B2B E-Commerce for Packaging and Logistics

Packaging products are characterized by an exceptionally high degree of variant diversity. A single carton type may be available in twenty different formats, three grades, flute profiles and several surface finishes — resulting in hundreds of SKUs for a single product group alone. The e-commerce challenge is making this variety manageable for the buyer: guided filter navigation by technical properties, compatibility checks between format groups and a clearly structured variant matrix on the product detail page. A poorly conceived shop leads to customers being unable to find the right variant and placing orders by phone or email — undermining the entire purpose of digitization.

Roll goods such as stretch film, adhesive tape, shrink film and packaging netting are not invoiced by unit count but by measures such as kilograms, linear meters or square meters. The ordering process must correctly map this unit logic: entering the required quantity in the customer's preferred unit, automatic conversion into stock units, minimum order quantities per roll or carton and transparent display of the actual billing unit. Weight dependencies are also common: freight costs depend on the weight of the order, which only emerges from the combination of roll width, film thickness and roll length. This calculation logic must be transparent and immediately accessible in the shop so the customer can realistically estimate the total cost of their order.

Custom production is not a niche topic in packaging — it is a major revenue driver. Printed cardboard boxes, custom adhesive tape widths, privately labeled packaging or bespoke padding inserts must be configurable without the sales team having to initiate each order manually. A product configurator in the shop allows the buyer to enter their own specifications, receive a calculation and trigger the order at a pre-agreed individual price — eliminating the break between a web request and a manual quote. Our B2B portal development includes such configurators as standard.

Buying roll goods differs fundamentally from ordering standard items. With stretch films, shrink hoods and adhesive tapes, the buyer is purchasing a quantity, not an article in the traditional sense. The technical specifications — film thickness in microns, roll width in millimeters, tear strength and elongation — determine which variant is right for a given application. Our variant model maps these parameters as filterable properties, so the buyer is guided from their requirement (pallet format, machine type, wrapping speed) to the correct film specification, rather than having to navigate through hundreds of SKUs.

Weight calculation is critical for freight pricing. An order of 500 kg of stretch film in 23 µm on industrial cores behaves logistically very differently from the same order in hand-wrap rolls. The weight derives from the technical parameters of the variant, not from a static weight field in the product master. Our weight calculation module computes the actual order weight based on the configured roll length, film width and material thickness, and passes this value to the freight logic. The customer sees the total weight in the cart, the resulting freight costs and whether their order can be packed in a pallet-optimized way.

Packaging distributors work with multi-tier pricing structures that must be individually visible for each customer in the shop. A food packaging manufacturer with an annual volume of 500,000 euros has different terms than a small craft business that sporadically orders shipping cartons. These conditions include base discounts on product groups, volume rebates when tiered thresholds are crossed, special prices for strategic items and annual bonuses when sales targets are reached. All these pricing levels must be stored in the shop and automatically applied for the logged-in customer without the inside sales team having to manually process every order.

Annual framework contracts are common in packaging trade. At the beginning of the year, the buyer agrees with the supplier on a quantity framework for certain items, securing a favorable annual price. Over the course of the year, this quota is called off in individual deliveries. Our framework contract module maps this process: the contract with total quantity, unit price and contract period is stored in the system; the buyer sees their remaining quota directly in the shop and triggers call-off orders with a few clicks. Automatic notifications warn when the quota is running low or the contract is about to expire, prompting a renewal initiative. This functionality is fully accessible via our B2B customer portal.

Systems integration is particularly multi-layered in packaging trade. On the ERP side, product master data, stock levels, customer pricing and orders must be synchronized. In the packaging segment, many distributors additionally operate a Warehouse Management System (WMS) that independently controls putaway and picking logic. The shop must be able to access live stock information from the WMS and hand off orders as picking tasks that the WMS can schedule directly into the packing line. Integration with leading ERP systems including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, JTL and Lexware is a core element of our integration work.

Logistics providers play an important role in the packaging industry. Many packaging distributors rely on external fulfillment partners for storage and dispatch. Connecting carrier APIs enables automatic freight cost calculation, provision of tracking links in the customer portal and electronic transmission of dispatch orders. For oversized goods and roll items, different shipping logic applies compared to standard parcels: pallets are shipped via freight carriers, standard rolls via parcel services. Our freight module automatically distinguishes between these shipping methods based on the order composition.

The packaging industry operates under multiple regulatory frameworks. Packaging for food products is governed by EU food contact materials regulation (EU) 10/2011 and must be accompanied by declarations of conformity. Packaging for dangerous goods under ADR/IATA must be UN-tested and correspondingly labeled. Plastic packaging falls under the EU Packaging Regulation and must provide information on recyclability and recycled content. These regulatory data points must be stored on the product in the shop and automatically provided as a document package upon ordering.

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is progressively tightening requirements for recycled content and recyclability from 2030 onwards. Packaging distributors must increasingly enrich their product catalogs with sustainability data: recycled content as a percentage, certifications such as DIN EN 13432 for compostable packaging, greenhouse gas footprint figures and lifecycle data. Our shop maps these sustainability attributes as filterable product properties, allowing buyers to search specifically for products with particular environmental characteristics. This transparency is becoming a selection criterion for many procurement teams in the packaging sector. Learn how to make your sustainability data usable for digital procurement in our strategic consulting.