Contact

Back to Insights

Infor M3 for B2B eCommerce: What Manufacturers and Distributors Need to Know

, ,

For manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, your ERP is the engine that keeps your business running. It manages inventory, pricing, purchasing, production, warehousing and customer relationships. But when it comes to B2B eCommerce, your ERP alone isn’t enough.

Today’s business buyers expect the same convenient online purchasing experience they receive as consumers. They want personalised pricing, real-time stock availability, account management, fast ordering and self-service functionality available 24 hours a day.

Infor M3 is exceptionally well suited to supporting these requirements, provided it’s paired with the right eCommerce platform and integration strategy.

This guide explains how Infor M3 supports modern B2B commerce, what functionality you should expect from your online portal, and the key considerations when planning an implementation.

What is Infor M3?

Infor M3 is one of the world’s leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms for manufacturers, distributors and complex supply chain organisations.

It is particularly popular within industries including:

Unlike general accounting systems, Infor M3 has been designed around operational complexity, making it an excellent foundation for sophisticated B2B commerce.

Why B2B Buyers Expect More

Traditional sales processes have changed dramatically.

Customers no longer want to:

Instead, they expect to log into a secure portal where they can complete these tasks themselves.

A modern B2B portal allows customers to:

This improves customer satisfaction while reducing administrative workload for your internal teams.

Why Infor M3 Makes a Strong B2B Foundation

Infor M3 already contains much of the business information required for an exceptional customer experience.

Examples include:

Rather than duplicating this information, an integrated eCommerce platform simply presents it through a modern customer interface.

This keeps Infor M3 as the single source of truth while giving customers the online experience they expect.

Customer-Specific Pricing

One of the biggest advantages of integrating with Infor M3 is the ability to display personalised pricing.

Instead of showing identical pricing to every visitor, customers can automatically receive:

For many distributors, this functionality alone transforms the online buying experience.

Real-Time Inventory Visibility

Few things frustrate B2B buyers more than ordering products that are unavailable.

By integrating directly with Infor M3, customers can view:

This allows buyers to make informed purchasing decisions without contacting customer service.

Fast Ordering for Trade Customers

Business customers often know exactly what they need.

Rather than browsing product catalogues, they prefer ordering as quickly as possible.

A well-designed B2B portal should include:

These features can dramatically reduce ordering time for regular customers.=

Multi-User Company Accounts

Unlike consumer websites, B2B businesses often sell to organisations with multiple users.

Modern portals should support:

These capabilities streamline purchasing while maintaining governance within customer organisations.

Self-Service Account Management

Customers increasingly expect to manage their own accounts online.

Typical functionality includes:

Providing these services online reduces support requests while improving the customer experience.

Product Information Matters

Infor M3 typically contains core product data, but modern eCommerce often requires significantly richer content.

Successful B2B websites frequently include:

Many organisations supplement Infor M3 with a Product Information Management (PIM) platform where richer content can be maintained and syndicated across sales channels.

Choosing the Right eCommerce Platform

Infor M3 integrates successfully with several leading commerce platforms, but the right choice depends on your business goals.

Shopify

Shopify is an excellent option for businesses seeking rapid deployment, low infrastructure overhead and an intuitive administration experience. With Shopify Plus and its native B2B capabilities, organisations can support company accounts, customer-specific catalogues, payment terms and streamlined purchasing while benefiting from a fully managed SaaS platform.

Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce is well suited to organisations with highly complex catalogues, sophisticated B2B purchasing workflows, multiple websites or extensive customisation requirements. Its flexibility makes it a strong choice for enterprises that require advanced functionality and deep integration with back-office systems.

Rather than selecting a platform based solely on popularity, businesses should assess their operational requirements, future growth plans and internal capabilities.

Integration is the Critical Success Factor

Connecting products and orders is only the beginning.

Successful Infor M3 integrations often include:

The architecture behind these integrations has a significant impact on long-term scalability, reliability and maintenance costs.

Common Challenges

Many B2B projects underestimate the complexity of the underlying business processes.

Common challenges include:

Addressing these issues during implementation leads to a more successful and sustainable outcome.

Future-Proofing Your Investment

A modern B2B commerce platform should support more than today’s requirements.

Businesses should also consider future capabilities such as:

Choosing a scalable architecture today reduces the need for costly replatforming in the future.

Final Thoughts

Infor M3 provides an exceptionally strong operational foundation for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. When combined with a modern B2B eCommerce platform such as Shopify Plus or Adobe Commerce, it enables organisations to deliver the self-service buying experiences that today’s customers expect.

The most successful implementations treat the ERP as the system of record while allowing the eCommerce platform to focus on customer experience. By investing in robust integration, high-quality product data and a scalable architecture, businesses can improve operational efficiency, reduce manual administration and create a digital commerce platform capable of supporting long-term growth.

Whether you’re launching your first B2B portal or replacing an existing solution, taking the time to design the right integration strategy will deliver far greater value than simply connecting systems.

PREVIOUS ARTICLE

How Much Does an ERP Integration Cost?

If you’re planning a new eCommerce project, one of the first questions you’ll ask is: “How much will it cost to integrate our ERP?” The honest answer is that it depends. ERP integrations range from relatively straightforward inventory synchronisation through to highly complex, business-critical platforms that support customer-specific pricing, multiple warehouses, manufacturing workflows and real-time […]