Like Cloudfy, BigCommerce is available as a software as a service (SaaS) ecommerce solution. Both offer scalable, powerful platforms that can support to business to business (B2B) ecommerce growth.
Which should you choose?
About Cloudfy
Cloudfy is an ecommerce solution that has been designed to meet the needs of manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers. Its features include customer relationship management (CRM), inventory management, and mobile access.
Cloudfy users can benefit from out-of-the-box integration with major business systems, multiple storefronts, promotions management, and returns management.
Cloudfy is independently owned and managed as part of the Williams Commerce Group of companies, supporting customers in the UK, US, Australia, Asia, and around the world.
About BigCommerce
Starting life in Australia, the company quickly opened an office in Texas, US. BigCommerce was designed to help businesses set up online stores quickly without the need for on-premises technology. It provides catalog management and order management and has an eco-system of partner solutions for payments, shipping, and marketing, for example.
In 2018 the company opened a London office in preparation for building its presence in Europe. In August 2020 the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) raised US $216million.
Who chooses Cloudfy
Businesses that want a seamless end-to-end ecommerce solution will like Cloudfy’s out-of-the-box integrations with major business systems such as SAP Business One, Microsoft Business Central, NetSuite and more. It also has a powerful and flexible application programming interface (API) and flat file integration tools for connection with almost any system.
Cloudfy is available for a monthly subscription in three tiers based on order volume rather than transaction value. This makes it a cost effective and predictable option because customers know how to budget from the beginning.
The platform is designed for fast deployment in weeks rather than months, so you can reach your market quickly and cost-effectively. It is highly scalable with unlimited products, allowing you to grow your business online rapidly without affecting customer experiences.
Configurable responsive designs are available for all devices, so your customers can easily order online anytime, anywhere. Based on your choice from a constantly expanding range of design templates, you can easily change colors, fonts, and styles to reflect your brand. The Content Management System (CMS) gives you control for adding, editing, and deleting static and product pages.
There’s an easy to use dashboard so you don’t need specially trained staff to manage your ecommerce business and your in-house teams can collaborate to improve customer experiences and deliver outstanding service.
Streamlined product information management has been a feature of Cloudfy’s design from the beginning including dimensions, part numbers and technical data sheets, videos, case studies, functions, and benefits. You can add B2B variable pricing depending on purchase volumes, frequency, and pre-negotiated discounts. You can even offer customized product catalogs to meet the specific requirements of your customers.
Order management includes an optimized checkout design and process and there’s a one-click checkout to simplify the user journey and improve conversion rates. There are a range of payment options to meet the needs of B2B customers, including on account payments, checks and BACS, along with third party providers like PayPal and Opayo (Sage Pay). Your customers will be able to review their order activity on login, making it easy to for clients to print off invoices and orders, or view order status.
Cloudfy includes a merchandising and promotions engine to drive new sales with offer codes, discounts, and special offers outside your normal pricing. You can create timed or conditional offers for purchases of certain products or values. Your marketing activities can also be supported with in-built features such as ‘email a friend’ which allows your customers to email product pages to a contact, a newsletter system, and third-party options.
Cloudfy’s B2B mobile ordering app for clients makes it easy for trade-only businesses with registered trade customers to improve their sales and marketing processes. You can meet the needs of you millennial buyers by delivering product information, purchasing options, and easy checkout on their favorite channels. There’s also Cloudfy’s B2B sales rep ordering app to empower your sales team to close more deals on-the-go.
Who chooses BigCommerce
If you have a large product catalog and plans for rapid growth you will certainly want to include BigCommerce on your list of possible options.
BigCommerce also has three monthly pricing plans. Your costs will vary according to sales values per year and will increase significantly above US $450,000 per month. There’s also an Enterprise Plan designed for large companies which is priced according to requirements.
New businesses can start with one of the 12 free BigCommerce mobile responsive themes and there are over 100 paid themes to choose from. The Style Editor function allows you to tailor colors, fonts, and the carousel, for example.
Although the BigCommerce dashboard is easy to use and setting up a basic site is straightforward, you will need some technical expertise to take advantage of all the options available to you. The new page builder now helps people without technical skills to customize their page templates with drag and drop options for things like text blocks, videos, banners, and buttons.
BigCommerce provides B2B ecommerce tools including inventory tracking, stock level management, and order trend analysis. You can offer order processing, shipping quotes, and fulfillment. BigCommerce is partnered with five payment gateways for multi-currency transactions. You can also sell on social media and in marketplaces and keep track of performance with data reporting tools. It’s now easier to customize your checkout with the new Open Checkout.
BigCommerce has improved website loading speed and provides out-of-the-box search engine optimization (SEO) features to support your online discoverability. You have full access to metadata, header tags, titles, and URLs so that you can customize your blog and information pages to make them SEO friendly.
Some BigCommerce marketing tools are included, although others will cost extra. You can create bespoke banners, coupon codes and discounts, and email campaigns. You have options for integration with Google AdWords and for ‘buy now’ buttons on social media.
When to choose Cloudfy vs Big Commerce
Cloudfy is a good choice for fast-growing B2B companies that value flexibility and are looking for partners on their ecommerce journey. Despite being very easy to use, extensive B2B functionality is available straight out of the box and specialist requirements can be met with the powerful API.
With at least two major upgrades each year delivered seamlessly in the cloud, Cloudfy will remain at the forefront of ecommerce innovation and best practice. You will have a transparent pricing plan and the support of imaginative and experienced experts.
BigCommerce is popular with fast growing businesses and can be implemented quickly for basic requirements. However, you will need some specialist expertise to access all its B2B functionality. The cost of additional design templates and add-ons will be a consideration and fees will increase significantly as your business grows.
