Compare the best alternatives to Handshake for B2B wholesale ordering. Find the right B2B eCommerce platform for industrial distributors and manufacturers with detailed feature comparisons.
Handshake was once a popular B2B ordering platform for wholesale businesses, but since its acquisition by Shopify, many industrial distributors and manufacturers have found themselves searching for alternatives that better serve their specific needs.
The shift away from Handshake is driven by several factors:
When evaluating Handshake alternatives, industrial companies should focus on platforms that are purpose-built for B2B complexity rather than consumer-oriented platforms with B2B features bolted on. The right platform should understand the nuances of industrial distribution, including customer-specific pricing, contract management, and multi-warehouse fulfillment.
Here's a detailed comparison of the leading B2B ordering platforms that serve as viable Handshake alternatives for industrial companies:
Best for: Industrial manufacturers and distributors needing spare parts commerce, customer-specific pricing, and ERP integration. Offers equipment-based part lookup, tiered pricing, and self-service customer portals. Strong SAP and Oracle integration capabilities.
Best for: Large enterprises needing a highly customizable open-source B2B platform. Offers robust workflow engines and CRM integration. However, implementation complexity and cost are significantly higher than cloud-native alternatives.
Best for: Mid-market businesses wanting a SaaS platform with B2B features. Offers customer groups, price lists, and quote management. Less suitable for highly complex industrial use cases with deep ERP requirements.
Best for: Companies deeply invested in Microsoft Dynamics or SAP looking for tight ERP integration. Offers real-time ERP data display. Limited flexibility for businesses wanting to decouple their eCommerce from ERP dependencies.
Best for: Field sales teams needing mobile ordering capabilities. Strong in offline-capable mobile apps for sales reps. Less suitable as a customer-facing self-service portal for complex industrial products.
Each platform has different strengths. The key is matching the platform's capabilities to your specific business requirements, technical environment, and growth trajectory.
Selecting a B2B ordering platform is a significant business decision that will impact your operations for years. Use this framework to evaluate alternatives systematically:
Create a requirements matrix that covers:
The platform must integrate seamlessly with your existing technology stack, especially your ERP system. Ask vendors for references from customers running the same ERP version as you. Evaluate the depth of integration — does it sync in real-time or batch? Does it handle all the data objects you need?
Look beyond subscription fees to understand the full cost including implementation, customization, integration development, training, and ongoing maintenance. Cloud-native platforms typically offer lower TCO than on-premise or heavily customizable solutions because they include hosting, updates, and support in the subscription.
Choose a vendor with financial stability, industry expertise, and a clear product roadmap. Ask about their customer retention rate, R&D investment, and how many customers operate in your industry. A vendor that understands industrial distribution will deliver value faster than one learning your business on your dime.
Growmax is the purpose-built B2B eCommerce platform that industrial manufacturers and distributors choose when they need more than what consumer-oriented platforms can offer. Here's what sets Growmax apart:
Build a B2B eCommerce strategy that gives your industrial business a sustainable competitive advantage.
Growmax ARC is the all-in-one B2B commerce platform built for small and mid-size distributors. Get up and running in days with built-in QuickBooks/Zoho/Xero integration, customer-specific pricing, and a self-service ordering portal — all for $199/month.
Continue your learning with these related articles:
Best Handshake Alternatives & Competitors for B2B Ordering in 2024 directly impacts business growth by enabling faster order processing, reducing manual errors, improving customer satisfaction through self-service capabilities, and freeing up sales teams to focus on high-value activities rather than routine order taking.
When evaluating alternatives, focus on industry-specific features (B2B pricing, catalog management), integration capabilities with your existing ERP/accounting software, total cost of ownership including implementation, scalability as your business grows, and vendor support quality. Avoid solutions designed primarily for B2C that bolt on B2B features.
Key challenges include managing complex pricing across customer tiers, maintaining real-time inventory visibility across locations, competing with Amazon Business and other digital marketplaces, retaining customer loyalty, and digitizing traditional sales processes without disrupting existing relationships.
B2B eCommerce involves online transactions between businesses, characterized by bulk ordering, negotiated pricing, complex approval workflows, and longer sales cycles. Unlike B2C, B2B buyers expect customer-specific catalogs, tiered pricing, and integration with ERP systems like SAP or QuickBooks.
B2B eCommerce platforms can increase revenue by 30-50% through 24/7 order availability, automated reordering, cross-selling via product recommendations, and reduced order processing costs. Digital channels also expand geographic reach without proportional overhead increases.
