Znode, the ecommerce platform from Milwaukee-based Amla Commerce Inc., has introduced a new software module designed to give manufacturers and their channel partners more control over growing sales.

The new B Store ecommerce software module is a headless commerce offering that primary suppliers, including manufacturers and master distributors, can extend to distributors or other channel partners for processing online sales to end customers.

“B Store is the middle ‘B’ in B2B2B, B2B2C and B2B2X business models,” says Tom Flierl, Amla’s chief commercial officer.

He adds that B Store lets manufacturers maintain data control. It covers such critical areas as product data accuracy and brand images.

Znode headless ecommerce platform

As a headless platform, Znode is designed to support multiple customer-facing interfaces. And they integrate via APIs with the Znode ecommerce engine. With B Store, Znode provides a ready-made ecommerce storefront module users can customize on top of Znode’s ecommerce software. In addition, B Store lets the manufacturer or other primary supplier maintain control over their product data and access customer demand information, Flierl says.

Frank Connelly, product manager at Znode, says manufacturers and other product suppliers will be able to set product pricing and discounting ranges for each channel partner’s B Store.

Carlos Manalo, co-CEO of the Chicago-based digital agency Office of Experience, says the B Store module offers valuable “out-of-the-box” ecommerce software. And he says it does so in a flexible headless environment for companies that need to help their channel partners selling through an ecommerce site.

“This functionality allows you to go faster out of the box and gives you the ability to scale without getting painted into a corner,” he says. He adds that use cases include manufacturers that sell through dealers for such categories as uniforms and promotional products.

Znode is available under a single-tenant, software-as-a-service model, with fees based on sales volume and other criteria.

B Store features include:

• The ability of a manufacturer’s channel partner to build out its own self-service ecommerce site.
• Curating product catalogs and customizing price lists.
• Pop-up ecommerce shops that companies can set up for special limited-run or recurring sales events.
• Controlling information on product and category availability.

Znode also plans to introduce this fall the Znode Commerce Portal. It will provide the same online interface for channel partners, sales reps and customers.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. [email protected].

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