Order Entry app versus B2B webshop: What is the difference and when do you choose which?

Trading companies are rapidly digitising their order processes. This often leads to the same question: do you choose an Order Entry app or a B2B webshop? Both solutions support order placement, but they are designed for different processes, users and situations within the supply chain.

In this article you will read about the functional differences, how both solutions handle product data and integrations, and when each option makes sense.

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What is an Order Entry app?

An Order Entry app is typically an internal digital tool for efficiently entering and processing orders. It is usually used by account managers, inside sales or sales representatives who place orders on behalf of customers. There are also providers that offer an Order Entry app for customers, allowing them to log in and place orders easily and quickly from anywhere.

Key characteristics of an Order Entry app

• Focused on speed and error free ordering
• Online and in some cases offline ordering capabilities
• Uses up to date product data, pricing and customer agreements
• Often available on mobile, tablet and sometimes desktop
• Strongly integrated with ERP and PIM
• Supports complex price lists, volume tiers and contract agreements

An Order Entry app often replaces manual input via Excel, email or phone and creates a streamlined order process both inside and outside the organisation.

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What is a B2B webshop?

A B2B webshop is an external digital channel where business customers place orders independently. The webshop is focused on self-service and availability, similar to e-commerce, but adapted to B2B logic.

Key characteristics of a B2B webshop

• Customers place orders themselves
• Available online
• Productdata, pricing and assortments per customer
• Integrations with ERP, PIM and logistics
• Focus on customer experience and ease of use

A B2B webshop is particularly suitable for repeat orders and customers who want to order independently without involvement from sales.

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The key differences at a glance

User and context:

• Order Entry app: internal and external use by employees and customers
• B2B webshop: external use by customers

Order complexity:

• Order Entry app: suitable for standardised and complex orders, online and offline use, customer specific agreements and exceptions
• B2B webshop: suitable for standardised and repeatable orders

Process goal:

• Order Entry app: speed, control, scalability and error reduction
• B2B webshop: customer experience and self-service

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Role of product data
In both solutions, product data is essential. This includes item information, pricing, availability and logistics attributes. The main difference lies in presentation and usage. An Order Entry app presents data in a functional and compact way. A B2B webshop focuses more on navigation, filtering and contextual information for the customer.

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When do you choose an Order Entry app?

An Order Entry app is a logical choice when:

• Orders are placed by sales or inside sales teams
• Pricing agreements differ significantly per customer
• Orders are complex or exceptional
• Speed is more important than presentation, with standardised designs and no custom layouts
• You want to scale without hiring additional staff or even free up existing capacity
• There is a lot of phone based or personal customer contact

This is often the case in sectors such as wholesale, industry and technical distribution.

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When do you choose a B2B webshop?

A B2B webshop is a better fit when:

• Customers want to place orders independently
• The assortment is largely standardised
• There are many repeat orders
• Digital customer experience plays a major role, with custom designs rather than a standard look

For trading companies with a broad customer base and recurring orders, this is often a logical step.

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Combining an Order Entry app and a B2B webshop

In practice, many organisations already use one of the two solutions, often a B2B webshop. However, an Order Entry app and a B2B webshop can strongly reinforce each other when they operate from the same data and processes.

Key conditions for this are:

• One central source for product data, such as a PIM
• Consistent integrations with ERP
• Clear process agreements per channel

This allows sales teams to work with an Order Entry app while customers place orders via the B2B webshop, without managing data twice.

A hybrid variant is an Order Entry app where both environments are available. This includes an internal version for sales and representatives and an external version for all customers. Combining both creates efficiency gains across the organisation and the order process.

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The roleof modern data and process solutions

Solutionssuch as PLGGR support this hybrid model. PLGGR positions itself as a platformfor product data, order processes and integrations within trading companies.

Within this landscape:

• PLGGR | PIM acts as the central product data layer
• The PLGGR | Order Entry App supports both internal and external order processing with an Order Entry app for representatives and customers
• Integrations ensure consistent data flows to ERP systems and webshops

The real strength does not lie in the channel itself, but in the underlying data flows and process logic.

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Conclusion

An Order Entry app and a B2B webshop solve different challenges. The right choice depends on your order process, customers and level of complexity.

In the past, companies chose one of the two systems. You choose an Order Entry app when control, speed, standardization and scalability are key. You choose a B2B webshop when self-service and customization are important.

With the emergence of hybrid variants such as the PLGGR | Order Entry app, it is now possible to combine both approaches. Supported by a solid data foundation, this makes it the most future proof solution for trading companies that want to grow and scale without increasing headcount.