Sana Commerce vs. OroCommerce: Which B2B e-commerce platform should you choose?

A feature checklist won't settle the choice between Sana Commerce and OroCommerce. Both platforms cover what manufacturers and wholesalers expect from B2B e-commerce, from customer-specific pricing and quoting to account hierarchies and a self-service portal, so a side-by-side spreadsheet ends in a tie. What breaks the tie is how each platform is built.

The structure of the platform decides three things: how your ERP data reaches the store, how the buying experience feels for your customers who depend on your store, and how much growth tooling you can get without a build project.

If SAP or Microsoft Dynamics runs your business, those are the differences that matter most. Here's how the platforms compare on each one.

OroCommerce at a glance

OroCommerce is an open-source B2B e-commerce platform built for manufacturers and wholesalers with complex operations. It comes with a lot in the box: e-commerce, a built-in CRM, order management, and a workflow engine, all under one license, and it can run B2B, B2C, and marketplace models at once.

Built by the team behind Magento, it was made for B2B from the start, with customer-specific catalog management, tiered pricing, account hierarchies, and quoting all included. Because it's open-source, you can get into the code and customize almost anything. The flip side is that this power assumes you have developers. Getting the most out of Oro usually means building, configuring, and maintaining it yourself.

To connect to an ERP system such as SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, Oro most commonly connects through middleware tools such as MuleSoft, Boomi, or SAP CPI, though Oro also supports native integration options (its own API and integration modules) that don't require third-party middleware, depending on how the implementation is built. Your ERP data is typically synced into Oro, often cached rather than fully duplicated, and then has to be kept in step. That generally means Oro keeps its own version of your prices, products, and customers, and someone has to make sure it stays aligned with your ERP.

Sana Commerce at a glance

Sana Commerce is a B2B e-commerce platform built for companies running SAP or Microsoft Dynamics. Founded in 2007 in Rotterdam, the idea is simple: your webstore should run on top of your ERP, not next to it.

Sana Commerce creates a new future of connected commerce. Purpose-built for manufacturing, it anchors your store in real-time ERP data, connects that ERP across your wider systems, brings every buyer and seller touchpoint together, and adds guided intelligence that turns insight into action. It comes as a complete store out of the box, with complex product offerings, content management, a self-service portal, order management, and guided buying tools that pull live ERP data straight into the storefront. Sana has been named in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce four years running, and the industries of its customers around the world include manufacturing, industrial equipment and spare parts, construction, chemicals, medical supplies, and electronics.

Because Sana doesn't keep a separate copy of your data, what the buyer sees online is always exactly what's in your ERP. When a buyer opens a page, Sana pulls the price, stock, and account details straight from SAP or Dynamics right then. There's no second database and nothing to keep in sync, so there's nothing to fall out of date.

Sana Commerce Cloud is a SaaS platform and a certified SAP and Microsoft Gold Partner, with native, certified ERP integration for SAP and Microsoft Dynamics ERPs, including:

• SAP ECC
• SAP S/4HANA
• SAP Business One
• Microsoft Dynamics AX, F&O/SCM
• Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Business Central

The first difference: The path between your ERP and your store

If you're on SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, the way a platform connects to your ERP shapes everything from how accurate your prices and stock are to how much work your IT team has to do to keep up.

Oro most commonly connects through middleware for SAP and Dynamics specifically, since neither has a built-in Oro connector. Your ERP data is synced into Oro and often cached rather than fully copied. It’s updated on a schedule, so there are two versions of your data that need to stay in step. Some implementations build a direct, native connection through Oro's own API instead of third-party middleware, though that's still custom work rather than something that ships pre-built.

Sana takes a fundamentally different approach. The ERP is the foundation, and there's no second copy. Sana reads straight from SAP or Dynamics every time, using your ERP's own rules for every order.

What this difference means in practice

This gap has real, day-to-day implications:

• Pricing accuracy

  Sana shows each customer's exact price every time, because it reads it live from the ERP. With Oro, pricing is typically synced on a schedule, so it's usually only as fresh as the last update, though Oro does support real-time pricing integrations for teams that take time to build that connection.

• Upkeep

  With Sana, you maintain one system, and that’s the ERP. With Oro, your prices, products, and customer data live in two places and have to be kept in step, which is more work and more room for things to drift apart.

• Maintenance after updates

  Middleware connections need attention every time the ERP or platform updates. With Sana, that's the vendor's job, not your team's.

• SAP and Dynamics specificity

  Sana is certified for SAP ECC, S/4HANA, Business One, and several Dynamics versions. Oro connects to more ERPs overall, but its SAP and Dynamics links typically run through third-party middleware rather than a built-in connection that the vendor keeps current.

The second difference: The buying experience your customers depend on

How a platform connects to the ERP decides what's possible. The buying experience is what your customers actually feel, and it's where Sana's setup starts to pay off in ways a feature list won't show.

Sana reads from the ERP at the moment a buyer loads the page, so the storefront and the back office never tell different stories. Stock is real, prices are the buyer's actual contract prices, and an order placed online is an order in your ERP. That matters most in parts and equipment, where buyers aren't browsing; they're hunting for one specific component and need to be sure it's the right one before they commit.

Sana is built for that hunt, with visual and guided part search, exploded views, and BOM support that get a buyer from "I need the part for this machine" to a confirmed reorder without picking up the phone. On a general-purpose platform, that parts-buying depth is something you build, not something that ships in the box.

Oro gives buyers a strong, customizable experience, especially if you have developers to shape it. The difference sits underneath: the experience you get runs on Oro's own synced version of the data, so how accurate it feels depends on how well the sync keeps up.

What this difference means in practice

• Buyer confidence in the moment

  Because Sana reads live from the ERP, buyers see real prices and real stock without waiting on a sync. Oro's buyer experience is only as current as its last sync by default, though real-time pricing integrations can narrow that gap if your team builds them out.

• Parts-buying depth

  Sana ships visual and guided part search, exploded views, and BOM support out of the box, purpose-built for buyers hunting one specific component. Oro is a general-purpose platform, so that same depth of parts-finding is something your team or a partner has to design and build rather than something that comes ready to use.

• Account and service continuity

  Oro's built-in CRM gives sales and support one view of accounts, contacts, and activity alongside the storefront, which can make for a more joined-up buying experience if you don't already run a separate CRM. Sana’s single view comes from the ERP itself, where your account and order data already lives, and CRM connections are possible through custom integration if you need them.

The third difference: The tools to grow, and where each platform puts AI to work

A B2B channel should do more than just take orders correctly. It should also show you where the next order is coming from, and that's where tools and AI enter the picture.

On the tools side, Sana includes built-in analytics and a Commerce Console that puts your performance data and next steps in one place. This lets your e-commerce manager see what's working and act on it, such as surfacing reorder and replenishment patterns that you'd otherwise miss.

Layered on top is Workflows, a no-code automation tool where you set a simple rule based on a condition (such as for a buyer who hasn't ordered in 60 days, or an account that's dropped below its usual spend). Then, Sana runs the follow-up automatically on a schedule, whether that's a reminder email, an internal alert, or sending data to another system. Sana also partners with third-party tools like Tweakwise to layer AI-powered product suggestions and personalization onto the storefront, with more of its own AI capability actively in development.

Oro's workflow engine is built for something deeper: complex, custom approval and quoting flows for businesses whose buying process doesn't fit a standard shape. If this suits your business, it's a real strength. Oro has been investing in AI as well, including a storefront assistant on its Enterprise edition that the Oro team integrates and configures. But when Oro's AI answers a question about price, stock, or account terms, it's reading Oro's synced version of your ERP data, so those answers are only as current as the last sync. 

What this difference means in practice

• Where the automation lives

  Sana's Workflows is a no-code tool built for common, everyday triggers (a lapsed buyer, a dropped account) that a marketer or e-commerce manager can set up without a developer. Oro's workflow engine goes deeper into custom, multi-step approval and quoting logic, but that depth is typically configured or built by a developer or implementation partner.

• Analytics ownership

  Sana's Commerce Console and Insights are part of the core platform and surface reorder and replenishment patterns automatically, without a separate project. Oro also offers AI-assisted reporting, though it reports on Oro's synced version of your data, so its picture is only as current as the last sync.

• Who it fits

  Sana's growth tooling suits teams that want ready-made insights and automation out of the box. Oro is better suited to teams with developers who need to model an unusual or highly specific approval and quoting process that a standard tool wouldn't capture.

Sana Commerce vs. OroCommerce: Feature comparison

Here's a direct look at how the two B2B commerce platforms compare:

Where OroCommerce has an edge

OroCommerce is a capable platform with specific advantages in certain contexts:

• Built-in CRM

  Oro includes its own CRM, giving sales and support one view of accounts, contacts, and activity without a separate tool. If you don't already have a CRM, that could simplify your tech stack.

• Custom workflows

  Oro's workflow engine lets you build complex, custom approval and quoting flows. If your process is genuinely unusual, that flexibility is a real advantage.

• Open-source freedom

  With the open-source edition, teams with developers can work directly in the code. If your needs go past what a standard product offers, platform extensibility matters.

• More commerce models

  Oro handles B2B, B2C, and marketplace setups with multiple sellers under one license. If you're building a marketplace, Oro has more native support.

That said, the open-source freedom comes with a cost worth weighing honestly. More customization usually means a higher price to set up, a longer wait to go live, and ongoing upkeep that lands on your team rather than the vendor. The flexibility is real, and so is the work that comes with it.

Where Sana Commerce has an edge

For manufacturers and wholesalers on SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, Sana's approach gives you things middleware can't easily match:

• Built for how parts buyers actually buy

  Buyers can search by machine, by image, or straight from an exploded view to land on the exact component, then reorder it in a couple of clicks. On a general-purpose platform, that kind of part-finding is custom work. With Sana, it's how the product is meant to be used, which is the difference between a customer self-serving at 11 pm and a customer waiting on your counter team in the morning.

• Analytics that point to the next order

  Commerce Console and Insights pull your performance data and recommended next steps into one view, flagging reorder and replenishment patterns before they slip past you. It offers growth tooling out of the box, not as a separate BI project.

• ERP integration depth for SAP and Dynamics

  Sana is built with the ERP as its foundation, not just a connected data source, with certified connectors Sana builds and maintains for both SAP and Dynamics. There's no middleware to configure and no third party responsible for keeping the connection current.

• Data accuracy at the point of transaction

  Because Sana reads live from the ERP, every buyer sees pricing, stock, and account terms that match your ERP at that exact moment, not as of the last sync. That matters when 75% of B2B buyers say they'd switch suppliers for a better online experience, and a wrong price is one of the fastest ways to lose them.

• Lower total cost of ERP integration

  With no middleware to license or maintain, the long-term cost of the ERP connection is much lower, and the risk of integration failure drops with it.

• Faster time-to-value for SAP and Dynamics

  ERP-native connectors do the integration work for you, so there's no custom build standing between you and launch.

• Single source of truth

  Your prices, stock, customer data, and order logic live in the ERP and nowhere else, with no second copy to keep in sync.

Which platform is right for your business?

Both platforms are solid choices, but they're built for different situations. Choosing the right enterprise e-commerce platform comes down to your ERP, your development resources, and what you need the channel to do.

Choose Sana Commerce if…

• You sell equipment, parts, or consumables that get depleted and repurchased again and again. Buyers can find the exact filter, belt, fitting, or anything in between by machine or image, and reorder in seconds — no part number memorized, no phone call.
• You want analytics and follow-up without a side project. Commerce Console highlights the reorder patterns and next steps that drive growth, guided by your own customer and order data, and you can act on them in the same place you spotted them.
• SAP or Microsoft Dynamics runs your business. Your store shows live ERP data on every visit: real contract pricing, real stock, real account terms.
• You want less to run, not more. One system of record, connectors Sana maintains, a quicker launch, and no middleware sitting between your store and your ERP.

Choose OroCommerce if…

• You want deep customization. You'll need developers to build it and to keep maintaining it afterward.
• You need a built-in CRM. Oro's CRM helps if you don't already have one, though many businesses already do.
• You're building a marketplace. Oro supports multiple sellers natively, which is worth it only if a marketplace is actually on your roadmap.
• You're not on SAP or Microsoft Dynamics. Oro's wider ERP support may give you more options.

Questions to ask in demo calls

When you're evaluating either platform, the questions that matter most are about how each one connects to your ERP, and how your buyers actually use the store. A generic demo won't surface the operational differences, but these questions will:

• "Do you read pricing from our SAP or Dynamics version live, or on a schedule?" This tells you whether prices are right every time or only as fresh as the last sync.
• "What happens to the connection when we update or patch our ERP?" You want to know who's responsible. With middleware, it's often your team.
• "Who keeps the connection working: your team or ours?" A built-in connection that the vendor maintains is very different from a custom one you own. Partner-built means knowing who fixes it when an ERP upgrade breaks something.
• "How do our customer-specific prices and agreements show up in the store?" Don't accept a general answer. Ask them to show a real price from your ERP flowing through to the storefront, using your actual ERP version.
• "Can you show a buyer finding and reordering a part by machine or image, not just part number?" This separates a platform built for parts buying from one with a search box bolted on. Ask them to use a part with variants or substitutes so you can see how it really handles.
• "Can you demo with our ERP, not a sample environment?" A vendor confident in their connection will show live data from a real ERP.
• "What's the timeline for a company on our exact ERP?" A specific, ERP-aware answer beats a generic range.
• "Where does AI show up in the product today, and what's live versus roadmap?" A useful answer names real features and is honest about what's shipped, not just "we have AI."

Why B2B companies running SAP and Dynamics choose Sana Commerce

For manufacturers and wholesalers on SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, the choice comes down to one question: do you want your webstore built on top of your ERP, or bolted onto it?

With Sana, the ERP is the foundation, not a separate system to manage alongside it or fix when an update knocks things out of step. Every price, stock level, and account detail a buyer sees in the store is the same data that's in your ERP, because it's coming straight from your ERP.

That single foundation is what makes the rest hold together. Buyers trust what they see because it's the ERP itself, the part-finding and analytics on top are worth using because the data underneath is real, and none of it depends on a sync staying healthy. Sana works on SAP and Dynamics specifically, so the implementation, support, and roadmap all point to making that one connection excellent, rather than spreading across dozens of ERPs through middleware built by someone else.

If you're ready to see what a live, ERP-built connection looks like for your business, start a conversation with the Sana Commerce team and request a demo.