When Google sunsetted Universal Analytics and introduced GA4, many businesses, especially manufacturers and distributors, were left scrambling. GA4 didn’t just change the interface. It redefined the data model, removed familiar reports, and added complexity where clarity once lived. For B2B eCommerce teams, this disruption hit especially hard.
Manufacturers and distributors rely on analytics to track product performance, buyer behavior, and channel ROI. They need SKU-level visibility, account-based interactions, and extended funnels that GA4’s event-based model often struggles to support. For product-driven businesses with quotes, custom orders, and long-tail transactions, GA4 feels like the wrong fit.
The good news: you’re not locked in. There are strong alternatives that align better with B2B complexity. Below are leading options worth considering.
Matomo (formerly Piwik) is open source and privacy-focused. It can be self-hosted, giving manufacturers complete control over their data with no third-party sharing or sampling. Properly configured, it supports SKU-level tracking across quoting tools, dashboards, and product pages, ideal for highly regulated industries.
Fathom emphasizes simplicity. It's no-cookie, privacy-first approach reduces compliance headaches while still delivering clear visibility. Reports are straightforward, making it a great choice for executives monitoring top-funnel metrics like traffic sources and campaign performance.
Plausible is another privacy-first platform that skips complex dashboards. It’s especially useful for smaller B2B teams looking for quick access to landing page performance, referrer data, and campaign results, without cookie banners or heavy setup.
Mixpanel helps businesses understand how buyers interact with products, not just pages. It enables tracking of account tools, calculators, configurators, and downloads, making it valuable for manufacturers with technical buyers and digital catalogs.
Heap automatically tracks interactions like clicks, submissions, and views, reducing manual tagging. This is a strong fit for manufacturers and distributors with complex, non-linear buying processes such as quoting flows or reorder behavior.
Adobe Analytics is designed for global manufacturers and national distributors with advanced reporting needs. Its anomaly detection, segmentation, and Adobe Experience Cloud integrations make it powerful for personalization and cross-channel analysis.
B2B eCommerce leaders don’t just need analytics. They need analytics that reflect long buying cycles, multiple stakeholders, and complex product catalogs. GA4 may be the default, but it’s not always the right fit. The alternatives above give manufacturers and distributors options that prioritize clarity, control, and business alignment.
At Layer One, we don’t sell analytics software; we help manufacturers and distributors make sense of it. From aligning KPIs to eCommerce goals to connecting analytics with platforms like PIMs, ERPs, and CRMs, we ensure your data actually works for your business. If you’re rethinking your analytics approach as part of a broader digital strategy, we’re here to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Looking to move beyond GA4? Let’s talk.