Beyond the cart: 4 B2B e-commerce examples of digital success
February 27, 2026The most successful B2B brands improved publishing speed, reduced errors, and scaled catalogs by centralizing product data. Use the PIM Buyer’s Guide to evaluate your own foundation.
Poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million annually, according to Gartner. In B2B e-commerce, where orders are larger and relationships span years, that cost shows up in specific ways: a third of all B2B orders placed online contain errors, according to a Sana Commerce survey of over 1,000 B2B buyers. Incorrect product selection is the number one cause of those errors and the returns that follow.
Your B2B buyers need precise specifications to avoid compatibility issues, real-time stock availability to plan their operations, and technical documentation that meets compliance requirements across multiple markets.
The four B2B e-commerce case studies below demonstrate how global brands solved specific operational problems through improved data management, pointing to a fundamental shift in how B2B e-commerce trends are unfolding: success comes from what happens before the cart, not inside it.
1. Carhartt: Cutting publishing time in half across 50,000+ SKUs
Carhartt, the durable workwear brand founded in 1889, manages over 50,000 SKUs across multiple regions and sales channels. The company implemented Inriver PIM to centralize product information into a single source of truth, replacing fragmented workflows with automated processes that improved accuracy and speed across global retail and e-commerce channels.
Challenge
Despite having a PIM solution in place, Carhartt’s teams continued working in spreadsheets and data silos. Customer information gaps led to errors that incurred substantial costs from retailer chargebacks, and numerous inquiries stemmed from inaccurate or missing product details.
Innovation
Carhartt partnered with Inriver and Valtech to build a custom data model featuring a three-level product hierarchy and seasonality requirements. The company connected SAP ERP to SAP Commerce Cloud via an outbound connector, enabling automatic synchronization of product data across e-commerce channels.
Results
- Reduced product publishing time by 50%
- Centralized management of 50,000+ SKUs across channels
- Improved data accuracy and consistency globally
- Significantly reduced retailer chargebacks from inaccurate product information
B2B takeaway
Inriver’s syndication capabilities let you publish consistent product information to e-commerce platforms, retail partners, and marketplaces from a single source, reducing errors that lead to chargebacks and returns.
2. Fluidra: Connecting 160 branch offices with real-time product data for B2B e-commerce
Fluidra is a global pool and wellness manufacturer selling primarily to B2B professional customers across 160 branch offices and production centers. With more than 220 engineers worldwide and 1,400 active patents, the company owns the entire product journey from R&D through after-sales and spare parts.
Challenge
Fluidra was juggling multiple databases maintained by various teams, manually creating each SKU with no ERP connection. Product updates and technical documentation are stored in disconnected systems, making it difficult to ensure consistent information across B2B e-commerce sites, catalogs, and branch offices.
Innovation
Fluidra implemented Inriver PIM and connected it with multiple ERP systems, automating product management and enabling real-time collaboration. The platform now serves global brand websites and B2B e-commerce, while factories use it to store technical information for product manuals and safety documentation.
Results
- Connected multiple ERPs to eliminate manual SKU creation
- Real-time product data across 160 branch offices and production centers
- Employees download technical manuals, compliance data, and product descriptions from a single source
- Branch office staff have instant visibility into spare parts inventory
B2B takeaway
Inriver’s ERP integration connects your product data directly to inventory, pricing, and fulfillment systems, so B2B e-commerce channels and branch offices display accurate information without manual updates.
3. Jacuzzi: Shifting D2C e-commerce growth from 4% to 14%
Jacuzzi, the global hot tub and hydrotherapy manufacturer headquartered in California, manages over 20,000 SKUs sold through a complex dealer network and multiple online channels. The company implemented Inriver PIM to modernize its product data infrastructure and support faster syndication to dealers and e-commerce platforms.
Challenge
Launching products that met specific dealer requirements and online channel specifications was a time-consuming manual task. Teams manually exported and manipulated product data, causing inefficiencies, errors, and limited scalability. The baths category within Jacuzzi’s direct-to-consumer business was experiencing declining growth.
Innovation
Jacuzzi partnered with Inriver and Layer One to centralize product information and automate syndication to its retailer network and e-commerce channels. The company plans to leverage Inriver Evaluate, the Digital Shelf Analytics capability, to optimize product visibility using AI-driven insights across all sales channels.
Results
- Direct-to-consumer baths category growth shifted from 4% to 14%
- Centralized management of 20,000+ SKUs across the dealer network and e-commerce
- Streamlined product launches that previously caused delays
- Stronger partnerships with independent retailers through reliable product data
B2B takeaway
Inriver’s syndication and Digital Shelf Analytics capabilities enable you to push consistent product data to multiple channels while monitoring how products appear and perform across each channel.
4. W.B. Mason: Cutting product onboarding time from 7 days to under 3 during a pandemic pivot
W.B. Mason, one of the largest privately held office products dealers in the U.S., manages over 100,000 SKUs across office supplies, furniture, technology, and janitorial products. The company implemented Inriver PIM to centralize product data from hundreds of vendor sources and accelerate time-to-market for its online catalog.
Challenge
Legacy systems and manual workflows couldn’t keep pace with digital commerce. Vendors submitted product information in various formats, and teams normalized data in Excel spreadsheets. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sales of paper and toner dropped nearly 70% within three weeks while demand for janitorial supplies and PPE surged. Thousands of new products needed to go online quickly, creating a massive content operations bottleneck.
Innovation
W.B. Mason replaced spreadsheet-based workflows with Inriver, enabling product data to flow from ERP to PIM in seconds. The company adopted Inriver Inspire, an AI-driven tool that automates product attribute creation. “With Inspire, we can take content that used to take days or weeks to generate and do it in seconds,” said Jared Swanson, Associate Director at W.B. Mason.
Results
- Reduced product onboarding time from 7 days to under 3
- Enriched data for nearly 70% of products in 6 months, up from 15% annually
- Achieved 90–95% accuracy in AI-generated product attributes
- Centralized product data across 100,000+ SKUs
B2B takeaway
Inriver’s AI-powered enrichment tools and ERP integration let you onboard products in hours instead of days, standardize data from multiple sources automatically, and scale catalog operations without proportionally scaling headcount.
Get the product data right, and the sales follow
The B2B e-commerce examples above didn’t solve their growth challenges by redesigning checkout flows or adding payment options. Carhartt, Fluidra, Jacuzzi, and W.B. Mason each invested in the ecosystem surrounding their products, centralizing data, connecting ERP systems, and automating syndication to the channels where their buyers actually make decisions.
Your cart is useless if the product information that feeds it is inconsistent, incomplete, or incorrect. If you want to replicate what these companies achieved, start by breaking down data silos and implementing a PIM solution built for complex B2B models. The results they saw, from 50% faster publishing to 70% catalog enrichment in six months, came from getting the foundation right first.
Schedule a demo today to see how Inriver can support your B2B e-commerce strategy.
See the Inriver PIM in action
Inriver offers the most comprehensive PIM solution on the market, built for speed, scale, and complexity. Let an Inriver expert explain how the Inriver PIM can turn your product data flows into a sustainable revenue stream.
- Get a personalized, guided demo of the Inriver platform
- Have all your PIM questions answered
- Free consultation, zero commitment
Thanks for reaching out!
We’ll be in touch soon.
Please try again in a moment.
