Executive Q&A: Aligning B2B e-commerce with Microsoft and Dynamics ERP partners

While the e-commerce landscape is vast, the vendor list becomes considerably shorter when limited to solutions with vertical or horizontal specializations and integration with enterprise solutions like Microsoft Dynamics.

"SaaS e-commerce can be both simple and very limiting," says Michiel Schipperus, CEO of Sana Commerce. It is common, he says, to enounter companies, including Dynamics ERP customers, dealing with an entry-level e-commerce solution that may have been have been quick to set up, but soon after has revealed its failure to meet their more advanced requirements.

Sana is planning a new release that represents the company's vision for the future of B2B e-commerce - a cloud platform that is customizable while remaining upgradeable. They are also placing serious bets on the future of Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft's SMB ERP platform of the future. In a new interview, Schipperus discusses what it means to be competitive as an ISV in the e-commerce space, what companies with complex wholesale, distribution, and manufacturing operations really need, and what ISVs must do to align themselves as successful Microsoft partners.

MSDW: When it comes to investment in e-commerce, have you observed any patterns in the Microsoft ecosystem?

Michiel Schipperus: Everyone talks about digital transformation. It's an abstract concept - does everyone mean the same thing? What's nice about e-commerce is that it's very tangible. It drives topline and bottom line and it is very visible, so it's a nice building block for transitioning a company to become not just more digital but more customer focused. It puts tools in the hands of customers. So ...