B2B ordering portal: prices and rules for every customer

Key points

• Prices and terms belong to the right account.
• Orders must enter your internal process without retyping.
• Roles and exceptions are defined before launch.

When email is no longer enough for orders

Customers send lists in different formats, one colleague looks up the codes and another checks the negotiated prices. If something is missing, the order goes back for clarification. The problem is not that email exists. It is that every list has to be turned into a usable order by hand.

A B2B portal puts the customer in front of the catalog and the rules that apply to them. Your team can keep phone calls for negotiation and support, while repeat orders come in a structured form. It is worth looking at when this work repeats and can be standardized.

The difference between a B2B portal and a regular store

In B2B, two companies can have different prices, terms and available products. Access may require account approval. Immediate payment may be replaced by an order that goes through a commercial check. These rules change the system, not just the look of the login page.

Separate the company account from its users. One employee may create orders while another approves them. When someone leaves the customer's company, their access must be removed without losing the company's history. Avoid shared logins that make it impossible to tell who did what.

What to define for prices and access

Choose the system that holds negotiated prices and pricing rules. Define what happens if a price list is unavailable or a product has no condition for that customer. Never show another company's prices by mistake, and do not estimate using an undefined rule.

Test data isolation between accounts. Restrictions must apply even when the application requests data directly, not only by hiding a button. Customers should see only the documents, prices and orders they have access to.

• Company account approval.
• Users and permissions to order or approve.
• Price lists and quantity rules.
• Stock, lead times and made-to-order products.

How an order enters your inventory system

Define whether the portal creates a confirmed order directly or a request that waits for review. Stock, credit limits and unusual conditions may need an extra step. The message shown to the customer must match the real status.

Keep a shared identifier between the portal and your internal system. If the integration resends a message, the same order must not be created again. When an operation fails, the colleague responsible needs a list of what has to be retried or checked.

Features that help with repeat orders

Saved lists and reordering can cut down the time spent looking up codes, but prices and availability must be checked again on every order. Order history must not become a permanent source for an old price. Show the customer any changes before confirmation.

Search by product code can be more useful than a large gallery for customers who know the products. Importing a list should explain unmatched rows and invalid quantities. Never silently accept only part of a list without telling the customer.

How to launch with a group of customers

Choose a few customers with representative orders and follow their difficulties before a general launch. Compare the time needed to process orders and the number of clarifications, without promising a universal saving. Keep a support path for exceptions that are not yet covered.

At Webmate, we can start from a real order and the list of rules per customer. The Center Electric project shows our experience connecting a store with the warehouse and documents. The features of a new portal are defined from your own sales process.

Frequently asked questions