Unlocking B2B Growth with BigCommerce Company Hierarchy
April 21, 2026
By: Kayla Lumpford-Mitchell
Summary: BigCommerce Company Hierarchy lets B2B businesses mirror real customer structures with parent-child accounts, improving buying experiences, simplifying purchasing, and streamlining operations.
How modern account structures are transforming B2B eCommerce
B2B eCommerce has evolved far beyond simple online ordering. Today's buyers expect digital experiences that reflect how their organizations actually operate with multiple locations, departments, and decision-makers involved in the purchasing process.
That's where BigCommerce B2B Edition's Company Hierarchy feature comes in.
For manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers, this functionality provides a powerful way to mirror real-world customer structures online creating a more intuitive buying experience while improving operational efficiency.
What Is BigCommerce Company Hierarchy?
BigCommerce Company Hierarchy allows businesses to create parent-child relationships between company accounts, enabling complex organizational structures to be represented within the platform.
With this feature, B2B merchants can:
- Structure accounts with multiple subsidiaries or locations
- Support up to five levels of hierarchy for even complex organizations
- Assign roles and permissions across different levels of the business
- Allow users to manage purchasing across multiple branches or entities
In short, it transforms a flat customer list into a dynamic, real-world business structure.
Why Company Hierarchy Matters for B2B Businesses Today
Many B2B customers operate with:
- Multiple locations
- Regional branches
- Franchise models
- Department-level purchasing teams
Company Hierarchy allows your eCommerce experience to match how your customers actually buy, not force them into a simplified system.
With hierarchical account access, decision-makers can:
- Switch between subsidiary accounts
- View consolidated order data
- Manage purchasing for multiple locations
- Pay invoices across the organization
This creates a true self-service B2B buying experience, reducing reliance on sales reps while improving customer satisfaction.
Not every buyer should have the same level of control. With Company Hierarchy, businesses can define roles such as:
- Corporate administrators
- Regional buyers
- Accounts payable teams
Each role can have specific permissions, ensuring governance while maintaining flexibility.
When combined with BigCommerce's broader B2B capabilities, hierarchy enables:
- Customer-specific pricing
- Catalog segmentation
- Contract-based purchasing
This ensures each part of a customer's organization sees the right products, pricing, and experience.
By aligning your eCommerce platform with customer structure, you:
- Reduce manual order processing
- Minimize errors from misaligned accounts
- Simplify account management for large clients
Ultimately, this leads to faster ordering cycles and increased revenue opportunities.
How BigCommerce Company Hierarchy Works
At a high level, the feature is built around company accounts and relationships:
Step 1: Create Company Accounts
Each B2B customer is set up as a "Company" within BigCommerce.
Step 2: Define Parent–Child Relationships
Subsidiaries or branches are assigned to a parent company, forming a hierarchy.
- Corporate HQ → Parent
- Regional offices → Child companies
These relationships can extend multiple levels deep depending on the business structure.
Step 3: Assign Users and Roles
Users are tied to specific companies and given permissions such as:
- Viewing all subsidiaries
- Placing orders for specific locations
- Managing invoices or payments
Step 4: Enable Buyer Portal Experience
Through the Buyer Portal, users can:
- Navigate between company accounts
- Manage orders and quotes
- Access account-specific pricing and data
Where Strabo Partners Adds Value
While BigCommerce provides the foundation, implementation and integration are where the real impact happens. As a technical implementation partner, Strabo Partners helps businesses go beyond standard functionality by:
Aligning Hierarchy with ERP Systems
Many B2B businesses rely on systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365. If using Strabo's BigCommerce Connector to connect to your Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM ERP, we can ensure:
- Customer hierarchies in BigCommerce align with ERP account structures
- Data flows seamlessly between systems
- Orders, pricing, and customer data remain consistent
Supporting Custom Business Logic
Every B2B business is different. Strabo helps configure:
- Custom hierarchy rules
- Advanced pricing structures
- Role-based workflows tailored to your organization
Real-World Use Cases
BigCommerce Company Hierarchy is especially impactful for:
Manufacturers selling to distributors with multiple branches
Distributors serving large enterprise clients with regional buyers
Franchise systems managing independent locations
Contract-based B2B businesses with centralized procurement
Final Thoughts
B2B eCommerce success depends on more than just having an online store — it requires building experiences that reflect the complexity of real business relationships. BigCommerce's Company Hierarchy feature is a major step forward in enabling that reality.
When implemented correctly and integrated with backend systems, it allows businesses to:
- Deliver better buyer experiences
- Streamline operations
- Scale with enterprise customers
- Unlock new revenue opportunities