Why isn’t my monkey spinning? Rethinking how you choose a B2B eCommerce platform

Choosing the right B2B platform shouldn’t feel like a guessing game.

Too often, businesses get pulled into flashy demos and long feature lists that don’t actually solve the problems they set out to fix.

In this talk, Rixxo founder and UK Chapter Lead at the B2B eCommerce Association, Chris Gee, shares a smarter way to choose your next eCommerce platform for B2B.

Practical and rooted in tangible business outcomes, if you’re in the middle of platform selection or thinking about it, this is one to watch.

Don’t get trapped by features

There are 96 B2B platforms on Chris’s radar. Every one of them claims to be the best. Most of them can technically do what you ask. So the question isn’t “what does it do?” It’s “what do you need it to do?”

Chris opens the session by reframing the conversation, starting not with software, but with your story. Because technology is just a language, if your story’s not clear, the platform won’t fix it.

From “what does it do” to “what do we need?”

Platform decisions get messy when they’re driven by missing features, stakeholder opinions, or marketing hype. Chris makes the case for putting business needs first, not wishlist functionality. He unpacks how the constant hunt for “something better” keeps teams stuck in cycles of indecision and regret.

Introducing the SpinApe™ framework

Chris introduces SpinApe™: a reverse-engineered approach based on how tech platforms sell to you. It helps you get inside-out clarity on your needs, then use that to brief platforms effectively. It’s the same framework we use at Rixxo to guide clients through platform selection, step by step.

You don’t need to be a technical expert. You just need a clear picture of your problems, the impact, and what success looks like. SpinApe™ helps you build that.

What the right platform really looks like

There’s no universal “best” B2B platform. There’s only what’s best for your business, your team, and your operations. Chris shows how to stop comparing software on shallow checklists, and instead get vendors to respond to the problems you actually face.

The result? Fewer demos. More insight. A decision you can stand by.

One spreadsheet to rule them all

Chris shares a simplified version of the Rixxo RFP model, the same one we use with manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers to make confident, strategic choices. It turns business context into a structured brief. It aligns teams. And it gives delivery partners the information they need to do the job properly.

Download the RFP template here

Watch the full talk

If you’re planning a replatform, struggling to align stakeholders, or just want to get off the feature-led hamster wheel, this is the talk for you.

Watch the video below to see how we help businesses choose the right platform and what happens when your monkey starts spinning.

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