B2B Digital Commerce: Planning for 6 Complexities
Jun 01, 2022 • 7 Minute Read • Bill Cronin, Technical Director
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How to Build a Business Case for Digital Transformation
Jun 24, 2025 • 7 Minute Read • Mary Brown, Experience Strategy Lead, Commerce
You recognize that your legacy technology is outdated and customer expectations are evolving. Yet, whenever you suggest transforming your technology infrastructure, the committee rejects it. This is frustrating for everyone involved.
You've made the case, but still, no green light.
Why Digital Commerce Initiatives Struggle to Get Funded
Most manufacturing and distribution leaders recognize the importance of digital transformation. However, when the time comes to fund transformation, project progress often stalls out, like a plane grounded on the tarmac while competitors are already airborne.
Why the closed wallets on a project that marketing and IT recognize as crucial to long-term success? Teams often struggle to show the return on investment (ROI), leading to separate projects and ideas that don't get support from the CEO, CFO, or board. The reason is that the business case often lacks the structure, strategic relevance, and story that resonates with executive leadership's goals.
Before diving into how to get things moving along, here are the top reasons digital commerce proposals get stalled or shot down:
- Lack of Cross-Functional Buy-In - If sales, finance, or ops leaders haven't weighed in, the board will question alignment and ownership.
- Framing it As a Tech Upgrade - Discussing platforms, features, or architecture without tying them to business results.
- Skipping the Financials - ELTs want to see ROI, not just roadmaps. Without a credible financial model, the case won't resonate.
- Boiling the Ocean - A massive, all-or-nothing pitch raises red flags. Break it into focused, value-driven phases.
- No Clear Reason for Urgency Exists - Without urgency, the project seems optional and easy to postpone.
If you've made one or multiple of these errors, you're certainly not alone. This guide will help you build a business case that speaks the board's language and secures funding.
1. Build Cross-Functional Support Early
Even the best business case will struggle if it’s seen as a siloed initiative. The C-suite and boards want to be sure that your digital transformation plan includes input from all parts of the organization and alignment on purpose and approach.
Show that you have support from the teams that will carry out the work and those who will benefit. This demonstrates you've done your due diligence, reduced the risk of resistance, and improved the chances of successful adoption.
Here’s how to approach cross-functional support:
- Identify Key Stakeholders - List the departments most affected by the initiative. These typically include marketing, sales, IT, customer service, operations, finance, and HR, especially for training and adoption.
- Understand Their Priorities - Talk to functional leaders about their goals and pain points. Incorporate their input into the business case, especially where your initiative helps them succeed.
- Highlight Shared Wins - Frame benefits that resonate beyond your own department. For example:
- Marketing gets better data for personalization
- Sales teams gain faster quoting and visibility
- IT reduces manual support tickets
- Customer service gets fewer “Where’s my order?” calls
- Show Active Collaboration - Note any joint workshops, co-authorship of the plan, or multi-department steering committees. For example, “Sales, IT, and customer operations leaders developed this roadmap. We’ve agreed on shared KPIs and phased milestones to align execution.”
By showing that the plan belongs to everyone, not just you, you help the board feel confident. This shows that the organization is ready and able to succeed.
2. Shift from Tech Pitch to Business Growth Strategy
Boards don’t fund digital tools. They fund outcomes.
Your message should change. Instead of saying, “We need a new commerce platform,” say, “We can boost online orders by 25%. We can also cut order entry mistakes by 40% using automation and self-service.”
Additionally, frame your proposal in terms the board values, like:
- Driving revenue
- Reducing costs
- Supporting growth through new markets or acquisitions
- Improving EBITDA
- Minimizing risk
Essentially, avoid technical jargon and tie every initiative to business levers that move the valuation needle.
3. Tie Technology Upgrades and Changes to Core Business Goals
Start by identifying the two to three core business goals that the recommended digital transformation can support. These might include:
- Driving revenue growth through digital commerce and self-service
- Reducing operating costs tied to manual or legacy processes
- Laying the groundwork for modern approaches like integrating AI, personalization, and automation by establishing clean, structured data foundations
- Enabling scalable infrastructure for future acquisitions
Then, map each initiative to those goals. For example:
- Initiative - Automate customer onboarding and online ordering enablement.
- Outcome - Reduce onboarding time from 2 weeks to 3 days → faster revenue recognition.
4. Use Data to Quantify the Problem and the Opportunity
Decision-makers respond to data. Use it to show both the pain of the current state and the opportunity ahead. For example:
- Lost Revenue - 27% of online visitors aren't converting because of long load times and inventory errors.
- Wasted Time - The sales team spends 30% of its time re-entering orders manually.
- Competitor Pressure - Our top 3 competitors offer 24/7 ordering—our reps still take orders by phone.
Even directional estimates are better than vague claims. Use customer complaints, support feedback, industry benchmarks, and vendor case studies to show expected gains and business impact.
5. Scope Your Transformation in Clear, Phased Steps
A compelling vision is important, but it can quickly become overwhelming without a clear scope. Set clear boundaries to avoid trying to do everything at once.
Break your plan into achievable phases:
- Phase 1 - Foundational architecture (e.g., PIM, DAM, customer portal)
- Phase 2 - Self-service ecommerce and personalization
- Phase 3 - AI-powered recommendations and agents, roll out commerce internationally
This phased approach reassures stakeholders that the investment is measured, prioritized, and manageable.
6. Build a Business Case Your CFO Will Approve
How do you communicate effectively with finance? By developing a robust financial model. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and board members expect a credible and well-supported financial narrative:
- Total investment (internal and external)
- Breakdown by CapEx and OpEx
- Payback period, Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
- 3-year projections with clear assumptions
Additionally, include conservative and aggressive scenarios. Demonstrate how the team manages the risk and how quickly they can realize the upside.
7. De-Risk Your Digital Transformation Investment
Boards are risk-averse by design. Show them you’ve thought through the different phases and how to:
- Pilot before full deployment. For instance, launch a version of your commerce platform that's prepared for different languages and regions in one market first. This helps validate local requirements, uncover integration issues, and prove commercial potential with lower risk.
- Build internal skills alongside vendor support. Plan for team training and knowledge transfer to keep the solution sustainable and cost-effective as it grows.
- Phase the rollout to minimize disruption. Deliver the initiative in manageable, sequential phases to reduce complexity, limit downtime, and give teams time to adjust effectively.
- Assign clear accountability and KPIs. Clearly define who owns the project and set success metrics from the start. These metrics should connect to the business outcomes critical to the board.
8. Tell a Story the Board Can See Themselves In
While data is essential, a clear narrative helps stakeholders understand and support the vision. Use a simple, relational, before-and-after illustration:
"Today, a buyer waits 3 days for a quote. Following the transformation, the quoting process will shift from a 3-day delay to a 3-minute self-service experience."
This kind of operational story makes the benefits tangible and memorable.
9. Make a Clear, Confident Ask
Lastly, end your case with a clear summary that ties everything together:
- Detail the total investment required for your transformation. Show the board exactly what you're asking for, broken down into internal, external, and contingency costs.
- Quantify the expected return in dollars and time. Reinforce the business impact in both financial terms and time savings—frame it in the KPIs that matter most to leadership.
- Outline the transformation's timeline and key milestones. Present a high-level roadmap demonstrating when the organization can expect results.
- Make the case for urgency. Highlight timing triggers, such as market opportunities, customer expectations, operational inefficiencies, or competitive threats.
- Highlight the business impact of delaying transformation. Make the downside clear: missed revenue, operational drag, growing tech debt, or falling further behind competitors. Help them see inaction as the riskier option.
Make it easy for the board to say yes—because the value is clear and the path forward is unmistakable.
Ready to build a business case that your board will fund?
Use the structure above to start framing how to modernize your technology and operations to drive growth.
To get a full overview, download our guide on creating and putting a complete digital strategy into motion. It includes best practices for working together across teams.
With the right story, your next pitch can drive the future of your business.