Account Hierarchies: One Company, Many Buyers

A B2B customer is rarely one person. It is a company with branches, departments, buyers, approvers and sometimes parent organizations.

Match how the company is organized

Let administrators invite users, assign roles and set limits such as maximum order value or allowed shipping addresses. Roles should reflect real jobs: a buyer who can order, an approver who can release, a finance user who can only view invoices.

Keep the experience personal

Even inside a shared account, each person should see their own orders, lists and addresses. Good hierarchy design reduces support calls because buyers can self-serve changes that used to require an email to the account manager.

Key takeaways

• Model companies, users and roles explicitly

• Allow admins to self-manage their team

• Keep personal views inside shared accounts