Software

BigCommerce has announced the roll out of BigCommerce for B2B. As the name suggests, it's software suite that's tailored for business-to-business retailers who want to sell their products online. BigCommerce for B2B is aimed at wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors.

Shopify has passed the 1 billion dollar revenue mark. The company's full revenue growth for 2018 reached 1.073 billion dollars, which corresponds to 950 million euros. This revenue mark is a 59 percent increase from the situation last year.

Centra, an ecommerce software provider from Sweden, is ready to conquer the international market. The company, which focuses on online retailers active in the fashion and lifestyle industry, has not made any marketing efforts to date, but is now recruiting marketing, sales and support people to meet the increased demand and to grow internationally.

Ecommerce software provider CS-Cart has released a new edition of its marketplace software, called Multi-Vendor Plus. The solution, aimed at lager marketplace businesses, has several new features for both online marketplace owners and vendors.

Germany-based ecommerce software provider Commercetools will invest 17 million dollars (14.45 million euros) in international growth and development. The software company wants to expand further in the Asia-Pacific region, but will also be focusing on the United Kingdom, the Benelux, Scandinavia, and North America.

Intershop, SAP and Insite Software are ranked as leader, the highest ranking possible, in a study by Forrester on B2B ecommerce software providers. According to this report, commerce suites finally have caught up to the complex needs of B2B businesses.

Shopware, one of the most popular ecommerce software providers from Germany, is moving more and more into the international markets. The company is increasingly present in other countries, with the launch of its first office in the UK coming soon.

Fintech company iZettle has launched its own ecommerce software solution. iZettle E-commerce is meant for current iZettle customers that want to sell their products online and for new customers to the Swedish company.

International IT services company Columbus has launched Columbus eCommerce, a SaaS ecommerce solution for B2B and B2C organizations. Using prebuilt templates, companies can make a new ecommerce website using Columbus' solution, which integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365. The software is focused on B2B retailers, but also offers built-in B2C functionality.

Intershop, a European provider of ecommerce software, saw its revenue increase by almost 5 percent to reach 35.8 million euros. It's the first time in four years that the German company was able to increase its revenue. Meanwhile, earnings before interest and taxes increased from -2.4 million euros in 2016 to 0.4 million last year.

Amazon has announced it will open a research center in Germany that's focused on developing artificial intelligence to improve the customer experience. Amazon wants to create over a hundred high-skilled jobs in machine learning at this new Amazon Research Center.

Lightspeed, which provides services to (online) retailers and restaurants, has closed a 166 million dollar (€141 million) investment. The series D round was led by institutional investor CDPQ, which invested about 115 million euros. Part of the money will go to its European office, where the R&D division will grow significantly.

More and more business-to-business companies are embracing proven B2C concepts and strategies when they start selling online. Whether it's about marketing or order management, there's a lot to learn from business-to-consumer retailers. But what are the steps B2B companies should take when they start with ecommerce?

Magento Commerce has launched its own multicarrier solution, called Magento Shipping, which automates shipping and fulfillment for online retailers and brands. With the solution, Magento users get access to regional and international carriers to automate their fulfillment.

NopCommerce is not a very well-known provider of ecommerce software. Still, the company has clients such as Volvo, BMW and even the unmatched singer Céline Dion. Ecommerce News Europe interviewed Alexandra Lykova, the marketing manager of this Russian ecommerce software solution.