{"id":79774,"date":"2019-06-25T05:17:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T12:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oroinc.com\/b2b-ecommerce\/?p=79774"},"modified":"2023-04-04T03:14:16","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T10:14:16","slug":"reseller-agent-role-for-b2b-ecommerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oroinc.com\/b2b-ecommerce\/blog\/reseller-agent-role-for-b2b-ecommerce\/","title":{"rendered":"New Innovation: Reseller Agent Role for B2B eCommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has always been a challenge for companies that have large networks of distributors and resellers to tackle B2B eCommerce in an efficient way. There are multiple tactics that we implemented for our customers depending on how advanced they want to be. One example is creating personalized portals for each of your distributors and showing negotiated contract pricing and custom curated catalogs. Other approaches include designating online orders to specific distributors based on certain criteria, building a multi-website eCommerce solution to represent each of your distributors online and dropship on their behalf, or selling your product online with a high premium to ensure your partners have a price advantage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we are happy to let you know about <\/span>a recent innovation for OroCommerce<\/b> that may help you achieve fast results with your resellers. This innovation is called the <\/span>Reseller Agent Role<\/b>. It enables your resellers, contractors, or agents to use your eCommerce website on behalf of their clients. A typical use case is when a reseller adds items to a shopping list or places an order but the end customer needs to finalize the amount and complete the purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In essence, this feature introduces a new <\/span>customer user role<\/span><\/a>, which can be configured with any rights you or the end-customer deem appropriate. For example, the end customer may want to allow their reseller to actually buy things and not only add items to a shopping list. Different customers may assign different rights to the same reseller and OroCommerce gives the flexibility to create the Reseller Agent role however you see fit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Below is the high-level overview of the Reseller Agent role in OroCommerce.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. We have a special type of customer that “plays” the role of a middle entity (agent) between our store and the customer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Reseller<\/p>\n

2. We created a new role called “Agent” and we assign it to any customer user we want to act as an “agent”; once set, we select which customers they can impersonate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Reseller<\/p>\n

3. Agents log in to the storefront and enjoy their native experience, pricing, products, and available actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Reseller<\/p>\n

4. One of the available actions is to log in on behalf of the permitted customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Reseller<\/p>\n

5. Once logged in on behalf of the customer, the agent “enjoys” the experiences as it would have looked like by the eyes of the customer he or she is impersonating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Reseller<\/p>\n

Here are a few real-life use cases for how the <\/span>Reseller Agent Role can be used:<\/b><\/p>\n