I’ve received several inquiries about implementing Dynamics 365 eCommerce in a B2B context, with a recurring concern being the associated costs and efforts. In this post, I will share my experiences and recommendations for creating a B2B eCommerce site catering to both local and regional markets. The example presented here represents a medium-sized eCommerce implementation. Keep in mind that there are possibilities for smaller B2B implementations with fewer requirements and greater reliance on “out-of-the-box” solutions based on Adventureworks or Fabricam.

Super-duper executive summary:

Under many assumptions, and with an eCommerce site handling 5,500 orders/month and eCommerce revenue of $2,750,000/month, you should budget approximately $14,500/month for licenses and an implementation cost of around $500,000 over six months. Averaging this cost per month across 36 months results in approximately $35,000/month. While the price may seem steep, it is essential to consider the alternatives and the additional efforts required to integrate third-party eCommerce sites with F&O. Dynamics 365 pricing aligns with what is commonly observed in the market. Integrating with third-party eCommerce systems might appear attractive in a PowerPoint presentation, but often leads to a complicated web of integrations, workarounds, and issues entirely detached from Microsoft’s innovation. Don’t deceive yourself. It is also crucial to maintain a close relationship with your implementation partner, as they can offer valuable insights on how to keep licensing costs within a reasonable range.

Licenses

The go-to resource for licensing questions is the Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide, which is updated regularly. In a nutshell, here’s what you need:

1. Dynamics 365 Commerce HQ users (usually attach licenses to other F&O users).
2. Select a Tier level, which determines the scalability and boundaries regarding the number of orders per month you can have.
3. Add overage Tiers if your order count exceeds the limits of Tier SKU.

Additionally, Microsoft has introduced the concept of “bands” that regulate the number of transactions allowed based on average order value. A sweet spot for B2B is typically Band 3/4, which grants the following number of orders per month:

For example, a B2B customer with 5,500 eCommerce orders and an average value of $500/order would generate $2,750,000 in monthly revenue. The expected eCommerce licensing cost for such a scenario would be around $14,500/month. In this example, it would correspond to 0.51% of the sales basket value or $2.6/order in eCommerce licensing costs.

Implementing Dynamics 365 eCommerce offers a seamless and integrated online shopping experience for your customers. While there may be cheaper solutions available, they will require you to tackle integration challenges yourself, often leading to limitations, issues, and a siloed approach. The implementation process involves planning, design, configuration, customization, testing, deployment, staff training, and support. For B2B, specific requirements may necessitate extensions, as they are often not covered by the standard solution.

Resource plan

A minimum of 6 months project is my recommendation, and the following resource plan:

1. Project Manager (1 FTE)
   Responsible for overall project management, communication, and coordination.
2. Business Analyst/Functional architect (1 FTE)
   Responsible for gathering requirements, analyzing business processes, and developing functional specifications.
3. Commerce/eCommerce Technical Architect (1 FTE)
   Responsible for designing and configuring the Dynamics 365 eCommerce solution, Site builder and setup in Azure B2C.
4. Senior/Expert Developer(s) (4 FTEs)
   (X++) Responsible for customizing and integrating further and to handle extensions in F&O
   (C#) Back-end developer that deeply understands the Commerce SDK and CRT(Commerce runtime), and can create B2B extensions packages.
   (JavaScript/TypeScript) Back-end developer that can create and clone eCommerce modules.
   (CSS) Front-end developer that works in the front-end design
5. Quality Assurance Specialist (1 FTE)
   Responsible for testing and ensuring the quality of the solution.
6. Training Specialist (0.5 FTE)
   Responsible for staff training and creating user guides and documentation.
7. Support Staff (1 FTEs)
   Responsible for ongoing support and maintenance.

Project Phases:

• Define project objectives, scope, and requirements.
• Assemble project team.
• Develop project schedule and milestones.
• Identify key stakeholders and establish communication plan.
• Perform risk assessment and develop risk mitigation strategies.

Solution modeling (1.5 months)

• Analyze current business processes and identify areas for improvement.
• Design eCommerce site layout, navigation, and user interface.
• Configure Dynamics 365 eCommerce modules and settings.
• Set up product catalog, pricing, promotions, and inventory management.
• Configure payment gateways and shipping options.

• Develop custom functionality and extensions as needed.
• Further integrate Dynamics 365 eCommerce with existing extensions.
• Configure customer segmentation and personalization features.
• Implement advanced analytics and reporting capabilities.

• Perform unit, integration, and system testing.
• Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT).
• Address and resolve any identified issues or bugs.
• Perform performance and security testing.

Deploy/Go-Live (1 month)

• Plan and execute data migration strategy.
• Deploy Dynamics 365 eCommerce solution to production environment.
• Train staff on using and managing the eCommerce platform.
• Create user guides and documentation.

• Monitor system performance and address any issues.
• Gather user feedback and implement continuous improvements.
• Provide ongoing support and maintenance for the eCommerce solution.

Scope of an eCommerce site

Dynamics 365 eCommerce consists of several modules and components that need to be included in the scope. To keep track of this, I recommend building a WBS structure in DevOps that allows for following of each aspect of the implementation. The main aspects I recommend are:

1. Processes
   Create a list of all processes associated with eCommerce, that includes steps of what is needed to be done in Dynamics 365 F&O/HQ. Like creating products, prices, customers on hand etc. In a typical implementation you will have 50+ processes, that also cover processes that your customers will do in the eCommerce site.
2. Azure B2C and Azure frontend
   Authentication and access control are essential elements and expect to have 20+ work items related to this topic.
3. Modules
   Create a list of all D365 eCommerce modules. In total there are 71 main modules, and several sub-modules. The reason why you want to create a WBS on these, is because you will have to evaluate if you should clone some of them, and if you should create a theme/design around them. You also need to be ready to create subtasks to handle languages/translations and to further create local regulatory features. The developers will mainly work on these.
4. Fragments
   Create DevOps work items on components that can be reused across the site. These are fragments like headers, footers, breadcrumbs, common metatags, and internal/external scripts. Also keep in mind that you may need to create channel and language specific versions of each fragment. In the projects I have been with there will be 16+ fragments multiplied with number of channels and languages.
5. Templates
   Create work items on templates that will be reused. In a normal project there will be 12+ fragments.
6. Pages
   Create a work item per page. Normally this will be approx. 40 pages multiplied with the number of channels and languages. The pages you should invest in are PDP (Product Details Page), Search and Category pages, Cart and Checkout pages. They need to be flawless!
7. Theme
   You may start out with cloning the standard Adventureworks/Fabricam theme, and then extend from there. We often see that we want elements from both the themes, and we then need to do a lot of work on the themes to get the right look and feel. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the work required on design and theme and be prepared to invest heavily in this area. This is more than selecting colors but is directly linked to how eCommerce users will interact with the site. Expect to have 50+ work items in this, and you must go deep to the design you require.
8. Media library
   eCommerce is a very visual delivery. Good pictures are essential. Not only for products, but also to create visual elements in the site.
9. Microsoft support cases
   In the project you need a very tight relationship with Microsoft Support for clarifications. Not everything is available as documentation, and sometimes you need to have expert help to push things forward. Especially since there are new features and improvements quite frequently. I recommend adding all communications and SR numbers in your DevOps, so that you bring visibility and tractability of all support. Also, very often you may have feature requirements that is not part of standard, and you may need to find workarounds to ensure progress. Waiting for the next release may not always be an option. It is not uncommon to have 50+ support cases through implementation.

Conclusion

Implementing Dynamics 365 eCommerce in a B2B context may seem like a Herculean task, but with the right planning, resources, and a sprinkle of determination, you can make your eCommerce platform the talk of the town. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your eCommerce site, but if you follow the steps laid out in this guide, you’ll have a platform that even Julius Caesar would approve of. So, gear up and embark on this eCommerce odyssey, and who knows – you might just become the “Amazon” of B2B commerce. Good luck, and may the Dynamics be with you!