Company management
Company management in 51ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Commerce provides comprehensive tools for administrators to organize, configure, and oversee B2B business relationships. This feature is essential for businesses that work with multiple corporate customers, subsidiaries, or complex organizational structures.
Company management enables you to:
- Organize Business Relationships—Create and manage individual company accounts for your B2B customers
- Build Organizational Hierarchies—Structure parent-child relationships that mirror real-world business organizations
- Centralize Administration—Manage multiple companies and their settings from a single administrative interface
- Streamline Operations—Apply consistent configurations and policies across related companies
- Support Complex Structures—Manage subsidiaries, franchises, multi-location businesses, and corporate divisions
Admin users can build a company hierarchy to mirror a B2B organization by assigning companies to a designated parent company. This assignment allows the parent company administrator to view and manage companies within the organization.
Initiate company management tasks from the Companies view. From the Admin, go to Customers > Companies.
Prerequisites
Before managing companies, ensure that:
- B2B features are enabled in your 51ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Commerce installation
- You have administrative access with company management permissions
- Company accounts are properly configured with necessary business information
- User roles and permissions are defined for company administrators and users
Use cases
Company management is ideal for:
- Multi-location businesses with centralized purchasing but location-specific needs
- Franchise operations requiring both corporate oversight and local autonomy
- Corporate subsidiaries with shared policies but independent operations
- Large enterprises with multiple divisions or business units
- Distribution networks with resellers, dealers, or channel partners
Understanding Company Hierarchy and Company Types
Company hierarchy structures business relationships by organizing multiple companies under a single parent company. This feature mirrors real-world organizational structures while enabling centralized management and preserving individual company identities.
Company Types
The Company Type column in the Companies grid shows how each company fits within your B2B organization:
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Parent—Central hub with one or more assigned companies
- Controls multiple child companies but cannot be assigned to another parent
- Use case—Corporate headquarters, main franchise organization, or holding company
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Child—Company assigned to a parent organization
- Operates under parent governance and may inherit configurations
- Can only belong to one parent at a time
- Use case—Subsidiary offices, franchise locations, or regional divisions
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Company—Independent single company
- Operates independently without hierarchy relationships
- Can convert to parent (by assigning companies) or child (by assignment to parent)
- Use case—Individual business customers or standalone clients
Converting Company Types
- Single Company → Parent—Assign other companies to it
- Single Company → Child—Assign it to an existing parent company
- Child → Single—Unassign the child company from its parent
- Parent → Child—Not possible without first removing all assigned companies
Managing Company Hierarchies
When editing companies within a hierarchy, expand Company Hierarchy to view all related companies. A Current flag indicates the company being edited.
For detailed step-by-step instructions, see Manage the Company Hierarchy.
Company management tasks
When managing companies from the company grid, administrators can perform the following tasks from the Company Hierarchy grid:
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View and manage company relationships
- View Associated Companies—See all companies linked to a parent organization in one centralized view
- Monitor Company Status—Track active, pending, and inactive companies within the hierarchy
- Access Company Details—Navigate directly to individual company configuration pages
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Build and modify hierarchies
- Assign companies—Add existing companies to a parent organization from the company detail page
- Create parent-child relationships—Structure companies to reflect real-world business relationships
- Reorganize structures—Move companies between different parent organizations as business needs change
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Bulk configuration management
- Apply settings across companies—Update advanced settings for multiple companies simultaneously using the Actions control on the Company grid
- Standardize configurations—Ensure consistent policies across related organizations
- Override individual settings—Push parent company configurations to selected child companies
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Administrative actions
- Remove company relationships—Use the Unassign from parent action to dissolve organizational ties
- Manage company access—Control which administrators can view and modify company relationships
- Monitor hierarchy changes—Track modifications to organizational structures
Best practices
When managing companies, consider the following best practices:
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Building company hierarchies—When managing complex company structures, plan your hierarchy to match real business relationships while keeping structures simple to avoid user confusion. Document all company relationships and their business connections for future reference.
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Configuration management—Test configuration changes on individual companies before applying them to entire hierarchies, and always document current settings before making bulk changes. Communicate planned changes to affected company administrators in advance.
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Security—Limit company management permissions to trusted administrators only, conduct regular reviews of company relationships and access permissions, and monitor all hierarchy changes for audit purposes.