B2B and B2C data models

Propeller supports both B2B and B2C commerce through separate data models. Which REST API resources you use depends on whether you are managing business customers, individual consumers or both.

Key differences

Aspect	B2B	B2C
Primary users	Companies and their employees	Individual consumers
Data structure	Hierarchical (companies → contacts)	Flat (individual customers)
Pricing model	Negotiated, customer-specific	Standard or customer-specific
User management	Role-based access control	Individual accounts
Catalog access	Restricted, customer-specific	Public or customer-specific

B2B: companies and contacts

The B2B model is used in environments where a predefined set of customers is allowed access to a webshop or portal. The customer or debtor is a company with a unique debtorId. The contacts are persons within the organization, each with their own email address, telephone number and multiple different invoice, delivery and visiting addresses.

Company (organization)
├── Contact (employee/user)
├── Contact (employee/user)
└── Addresses

Companies contain:

Company information (name, tax number, contact details)
Organizational hierarchy (parent-child relationships)
Inherited settings and permissions
Budget and ordering restrictions
Address management

Contacts contain:

Personal information (name, email, phone)
Role-based permissions
Order history and preferences

B2B API usage

Create a company:

POST /v2/companies

{
  "name": "Acme Corporation",
  "taxNumber": "NL123456789B01",
  "parent": { "sourceId": "PARENT_COMP", "source": "CRM" }
}

Create a contact within a company:

POST /v2/contacts

{
  "firstName": "John",
  "lastName": "Doe",
  "email": "john.doe@acme.com",
  "parent": { "sourceId": "ACME_CORP", "source": "CRM" }
}

Get company contacts:

GET /v2/companies/id/123?expands=contacts

B2C: customers

In B2C, there is no company hierarchy. Each buyer is a customer with their own account.

Customer (individual)
├── Personal information
└── Addresses

Customers contain:

Personal information (name, email, phone)
Order history and preferences
Multiple addresses (billing, shipping)
Account settings and preferences

B2C API usage

Create a customer:

POST /v2/customers

{
  "firstName": "Jane",
  "lastName": "Smith",
  "email": "jane.smith@email.com",
  "phone": "+1234567890"
}

Resource structure

Resource	B2B	B2C
Companies	Primary organizational unit	Not applicable
Contacts	Users within companies	Not applicable
Customers	Not applicable	Primary user unit
Orders	Company/contact-based	Customer-based

Integration patterns

B2B: ERP and CRM sync

Sync company data from ERP:

POST /v2/companies/bulk/sourceId

{
  "companies": [
    {
      "sourceId": "ERP_COMP_001",
      "source": "SAP_ERP",
      "name": "Acme Corporation"
    }
  ]
}

Sync contact data from CRM:

POST /v2/contacts/bulk/sourceId

{
  "contacts": [
    {
      "sourceId": "CRM_CONTACT_001",
      "source": "SALESFORCE",
      "firstName": "John",
      "lastName": "Doe",
      "parent": { "sourceId": "ACME_CORP", "source": "CRM" }
    }
  ]
}

B2C: e-commerce sync

Sync customer data from e-commerce platform:

POST /v2/customers/bulk/sourceId

{
  "customers": [
    {
      "sourceId": "SHOP_CUSTOMER_001",
      "source": "SHOPIFY",
      "firstName": "Jane",
      "lastName": "Smith"
    }
  ]
}

Using both models together

Propeller supports using both B2B and B2C models in the same environment. You can use companies and contacts for your B2B operations and customers for your B2C operations simultaneously.

Key differences​

B2B: companies and contacts​

B2B API usage​

B2C: customers​

B2C API usage​

Resource structure​

Integration patterns​

B2B: ERP and CRM sync​

B2C: e-commerce sync​

Using both models together​

See also​