D2B Meaning: What is Direct to Business (D2B vs D2C vs B2B Explained)

D2B is one of the newer commerce model acronyms — less well-known than B2B or D2C, but increasingly relevant as brands look to sell directly to business buyers without going through distributors or wholesalers.

D2B meaning: what does D2B stand for?

D2B stands for Direct-to-Business. D2B full form: Direct to Business. It describes a model where a brand, manufacturer, or supplier sells its products or services directly to business customers — bypassing wholesale distributors, agents, or intermediaries.

It is the business-buyer equivalent of D2C (Direct-to-Consumer): instead of selling direct to individuals, you sell direct to companies.

D2B vs B2B: what's the difference?

D2B and B2B both involve businesses buying from other businesses. The distinction is about the channel and the relationship:

	B2B	D2B
What it describes	Any business selling to another business	A brand/manufacturer selling directly to business buyers
Intermediaries	Often includes distributors, agents, resellers	None — direct relationship
Who owns customer data	Often the distributor or reseller	The brand itself
Pricing	May be set by the channel partner	Controlled directly by the brand
Example	A brand selling to a wholesaler who sells to retailers	A brand selling directly to retailers via its own platform

D2B is a specific type of B2B — one where the brand cuts out the middlemen in the B2B supply chain and owns the relationship with the end business buyer.

D2B vs D2C

	D2C (Direct to Consumer)	D2B (Direct to Business)
Who buys	Individual consumers	Businesses and organisations
Order size	Small, individual	Larger, bulk or recurring
Relationship	Transactional / subscription	Contract, ongoing procurement
Platform needs	Consumer storefront, simple checkout	B2B catalogue, volume pricing, invoicing

The full commerce model breakdown

Model	Full form	Buyer type	Intermediaries
B2C	Business to Consumer	Individual consumers	Retailers/distributors possible
D2C	Direct to Consumer	Individual consumers	None
B2B	Business to Business	Businesses	Often present
D2B	Direct to Business	Businesses	None
C2C	Consumer to Consumer	Individuals	Platform only

Why brands are moving to D2B

The same forces driving D2C adoption are pushing manufacturers and brands toward D2B:

Margin recovery — distributor and agent margins can be 20–40% of the sale price. D2B captures that directly.
Customer intelligence — selling through a reseller means the reseller owns the buyer relationship. D2B means you know who your business customers are, what they buy, and when they reorder.
Speed — distributor networks slow down product launches, pricing changes, and promotional campaigns. A D2B platform lets you update pricing and run promotions instantly.
Customisation — business buyers increasingly want configurable products and personalised catalogues. This is easier to deliver direct.

Building a D2B platform with Tradly

A D2B platform needs the same core infrastructure as a B2B marketplace, with the emphasis on the brand controlling the experience:

Branded storefront — your domain, your design, not a distributor’s catalogue
B2B pricing — volume tiers, customer-specific pricing, minimum order quantities. Docs: Pricing
Business account verification — require business registration before buyers can access wholesale prices
Catalogue management — large SKU counts with variants, bundles, and attributes. Docs: Attributes
Reorder and subscriptions — recurring business buyers need fast reorder, not a consumer checkout flow
Commission-free — unlike selling through a distributor, you keep the full margin. Docs: Commission

Free B2B & D2B Templates

B2B & D2B Commerce Templates

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Simple and FREE. Launch your project today!

- Launch Marketplaces, Online Storefronts, Booking Apps, Classifieds, Directories, Partner Portals, App Stores, etc.
- Tradly pricing starts with ZERO. You pay only when you grow.
- Free No-code Integrations, No-Code Editor

Checklist from start to end on what you need to build a marketplace using Tradly Platform.

Tradly Platform solution is catered to different groups separately

For developers: Headless API solution. Using the API solution, developers can build apps on top of it.
For no-code creators: A simple toggle based SuperAdmin Panel to configure features in the already pre-built apps (also called as storefront, front end apps, templated apps).

For developers

Signup for a free account
Get the API keys in the SuperAdmin > Settings > API section = Refer the API reference to start building the app
Optionally Fork Open source app starter Kits

5 Steps for no-code creators and builders

Signup for a free account
Choose the templates Website or Mobile Apps
Do the branding customisation & business informations on launchpad
Prototype your app using our SuperAdmin builder and Visualise your app through test apps.
Launch

Web App: By default when you register, you will get the production URL to use the app. And you can add custom domain.
Mobile App: When you are ready to launch, Subscribe to our plans and get a white label app build

Advanced Informations

A. UI Customisation via SuperAdmin

Settings > App Customistion

App Name
App Primary & Secondary Colour
App Icon
Splash launch images
Onboarding images, Onboarding Text
Registration Text
Sell Icon (optional)
App title in Home Screen (Default will be app name) And others

B. Platform Fundamentals

You must configure the below things for the system to be able to open accounts, submit listings and make purchases.

Configure accounts: Settings > accounts(categories, attributes)
Configure listings: Settings > listings (Setting up listings information to be collected. Categories, attributes)
Stripe/other payment gateways configuration
Configure revenue model, commissions: Settings > commissions OR Settings > Subscriptions OR Settings > Special Fees