B2B Platforms: Why Marketplaces Are Reshaping Sales

8 min read

67 percent of B2B buyers now prefer digital interaction channels over traditional field sales. German B2B online trade among manufacturers and wholesalers grew by 7 percent in 2024—despite the economic downturn. For mid-sized companies, the question is no longer “whether” but “how”: own shop, marketplace, or both? This practical review reveals which platforms matter, what integration truly costs, and how businesses can steer clear of dependency traps.

Key Takeaways

Why SMEs must embrace platforms now

The numbers don’t lie: according to McKinsey’s B2B Pulse Survey, 67 percent of industrial companies now prefer digital interactions for purchasing. That doesn’t mean field sales is disappearing—McKinsey describes a “Rule of Thirds,” where one-third of buyers favor in-person, one-third remote, and one-third digital self-service channels. But the digital buyers expect Amazon-style experiences: instant availability checks, transparent pricing, and one-click reordering.

German B2B e-commerce grew by 7 percent in 2024, reports IFH Köln, while the overall economy stagnated. For 2025 the institute forecasts 6.3 percent growth. Structural drivers are at play: younger buyers are moving into decision-making roles, ERP systems are becoming API-ready, and the pandemic cemented digital procurement as the new normal.

For SMEs this creates a dilemma: those not digitally accessible lose existing customers to platforms, while those overly tied to a single platform surrender margin and customer relationships. The answer is a hybrid strategy.

B2B online trade in Germany is expanding by about 7 percent annually, according to IFH Köln and ECC. By 2027 the market is expected to exceed €500 billion. The engine isn’t large corporations running proprietary portals, but mid-market firms increasingly buying and selling through platforms. The bottleneck is no longer technology, but the willingness to rethink sales.

For SMEs the stakes are especially high: 73 percent of B2B buyers research online before ever contacting a sales rep (Forrester, 2025). If you’re not on a platform, you lose customers who never even inquire because they couldn’t find you. Most sales managers never see this hidden order leakage.

Key B2B platforms in Germany

Mercateo/Unite: With 1.4 million business customers and more than 700 suppliers, Unite (formerly Mercateo) is Germany’s largest B2B marketplace. Its model goes beyond classic e-commerce: Unite positions itself as a relationship platform that digitises existing business ties rather than forcing new ones. Relevant for SMEs because suppliers can store their own prices and terms for existing customers.

Amazon Business: The elephant in the room. Amazon Business is growing strongly in Germany, yet it does not publish specific user numbers for the German market. Strengths: vast assortment, established logistics, invoice purchase and volume tiers. Risks: price transparency squeezes margins, customer data belongs to Amazon, and platform dependency grows month by month.

Wucato: Würth’s subsidiary positions itself as an alternative for technical wholesale with more than 10 million items in its catalogue. The advantage over Amazon: stronger industry specialisation and better integration into existing procurement processes.

“Wer liefert was” (Visable): More a visibility platform than a transaction marketplace. Relevant for manufacturers and suppliers wanting to build visibility with buyers without selling directly on a transactional platform.

“The dynamics of B2B platforms are fundamentally reshaping sales structures. SMEs should treat marketplaces as an additional channel, not a replacement for their own customer relationships.”
Paraphrased from IFH Köln, B2B-Commerce Monitor 2024

The ERP integration trap: where it really gets tough

Technical onboarding to B2B platforms sounds easier than it is. In practice, many SMEs stumble over three hurdles:

Legacy ERP systems: Many mid-market ERPs were not built for modern API connectivity. They are stable, yet rigid. Real-time synchronisation of inventory, pricing and order data between ERP and platform requires either middleware solutions or an ERP upgrade—both running into five-figure costs.

Data alignment: Part numbers, pricing structures and customer master data are rarely platform-compatible. SKU mappings, price rules and discount tiers must be manually translated. With thousands of items, this is a project, not an afternoon’s work.

Scalability performance: Large product catalogues and high order volumes overwhelm older systems. When the marketplace channel grows, the backend infrastructure must keep pace. This often only becomes a problem once the channel is already successful.

Technical complexity is frequently underestimated: customer-specific price lists, real-time availability checks, automated order creation in the ERP system and synchronisation of master data across multiple channels. Manual fixes don’t scale; automated solutions need middleware such as Lobster, Tradebyte or Pimcore to bridge platform APIs and your ERP. Typical first-integration investment ranges from €15,000 to €80,000, depending on ERP complexity and the number of connected platforms.

Data Sovereignty and Platform Dependency

According to a 2026 Parallels survey, 94 percent of IT leaders fear vendor lock-in. In the context of B2B platforms, this concern is well-founded. By shifting your entire sales operation to a single platform, you surrender three critical assets: customer data, pricing control, and brand perception.

Countermeasures are well-known but rarely implemented consistently: adopt a multi-platform strategy instead of relying on one channel. Maintain your own shop as an anchor for existing customers. Include contractual clauses for data portability. And follow this golden rule: acquire new customers on platforms, but nurture existing ones through your own channel.

The European Digital Sovereignty Initiative and projects like GAIA-X are working to establish frameworks for secure data exchange under European oversight. For mid-sized businesses, this is still a distant prospect—but the direction is clear.

A concrete risk: Amazon Business controls the customer relationship. Manufacturers see end customers only as anonymous order numbers. Selling exclusively through Amazon means surrendering your most valuable B2B asset: direct customer contact. The alternative? Use platforms as one of several channels, but keep your own web shop as the primary channel for existing customers. Solutions like Mercateo Unite and Wucato offer greater transparency because they function as networks rather than marketplaces. Data sovereignty remains with the seller.

What the Entry Really Costs

Costs depend on your level of ambition. A realistic breakdown for mid-sized businesses:

Marketplace integration (€15,000 to €40,000): Listing on an established platform such as Mercateo or Amazon Business. Includes product data preparation, ERP integration, and process definition. Ongoing costs: commission (5–15 percent) plus listing fees.

Own B2B online shop (€40,000 to €120,000): Shopware, SAP Commerce Cloud, or Spryker as the foundation. Includes ERP integration, customer-specific pricing logic, and invoice purchasing. Ongoing costs: hosting, maintenance, content management.

Hybrid model (€60,000 to €180,000): Own shop plus marketplace integrations. Product Information Management (PIM) as the central data hub. The most complex setup, but with the least dependency.

ROI varies by business model. Companies with standardized products and high repeat-order rates typically break even on an own shop within 12 to 18 months. For complex, explanation-heavy products, it can take up to 24 months.

Five Steps to Get Started

1. Analyze customer segments. Which customers order standard products regularly? They benefit most from digital procurement. Which need advisory support? They’ll stay with field sales.

2. Clean up product data. No platform works without clean master data. Descriptions, images, units of measure, and pricing logic must be consistent and up to date.

3. Check ERP readiness. Can your ERP system synchronize inventory and orders via API? If not, evaluate middleware like Tradebyte or ChannelEngine as a bridge.

4. Launch a pilot on one marketplace. Test Mercateo or Wucato with a limited assortment. Gather experience before committing to full-scale investment.

5. Define a hybrid strategy. Use platforms for new-customer acquisition, your own channel for existing customers. Never put all your eggs in one basket.

Conclusion

By 2026, B2B platforms will no longer be a futuristic concept for mid-sized businesses—they’ll be part of everyday operations. Despite economic headwinds, the market continues to grow, buyers are becoming more digital, and platforms are becoming more powerful. Yet the risks are real: ERP integration complexity, margin pressure from price transparency, and increasing dependence on platforms. The answer isn’t an all-or-nothing decision, but a deliberate hybrid strategy: use platforms as reach multipliers while keeping your own channels as relationship anchors.

Start pragmatically: choose one platform that fits your industry, list ten to twenty products, run a three-month pilot, then decide. Pilot costs stay under €5,000. The risk is low, the learning curve steep. If in two years you discover that 30 percent of new customers come via platforms, you’ll be glad you started today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Featured image source: Pexels / Tima Miroshnichenko