🌱 How to Scale Enterprise B2B eCommerce, Digital Maturity & Agentic AI Workflows with Ricardo López | E736

Deets & Links

Guest: Ricardo López, Director of Client & Product Solutions at Virto CommerceWebsite: https://virtocommerce.com

Episode Overview

In this episode of THE ECOMMERCE EDGE Podcast, host Jason Greenwood sits down with Ricardo López, Director of Client & Product Solutions at Virto Commerce.

Ricardo brings a unique perspective to the conversation, drawing on a decade of experience at Heineken where he led global B2B eCommerce initiatives across dozens of international markets before moving to the vendor side at Virto Commerce.

Together, Jason and Ricardo explore the complexities of global B2B distribution, the spectrum of digital maturity across international markets, and why self-service eCommerce portals must deliver value far beyond basic shopping cart transactions.

They also take a deep dive into the rise of agentic AI, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, the shifting balance between PaaS and SaaS architectures, and how B2B platforms are preparing for conversational, intent-based search interfaces.

Timestamps

[0:00:00] - Welcome Ricardo López and Mexico travel/cuisine banter[0:02:47] - From B2C beer innovation to global B2B eCommerce at Heineken[0:06:28] - Transitioning from merchant to vendor: Why practitioner experience builds credibility[0:08:59] - Build vs. buy decisions in global B2B enterprises[0:12:36] - Digital maturity spectrum: Meeting B2B buyers where they are across EDI, Punch Out, and portals[0:15:42] - Self-service beyond the transaction: Invoices, credit accounts, and technical service requests[0:21:09] - The Virto Commerce perspective: Bridging client needs with product solutions[0:23:05] - PaaS vs. SaaS in the age of AI: How agentic workflows lower technical barriers[0:28:25] - Headless AI administration: Administering B2B software through conversational LLMs and MCP servers[0:34:06] - AI as a thought partner: Overcoming hallucinations and expanding B2B expectations[0:40:26] - Virto Commerce roadmap: Agentic AI infrastructure, intent-based search, and rapid prototyping[0:48:31] - Off the clock: Playing electric guitar and rock band nostalgia[0:50:27] - Flipping the script: Ricardo asks Jason for advice on starting a podcast and overcoming pod fade

THE ECOMMERCE EDGE Podcast Home⁠ - https://www.greenwoodconsulting.net/podcast