Magento Inc. has built its reputation on selling tools that help retailers target online shoppers, but its competitive ambitions extend far beyond consumers.

At a client event today, the former eBay Inc. subsidiary unveiled a new e-commerce service aimed at companies that sell their wares to fellow organizations. Digital Commerce Cloud for business-to-business promises to help such suppliers better engage the 93 percent of corporate buyers who Magento says prefer to handle their purchases online. To that end, the platform brings over several key conveniences from the consumer world.

One of the main selling points is a catalog-building tool that provides the ability to create self-service online storefronts like those employed by consumer-facing retailers. According to Magento, suppliers can set up a custom portal for each client that features the specific products and prices included under their agreement. This capability is designed to streamline long-term contracts involving a large number of items that would be a hassle to order individually.

Yet while it can be helpful, a self-service storefront isn’t suitable for every type of transaction. As a result, Magento has also included a manual ordering feature in the platform that lets procurement managers submit various documents to their supplier when making complex purchases. Digital Commerce Cloud for B2B saves the files to ease repeat orders.

On the backend, suppliers create personalized settings for different decision-makers at a client company based on their role, budget and various other factors. A computer maker that does business with multiple divisions within an electronics chain, for instance, could offer extra credit to a group if it presents a particularly promising sales opportunity. The platform then makes it possible to put together a quote with the agreed-upon terms using a built-in invoicing system.  

These features may pit Magento’s service against existing quote-to-cash offerings from the likes of Salesforce.com Inc. and Apttus. The e-commerce giant will likely face an uphill battle thanks to its relatively late entry into the race, but it has the advantage of a strong market presence. Magento processed an estimated $101 billion worth of transactions during 2016 for more than 250,000 online retailers. 

The company’s push into the B2B segment comes three months after it raised a hefty $250 million from Hillhouse Capital Group, one of the biggest investment firms in China. Lei Zhang, the head of the fund, said at the time that the cash infusion is designed to boost Magento’s expansion efforts in Asia and other international markets.  

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