Scaling B2B Life Science Ecommerce Brands: Why the Right Online Platform Matters

The B2B life sciences industry is in the midst of a digital revolution. More companies than ever are turning to ecommerce to streamline operations, expand their reach, and meet the evolving needs of healthcare providers, hospitals, and retailers. Whether it's pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, medical devices, or skincare kits, buyers expect a seamless online experience — and businesses that can deliver are reaping the rewards.

Leading brands like Enovis, AHP Dental & Medical, MitoQ, and Ultraceuticals are already investing in digital infrastructure to meet this demand — and they're choosing BigCommerce to help power their growth.

Their momentum mirrors what’s happening across the entire industry. The global B2B healthcare ecommerce market surpassed $31 million in 2022 and will more than double by 2027, with medical devices driving the growth — accounting for over 60% of sales. In pharmaceuticals, the transformation is just as striking: as of 2024, more than half of B2B revenue came from online orders, up from just 19% in 2020. Even in the health and beauty sector, B2B online sales have climbed more than 40% in the past four years.

But scaling in this industry isn’t as simple as launching an online store. Life sciences ecommerce brands must navigate strict privacy regulations, manage complex product catalogs, and handle bulk orders with different pricing structures. From tracking expiration dates on pharmaceuticals to managing multi-tier pricing for hospitals and wholesalers, selling in this space comes with challenges that require specialized ecommerce solutions.

That’s where BigCommerce comes in. Purpose-built for modern B2B brands, BigCommerce empowers life sciences companies to grow without friction, adapt to evolving demands, and future-proof their business for the digital era.

Understanding the life sciences B2B buyer

The B2B life sciences market serves a range of buyers, each with distinct needs and purchasing behaviors. Ecommerce is transforming how these businesses source essential products:

Wholesalers and distributors.

Wholesalers and distributors manage bulk purchasing and supply chains, helping ensure medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and beauty products reach providers and retailers. They often require multi-tier pricing, quotes, multi-company account hierarchy, bulk order capabilities, roles and permissions, and catalog differentiation between different buyers.

Hospitals and care facilities.

Hospitals and care facilities rely on ecommerce to purchase medical devices, equipment, and pharmaceuticals. Their complex procurement processes benefit from automated reordering, custom pricing, multi-company account hierarchy, roles and permissions, quotes and self-service tools to manage high-volume orders efficiently. These organizations also work closely with medical device reps, who play a key role in facilitating large or specialized purchases and increasingly rely on digital tools to streamline post-sale engagement and reorder processes.

Retailers and salons.

Retailers and salons in the health and beauty sector buy cosmetic and skincare kits in bulk. These buyers look for beauty subscription models, quotes flexible payment terms, multi-company hierarchy, roles and permissions, and streamlined order management to keep inventory flowing smoothly.

As digital adoption accelerates, life sciences ecommerce buyers expect frictionless, self-service experiences. Whether a brand is just beginning its ecommerce journey or scaling an established operation, having the right platform is essential to meeting buyer expectations.

The role of the life sciences salesperson

While ecommerce plays a critical role in modern B2B transactions, life sciences companies still rely heavily on large, specialized sales teams — particularly when selling complex medical products or navigating long procurement cycles. Sales reps remain essential for building relationships, guiding buyers through technical specifications, and managing high-value contracts.

BigCommerce B2B Edition complements these efforts with tools designed to give sales teams more visibility and control. Features like Sales Rep Masquerade allow reps to log in on behalf of buyers to place or manage orders, while company-level permissions and multi-user account management help sales teams support complex buyer organizations — all without slowing down the sales cycle.

Common challenges life sciences businesses face

As the life sciences B2B market expands online, businesses must navigate a unique set of challenges that complicate both product management and the sales process. Strict regulatory requirements, evolving product specifications, and complex purchasing structures can slow down operations and create inefficiencies if not properly addressed.

Product pain points.

On the product side, managing large, highly detailed catalogs is a major hurdle. Medical supplies and beauty formulations require precise technical specifications — such as dosage instructions, FDA approval numbers, and contraindications — which must remain accurate across thousands of SKUs. Many of these products come in multiple variations, requiring batch tracking to manage inventory, lot numbers to monitor expiration dates and recalls, and serialized tracking for individual item traceability and compliance.

Frequent SKU updates add another layer of complexity, making it difficult to keep product information consistent across B2B and DTC storefronts. Without automated inventory systems, businesses risk errors that can lead to compliance issues or costly waste​.

Sales pain points.

The sales process presents its own set of challenges. Many hospitals, care facilities, and healthcare organizations purchase through lengthy tendering processes, which require extensive documentation and contract negotiations. 

Pricing is also a major factor, as life sciences ecommerce brands serve a variety of B2B customers, each requiring custom pricing structures, volume-based discounts, and tailored payment terms. 

Many medical organizations also operate as large, multi-region entities or franchise models managed centrally from a corporate headquarters. Supporting these structures requires ecommerce functionality like multi-company account hierarchies, which allow brands to mirror real-world buyer relationships while managing roles, permissions, and approval workflows across teams and locations.

At the same time, life sciences companies must ensure that all of this complies with strict data privacy regulations such as HIPAA, adding another layer of complexity to the sales experience.

How BigCommerce tackles these obstacles

Navigating the complexities of the life sciences industry requires an ecommerce platform that is flexible, scalable, and built to handle the unique demands of B2B buyers. BigCommerce provides robust B2B tools, like B2B Edition, to help life sciences ecommerce brands simplify operations, enhance the buying experience, and drive long-term growth.

Dynamic product information management.

Managing large catalogs with complex product specs — like device specifications, beauty formulations, and cosmetic bundles — is a constant challenge for life sciences companies. 

BigCommerce supports this need with powerful catalog tools and seamless integrations with Product Information Management (PIM) systems. 

These tools enable businesses to automate updates across thousands of SKUs, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain accuracy across both B2B and DTC storefronts. This not only reduces manual work, but also safeguards against costly errors and outdated information.

Batch tracking and product variability management.

Life sciences brands must often manage products that vary by size, strength, formulation, or use — all of which may carry expiration dates and batch identifiers. BigCommerce supports batch tracking and real-time inventory updates that help businesses avoid stockouts, streamline product rotation, and comply with strict industry regulations. 

By automating variability and inventory management, brands can reduce waste, improve visibility, and maintain precision across the supply chain.

Comprehensive catalog differentiation for B2B and DTC.

With separate buying behaviors and expectations across hospitals, wholesalers, and consumers, catalog complexity can quickly escalate. BigCommerce enables brands to manage both B2B and DTC catalogs using multi-storefront functionality. 

Businesses can tailor product offerings, pricing, and branding for each audience — while maintaining operational efficiency through a single backend. This flexibility allows life sciences brands to scale across channels without duplicating effort or introducing errors.

Customer segmentation, tiered pricing, and subscription models.

Life sciences buyers often require custom pricing structures, volume discounts, and contract terms. BigCommerce allows businesses to segment buyers by type and automate pricing logic, helping them serve each customer with the right offer at the right time. 

For recurring purchases, brands can layer in subscription models, which help stabilize revenue and improve customer retention. These capabilities are especially valuable in supporting the lengthy procurement cycles and negotiated pricing common in this space.

Built-in security and compliance.

BigCommerce comes with PCI DSS-certified security out of the box, helping life sciences brands protect sensitive transaction data and meet industry regulations. The platform also integrates with ERP and CRM systems, supporting HIPAA-compliant data practices and automating order and account management.

Life Sciences brands that have seen success with BigCommerce

AHP Dental & Medical.

AHP Dental & Medical, Australia's leading supplier of dental consumables, serves over 3,000 of the country’s 11,000 dental practices. With only 25% of sales coming from their online store, they needed a more efficient ecommerce solution to automate operations, manage their 8,000-SKU catalog, and streamline payments.

By launching their enhanced B2B site on BigCommerce, AHP seamlessly integrated with their ERP, MYOB, automating tasks and saving nearly 15 hours of work per day. They also digitized resources, reducing costs by $60,000 annually, and introduced seamless online payments, making transactions easier for customers. As a result, 75% of their sales now come through ecommerce.

“Our customers really love the new website, especially the repeat order and account management features. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” remarked Anthony Rubin, Director and Owner of AHP Dental & Medical.

MitoQ.

MitoQ, a New Zealand-based supplement brand, needed a secure, scalable ecommerce solution to support global growth, multi-currency transactions, and a seamless customer experience.

With BigCommerce, MitoQ gained PCI-certified security, establishing trust with banking partners, and headless flexibility that enables a frictionless buying experience. Additionally, multi-currency support eliminated the need for redundant storefronts, while integrations with Recurly and Microsoft Dynamics NAV streamlined subscriptions and ERP management.

Now, MitoQ operates seamlessly across 140+ countries, scaling with confidence, and has experienced a 45% increase in revenue growth and an 86% increase in subscriptions.

“BigCommerce, as a platform, delivered on the key requirements we wanted. And, as an added bonus, our experience with the BigCommerce team was amazing. The people who onboarded us were absolutely brilliant,” shared Shaun Price, Head of Customer Acquisition at MitoQ.

The final word

The life sciences industry isn’t just adapting to ecommerce — it’s thriving in it. But success in this space isn’t guaranteed. Complex regulations, bulk ordering challenges, and rising buyer expectations mean that life sciences brands need more than just an online store — they need a platform built for their unique demands.

BigCommerce gives life sciences brands the tools to scale without limits — whether they’re new to online or digitally mature. From automating operations and simplifying compliance to personalizing the buying experience, the platform delivers the flexibility, security, and power to grow with confidence.

Ready to scale your B2B business? Explore BigCommerce B2B Edition and see the platform in action — book a demo today.