Headless Commerce: the first platform that makes both marketeers and developers happy

Headless Commerce is the future. With this e-commerce architecture, the front-end is disconnected from the back-end, allowing for maximum freedom of choice. The back-end can be connected to virtually any CMS or other sales channel, so B2B can finally offer a B2C experience to customers. 

Both marketeers and developers are happy. The latter is assured of the best-of-breed back-end platform for all B2B functionalities. Headless Commerce offers the best of both worlds.

Headless Commerce is an e-commerce architecture where the front-end is disconnected from the back-end commerce functionality. The front and back-end are linked by an API (Application Programming Interface), which makes communication and data exchange possible. Such an API can be seen as a plug or a connecting Lego brick. 

Propeller is the first in the industry with a full GraphQL API (the successor to REST). In this blog, we will not delve into the technology behind this, but we will mainly focus on the benefits of Headless Commerce for B2B organizations, which are self-evident.

By using our API, customers or implementation partners can quickly adapt and expand any component without compromising stability. The hard work is done on the back end of the system, without affecting you or your customers on the front end.

If you use multiple sales channels in the front-end, you only make changes to data and functionality in one place on the back end. All frontends then have immediate access to these changes. In the same way, each front end can be changed and implemented without affecting the back end.

Link with every CMS or sales channel

By moving from traditional or monolithic e-commerce platforms to headless Cloud Native applications, marketeers are no longer tied to cumbersome, predefined front-end templates. They now have complete freedom in their choice of Content Management System (CMS) or other sales channels. 

By default, we work with WordPress, the most widely used content management system and a favorite among marketeers. It is intuitive, offers flexibility and you can easily change or expand something yourself. These B2B features are all available to you when you use WordPress as your CMS front-end system: templates, plugins, My Account (all the information you want to show your customers is displayed in your WordPress template from Propeller), Product Feed and Checkout & Payments. 

Personalized B2B catalogs, customer-specific prices, one-click re-ordering, and customized offers are also possible. 

Furthermore, there is the feature Analysis & Profiling, where you can discover patterns in customer behavior and build profiles, experiment with campaigns, and optimize your conversion. You can also manage multiple commerce shops from one central admin panel, across borders, in any currency, according to different regulations, and in any language. Finally, you can easily set roles, budgets, and permissions. 

If you prefer a different CMS because it suits your organization better, that is no problem: Propeller can link with virtually any CMS. We notice that B2B customers are making increasingly higher demands on CMS: not only does it have to be intuitive, but freedom of design is also mentioned frequently. The less programming knowledge required, the better. After all, software developers are scarce!

Voice-activated ordering is also possible (think of Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple’s Siri). Selling via other sales channels such as Instagram or with PWA (Progressive Web App), so that ordering is easy on mobile devices, is no problem at all.

Suitable for both B2B and D2C

More and more of our B2B customers are also delivering directly to consumers. If you do D2C (Direct-2-Consumer) as well as B2B, the big advantage of Headless Commerce is that you can easily choose multiple front-ends for different customers or brands. We provide a seamless connection of all your web portals, websites, and webshops with our state-of-the-art back-end. 

All integrations take place in the back-end, for example with your ERP and CRM system, but also with tools from distributors, payment providers, or your own warehouse. Whatever you want! Propeller simplifies the complexity of integration for your organization and automates manual processes for streamlined and fault-tolerant processes. We believe that a successful B2B Commerce platform is at the center of your ecosystem. 

Until recently, techies and marketeers were often at odds when selecting a B2B platform. If you opted for high-end technology on the back end, marketeers often complained about a spartan CMS they had to work with. And the fancy CMS they knew from the B2C market did not work well with the complex back end in the B2B segment. 

With Headless Commerce, those two sides are disconnected and linked via an API, allowing B2B customers to have a B2C experience as well. Best-of-breed of both, flexible and stable. Happy marketeer, happy developer happy, happy customer.