Simplifying B2B ordering for packaging suppliers on Shopify

Simplifying B2B ordering for packaging

suppliers on Shopify

Pocketknife Portal for Packaging Suppliers

For packaging suppliers, a routine order can create more work than it should. A customer orders cartons, tape and protective packaging online, but staff still need to confirm their contract pricing, check account details or re-enter the order into the ERP before fulfilment can begin. Each manual step adds time and increases the risk of errors. As order volumes grow, those repeated tasks can become a significant administrative burden.

Shopify’s guide to B2B ecommerce workflows explains how connecting account management, pricing, order processing and invoicing can help reduce these manual handoffs. Its approach centres on defining what triggers a workflow, which rules need to be checked and what happens next.

For packaging suppliers, this starts with connecting the information customers need to buy with the systems your team uses to process their orders.

Omni Packaging: A complete B2B ecommerce experience

Pipelabs helped Soundbay move from Commerce Vision to a headless Shopify Plus platform integrated with Pronto ERP, using Pocketknife as the shared integration foundation.

Soundbay is the group behind music retailers including Store DJ and Manny’s Music. Its existing Commerce Vision environment had become a constraint on the flexibility and scalability required for its omnichannel operations.

The business also had a long-standing investment in Pronto and complex retail processes that needed to remain supported.

We worked with Soundbay to deliver a reusable commerce platform that connects those operational requirements with distinct storefront experiences across multiple brands.

The resulting environment supports inventory visibility, omnichannel gift cards and open-box products, with a foundation that can accommodate further brands and capabilities.

Soundbay’s migration shows why the storefront and the systems behind it need to be considered together. The customer experience could evolve while retaining the ERP functionality the business depended on.

Give customers access to their agreed pricing

Consider a customer purchasing packaging for several warehouse locations. Their agreed pricing may vary by account, product and quantity.

If that pricing is unavailable online, the buyer may need to contact an account manager before ordering. If it is incorrect, your team may need to adjust the order afterwards. Both situations create work around a purchase that could otherwise be straightforward.

Shopify’s B2B ERP integration guide identifies customer-specific price lists, volume discounts, inventory availability and account hierarchies as key integration considerations.

The first step is to establish where that information is maintained. When the ERP holds negotiated pricing and account arrangements, the storefront needs to reflect those rules for the relevant customer and purchase.

Pocketknife connects Shopify with your ERP, helping bring operational information into the buying experience. The objective is to give customers confidence in the price they see and reduce the need for staff to check or override it.

Omni Packaging: Complex, customer specific pricing and discounts

Reduce the work involved in repeat orders

Once customers can access their agreed pricing, the next opportunity is to simplify how they build an order.

A warehouse buyer replenishing the same cartons, tape and pallet wrap each month should have a useful starting point. With Pocketknife’s saved carts, they can return to a regular purchasing list and adjust quantities for their next delivery.

Other customers may prepare orders in spreadsheets. CSV ordering lets them upload SKUs and quantities to build a cart, reducing the work involved in entering products individually.

These workflows support familiar purchasing habits while helping move repeat orders into a more structured online process.

Your customised Portal with your saved lists, invoices & quotes.

Payment and invoices workflow

Some purchases need more discussion before an order can proceed. A large packaging requirement or custom specification may call for a quote, while an established customer may purchase on agreed account terms.

The buying experience needs to accommodate these steps too. Pocketknife supports quote-to-order workflows, allowing an approved quote to progress into an order, alongside customer access to invoices and online payments.

Giving buyers access to these tasks through their account can reduce the back-and-forth involved in progressing a quote, retrieving an invoice or arranging payment. It also keeps your team available for purchases that need their expertise.

The value of a connected buying experience comes from how these capabilities work together: customers access their pricing, build an order efficiently and manage the transaction through their account, while Shopify stays connected to the ERP.

A practical starting point is to identify the tasks your team repeats most often. Pricing checks, order entry and invoice requests can reveal where a better-connected workflow would make the greatest difference. Chat to us about how Pocketknife can help your customers.

Explore Pocketknife for packaging suppliers and book a walkthrough mapped to your ERP, pricing and ordering requirements.