The role of e-commerce for distributors is growing. But finding the right platform can be a challenging thing. You can't just look at the features offered by sites like Amazon and try to apply them to your own.

"B2B customers and buyers come to your website because they have to," notes Justin King, founder of eCommerceandB2B.com and a senior partner at B2X partners, in his new report "Expert Review: Mid-Market B2B E-Commerce Software." And it's your job to make it easy for them to do their jobs on your site.

That means providing access to customer-specific pricing rather than just list price or no price at all. It means giving your customers access to their contract terms. And that all means that seamless integration with your ERP is a necessity.

But how do you choose what platform is the right fit? The best way is to assess your own priorities and then compare the platforms that are available to you. And those needs and priorities can vary widely, depending on your line of business and your customer's requirements, according to the 2016 State of E-Commerce survey, conducted in partnership with Real Results Marketing. (Read more about the 2016 results here.)

King's new report, produced for manufacturers and distributors with revenues between $25 million and $750 million, was designed to help with the process.

"Small and mid-sized distributors and manufacturers are actively looking for e-commerce software," King says. "However, there are very few sources of information that help companies understand differences between software platforms in B2B scenarios."

King assessed several different platforms on a variety of criteria, including price, ERP integration and support for B2B best practices. He also looked at how each platform is approaching the journey of e-commerce.

E-commerce isn't a one-time event, as noted by Jonathan Bein and Dean Mueller in 2016 State of E-Commerce: E-Commerce Journey Continues. It's an ongoing process. And it's best if your e-commerce partner is prepared to join you on the ride.