Sana Commerce Taps Tech Veteran to Lead AI Push in B2B E-Commerce

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands – May 04, 2026 – Sana Commerce, a leading B2B e-commerce platform, has appointed veteran technology executive Brian Plackis Cheng as its new Chief Executive Officer. The move signals a strategic acceleration for the company, which aims to solidify its position in the market by doubling down on AI-powered connected commerce to help manufacturers and distributors navigate increasingly complex global supply chains.

Plackis Cheng steps into the role with a clear mandate: to lead Sana Commerce's next phase of growth and innovation. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the B2B sector, where the integration of artificial intelligence with core business systems is no longer a futuristic concept but a critical driver of operational efficiency and competitive advantage.

A Proven Scaler Takes the Helm

Brian Plackis Cheng brings a formidable track record to Sana Commerce, with over 25 years of experience building and scaling technology companies on both sides of the Atlantic. His career is marked by a series of successful high-growth ventures, including navigating companies through IPOs and acquisitions. He has been instrumental in raising significant capital and has a history of achieving major exits, such as Software.com's IPO and a landmark $6.8 billion sale.

His expertise spans key areas directly relevant to Sana's future, including enterprise AI, messaging, and online marketplaces. This background makes him uniquely suited to steer the company's ambitious agenda. Board Member Michiel Schipperus highlighted this fit, stating, “Brian’s track record in scaling technology businesses and building strong partner networks makes him the right leader to accelerate our vision and deliver greater value to customers and partners.”

Plackis Cheng's leadership philosophy emphasizes partnering with visionary founders and investors to professionalize teams, drive international expansion, and foster a culture of high productivity. He assumes leadership of a company already well-regarded in its niche, with strong user ratings on platforms like G2 and Capterra, where customers frequently praise its deep system integration.

The Bedrock of B2B: An ERP-First Strategy

Sana Commerce has carved out its market position by championing an "ERP-first" approach to e-commerce. Unlike many platforms that treat Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system integration as an afterthought or a complex add-on requiring middleware, Sana builds its platform directly into its clients' existing SAP or Microsoft Dynamics systems. This architectural choice is the company's core differentiator.

By anchoring the e-commerce experience within the ERP, the company creates a "single source of truth." This eliminates the data silos and synchronization errors that plague many B2B organizations. For manufacturers and distributors, the benefits are immediate and tangible: real-time inventory levels, customer-specific pricing, and accurate order histories are automatically reflected on their web stores without manual intervention. This deep integration automates complex B2B workflows, from quote generation to intricate approval chains, freeing up human resources for more strategic tasks.

This foundational strategy directly addresses the primary pain points of digital transformation for businesses with complex operations. As Plackis Cheng noted, “By anchoring commerce in ERP and extending it across the ecosystem, we enable a single source of truth, giving buyers and sellers the clarity and confidence to transact at scale.” The goal, he emphasized, is to make digital commerce a core growth engine for customers, rather than an operational headache.

Infusing AI into the Digital Commerce Engine

With a solid ERP-integrated foundation, Sana Commerce is now poised to layer on advanced AI capabilities, transforming its platform into a truly intelligent system. The vision for "AI-powered connected commerce" moves beyond simple automation to create a predictive, personalized, and highly efficient B2B buying and selling experience.

Under Plackis Cheng's guidance, the company's product roadmap will focus on advancing AI-driven features that simplify complexity and connect the entire digital journey. This includes the rise of agentic commerce, where AI agents can autonomously handle tasks like generating quotes or processing standard orders, further reducing manual workloads. Another key area is hyper-personalization, using machine learning to deliver tailored product recommendations, dynamic pricing, and customized content based on a buyer's history and behavior.

Furthermore, AI will enhance the ERP integration itself, evolving it from a necessary data conduit into a strategic asset. Predictive analytics can forecast demand with greater accuracy, identify potential customer churn, and optimize inventory levels by analyzing patterns within the ERP data. For businesses grappling with supply chain volatility, these capabilities are invaluable. McKinsey estimates that AI could generate up to $2 trillion in annual value for supply chain firms, and Sana Commerce is positioning itself to help its clients capture a piece of that value.

Building Resilient Supply Chains for a New Era

The strategic focus on AI and ERP integration is a direct response to the immense pressures on modern supply chains. Geopolitical instability, fluctuating demand, and logistical bottlenecks have made operational agility and data-driven decision-making essential for survival and growth.

AI is already revolutionizing supply chain management across industries. It is being used for sophisticated demand forecasting, optimizing transport routes for final-mile delivery, and automating warehouse operations from inventory counting to packing. In risk management, AI algorithms can assess vendor reliability and predict delivery delays, giving businesses the foresight to pivot before a disruption occurs.

By integrating these AI capabilities into its ERP-centric platform, Sana Commerce aims to provide its customers—primarily manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers—with the tools to build more resilient and efficient operations. The platform's ability to provide real-time, accurate data becomes the foundation upon which predictive and prescriptive AI models can operate effectively. This combination empowers businesses to not only react faster to market changes but to anticipate them, turning their digital commerce platform into a strategic nerve center for the entire organization. The company’s mission is to automate commerce across these complex supply chains, ultimately accelerating digital commerce growth for its customers in a challenging global market.