No Clear Leader in B2B Commerce—Market on the Verge of an AI Leap

By 2025, 80 percent of B2B sales interactions were already taking place via digital channels—and the trend is on the rise. For companies, this means that their e-commerce architecture must not only scale with their business but also be prepared for the next level—the use of AI agents and agent-based processes. At the same time, a recent evaluation by the digital agency dotSource shows that there is currently no clear leader in B2B e-commerce that stands out significantly from other providers.

Agentic Readiness as the Next Step in B2B E-commerce

As digital sales channels continue to gain importance in the B2B sector, a new question is coming to the forefront: How can commerce systems be set up so that they can be supported by AI agents or controlled semi-autonomously? Experts define “agent readiness” as an organization’s ability to structure its data, processes, and systems in such a way that intelligent agents can reliably handle orders, quotes, or information requests.

The study «Agentic Readiness in B2B Commerce» by ECC Cologne, conducted in collaboration with dotSource, shows that approximately two-thirds of the procurement and sales professionals and executives surveyed expect AI agents to be very or extremely important to their companies over the next three years. At the same time, many organizations have not yet established the technical foundation required for this. For AI to deliver truly measurable added value in the B2B environment, a clean, centrally accessible database covering products, prices, customers, and availability is needed, along with the elimination of silos between ERP, CRM, PIM, and the online store. Only when these prerequisites are met can AI tools go beyond simple assistance functions and, in the long term, take on more complex tasks.

Personalization and Mobile Usability as Decision-Making Factors

When selecting a suitable e-commerce solution, the desired level of personalization is one of the key decision-making criteria for B2B companies: How can individual products, services, and processes be tailored to each customer—from personalized terms and conditions to configurable products directly in the online store? Companies that remain too rigid in this area are squandering potential in sales and customer loyalty.

At the same time, mobile-optimized websites and mobile apps have long held a similar level of importance in B2B as they do in the consumer market. Today, many orders are placed directly from the field—whether from the production floor or a construction site. E-commerce solutions must technically support these use cases and ensure that product availability and customized terms are reliably accessible on mobile devices as well.

Many strong providers, no clear leader

The high level of digitization in B2B sales is driving the need for high-performance e-commerce software. For companies in the DACH market, a range of mature solutions is available that can reliably handle complex product lines, customized terms, and processes requiring extensive integration. According to analysts, however, there is currently no clear market leader.

«All providers included in our comparison are generally recommended for the DACH region. However, our e-commerce experts have not yet identified a clear leader in B2B online commerce that stands out significantly from the other providers,» explains Christian Otto Grötsch, founder and chairman of the board of directors at dotSource, describing the current market situation.

For decision-makers in B2B commerce, this means that instead of following the lead of an obvious market leader, the path to the right platform involves a systematic evaluation based on their own strategy, process landscape, and data maturity.

The dotSource Vendor Matrix

To provide a clearer picture of the diverse software market, dotSource has selected and evaluated the eleven most relevant providers for the DACH region: Salesforce (Agentforce), SAP, Intershop, Commercetools, Shopify, Shopware, Adobe (including Magento OS), Spryker, Emporix, and Pimcore. The evaluation is based on experience gained from numerous client projects with B2B companies.

The results are summarized in the dotSource Vendor Matrix, which classifies e-commerce solutions along two dimensions: The Y-axis, «Performance & Flexibility,» evaluates technical performance, scalability, and adaptability to different business models. The X-axis, «Business & Vision,» reflects the providers’ reputation, strategic focus, and agentic-commerce readiness. This provides a concise overview of which B2B solutions not only meet current e-commerce requirements but are also prepared for future developments.

Source: www.dotsource.de