Ecommerce Platform for Building Materials Distributors
Project-based ordering, contractor pricing, Epicor BisTrack integration, and lumber and building product catalog search for LBM distributors serving contractors across every branch and jobsite without adding calls to the counter.
Close the Digital Gap in Building Materials Distribution
The digital adoption gap in B2B building materials distribution is significant. While construction supply dealers saw $34.2B in monthly revenue in October 2025, the average LBM dealer has less than 1% ecommerce penetration. With contractors expected to purchase almost half of their materials online by 2030, launching robust self-service ordering provides a massive immediate competitive advantage.
Complete Digital Storefront
This feature provides contractors and buyers with a full online storefront to search products, place orders, and manage purchases, without requiring a counter call. It's the competitive edge LBM distributors need as contractors move their purchasing online.
Powerful Ecommerce Core
A platform engineered for complex LBM catalogs, contractor pricing, and multi-step order workflows that generic systems simply can't handle. ROC Commerce is built from the ground up for the real demands of building materials distribution.
Customer Self Service Portal
Let contractors handle invoices, PO approvals, net terms, and account details on their own, freeing your counter staff for higher-value work. That means fewer inbound calls and faster order cycles across every account.
Customer & Employee Adoption
Built-in tools and workflows drive real usage across your buyers and internal teams, turning your digital storefront into daily habit. Higher adoption means faster ROI and a stronger digital foothold across every branch.
Content Management & Marketing
Manage product content, promotions, and campaigns across your storefront, so every branch presents accurate details and timely offers. It keeps your catalog sharp and your marketing moving without slowing down your team.
System Integrations
Deep connections to ERPs and search and CRM tools to keep your operations perfectly in sync. That means accurate pricing, real-time inventory, and seamless order flow across every branch and jobsite.
Commerce Built for Building Materials Distribution
Building materials distribution runs on complexity most ecommerce platforms simply can't manage; thousands of SKUs sorted by species, grade, and dimension, contractor pricing that shifts by project and account, and inventory spread across multiple branches. ROC Commerce is built for exactly this. The result is a digital experience your builders, contractors, and walk-in customers expect - one that turns online ordering into a genuine competitive advantage.
Product Search and Catalog Management
Generic ecommerce platforms struggle to handle complex building materials catalogs. Your buyers must sort by species, dimension, grade, treatment, panel type, and engineered wood specifications. ROC Commerce integrates advanced site search via Algolia or Hawksearch, enabling contractors to instantly locate exact lumber and building supplies. This is crucial, as 85% of B2B purchasers will abandon suppliers over poor digital ordering experiences.
Contractor Pricing, Project Accounts, and Net Terms
LBM distributors handle complex pricing structures based on projects, accounts, volume tiers, and specific payment agreements. ROC Commerce automatically pulls net 30/60/90 terms, account-specific lists, project bids, and rebates directly from your ERP, ensuring accurate multi-device pricing. Furthermore, digital transactions typically yield gross margins 100 basis points higher than conventional sales for construction materials distributors.
B2B and D2C Within One Platform
Managing separate commerce systems for retail customers and wholesale contractors is inefficient. ROC Commerce unifies D2C and B2B sales within a single platform, utilizing audience-specific checkout logic, unique product content, tailored order workflows, and custom pricing. As professional procurement rapidly shifts online, supply yards require a centralized digital storefront capable of serving large builders, local contractors, and everyday homeowners.
Trusted by Building Materials Distributors
Electrical distributors compete on contractor relationships, inventory availability, and operational responsiveness. ROC Commerce helps distributors modernize online ordering while supporting the operational complexity of electrical supply distribution.
How ROC Commerce Supports Multi-Branch Distributor Ecommerce
Mars Electric uses ROC Commerce for branch inventory, contractor account workflows, Epicor Eclipse integration, split-shipping, and CRM connectivity. Mars Electric’s case study shows how B2B ecommerce helped streamline complex product data, improve customer self-service, and drive growth. Building materials distributors can benefit similarly by making ordering easier, improving fulfillment efficiency, and supporting growth across digital and branch locations.
Mars Electric
Mars Electric is an independent wholesale distributor of lighting, gear, and electrical supplies. Started in the 1950s, today there are 12 Mars Electric store locations across Northeast Ohio.
Mars Electric wanted to launch an ecommerce website that complimented its retail stores and would provide an easy shopping experience for both its current and future customers. The existing website offered a history of Mars Electric as well as product and service introduction but did not include an online store. A priority for the new ecommerce website would be to make sure the online shopping experience for Mars Electric mirrored the informed and helpful one that customers had grown to trust and appreciate in their physical stores.
As store inventory and volume had grown over the years, product management data and fulfillment had become more complex. Alongside the development of a new digital storefront, efficiencies in product management, order fulfillment, and a single source of truth for all product data were prioritized. With continually increasing order volume, these efficiencies would bring compounding gains for Mars Electric.
Mars Electric engaged the digital agency, Americaneagle.com, to partner in the creation of its ecommerce website. ROC Commerce was selected to be the ecommerce platform for electrical parts distributors to capably support, and integrate with the existing business systems of, Mars Electric. The platform’s track record of successfully managing large volumes of product data within a fast and high-performing shopping experience for some of the world’s most recognized brands instilled confidence in Mars Electric’s choice.
In addition to new ecommerce capabilities, Mars Electric aspires to grow well beyond its existing business footprint. The company’s immediate and future-focused expansion required an online storefront with the speed, flexibility, and expandability to capably support the growing business.
Product data to build a robust, timely, and dependable online shopping catalog required integration from many sources. Seamless integrations between ROC Commerce and data within sources like Eaton and the Industry Data Exchange Associates (IDEA) were integral to the project’s success. The robust storefront is also continually synched with data from Epicor’s Eclipse, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software utilized throughout Mars Electric’s business, to provide real-time inventory levels. This installation was actually the first-ever use of the new Epicor Eclipse APIs on an e-commerce website.
Enhanced user permissions within the website provide advanced access to designated users. After logging in, customers have access to “My Account” functionality which provides order history, the ability to reorder previous favorites, save shopping lists for later purchases, and more. Authorized payment terms are also stored within each customer account. The customer profile includes information relating to both online and brick-and-mortar store activity.
A sophisticated new solution within the online checkout allows customers to select specific items for in-store pickup, delivery, or both, within one order. Mars Electric also operates a delivery fleet that fulfills deliveries within 100 miles of each location. A custom store locator was built into the new website as well.
User experience within the digital solutions has been further advanced via HubSpot integrations with contact forms, live chat, email marketing campaigns, lead tracking, and abandoned cart follow-up.
Since its launch, the ecommerce website has been a valuable addition to the Mars Electric family of stores. Data has affirmed that customers have welcomed the added conveniences of the digital store and have been quick to adopt the new ecommerce environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
ROC Commerce is built for the real-world demands of building materials distributors and LBM dealers. Here are some of the questions distributors ask most when evaluating ROC Commerce.
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ROC Commerce masters the complex digital requirements that standard platforms overlook. It offers specification-driven search for dimensions, lumber species, and grades, pulls customized contractor pricing directly from your ERP, displays multi-branch stock levels, and facilitates project-based purchasing for buyers with multiple jobsites. Plus, it seamlessly runs B2B and D2C sales simultaneously.
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Absolutely. ROC Commerce unifies Direct to Consumer and B2B transactions into a single system. Building materials distributors can easily oversee retail consumer purchases alongside complex wholesale contractor accounts featuring PO workflows, project bids, and net terms. Each buyer segment receives completely distinct checkout rules, pricing, product data, and portal experiences.
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ROC Commerce offers deep integration with Epicor, specifically targeting the BisTrack building supply ecosystem, alongside NetSuite and DMSi. This vital connection automatically synchronizes account data, past order history, negotiated customer pricing, and real-time inventory at the branch or yard level, ensuring your online storefront remains perfectly accurate without manual updates.
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Yes. ROC Commerce displays precise yard-level and branch-level stock, empowering contractors to verify availability prior to arranging jobsite deliveries, branch transfers, or will-call pickups. LBM distributors can easily customize branch-specific pricing, unique delivery zones, and location-centric inventory rules to perfectly align with their existing distribution networks and operational workflows.
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ROC Commerce automatically extracts net payment terms, volume tiers, project bid rates, and account-specific price lists directly from your existing ERP. This guarantees buyers view accurate pricing across all channels and devices. Furthermore, the self-service customer portal allows contractors to seamlessly handle invoice management and purchase order approval workflows.
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Yes. ROC Commerce is specifically engineered for massive, intricate B2B catalogs encompassing insulation, millwork, engineered wood, roofing, panels, and dimensional lumber. Buyers can instantly filter and search using technical attributes, product types, treatments, dimensions, grades, and wood species, ensuring they locate the exact specialty building products they need rapidly.