Scaling well: An e-commerce prescription for medical distributors
In the medical supply industry, complexity comes with the territory.
Whether you’re managing multiple brands, regional divisions, or specialized product lines, e-commerce isn’t just about putting products online — it’s about making critical information accessible, ensuring smooth operations, and enabling customers to serve patients without delays.
As companies grow, many find themselves juggling separate web stores built on different platforms — each with its own maintenance needs. That setup might get you started, but it rarely scales.
This blog covers everything you need to know about scaling in the most healthy and sustainable way possible for your organization:
What medical suppliers need to know
What medical suppliers need to know
B2B sites that load in 1 second have a conversion rate 3× higher than a site that loads in 5 seconds.
30% of B2B customers already use digital self-serve channels for purchases.
You can save up to 100 hours per week for your sales team with the right e-commerce platform.
Consolidation is the cure for complexity – and buyers agree
85 % of North‑American B2B companies now say a single, centralized commerce platform is “critical” to growth.
Running multiple e-commerce platforms might feel “safe”, but it multiplies data silos, license fees, and upgrade headaches. A unified platform lets every business unit keep its own catalog, branding, and approval rules without duplicating product data or integrations.
Stories from the real world
After migrating to Magento, Alliant Power watched online orders drop from 60 % to 25 % because pricing stopped syncing, pages crawled, and orders got stuck.
Performance that keeps patients – and purchase orders – moving
Scaling an e-commerce platform isn’t just about handling more SKUs or customers — it’s about keeping the experience fast, reliable, and consistent as complexity increases. In medical distribution, where buyers depend on up-to-date information and frictionless ordering, any performance issue can quickly become a trust issue.
Here’s what to get right as you scale:
Here’s what to get right as you scale:
Adding new stores, catalogs, or workflows should build on your platform’s foundation, not fight against it. Choose a system with native multi-store and B2B functionality, so performance doesn’t degrade with each new division or brand you bring online.
Scaling with duplicated data (e.g., nightly batch syncs from ERP to e-commerce) leads to latency and errors. Real-time ERP integration ensures that even as you add customers or products, the data they see is always current — without stressing your infrastructure.
Some platforms demand big investments in hosting or third-party optimization as they grow. Make sure your architecture can scale horizontally (adding resources when needed) and won’t require a rebuild the moment traffic spikes.
As more buyers rely on your platform, the stakes rise. Fast page loads, mobile responsiveness, and intuitive UX are all non-negotiable — especially in high-pressure environments like hospitals and care centers.
Bottom line: Performance doesn’t just mean fast pages — it means scalable operations, resilient infrastructure, and accurate, real-time data. Get that right, and your platform becomes an enabler of growth, not a barrier to it.
Stories from the real world
Managing 15 regional webstores doesn’t have to mean 15 sets of problems. JENSEN-GROUP streamlined global e-commerce with one scalable, ERP-integrated solution — cutting order time by 30% and boosting customer satisfaction by 23%.
Self‑service that buyers actually use
Today 30% of B2B buyers complete every stage of their journey in digital self‑serve channels – and 77 % will spend up to $50,000 entirely online if the portal makes life easy.
Must‑have tools for healthcare procurement teams
- Real‑time contract pricing & inventory
- Downloadable invoices with one‑click payment
- Saved requisition lists / subscription re‑orders
- Role‑based approvals that mirror hospital purchasing policies
- Punchout support
Stories from the real world
When distributors focus on B2B-tailored platforms, uptime jumps and customers shift from phone orders to easy online reorders – exactly what AOSS Medical saw after moving away from its legacy stack.
Flexible catalogs & rock-solid data governance
A single hospital system may need a “formulary” list of approved items while a home health customer should see a completely different assortment. Look for:
- Customer-specific catalogs & price lists without maintaining extra databases
- Unlimited SKU support – medical distributors routinely manage 50 k 500 k items
- User hierarchies (nurses browse, purchasing managers approve) baked in, not bolted on
Traditional e-commerce platforms might accommodate this, but they depend on scheduled data pushes or custom personalization rules. Sana Commerce’s e-commerce platform short circuits the problem by reading the ERP’s item/price tables in real time, so you never wonder which system tells the truth.
Platform comparison – how to ensure future proof, B2B functionality
Platform comparison – how to ensure future proof, B2B functionality
Quick order uploads, punchout, role-based access, quote-to-order flows — as medical buyers expect more, your e-commerce platform needs to keep up without constant patchwork.
Here’s how the leading platforms stack up when it comes to future-proof B2B functionality:
Known for its flexibility and massive extension marketplace. Great for businesses that want to build something highly customized — and have the in-house development resources to maintain it long term.
But deep control often comes with higher overhead, slower time to market, and more complexity as you scale.
Enterprise-ready and deeply integrated with SAP’s suite. Best suited for companies already invested in the SAP ecosystem with the budget, timeline, and IT resources to match.
Rich in functionality — but often more than what most distributors need, and not without its share of complexity.
Purpose-built for B2B and engineered to work with your ERP from day one. No data duplication, no nightly syncs — just real-time pricing, inventory, and order history, straight from the system you already trust.
With proven support for multi-store complexity, Sana delivers enterprise capabilities without the enterprise burden.
Takeaway: choose the platform that scales with you, not in spite of you
Medical distributors can’t afford platform drama. Patients, clinicians, and procurement staff expect:
- One login, one source of truth – no matter how many divisions you run.
- Instant answers – accurate price, stock, order status in a click.
- Freedom to self‑serve – anytime, from any device, with data they can trust.
If your current strategy is leaving buyers waiting, reps firefighting, or IT juggling integrations, it’s time for a prescription change. Your e-commerce strategy needs to include tooling that can unify stories, speak fluently with your ERP, and deliver the speed and self-service today’s healthcare buyers already expect.
When your commerce engine scales smoothly, your team can focus on what really matters: getting the right products to the right caregivers – fast.
Let’s prescribe the right e-commerce treatment.
Let’s prescribe the right e-commerce treatment.
Speak with a solution provider who gets the pulse of medical distribution.
