SuiteCommerce Advanced vs. OroCommerce

1. B2B and B2C

SuiteCommerce Advanced and OroCommerce both have a wide variety of B2B options.  But even if your business primarily operates as a B2B company, there may be an opportunity for you to expand into a B2C market.  Even if B2C ecommerce isn't part of your primary plans, it's definitely worthwhile to examine the B2C options available within the ecommerce platforms you are considering.

SuiteCommerce Advanced

SuiteCommerce Advanced is built for both B2B and B2C companies.  However, unlike many other platforms that claim B2B functionality while primarily utilizing B2C features to "fulfill" those B2B needs, SuiteCommerce Advanced truly meets the needs of both B2B and B2C companies.

• Pro: Includes all of the native B2B and B2C capabilities your company will need, including custom prices, terms, and credit limits.
• Con: None. SuiteCommerce Advanced is a robust platform for B2B ecommerce, and if you find a feature missing, it can likely be added through customization or a third-party app.

SuiteCommerce Advanced B2B tools include features such as tracking sales through additional channels beyond your web store.  My Account tools for B2C include the ability to check order status/history, as well as address book management tools. Meanwhile, My Account tools for B2B enable buyers to manage quotes, view outstanding fees and/or credits, make online payments, and place orders from personalized catalogs. Other native tools include estimates and quotes, as well as stock visibility for users.

OroCommerce

The strongest argument that an OroCommerce salesperson will present is that OroCommerce is specifically designed for B2B companies.  This means that the B2B features are truly B2B, not just B2C options that can roughly fill a need. OroCommerce B2B capabilities include digitalized product catalogs, online ordering through self-service websites, quote-to-order portals, and multi-vendor marketplace features.  However, while OroCommerce can fulfill B2C ecommerce needs, it is somewhat lacking in B2C features due to its primary focus on B2B.

• Pro: Ideal for businesses that are primarily or exclusively focused on B2B ecommerce.
• Con: If B2C will be a significant part of your ecommerce sales, this might not have all the features you need.

If your company's focus is B2B ecommerce, then OroCommerce would likely be a great solution for your business.  Since OroCommerce is a growing platform, it's also a good idea to check out the latest product news updates from the Oro Inc. team so that you can stay up to date on both B2B and B2C updates.

B2B and B2C Champion

It really depends on your business.  If your company serves both B2B and B2C customers fairly evenly, SuiteCommerce Advanced is definitely the better option at this point in time. However, if B2C will be only a small portion of your ecommerce efforts, then OroCommerce will likely meet your company's needs.

2. ERP

It's essential to consider whether an e-commerce solution will integrate seamlessly with your current ERP system, as well as the quality of the integration.  Some ERP-to-ecommerce connections are seamless, while others will require clunky integrations.  Depending on your situation, you may want to select an ecommerce solution that integrates with your current ERP system.  In other cases, it may make sense to revamp your ERP system when selecting a new ecommerce platform.

SuiteCommerce Advanced

NetSuite ERP is the foundational software that all of the other NetSuite products connect to.  One of the biggest advantages that NetSuite has over its competitors is that all of the various NetSuite Modules integrate seamlessly with the ERP system.  This means you don't have to pay a developer to build integrations that connect your ecommerce solution with your ERP, CRM, or WMS systems.

• Pro: SuiteCommerce Advanced seamlessly connects to NetSuite ERP and other NetSuite Modules.
• Con: SuiteCommerce Advanced requires NetSuite ERP.

If your company already uses NetSuite ERP, SuiteCommerce Advanced is definitely your best option for ecommerce.  If SuiteCommerce Advanced is appealing to you, and your company does not already use NetSuite ERP, I highly recommend reaching out to a NetSuite Consultant who can help you learn whether NetSuite ERP would be a good fit for your business.  If switching over to SuiteCommerce Advanced will help you grow your business, it's definitely worth the extra investment upfront.

OroCommerce

There is currently no Oro Inc. ERP system available.  Instead, the company has what it calls OroPlatform, a RAD (rapid application development) platform that its customers can use to build their own PIM, CRM, or ERP platform.  The platform is built on PHP and Symfony, enabling developers to create secure and seamless applications.  OroCommerce can also connect to some existing ERP solutions, and there are even some ERP integrations available on their app marketplace.

• Pro: You can build an ERP system to fit your unique business needs, or connect to an already existing ERP platform.
• Con: There is currently no ERP platform specifically designed for OroCommerce by Oro Inc.

As I mentioned earlier, if you already work with a NetSuite ERP System, SuiteCommerce Advanced is the ideal solution for e-commerce.  However, if you are currently using a different ERP system that you are happy with, you should check to see if it integrates well with OroCommerce.

ERP Champion

I believe that SuiteCommerce Advanced has a more robust ERP connection at this point in time.  While there are numerous options available for connecting OroCommerce to ERP platforms, the flexibility comes at a price.  Until a solution is developed specifically for OroCommerce, SuiteCommerce Advanced will likely remain the preferred choice for ERP integrations.  However, it's important to remember that OroCommerce is a very new platform.  As the OroCommerce community grows, I imagine that we will see the release of an ERP platform made specifically for OroCommerce by Oro Inc. before too long.

3. CRM

In an age of global ecommerce, you either need to create a product so good and so different from anything your competitors are capable of creating that no company on earth can compete... or you need effective customer relationship management.

SuiteCommerce Advanced

SuiteCommerce Advanced integrates directly with NetSuite CRM, enabling your business to manage the entire customer lifecycle and adapt to customer needs. The NetSuite CRM platform is seamlessly integrated with NetSuite ERP and SuiteCommerce Advanced, providing your managers with more control and visibility of important data and analytics, without the need for clunky integrations. NetSuite CRM features, including upselling and order management, marketing automation, and a 360-degree customer view, help you meet goals such as increasing sales performance or strengthening customer relationships.

• Pro: The NetSuite CRM Platform is robust.
• Con: None that I'm aware of.

Whether you are looking to streamline your lead-to-cash process, elevate productivity, or enhance your customer service capabilities, NetSuite CRM has all of the tools your company could need. With NetSuite CRM, you have access to information about the entire customer journey, all of which is accessible through customizable dashboards and reporting.

OroCommerce

OroCommerce offers robust customer relationship management capabilities when integrated with OroCRM. Some of the main features of OroCRM include account and contact management, lead and opportunity management, and a 360-degree customer view.

• Pro: OroCommerce, connected to OroCRM, has all the features your company might need to understand its customers.
• Con: None that I am aware of. Overall, a robust system!

Like SuiteCommerce Advanced, OroCRM also features several key components, including sales and marketing performance dashboards, reporting and analytics, and RFM analysis, which enable you to collect, analyze, report, and utilize data to enhance your ecommerce efforts. With a 360-degree view of your customers, you can better understand why sales suddenly increased or decreased, and what makes your customers unique.

CRM Champion

This one might be a toss-up. While a feature-by-feature comparison would show differences in how certain capabilities function and how features are named, the two platforms seem to compete rather well. OroCRM has a ways to go in proving that it can keep up with the performance and power of NetSuite CRM, but the integration itself, and the basic capabilities, measure up pretty well.

4. Global Business Features

Does your ecommerce solution need to include a large number of language options?  What about the Tax and VAT features?  Do you need to be able to accept a wide variety of currencies? These are all very important factors to consider when choosing an ecommerce platform.

SuiteCommerce Advanced

SuiteCommerce Advanced includes a wide variety of global e-commerce tools, including the ability to sell in multiple languages and currencies within a single e-commerce platform. SuiteCommerce Advanced enables your team to efficiently and seamlessly manage business in multiple countries.

• Pro: Great global tools that enable you to truly sell your products globally.
• Con: If you operate in certain countries, you may still need to add location- or culture-specific features through customizations and apps.

SuiteCommerce Advanced gives you all of the tools you need to manage global business pain points through things such as tax and VAT features, and the ability to accept a wide variety of payment methods.

OroCommerce

I know it's not about the languages... but it's kind of about the languages. "Multiple" is a loose term, so when a company advertises that their platform enables you to do business in multiple languages, currencies, etc., it's important to pin down what "multiple" really means in this case. Now I know that there are many global capabilities, including languages, that can be added through customizations and plugins, but depending on the size of your business, you might need a more versatile framework to start with.

• Pro: Includes many global features that enable international ecommerce.
• Con: Limited capabilities in this area. Depending on your international business needs, this solution may or may not include the features you need.

Since OroCommerce is a relatively new platform, its global features are still somewhat limited. However, OroCommerce may be a good fit if your business only plans to operate in a few major areas, such as those that speak German, English, Russian, and Spanish. And let's be honest, that's likely to meet the needs of many businesses. So, even though SuiteCommerce Advanced might have more global capabilities, that really won't matter to you if those extra features are superfluous and will go unused in your business. Always keep in mind the specific needs of your company.

"Global Business Features" Champion

At this point in time, my vote goes towards SuiteCommerce Advanced. I feel a bit like a broken record saying it. Still, OroCommerce lacks some of the features currently available in SuiteCommerce Advanced, and it may simply be because it's a newer solution. Although the OroCommerce platform appears robust, I would personally wait a bit and see how it performs for other companies before choosing it for my own business. We will be watching this platform closely as the platform becomes more established. I imagine that even the language list above will soon be outdated as OroCommerce continues to develop.

5. Add-ons

While manual customizations are great, sometimes a good solution has already been built.  Add-ons are a great way to save your team time, by allowing them to use the work of other developers rather than having to re-invent the wheel with every project.

SuiteCommerce Advanced

A great place to find add-ons for SuiteCommerce Advanced is this online store.  It is a small, trusted, and growing NetSuite App Store where you can find both SuiteCommerce apps, and NetSuite ERP apps. 

• Pro: Good add-ons available.
• Con: Since some third-party apps can be poorly built, it's essential to ensure you obtain these apps from reputable, reliable sources.

While SuiteCommerce Advanced provides developers with direct access to the source code, it's sometimes beneficial to integrate a solution that other developers have already created.

OroCommerce

As with SuiteCommerce Advanced, numerous extensions are available for your OroCommerce platform, saving your developers considerable time and effort.  For OroCommerce, the best place to find apps like these is the OroCommerce Marketplace. They have many different approved apps available that are ready to be plugged into your platform.

• Pro: There are many good apps available.
• Con: Like with SuiteCommerce Advanced add-ons, you want to ensure that you only use apps from reliable stores.

My only hesitation, which I wish to note here, is that since OroCommerce lacks certain features compared to SuiteCommerce Advanced, it may require additional add-ons in some cases.  For example, there is a danger that a large enterprise using OroCommerce could end up with a more complex web of plugins to manage than if they had used SuiteCommerce Advanced.  Again, though, where those extra features are not needed, OroCommerce will definitely be the better fit for many companies.

Add-ons Champion

I'm calling it a tie.  Both platforms have wonderful options when it comes to add-ons, you will just want to be sure and use apps well, regardless of the platform you choose.  Work to balance code customizations with plugins.  You don't want to overwork your developers by having them re-create existing solutions, but at the same time, your answer to every missing feature should not be "find a third-party app".

6. Support

After you have purchased and launched your ecommerce site, you might still have questions.

SuiteCommerce Advanced

The SuiteCommerce Advanced platform is well-established, and this has driven the market to create a large number of help resources.  While online help forums have their place, you may want more personalized help. The best support option is a NetSuite Developer who specializes in SuiteCommerce, and who will work with you to capitalize on the features and flexibility of SuiteCommerce Advanced to fit your business perfectly.

• Pro: SuiteCommerce Advanced has a great number of support resources available, from personalized consulting and developing, to extensive online resources.
• Con: None that I've found.

When it comes to support, SuiteCommerce Advanced has a great system.  From free online videos to in-depth personal consulting from certified NetSuite Partners, there is always someone out there who can help you through customizations.

OroCommerce

Because the OroCommerce Platform is relatively new, support availability is somewhat limited.  However, OroCommerce offers a valuable online resource for developers, and there are still numerous options for personal consulting and development by professionals specializing in OroCommerce.

• Pro: OroCommerce offers robust developer resources online.
• Con: Currently, help resources for users, rather than coding experts, are somewhat limited.

For your in-house developers who will be making code customizations, OroCommerce offers a valuable help resource.  However, there are very few support resources available for managers who will be working in the back-end of OroCommerce on a daily basis.

Support Champion

If you are an experienced developer who prefers to research answers independently, OroCommerce offers the support system you need.  However, if you prefer more user-oriented tutorials, SuiteCommerce Advanced may offer a better support system for you.  Additionally, with both solutions, users have access to personalized help from experts who work with the software on a daily basis.

7. Summary

Taking all things into consideration, I believe that SuiteCommerce Advanced is the objectively better option, based on its functionality and performance. It takes the lead in terms of B2C capabilities, ERP, and global business features. However, depending on your business needs, OroCommerce may be the best fit for you. Like SuiteCommerce Advanced, the OroCommerce platform is robust in terms of B2B, CRM, add-ons, and support availability. Having explained the basics of both platforms, I recommend that you reach out to a developer to learn more about which solution is best suited for your business.

Hopefully, this post provides you with something to work with as you try to understand NetSuite and its capabilities for your business. If you have any questions or would like some free consulting advice, please don't hesitate to contact our team at Anchor Group.