if a particular seller consistently wins quotes with very low prices, it might inform pricing strategy for others.
Also Read: What is a B2B Marketplace?
Tiered pricing and custom quotes aren’t mutually exclusive; in fact, the most effective B2B marketplaces use both together to cover all bases. Think of tiered pricing as handling the straightforward, self-service scenarios and RFQ handling the exceptions or very large deals. Here’s how to make them work in harmony:
Display tiered prices on product listings so buyers can self-serve for typical order sizes. This upfront clarity (e.g. “Price: $100 each, or $90 each if you buy 100+”) helps buyers make quick decisions without involving a sales rep for common orders. However, always provide an easy path to request a quote if the buyer’s needs fall outside those tiers. Many companies do exactly this: they show standard volume discounts, but if an order exceeds the largest published tier, they invite the buyer to get a custom quote for an even better rate.
As a rule of thumb, when a buyer requests a special quote for a large volume, the offer they get should be equal or better than what they’d get just by looking at the tiered pricing. Custom quotes are your chance to reward very large orders or strategic customers with something extra. This not only closes the deal, it also signals to the buyer that requesting a quote is worth their time.
Data from tiered pricing can inform your RFQ strategy and vice versa. For example, if you notice many buyers maxing out the highest tier (e.g. constantly buying just under the cutoff for the next discount), that might be an opportunity to have sales reach out proactively or to adjust your tiers. Conversely, if RFQ negotiations for a certain product often settle at similar quantities or discounts, you might introduce a new tier in the standard pricing to streamline future deals.
The real opportunity lies in how you use data to make both systems smarter over time. Every RFQ, every bulk order, every price tier hit or missed tells a story about demand elasticity, buyer behavior, and negotiation trends. The marketplaces that learn from this data and keep refining their pricing logic will steadily pull ahead.
When Your B2B Ecommerce Site Doesn’t Talk to Your ERP
For many B2B companies, an ecommerce site and an ERP system are both mission-critical but too often, they don’t actually talk to each other. When the two operate in silos, the cracks quickly show: mismatched inventory levels, delayed order updates, duplicate data entry, and frustrated customers who can’t trust the information they see online.
This disconnect isn’t usually the result of poor planning; it’s the byproduct of legacy systems, rushed integrations, and organizational silos that never got bridged. Businesses lose speed, customer satisfaction takes a hit, and teams spend more time fixing errors than focusing on growth.
In this post, we’ll dig into why these integration challenges exist in the first place, what risks they create for B2B companies, and—most importantly—how you can build an easy connection between your ecommerce and ERP systems so they function as one unified engine driving your business forward.
Disconnected ecommerce and ERP systems usually aren’t a deliberate choice; they’re often the result of historical decisions and organizational silos. Here are some key reasons the disconnect exists:
In many companies, the ecommerce platform and the ERP were implemented at different times, often by different teams, and were never designed to work together. They operate as separate islands of data. This means product, inventory, and customer information gets duplicated in each system, and there’s no single source of truth.
Legacy or Inflexible Systems
Many B2B companies run on legacy ERP systems or older software that weren’t built with open integration in mind. These older systems might lack modern APIs or have limited capabilities to export/import data in real-time. As a result, connecting them to a newer cloud ecommerce platform is challenging. Companies often resort to batch fi le transfers or custom scripts as a stopgap, but those are brittle and slow.
B2B transactions are inherently more complex than consumer transactions. There are custom price lists, specific payment terms, multi-step order workflows, and often multiple systems involved (ERP, CRM, warehouse management, etc.).
This complexity means there’s a lot of data and process logic that needs to be kept consistent between ecommerce and ERP. If integration isn’t done properly, it’s easy for something to break. For example, a B2B web order might need to create not just an order record but also a customer record or a contract reference in the ERP.
Some companies have attempted to connect ecommerce and ERP in the past, but in a haphazard way. For example, they might have a daily CSV export from the web store that someone uploads into the ERP, or a direct database link that was coded years ago by a now-gone developer.
These point-to-point integrations are fragile. As the business grows or software gets updated, the old integration often breaks, and it can be expensive or time-consuming to fix. Moreover, such integrations might only cover part of the data (maybe orders but not inventory, or basic price sync but not promotional discounts).
Sometimes the issue is not just technology, but process. If the teams managing the ecommerce site and the ERP are siloed (e.g. e-commerce under Marketing and ERP under IT/Finance), integration projects may not get the cross-functional attention they deserve.
The company might continue operating with a mindset of “the website is one system, our order management is another” rather than treating it as one unified workflow. This can lead to manual processes being institutionalized, for e.x., “every morning, our web manager prints out the new orders and walks them to the fulfillment department.”
Also Read: How to Determine the Right Type of Marketplace to Scale Your B2B Ecommerce
The goal is to enable seamless, real-time communication so that both systems share the same accurate information at any given moment. Here are some sound strategies to consider for B2B teams:
Rather than writing brittle point-to-point code to link one system to the other, many companies are now using middleware or Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) solutions. These act as a unifying bridge between your ecommerce and ERP (and any other systems, like CRM or warehouse software).
For example, when an order is placed, the iPaaS can simultaneously create the order in ERP, decrement inventory there, and update the inventory on the website. Middleware often comes with pre-built connectors for popular ERP and e-commerce systems.
The advantage of a dedicated integration layer is that it’s more scalable and easier to maintain than a tangle of direct connections. If you add a new sales channel (say a marketplace or a mobile app) or switch one of your systems, you can adjust the integration in one central place instead of rewriting multiple interfaces.
Modern iPaaS solutions also provide monitoring and error-handling, so you get alerts if something fails to sync (instead of discovering it days later in an audit). They support real-time data exchange and can queue transactions if one system is temporarily offline.
It reduces that high maintenance burden of custom integrations. You’re not constantly troubleshooting broken APIs or reconciling mismatched records, because the platform handles the heavy lifting. For a B2B company dealing with complex processes, using a robust middleware or iPaaS is often the fastest way to knit together disparate systems into a cohesive whole.
A cornerstone of fixing the ecommerce-ERP gap is moving from batch or periodic updates to real-time or near-real-time synchronization for key data. In the past, a nightly batch update might have been considered sufficient, for example, uploading today’s orders to ERP at midnight, or refreshing the website’s inventory once a day.
But today, that’s no longer acceptable. You need product availability, pricing, and order status to be current all the time. For instance, if the ERP registers a new sale (from any channel), it should decrement the inventory and the website should reflect that change right away.
Achieving real-time sync may involve a combination of techniques: event-driven architecture (where events like “Order Placed” or “Inventory Updated” trigger messages to other systems), webhooks from the ecommerce platform to notify the ERP, or continuous polling of APIs for changes.
The specifics will depend on your technology stack, but the guiding principle is to minimize latency between a change occurring and all systems knowing about that change. The benefits of this approach are huge.
Please note that not every single piece of data must be synced in real time. Some less volatile data (like product descriptions or static content) can update nightly or as needed. A smart integration will focus real-time eff orts on variable data (such as inventory quantities, orders, customer-specific pricing, order status updates) which are the pieces that need constant tracking.
A common mistake in disconnected environments is that different systems each think they’re the authority on a piece of information. Part of your integration strategy should be to defi ne clear ownership. For example, the ERP might be the system of record for inventory levels, pricing, and order fulfillment status, whereas the ecommerce platform might own the web content like images and rich product descriptions.
Once you assign a source of truth, the integration should be configured such that updates only happen in one direction for that data (or in a controlled two-way fashion with conflict resolution rules). This prevents the “two sources, no truth” problem. With a single, trustworthy master dataset for each domain, you avoid the scenario of dueling data where one system overrides the other unpredictably.
To maintain this, data governance practices need to be in place. This includes regular auditing of data sync logs to catch any inconsistencies, cleaning up legacy data that might be formatted differently between systems, and ensuring that any new data fi elds or code (like new product IDs or customer accounts) follow a consistent scheme across systems.
It’s also better to involve business users in verifying that integrated data makes sense (for instance, having inventory managers spot-check that the website shows the same stock numbers as the ERP for random SKUs). By investing in data quality up front, you avoid integration becoming “garbage in, garbage out.”
We often advise companies to audit and rationalize product catalogs, pricing rules, and customer lists before launching an integrated e-commerce project. This means cleaning up duplicates, aligning naming conventions, and purging outdated records so that when you connect systems, you’re syncing clean data sets.
Set up alerts for any integration failures or unusual discrepancies (for example, if an order fails to create in ERP, or if inventory counts diverge beyond a threshold). With proper monitoring, your team can proactively fi x issues before they escalate into customer-facing problems.
Also Read: What is a B2B Marketplace?
Every delay, duplicate, and manual step keeps you from scaling, adapting, and serving customers the way modern B2B demands. Closing the gap is less about fixing software and more about building a business that runs on clarity, speed, and trust.
Mayank Patel
Oct 9, 20255 min read
How to Determine the Right Type of Marketplace to Scale Your B2B Ecommerce
One of the most effective ways to scale your B2B ecommerce business is by adopting a marketplace model. Unlike a single-vendor online store, a marketplace brings together multiple sellers under one platform.
But not all marketplaces are created equal. Choosing the right model is critical: the wrong fi t can dilute your brand, create logistical headaches, or limit your ability to grow, while the right fi t can accelerate expansion into new markets, industries, and geographies with reduced risk.
In this guide, we’ll break down the main types of B2B marketplaces—horizontal vs. vertical, regional vs. global, auction vs. fixed-price, product vs. service, and more—so you can determine which structure best aligns with your business goals and long-term strategy.
Unlike a traditional single-vendor online store, a marketplace is an e-commerce platform where multiple third-party sellers off er products or services to buyers.
This multi-vendor setup means you, as the marketplace operator, can off er a far wider selection of products than your own inventory alone (without investing capital in those additional product lines.)
A marketplace can unlock new revenue streams and customer segments. By aggregating third-party offerings, you can attract more buyers with a one-stop shop value proposition, earning commissions or fees on sales.
Marketplaces also let you test new markets and product categories with lower risk, since suppliers shoulder the inventory costs. That said, not all marketplaces are alike. The term “marketplace” can refer to a variety of models, each with different structures, participant roles, and strategic purposes.
Also Read: What is a B2B Marketplace?
Marketplaces can be categorized in several ways. Here we’ll explore the major types of marketplaces relevant to B2B commerce, including how they diff er in scope, focus, and operational model.
Scope of offerings is a fundamental way that marketplaces diff er. Broadly, a marketplace can be horizontal (cross-industry) or vertical (industry-specific):
These platforms serve many industries and product categories at once. A horizontal B2B marketplace aggregates diverse products across sectors. For example, Amazon Business or eBay Business are horizontal marketplaces; they carry everything from office supplies to industrial equipment on the same site.
The appeal of horizontal marketplaces is maximum exposure. They off er access to a large, multi-industry buyer network and high traffic, which is ideal if you want to reach as many customers as possible.
They also typically have established infrastructure and trust. However, the drawback is high competition; with so many sellers and products, it can be harder for your offerings to stand out. If your goal is to test new markets or move standard, widely-used products in bulk, horizontal marketplaces can provide volume and visibility.
These are industry-specific or niche-focused marketplaces, like specialized trade shows that run online 24/7. A vertical B2B marketplace concentrates on a particular sector or product category.
Examples include ThomasNet for industrial manufacturing, Medline for healthcare supplies, or fashion wholesale platforms for apparel. Vertical marketplaces deliver highly qualified buyers who understand your industry, need technical product specifications, or have specific compliance requirements.
Vertical marketplaces are best if your products are specialized, complex, or cater to a particular professional audience. They allow you to connect with buyers who are actively seeking what you off er, without the noise of a broad marketplace.
B2B trade can be local, national, or international, and marketplaces often target specific regions:
These platforms focus on a particular country or local region, tailoring the experience to local business practices, language, currency, and regulations. For example, TradeIndia serves the Indian market, Mercateo focuses on Europe, and EC21 covers parts of Asia.
Regional B2B marketplaces are great for small to mid-sized businesses or those selling products that are heavy, fragile, or subject to complex shipping when sent far away. They off er easier logistics and customer service.
Shipping is cheaper and faster, time zones align, and you can provide support in the local language. They also ensure compliance with local laws and standards. Use regional marketplaces if your immediate goal is to strengthen your presence in a specific market or if your product (and internal capacity) isn’t ready for the complexities of global distribution.
These serve international markets, connecting buyers and sellers across continents on one platform. Think of Alibaba.com or Global Sources; they allow suppliers from one country to sell to businesses worldwide.
Global marketplaces handle challenges like multi-currency payments and cross-border logistics to create worldwide commerce opportunities. The obvious advantage is vast market access: you tap into a worldwide customer base.
However, with that comes greater complexity. You’ll face international shipping costs, longer delivery times, customs and regulatory compliance, not to mention language and cultural barriers in marketing. Global marketplaces also expose you to global competition, and you must manage currency exchange risks.
Marketplaces can also diff er in how transactions are priced and conducted. Two classic models are auction-based marketplaces versus fixed-price marketplaces:
In an auction model, the marketplace aids competitive bidding among buyers. Products or lots are listed, and buyers bid against each other, with the highest bid winning the sale when the auction period ends.
This dynamic pricing is akin to a digital auction house. Auction marketplaces (for example, the auction format on eBay Business, Liquidation.com, or B-Stock for surplus goods) let market demand determine the price.
The benefit is you might achieve a higher price when demand is strong (useful for selling surplus inventory, one-of-a-kind items, or commodities prone to price swings.) However, auctions mean unpredictable revenue. You’re never sure what price you’ll get.
In B2B, auction marketplaces are best suited if you deal in liquidations, highly customized or rare items, or commodities where price discovery by bidding can sometimes yield better results than a set price.
These operate more like traditional online stores, where each product has a pre-determined list price (with possible volume discounts, but not an open bid). Transactions are straightforward: buyers add to cart and purchase at the stated price.
Fixed-price models are common for everyday B2B procurement needs; for instance, Amazon Business often uses fixed prices for its vast catalog, and industrial suppliers like Grainger or McMaster-Carr run marketplace-like platforms with set pricing.
Marketplaces aren’t only for physical products; they can also support services or even act as procurement hubs. It’s worth distinguishing these models, even if your primary business is product-based, to make sure you’re considering every type of marketplace:
This is the classic model where the marketplace connects buyers and sellers of physical goods or tangible products. As a B2B ecommerce owner selling your own SKUs, this is the space you’re already in. Product marketplaces can be horizontal or vertical (as discussed earlier) but their common trait is focusing on items in inventory.
Instead of goods, these marketplaces connect businesses with service providers or contractors. This could mean freelance marketplaces (like Upwork, where companies hire professionals for projects) or industry-specific service platforms (for example, Freightos, a B2B marketplace connecting businesses with freight and logistics services).
Service marketplaces typically feature listings of providers, profiles, and the ability to request quotes or bookings for services. While service marketplaces are slightly outside the scope of a product seller’s immediate needs, they represent another way to scale a business, for instance, if at some point you off er services around your products (consulting, maintenance, etc.), a service marketplace could be relevant.
A special subtype in B2B is the procurement or RFQ (Request for Quote) marketplace. This is essentially a reverse marketplace model: instead of sellers listing products for sale, buyers post their purchasing needs or project requirements, and then suppliers bid or quote to fulfill those needs.
This model is common in large-scale industrial procurement or any scenario where each order is highly customized (e.g. a manufacturer needs a custom component, or a company needs a bespoke service project). Platforms like ThomasNet operate this way, a buyer might request a quote for a custom part, and multiple vetted suppliers will off er bids.
It’s a bit difficult to manage (features needed include quote management, bid comparison, and possibly reverse auctions for competitive bidding), but it delivers great value in markets where standard catalog listings don’t suit every transaction.
Also Read: What Happens When AI Takes Over B2B Negotiation?
Finally, consider the ownership and access model of the marketplace:
A private marketplace is one that is owned or sponsored by a specific company and is closed to the general public. Only approved buyers and suppliers can participate, usually by invitation or via a qualification process. This model is very common in B2B.
For example, a large enterprise might set up a private marketplace to connect its network of suppliers with its franchisees or buyers. It’s similar to an Amazon or Etsy style platform in functionality, but access is restricted to vetted participants.
The advantages are significant: the marketplace owner (sometimes called the “sponsor”) can aggregate demand among all participants to negotiate better pricing (e.g., bulk shipping rates, volume discounts from suppliers) and create new margins.
The owner also has control to ensure quality and compliance. Buyers enjoy a one-stop shop for approved products, and suppliers get digital access to a ready customer base under the sponsor’s umbrella. This can strengthen relationships and loyalty, as well as protect your brand and data.
A partner marketplace is a specific kind of private marketplace that uses channel partners (distributors, dealers, resellers) to reach end customers. In this model, a B2B company (often a manufacturer or a brand owner) creates a marketplace where its certified partners can sell the company’s products directly to customers.
The marketplace owner manages the product catalog and overall site, but hands off actual sales and fulfillment to the network of partners. This model is growing popular for manufacturers who have traditionally sold through dealers. It brings the channel online in a coordinated way.
The benefit is reducing channel conflict while increasing oversight: the manufacturer can ensure consistent product data, pricing, and brand experience on the marketplace, yet partners maintain the customer relationship and complete the sale. It also gives the manufacturer visibility into end-customer demand that they normally wouldn’t have when sales happen only through offline distributors.
An example of a partner marketplace is the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, where Microsoft allows verified software partners to off er solutions that complement Azure. If your B2B business relies on dealers or franchisees, a partner marketplace could be the right model to bring your channel online without cutting them out, thus scaling sales while keeping partners happy.
Just be mindful that in some partner marketplaces, once a lead is passed to the partner, the partner might complete some deals off -platform, and you could lose visibility or commission on those extras. Clear rules and incentives are needed to keep the activity on the marketplace.
Also Read: How Modern B2B Marketplaces Drive Sales Without Adding Complexity
If you primarily sell to other businesses (B2B), stick with B2B-focused marketplaces or wholesale sections of marketplaces; these support the bulk ordering, net payment terms, and account management that business buyers expect.
If you see an opportunity to also sell to consumers (B2C) (for example, your product could be used by end-users or small businesses), you might explore a D2C marketplace approach in parallel, but be cautious about channel conflict with any distributors.
Mayank Patel
Oct 7, 20255 min read
