Managing B2B E-commerce Pricing with OroCommerce

Summarize this article

One of the biggest challenges in modeling prices on a B2B e-commerce site is the sheer number of prices for the same product. On any self-respecting e-commerce site, prices have to be managed by item and, where relevant, by season, current promotion, and so on. So far, so good. But B2B adds another layer of complexity. Prices also have to depend on the customer, their business volume with the company, the various preferential rates negotiated, and the quantity ordered. What seems trivial in B2C can quickly turn into a tangled mess in B2B. Fortunately, the OroCommerce e-commerce platform handles this challenge perfectly by introducing price lists and a pyramid-shaped hierarchy.

Price lists in OroCommerce

Price lists are one of OroCommerce’s key features. They let you manage prices in a flexible, personalized way. Here is how they work:

Creating and managing price lists

OroCommerce lets you create as many price lists as you need. These lists, made up of product prices, are defined by one or more currencies, a validity period and, optionally, product assignment rules and price calculation rules. In other words, you can define specific rules that apply to the prices in a list.

For example, to generate discounted prices or quantity-based tiered pricing, you can define specific prices. This is essential in a B2B context, where volume discounts are common.

Once the price list has been created, products can either be added manually with their respective prices or generated automatically by inheriting from another price list.

Types of price lists

OroCommerce distinguishes 3 types of price lists.

• Default price lists, or base prices:
  These are the standard price lists that apply to all customers, with no specific personalization.
• Custom price lists:
  These lists let you create specific prices for particular customers or customer groups. You can set up discounts or markups based on different criteria.
• Hierarchical price lists:
  OroCommerce lets you create hierarchical price lists. A price list can inherit prices from another list, with changes or adjustments. This makes it easy to manage complex pricing structures.

• The price list highest in the hierarchy takes priority when displaying a product’s price for that customer.
• If the price is not in the priority list, OroCommerce looks for the product in the lower-priority lists.
• If the price is not in any of the lists assigned to the customer, OroCommerce looks in the customer group the customer belongs to, depending on the fallback setting. As a last resort, OroCommerce applies the base price list, which is meant to contain all the prices shown to visitors who are not logged in.
• When lists overlap, the price list with the highest priority applies.
• An OroCommerce setting also lets you override this hierarchy, if you wish, to always display the most favorable price.

Conditions and rules:
You can configure rules and conditions to determine when and how price lists apply. For example, you can activate a specific price list for a promotional period or for certain types of customers.

Dynamic management and synchronization

Automatic updates:

OroCommerce can be configured to update price lists automatically based on changes in raw material costs, currency fluctuations, and more.

Integration with ERPs and other systems:

OroCommerce can integrate with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. This makes it possible to synchronize price lists and keep data consistent across the company’s different systems.

Using price lists

Price display:

Customers see the prices assigned specifically to them when they log in to their account.
Displayed prices can include or exclude taxes, depending on the configured settings.

Updates and history:

Price lists can be updated regularly.
OroCommerce keeps a history of changes, so you can track modifications and roll back if needed.

Price inheritance

Synolia recently developed a price inheritance module for one of its customers. It lets certain customers affiliated with buying groups benefit from the prices negotiated for those buying groups at the national level. This drastically reduces the list of exception prices and lightens price imports from the customer’s ERP accordingly.

Here, it works the same way as the exception prices described just above, but with an intermediate layer that lets several customers share these price lists.

In short, OroCommerce price lists make it possible to manage complex pricing structures in a flexible, dynamic way. They are tailored to the specific needs of B2B companies. They provide tools to create, manage, and personalize prices based on multiple criteria. As a result, they ensure accurate, tailored pricing for every customer and situation.

Want more information about price list features in OroCommerce? Contact our team of e-commerce experts!

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