Anchor Group Podcast: Episode 2
Listen on Spotify - Anchor Group Podcast, Episode 2: What is SuiteCommerce?
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Podcast Transcript
Caleb (00:00)
Eventually, we're going to make our own drink to promote on here. I suppose we're promoting Anchor Group services, but if we had a drink someday...
Well, with the nautical theme, we'd probably have to go with rum.
Michael
We should. I feel like our company could come up with a couple of good drink options. Have you ever heard of that rum or whiskey that's aged in barrels at the bottom of ships? The barrels expand and contract with the ocean, giving the drink salty tones. You can even see where your whiskey traveled in the world. It's pretty sweet.
Caleb
Yeah. Christmas present idea for this year. But today, other than talking about whiskey, we're going to dive deeper into SuiteCommerce.
Michael
That's right. Here at Anchor Group, Caleb is one of our SuiteCommerce experts. He's got a lot of experience, and today we're sharing some of that with you.
Caleb
Yeah, it's a topic I like to discuss. I find a lot of value in it for clients, and I've really come to like the product. It solves unique use cases in different industries, and the total cost of ownership is solid. Like any solution, there are pros and cons, and we'll get into that, but I enjoy thinking about the businesses it works well for. I've grown to really like it, especially in the B2B space.
Michael
Before we get into specifics, Caleb, what was your introduction to SuiteCommerce?
Caleb (02:02)
My brother was a SuiteCommerce developer. I was doing project management for SuiteCommerce projects while he handled the development. That’s how I got introduced. But I've always been interested in ecommerce, especially the marketing side—understanding customer psychology and shopping behaviors. I also enjoy the problem-solving side on the backend with NetSuite. It hits both sides of the brain for me. That was six or seven years ago, and since then, the product has evolved. We've built a lot of IP and solved so many use cases. Honestly, over the last year and a half, there hasn't been a problem someone brought to me that we haven't already solved. That comes from experience—hundreds of projects. It's been fun.
Michael (03:26)
For those unfamiliar, can you describe what SuiteCommerce is at a high level?
Caleb
SuiteCommerce sits on top of NetSuite. It’s a NetSuite product, a module added to your license. When I say it sits on top of NetSuite, I mean there's no integration required—it ties directly into the API. So, it's not a separate application storing data; you're not managing two systems. This is a big strength, especially for B2B. Normally, you'd have to integrate databases—NetSuite on one side, the ecommerce backend on the other. With SuiteCommerce, you're not managing separate databases. When I say "website customer," I mean the NetSuite customer record itself. The ERP data directly drives the website user experience, and you can surface and manipulate that data in SuiteCommerce.
Michael (04:53)
That's a good explanation.
I recently spoke with someone new to SuiteCommerce, and the term "integration" confused them. They asked, "Isn't it already connected?" I explained that when you connect NetSuite to platforms like BigCommerce or Shopify, you need an integration—something in the middle. But with SuiteCommerce, you don't need that. The data is already there; you don’t need separate software to connect the systems.
Caleb (05:43)
Right. It's not the NetSuite user interface, but it's also not a full integration in the traditional sense of passing data between applications. It’s better to think of it as sitting on top of NetSuite. It’s a different user interface, which is important because you want a shopping experience, not an ERP interface.
You also need to customize that interface—the whole theme. Thinking of it as sitting on top of NetSuite helps because the data driving it comes directly from NetSuite, while the user experience is separate.
Michael (06:28)
Why is that important? What’s the advantage of having SuiteCommerce sit on top of NetSuite?
Caleb
SuiteCommerce only exists if you have NetSuite—it can't be a standalone solution. But the biggest advantage is you can directly access NetSuite data for the customer experience. You’re interacting with customer records, price levels, payment terms, invoices—all natively tied to NetSuite. If you're familiar with NetSuite, you can build saved searches, which are like custom data queries. You can surface those searches in the customer portal so they can log in and see ERP data. I like to think of it more as a customer portal than just an ecommerce site, which opens up more use cases.
Michael
Wait, talk more about that. What do you mean by a customer portal?
Caleb (07:56)
People usually think of ecommerce as B2C—business to consumer—but in B2B, it’s more about a customer portal. Sure, you can enter orders, see custom pricing, and pay invoices, but you can also access additional information. Think about customer support—sales reps taking calls, logging into NetSuite, pulling data, and emailing it back to customers. With SuiteCommerce, you can surface that data directly in the portal. Customers log in and access the information themselves, reducing customer support requests. You can even audit those support requests and decide what additional data to surface in the portal. It’s about expanding what’s possible.
Michael (09:26)
That sounds like a key strength of SuiteCommerce. Can you explain more about leveraging the customer portal?
Caleb
Thinking of it as a customer portal helps broaden your perspective. It’s not just for placing orders—it’s about creating efficiency. Automation helps, but so does reducing unnecessary conversations. Customer portals are designed for self-service. SuiteCommerce lets you access ERP data without heavy integrations or building separate front-end interfaces. You can pull that data forward and present it to customers easily.
Michael (10:36)
I like that. Many merchants are bogged down with managing orders, especially over the phone. They want an ecommerce site but feel they don’t have time. Your suggestion to approach it as a customer portal makes sense. A well-built site can optimize efficiency and reallocate time internally. It may seem like a lot at first, but once you realize how much time you can save, it’s worth it.
Caleb
Exactly. It frees up time.
Here’s the cleaned-up version of that next section, with the filler words removed, sentences tightened, and flow improved for easier reading:
Michael
It's really opened the eyes of some of the companies we've spoken with.
Caleb (11:39)
Yeah, saving time is probably the part people overlook—especially the interactions within their own teams. When people think of NetSuite automation, they focus on saving clicks or populating data in the right spots. But they don’t realize how much time is spent on the phone with customers or internally trying to find information and train others on how to access that data.
That time adds up, and labor is one of the most expensive costs for a business. By freeing up even 20% of your team's time—thanks to easily accessible data in the ERP, surfaced through a customer portal—you’re adding huge value.
And the ROI typically pays off in less than a year.
Michael (12:37)
I like how you're framing this. It's not about saving a couple of clicks here and there—you're talking about eliminating entire tasks from someone's day, which saves a significant amount of time. So, Caleb, walk us through the ROI. What can that look like for a company?
Caleb
We're talking about freeing up hours in the workday. SuiteCommerce especially favors B2B companies or those with a B2C component. These businesses often have a lot of inside sales reps and some outside sales reps. Processing phone and email orders takes up their entire day.
If you want to grow and take on more accounts, you need to free up your inside sales team from handling those orders manually. Sure, that's how it's always been done, and there's value in maintaining those customer relationships. But there are other ways to stay connected while adapting to more efficient processes.
That’s where our SuiteCommerce managed service comes in—we focus on driving ROI from your portal by getting more customers to place orders through SuiteCommerce. Part of that means creating added value for customers so they see the portal as more than just a way to place orders. Once they get familiar with it and see how easy it is, they'll start using it more often, which means fewer calls and emails.
Now, you might wonder, How do we keep that personal connection with customers if they’re using a portal instead of calling their rep? There will always be times when the portal isn’t the right place to handle specific requests, and that’s where the relationship with the rep still matters. Reps can use those moments to upsell or uncover new opportunities.
One feature we often implement in our managed service plans is sales rep surfacing. When customers log in, they see their rep’s photo, email, phone number, and even a personal Zoom link. That way, the rep can say, "Just hop on my Zoom link; it’s right there in your portal," making it easy for customers to get quick, personalized support. Every time they log in, they see their rep’s face, maintaining that personal touch.
On the ROI side, let’s say you have six inside sales reps, and their entire job is processing phone and email orders. If each rep makes around $75,000 a year, the total cost to the business—factoring in benefits and taxes—is about $105,000 per rep. Multiply that by six, and you're looking at roughly $630,000 a year just to process orders.
Now, let’s say the portal handles even 20% of those orders, like easy reorders. That’s a savings of about $125,000 a year just from automating sales orders in NetSuite. And that’s not even counting the added benefits of invoice payments, improved cash flow, and fewer late payments.
Most of our managed service plans focus on rolling out functionality strategically—helping sales reps guide customers to use the portal while creating opportunities to shift customer behavior. The ROI becomes clear when you see how much time and cost you're saving.
Michael (17:51)
That description is definitely worthwhile. Now, one point I’d add is the importance of having a well-built ecommerce website with a great customer portal for attracting net new customers. We talk a lot about optimizing for current customers, which is important, but scaling a business and increasing revenue requires focusing on new customers too.
Even in B2B, there are companies that need to go online to place orders. Those customers are probably already using other companies' ecommerce websites and portals because it's easier and more convenient. Maybe their usual vendor doesn’t have the inventory they need, and your company could be the perfect fit. But if you’re not discoverable online, they’ll never know.
That’s why having a good website and customer portal is so important. Once you land a new customer, the path to purchase needs to be smooth. A lot of companies—especially in the B2B space—are run by people who are already tech-savvy or used to ordering online. Think about how we all use Amazon or other sites. If your portal mirrors that ease of use, you’ll attract and retain new customers. It’s something businesses should definitely be thinking about.
Caleb (19:30)
Absolutely. I’ve got a couple of ideas off the top of my head for companies looking to shift even 20% of their phone and email orders to their website. That’s why I designed a specific service offering around this—it frees up time for your sales reps.
And no, you probably don’t want to lay people off because of that. Instead, you can leverage that freed-up time and let your reps focus on finding new accounts. They can start doing more outbound sales and hunting for new deals because they’re not bogged down with manual order processing.
In addition to SEO and being found on Google, having good shopping feeds and syndication helps. But the real value is in freeing up your team to focus on growth. That’s why this strategy works so well in the B2B space.
Michael (20:01)
Let them go hunt those new deals—yeah.
Caleb
B2B often requires that personal, human interaction to find new accounts—something SEO can’t fully replace. While there are ways to acquire new B2B customers through SEO, nothing beats a personal connection when generating new business.
Michael
Yeah, those are great insights for B2B businesses using SuiteCommerce. But what about B2C companies? Have you seen success stories there?
Caleb (21:01)
Absolutely. While SuiteCommerce really shines in the B2B space, it supports both B2B and B2C within the same domain. Think of it as a standard B2C site until the customer logs in—then it shifts to B2B functionality based on their customer record in NetSuite.
For example, if a logged-in customer has specific price levels set in NetSuite, all item pricing will automatically adjust. You can also apply customer-specific pricing, volume-based discounts, and personalized promo codes. Beyond that, you can restrict certain customers to specific warehouse locations or tailor their product catalogs based on login.
For direct-to-consumer customers, when they register, they're created as a lead in NetSuite. They can place orders at list price but won’t have options like invoice payments unless they've gone through the full B2B registration process. You can also create separate forms for wholesale and direct-to-consumer registrations.
Using personalized catalog views, you can control which products are visible to logged-out visitors versus B2B customers. Essentially, the entire user experience is driven by the customer’s record in NetSuite.
Michael (23:10)
That paints a clear picture of how versatile SuiteCommerce can be. Now, let’s get a bit technical. I know you enjoy the technical side of things—what’s one of the most complex problems you've solved in this ecommerce environment?
Caleb
Hmm, it’s tough to pick just one, but I have a few that stand out. One is our sales rep login on behalf feature. It allows a rep to log in on behalf of a customer and even switch between sub-customers—all from a single username.
We’ve also built functionality where a parent customer can log in and pay invoices for multiple sub-customers, even across different subsidiaries. We can group those invoices into a single checkout flow, which is pretty slick.
Another cool feature is our CSV add-to-cart functionality. Customers can drag and drop a CSV file with hundreds of SKUs, and it’ll automatically extract and add those items to their cart. That saves them from manually navigating through individual product pages.
We’ve also created some really unique themes over the years. Theme development in SuiteCommerce takes effort, but it’s flexible enough to match whatever look or feel a client wants.
Honestly, I haven’t had a request yet that we couldn’t solve.
Michael (25:17)
That makes sense. With years of experience and a wide variety of clients, you and the SuiteCommerce team at Anchor Group have encountered—and solved—a lot of challenges. While every business has its own unique needs, many of the underlying problems are similar.
If you were to recommend SuiteCommerce to a company, what type of business would be the ideal fit? We know they need to have NetSuite, but what are the other key indicators?
Caleb
Good question. First, there are actually three SuiteCommerce products, but I’ll focus on the standard SuiteCommerce, formerly known as SuiteCommerce Standard.
SuiteCommerce is a great fit for companies with a strong B2B component, or a blend of B2B and B2C. For broader B2B-B2C needs, I often look at BigCommerce. And if a business is strictly B2C, Shopify and BigCommerce are usually better fits.
But if your business has a significant B2B side, SuiteCommerce is the clear winner—especially if you’re working with a smaller budget. It’s faster to set up, especially for companies that are launching their first ecommerce site or customer portal. It’s a scalable solution, and one of the big benefits is that it doesn’t have transaction fees like many other platforms.
Michael (27:34)
And how does the licensing for SuiteCommerce work?
Caleb
It’s straightforward. It’s just an annual licensing fee that’s co-termed with your NetSuite subscription. There are no per-transaction fees or costs based on transaction volume. It’s simple, and that’s one of the reasons I like it.
Michael
That can be a real advantage for companies new to ecommerce. Other platforms often have complicated fee structures with per-transaction charges, which can add up quickly.
Caleb (28:13)
Exactly. And beyond licensing, you have to consider integration costs. B2C integrations are simpler, but once you add B2B elements—like invoices, payments, and quotes—it gets more complicated. You’ll need to integrate those records into your My Account portal, which can be costly.
SuiteCommerce eliminates those issues. You’re not just saving on integration software, but also on implementation costs. I rarely recommend the NetSuite Connector for ecommerce unless it’s a simple B2C integration. It just doesn’t handle the complexities of B2B well.
As soon as you have any B2B elements, integrating with external platforms becomes complicated and increases your total cost of ownership. That’s why I recommend starting with SuiteCommerce—it simplifies things and makes B2B ecommerce more cost-effective.
Here's the cleaned-up version of the section you provided, focusing on clarity and removing redundant phrasing:
Caleb (29:09)
Once you introduce any B2B components, integrating those elements outside of SuiteCommerce becomes complicated and significantly increases the total cost of ownership. That’s why I often recommend starting with SuiteCommerce for B2B clients—it makes managing those costs much easier.
Michael
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Now, let’s dive back into the SuiteCommerce product offerings. You mentioned My Account earlier, but can you walk us through the different products under the SuiteCommerce umbrella?
Caleb
Sure thing. Technically, there are four products with the SuiteCommerce name, but I’ll leave out SuiteCommerce InStore. That’s a point-of-sale solution—it’s not customizable, and what you see is what you get. While we’ve implemented it before, it’s a completely different software from the ecommerce side, so I’ll focus on the other three.
The three we’ll cover are SuiteCommerce Advanced, SuiteCommerce, and SuiteCommerce My Account. SuiteCommerce Advanced was the first version released, and for a while, it was the only option. Functionally, SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced are very similar—the main difference is that SuiteCommerce Advanced offers direct access to the source code.
However, with both products, you can override source code using the extensibility layer, and it’s best practice to use extensions to customize functionality. Because of this, I rarely recommend SuiteCommerce Advanced anymore. SuiteCommerce is almost always the better option because it includes automatic updates, whereas Advanced is version-locked and requires manual updates.
That said, version-locking can have its benefits. For example, if a company has extensive customizations or handles such high transaction volumes that even 30 minutes of downtime would be catastrophic, being version-locked can mitigate that risk. But cases like that are rare.
Most businesses don’t need SuiteCommerce Advanced because everything can be accomplished with SuiteCommerce, and it’s significantly cheaper—about half the licensing cost. I’ve even moved several clients from Advanced to SuiteCommerce to lower their costs and let them take advantage of automatic updates.
Michael (32:15)
Got it. And just to clarify, when you say SCA, you’re referring to SuiteCommerce Advanced, correct?
Caleb
That’s right. Thanks for pointing that out.
Now, the last product is SuiteCommerce My Account. A few years ago, NetSuite separated the My Account functionality from the full SuiteCommerce platform and made it a standalone product. It’s primarily designed for reordering products and paying invoices—basically, an invoice portal.
We’ve developed some extensions that allow customers to add items to their cart directly within My Account, but it doesn’t offer the full shopping experience or checkout flows like SuiteCommerce or SuiteCommerce Advanced. However, for certain use cases, especially in B2B, it’s a cost-effective option since it has the cheapest licensing of the three.
Michael
When you say it doesn’t offer the full shopping experience, can you elaborate? Are we talking about the lack of a homepage, product pages, that sort of thing?
Caleb (33:38)
Exactly. SuiteCommerce My Account requires customers to log in before accessing anything. There’s no homepage, no product listing pages, no detailed product pages, and no full shopping cart like you’d see in a typical B2C site. That’s why it’s really only suitable for B2B scenarios.
Michael
But once a customer logs into My Account, are there ways to surface product data so they can still shop?
Caleb (34:03)
Yes, the native functionality focuses on reordering products. But with our custom extensions, we can surface a product table with add to cart buttons, giving it a shopping-like experience. So while it’s not a full ecommerce site, we can build in features that mimic a catalog-style shopping interface.
Michael
So essentially, you can create a catalog-like experience within My Account, allowing customers to browse and reorder products as if they were flipping through a catalog.
Caleb
Exactly. Another important thing to note is that SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced both include My Account as part of the package. The full platforms consist of three applications: the shopping interface, the checkout, and the My Account portal. When NetSuite made My Account a standalone product, they essentially pulled out one of those applications to offer it separately.
My Account has its own unique reorder and checkout experience, which is slightly different from the standard checkout flow. So while there’s still a checkout process, it’s structured differently, especially since it’s focused on reorders and invoice payments.
Michael (35:21)
That’s a great point. From what I’ve gathered throughout this conversation, if a company is already using NetSuite, SuiteCommerce is a strong option for both ecommerce and customer portals. There’s a lot of functionality available, and here at Anchor Group, we can extend that functionality to meet specific business needs.
Caleb
Exactly. One of the things I love is being able to say yes to clients. Thanks to all the IP we’ve built, I can confidently say, “Yes, we can do that,” when clients ask for specific features. In fact, we’ve moved toward offering more fixed-bid projects because we know exactly how to implement these features, and we can price them accurately.
It’s been really valuable for prospects to know upfront what their costs will be, and it gives them confidence that we can deliver exactly what they need.
Michael (36:16)
Yeah, having that fixed-bid structure is great because it shows we’ve done this before and know how to make it work efficiently. That’s a huge plus.
Anything else people should consider when thinking about SuiteCommerce?
Caleb
Definitely. It’s critical to work with someone who truly understands the product—someone who can think on their feet and design solutions in real time. There aren’t many people out there who can do that effectively, but having that expertise makes all the difference.
It’s also important to partner with someone who can support you beyond implementation. A good partner will help you think creatively about how to leverage the platform’s capabilities to automate processes and differentiate your business from competitors. Advanced customer portals, for example, can give you a competitive edge by offering functionality your competitors don’t have.
Michael (37:35)
Yeah, absolutely. That’s fantastic insight.
Caleb
Thanks! This has been great—I always enjoy talking about SuiteCommerce since it’s one of my favorite topics. It might be fun to dive into real-world use cases in a future episode.
Maybe next time, we can explore how we’ve designed solutions for different industries, like wholesale distribution, retail, manufacturing, or software. I think walking through those specific examples will help people see the full potential of SuiteCommerce and how creative we can get with the technology NetSuite offers.
Michael
That sounds like a great plan. I’m sure there’s a lot to learn from both real-world success stories and some creative, hypothetical scenarios.
Caleb (38:51)
Yeah, and maybe we’ll throw in some fictitious examples too—just to explore some fun ideas I’ve been curious about.
Michael
Sounds good! Let’s do it.
Caleb
Alright, thanks, Michael. Appreciate the conversation.
Michael
Yeah, great chat. See you next week!
Where to Listen to the Podcast
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