VARs, Agencies, and Acumatica: A Growth Formula

Coming out of the Acumatica Summit this year, we saw that Acumatica was heavily focused on nurturing a focus on partnerships as a primary avenue for growth in B2B Manufacturing. 

Acumatica’s Value Added Resellers (VARs) have a unique opportunity to be the key component to drive digitization. By teaming up with the development and customization expertise of a Digital Agency (DA), VARs can win bigger than they typically would, such as enterprise deals and building tailored solutions. 

Manufacturers: Digital Expectations Rise, Complexity Intensifies

With 75% of B2B manufacturers transitioning to direct digital sales (Gartner), the window to adapt and get an edge on the competition is rapidly closing.

While Acumatica is a world-class ERP, connectors from ecommerce solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce are terrific starting points. Yet, traditional ecommerce solutions often struggle to handle the complexities of manufacturing.

• Invoices
• Individualized stock
• Configure Price Quote tools

Modern manufacturers will inevitably bump up against limitations and face increasing pressure to provide a seamless digital experience for their customers.

“B2B Commerce reaches massive scale at $2.4 trillion in 2024, growing 17% year-over-year.” - Winterberry Group, Outlook for Advertising, Marketing and Data 2025:  Transformation Accelerates.

B2B Buyers expect the same level of convenience and personalization they experience in their B2C interactions. Some examples of these features include:

• Detailed product information: Access to comprehensive specifications, documentation, and pricing.
• Real-time inventory visibility: Accurate information on product availability and lead times.
• Personalized pricing and promotions: Tailored pricing based on customer segments and order history.
• Streamlined ordering and fulfillment: Easy ordering, order tracking, and account management.

VARs and Agencies must work closely together to meet these expectations. As demands grow more complex, collaboration with a DA that understands the necessary architecture and can build composable, scalable solutions is essential.

“Nearly 40% of buyers report negative experiences as B2C-like expectations clash with B2B’s inherent complexity” - Winterberry Group, Outlook for Advertising, Marketing and Data 2025:  Transformation Accelerates.

Partnerships Essential: Avoid Client Churn, Gain Business

Without a partnership set in place, VARs face two significant risks:

• Losing new business to monoliths: Large, all-in-one platforms promise effortless ERP ecommerce integration, making it difficult for VARs to compete without a more flexible, high-performance alternative. 
• Existing client churn: As manufacturers scale and basic integrations struggle to handle complex features, customers outgrow these solutions and consider moving their business elsewhere.

Without a robust, scalable strategy, VARs risk losing ground to competitors. The ability to deliver advanced solutions can be demonstrated by leading the way with composable architecture, allowing customers to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

VARs, Agencies, Win Together: Acro's Partnership Solution

Acro Commerce was fortunate to host a breakout session at this year's Summit titled “Agencies + VARs = $.” The audience included VARs, DAs and ecommerce reps from Shopify and BigCommerce.

In the hour, we laid out Acro Commerce’s game plan for VARs and DAs to set the partnership wheels in motion to trust each other, go to market, and successfully deliver projects together. By working with the right partners, VARs can provide manufacturers with best-in-class ecommerce experiences while securing their own position in the evolving digital landscape.

Get started by downloading our partnership workbook and see how Acro Commerce can help you build your agency partnership.