Hidden operational inefficiences cost you more than you think
These pain points are slowing down B2B manufacturers, merchants and trade businesses
What is slowing down your team?
Operational efficiency isn't just a "nice to have" for B2B businesses, it directly affects margin, service levels and the ability to scale.
We're seeing many companies continue to manage manual processes, disconnected systems and workarounds that just become the way things are done.
Teams are spending valuable time moving information between systems rather than creating value.
The challenge isn’t usually a lack of effort. It’s that the systems supporting the business weren’t built around how trade businesses actually operate.
IXO Commerce was built to work with complex B2B organisations to remove friction and automate these workflows. We want to create connected digital operations that support long-term growth.
Operational bottlenecks are holding B2B businesses back
1. Manual quotes and order processing
Many teams are heavily reliant on phone and email communication for manual quote generation.
Sales teams become responsible for translating customer requirements, validating stock, checking pricing and manually inputting all this information into their system(s).
This works until conditions change: order volumes increase, staff turnover or holiday, pricing updates etc.
The issues
- Delays responding to customers
- Increased administration overhead
- Higher risk of ordering errors
- Valuable sales resource spent processing rather than selling
For sectors dealing with configured, technical or specification-led products, this challenge becomes even more pronounced.
Our solution
IXO Commerce enables businesses to move these journeys into structured self-service experiences where customers can build orders, request quotations, access account-specific pricing and complete transactions without introducing additional workload internally.
2. Disconnected systems
One of the most common operational issues we see is staff having to maintain multiple versions of the truth.
> Stock lives in one system.
> Customer pricing sits elsewhere.
> Order management happens separately.
> Reporting requires manual consolidation.
The issues
When systems aren't aligned, every department creates work for another.
- Sales chase operations
- Operations chase warehouses
- Finance reconciles data manually
Our solution
IXO Commerce removes these silos through unified workflows covering ordering, customer management, reporting, stock visibility and fulfilment processes from a central platform. We can then integrate with major ERP systems to ensure data flows between your integral systems automatically.
The outcome is simple: less administration and more confidence in the data your teams are using.
Learn More3. Complex product configuration
Trade and manufacturing businesses often sell products that don’t fit standard eCommerce models. The creation and ongoing management of these products causes friction and unnecessary waste.
We're talking custom lengths, product variants, made-to-order requirements, site-specific specifications.
The issues
Inevitably, these complexities mean customers need to call, request manual calculations or wait for pricing confirmation from your team.
Internally, you're now facing inefficiencies and often waste, inconsistent pricing and margin erosion. Conversion rates suffer and sales staff see their list of admin tasks grow.
Our solution
IXO Commerce doesn't force teams to compensate for complexity manually. Instead, it allows businesses to easily build and manage their catalogue directly in the platform. The opportunity for bespoke work means we can tailor the experience to your specific products.
This is key to then match up online purchasing directly with real-world fulfilment.
Learn More4. Customer service queries
Your team are probably spending time answering questions that customers could solve themselves. In fact, custmers increasingly expect to:
- Access pricing instantly
- View account-specific information
- Repeat previous orders
- Track fulfilment
- Download invoices
- Retrieve quotations
The issues
When these capabilities don’t exist, internal teams become the interface.
Every order status update, stock enquiry and repeat order request creates additional cost.
Our solution
IXO Commerce provides customer self-service functionality designed specifically for B2B purchasing behaviour, helping customers complete tasks independently while improving the buying experience.
Learn MoreBM Steel
Align digital ordering with operational reality
Case Study
BM Steel identified a disconnect between how orders were fulfilled internally and how customers purchased online.
Depots were operating around whole-bar sales and cut specifications, while the website sold material by the metre. This created manual intervention as customers were uncertain on their purchases which in turn created unnecessary scrap.
Working together, we introduced an intelligent whole-bar configurator that allowed customers to:
- Specify cut lengths
- Define quantities
- Select finishing requirements
- Automatically calculate required bar quantities
- Route fulfilment directly to the correct depot
The impact delivered measurable outcomes for year-on-year sales and an increase of over 200,000 KG in steel sold. This function also reduced waste as customers were now purchasing to exact requirements.
Crucially, this collaborative work demonstrated what happens when digital commerce is built around operational workflows rather than forcing operational teams to adapt around technology.
In fact the project has been award winning twice since it launched in 2025!
Discover BM SteelOperational efficiency is built into IXO Commerce
Often B2B eCommerce projects are focused solely on the website but operational efficiency is created behind the scenes.
You need a system that reduces admin, supports fulfiment, gives you clear visibility and allows customers to help themselves.
IXO Commerce can deliver this value:
- Trade pricing
- Customer specific journeys
- Order management
- Operational automation
- Warehouse workflows
- Reporting
The answer to inefficiencies isn't always more people, it might be better systems.
Custom B2B eCommerce
We understand how to structure eCommerce for trade customers. INTUS Trade provides the specific stock, lead time and product information they need and the pricing, promotion, ordering and delivery options necessary to ensure all our trade sites are a useful resource which supports customers and adds real value.