Stop Patching, Start Scaling: BigCommerce for B2B vs Epicor Commerce Connect

For manufacturers and distributors invested in Epicor’s ERP systems, Epicor Commerce Connect (ECC) may have seemed like the logical ecommerce add-on, especially when speed-to-market and ERP integration were the top priorities. But times have changed.

Today’s B2B buyers expect a high level of personalization, convenience, and flexibility, often more than what they experience in B2C. They're researching products online, building carts after hours, comparing pricing with your competitors, and expecting real-time visibility into inventory, invoices, and account history for all their subsidiaries. Meeting those expectations requires more than a bolt-on portal with bare minimum ecommerce features. It requires a modern, scalable commerce platform that’s built for growth.

To stand out from the competition, manufacturers and distributors are expecting more from ecommerce, and many are finding that ECC’s Magento-based complexity can’t keep up. Its promise of “flexibility” comes with complexity, creating delays and added costs that slow innovation. In contrast, BigCommerce B2B Edition offers a streamlined, SaaS-native alternative that combines enterprise-grade flexibility with faster time-to-value, lower TCO, and a richer customer experience.

This blog explores how BigCommerce compares to Epicor ECC across key criteria, from feature velocity and usability to integration, scalability, and long-term ROI, and why leading B2B brands are making the switch.

Legacy Architecture vs. Modern Commerce

The biggest difference between Epicor ECC and BigCommerce is their starting point: ECC was built to extend an ERP, while BigCommerce was built to power digital commerce.

While Epicor ECC provides a web storefront, its primary purpose is to bolt ecommerce onto Epicor’s ERP systems. Underneath, ECC is a rebranded Magento instance, an open-source platform that comes with significant complexity. For merchants, that often means:

• Heavy developer dependence: simple changes like updating pricing, editing content, or creating a new catalog often require technical intervention.

• Constant maintenance: security patches, extension conflicts, and version upgrades can break customizations and slow down business agility.

• Limited focus on buyer experience: because Epicor’s core business is its ERP product, ecommerce innovation takes a back seat.

BigCommerce B2B Edition, on the other hand, is commerce-first. It’s a SaaS platform designed specifically for manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers who need to grow revenue online while maintaining tight ERP connectivity. With BigCommerce, merchants get:

• Modern B2B features out-of-the-box: multi-user company accounts, custom catalogs and pricing, approval workflows, shared shopping lists, quoting, and more.

• Real-time ERP connectivity: via trusted partners, including Silk Commerce’s Shophive Program, which delivers bi-directional Epicor integration without the rigidity of ECC.

• SaaS simplicity: always up-to-date, secure, and scalable without the upgrade headaches of Magento-based systems.

The takeaway? ECC keeps your commerce strategy tied to ERP complexity. BigCommerce empowers B2B teams to move faster, focus on customers, and scale without the constant drag of technical debt.

Time-to-value and total cost of ownership

When evaluating platforms, the true cost isn’t just the license fee, it’s the time, resources, and revenue lost along the way.

Epicor ECC often looks less expensive upfront, but merchants quickly run into hidden costs:

• Developer dependence: even small updates require technical work.

• Maintenance overhead: patches, fixes, and re-customizations after upgrades.

• Lost sales: downtime, slow performance, and rigid purchasing workflows that frustrate buyers.

BigCommerce B2B Edition reduces these risks with:

• Predictable SaaS pricing that includes hosting, upgrades, and security.

• Lower dev costs, since non-technical and business users can manage content, pricing, catalogs, and even multi-company accounts without IT help.

• Faster ROI, with merchants launching in weeks or months, not years.

While ECC erodes margins over time, BigCommerce lowers total cost of ownership and delivers faster returns.

Agility without the headaches

B2B commerce is evolving fast, and your platform needs to keep up.

Epicor ECC struggles to adapt. Tied to Magento’s legacy release cycle, upgrades are slow, risky, and often break customizations.Its promise of ‘flexibility’ comes with complexity: developer reliance, costly custom builds, and extension conflicts that make even small changes feel heavy.

BigCommerce B2B Edition delivers agility by design with:

• Continuous SaaS updates that add new B2B features without disruption or added technical work.

• Modern B2B tools out-of-the-box, from quoting to invoice portals, ready to use on day one.

• Low-code/no-code control and management so business teams can adapt quickly.

• Future-ready innovation, including headless architecture, AI-powered quoting, and multi-storefront expansion.

With BigCommerce, merchants stay ahead of buyer expectations without getting stuck in maintenance mode.

Seamless ERP integration

For manufacturers and distributors, ecommerce success depends on tight ERP connectivity. Without it, inventory accuracy, pricing, and order management quickly break down.

Epicor ECC offers native integration with Epicor systems, but it’s rigid and limited. Syncs can require manual intervention, and extending integration across workflows or new systems typically adds complexity and cost.

BigCommerce B2B Edition solves this with real-time, bi-directional integration through Silk Commerce’s Shophive connector. Merchants can:

• Keep product, inventory, and order data synchronized across Epicor P21 and Kinetic.

• Automate payment flows, pricing updates, and account management.

• Scale without re-architecting as new systems or sales channels come online.

The result: integration that empowers agility, not limits it. BigCommerce keeps your ERP as the backbone of operations while freeing commerce to drive growth.

The final word 

Epicor ECC was designed to extend ERP systems, not to power modern digital commerce. Its Magento foundation means complexity, developer dependence, and hidden costs that limit growth.

BigCommerce B2B Edition flips the model. With seamless ERP integration, out-of-the-box B2B features, and continuous SaaS innovation, it gives manufacturers and distributors the agility to:

• Launch faster, going live in weeks or months, not years.

• Operate more efficiently, with automations for quoting, invoicing, and reordering that free teams from manual work.

• Unlock revenue growth, using custom catalogs, price lists, and approval workflows to drive higher conversion.

• Scale globally, expanding into new brands, regions, and channels with multi-storefront and headless capabilities.

The pattern is clear: when B2B leaders switch from ECC to BigCommerce, they move from survival mode to growth mode, with a platform built for modern commerce, not ERP patchwork.

Ready to see how BigCommerce can transform your B2B strategy? Request a demo and explore what modern B2B commerce looks like.