These days, 73% of B2B buyers would rather buy online. That means having an Ecommerce option isn’t just a future ambition for a B2B organisation with ambition, it’s quickly becoming the baseline. If you don’t have a digital storefront, you’re not alone, but it’s easy to feel like you’re already behind.
The challenge is that embarking on a slick Ecommerce build can feel like a huge leap. It’s expensive. It takes time. And it feels risky. For many teams, the biggest barrier is simply not knowing how to get started. Ecommerce can feel complex, even beyond the existing skillset. That fear can lead to inaction, or worse, rushed decisions that are expensive and difficult to unpick later.
That’s why an Ecommerce pilot makes sense. A tightly scoped test helps de-risk investment, shows what works for your customers, and builds stakeholder confidence. Done right, it also gives you a foundation you can scale.
What a pilot should (and shouldn’t) be
A common misstep I see is businesses launching a ‘pilot’ that’s little more than an online catalogue without either prices or ordering. That isn’t a pilot. It frustrates customers, adds friction, and risks damaging your brand.
A true pilot should deliver features your customers actually value. Yes, even if they’re not perfect. That means account-specific pricing, bulk ordering tools, multi-user accounts, and real-time stock and availability. Done right, these give you meaningful data and insights to shape your full rollout.
Keeping it fast and focused
The best pilots start small but are smart. Limit your scope to a single product set, pricing model, and payment type. Pick one vertical or customer segment to test with. Bring your sales team in early, too as they’re your route to customers and a vital source of insight. Far from being threatened by Ecommerce, the right digital channel will actually free them from admin and help them close more business.
How you measure success
Before you launch, define what success looks like. Adoption rates, order frequency, conversion, average order value, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction are all strong indicators. You don’t need a full BI stack to measure them, just a clear view and a commitment to tracking consistently.
Not a placeholder, but a launchpad
A pilot isn’t a stopgap. It’s the first step towards an Ecommerce channel that helps you grow with confidence. It will show you what customers really want, highlight the quirks in your systems, and bring your teams together around real activity — not hypotheticals. When the time comes to scale, you won’t be starting from scratch. You’ll be building on solid evidence.
Thinking about a B2B Ecommerce pilot? Let’s talk.
Discover more
Hear from Computacenter and how they pioneered B2B Ecommmerce by focusing on the needs of their B2B customers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyCm5aW_I34
Hear from our Director of eCommerce on how eCommerce is meeting the needs of the modern B2B buyer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPulLJNBKzs
Learn why eCommerce without Personalisation is just another catalogue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJLeCPZV-cU
