When is the portal more useful than electronic data exchange with the buyer?

The portal is suitable for a customer who chooses the range himself and often orders manually. A large buyer system can transfer orders via electronic data interchange (EDI) without additional connection. Both channels can use the same approved order rules.

Where is the customer's price to be calculated and credit confirmed?

They are provided by the system responsible for commercial and financial conditions. The portal receives a relevant result during order verification. A separately copied price list cannot replace contractual discounts or credit verification.

How do you measure the benefits of self-service if the customer placed the order himself, but the manager fixed it?

Such an order is not completely self-processed. The full time of the employee before approval and reasons for error correction are evaluated. The use portion is only counted among orders for which self-service is actually appropriate.

Is it possible for a customer to promise a limited-edition item based on the total balance?

It is necessary to assess whether the available lot meets the terms of the customer's remaining validity and delivery. The total physical quantity may include a margin that is not suitable for this customer. Approved availability must be provided by the process of executing the lots and order.

When is it enough to improve the current booking channel?

An existing portal is sufficient if the customer sees the range and conditions assigned to him, can place an order and follow its execution. A new solution is needed when these actions are limited by available systems or difficult for customers to use.

FMCG wholesale B2B ordering and self-service portal

A business customer orders food and everyday consumer goods according to his range and prices. On the portal, he tracks delivery, finds documents and reports discrepancies.

When customers do not have a convenient digital channel or see their prices and real range in it, orders are collected by managers and manually brought to ERP. The cost of one order increases, SKUs, quantity and delivery errors occur, and the sales team spends less time on customer development.

How the solution works

The customer chooses the delivery location and the range approved for him.
According to the rules of packaging, price, credit and delivery, its order is checked.
The order is forwarded to the accounting system and the customer is returned a confirmation or specific need for revision.
Execution sources provide actual states and documents; the customer's reported discrepancy is linked to the order.

Key challenges

Orders are overwritten from phone, email or manager notes

Solution capabilities

Choice for the client

The customer finds the range, packaging and price applied to his delivery location from approved data sources.

Fast re-order

The previous purchase can be used for a new order by re-checking the price, availability and commercial conditions in force.

Order Confirmation

The client sees what the accounting system has taken to execute and which lines or conditions still require a decision.

Enforcement and documentation

Approved delivery statuses and accounts are provided specifically to the customer's company and its authorized users.

Submission of a discrepancy

The customer can specify the missing or damaged part of the delivery and add evidence; the decision is further managed by the responsible enforcement or quality process.

Business context

Orders are overwritten from phone, email or manager notes: When customers do not have a convenient digital channel or see their prices and real range in it, orders are collected by managers and manually brought to ERP. The cost of one order increases, SKUs, quantity and delivery errors occur, and the sales team spends less time on customer development.
Re-ordering becomes simpler: The store or catering company often orders a similar cart, but changes quantities according to the day's need. Previous purchases, agreed prices and an assortment for the customer help make this work faster. The manager may discuss categories that are not yet purchased suitable, instead of rewriting the usual order each time.

Core features

Choice for the client
Fast re-order
Order Confirmation
Enforcement and documentation
Submission of a discrepancy

Key integrations

Enterprise resource planning system (ERP): Customers, pricing, commercial rules, orders, credit information.
Warehouse management system (WMS): Stocks, Reservations, batches, and Set Statuses.
Product Information Management System (PIM) or Product Data Source: Product information, packaging, attributes, images and documentation.
Transport Management System (TMS): Delivery plan and actual transport states.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): Automated orders and documents with customers for whom this channel is already in use.
Customer relationship management system (CRM): Applications, commercial evaluation and activation process for new partners.

Potential impact (%)

The ranges indicate an illustrative relative change in the metric under the stated assumptions. Results depend on the starting position and actual use of the solution. Percentages for different metrics must not be added together.

Employee time to process proper self-service order

12–36%Decreasing

This illustrative scenario assumes that 30-60% of manual data entry and handover work can be addressed. That share is assumed to fall by 40-60%. Company data is needed to verify both the addressable workload and the resulting change.

All administration and repair times for one suitable order are compared, while maintaining the same customer and order complexity group.

Enquiries on already submitted documents and execution statuses

12–42%Decreasing

This illustrative scenario assumes that 30-60% of errors can be addressed through the data and rule checks described. That share is assumed to fall by 40-70%. Company data is needed to verify both the addressable share and the resulting change.

Such requests are counted per hundred orders executed; it is separately checked whether the portal status was relevant.

Value of existing customer re-purchases

3–10%Increasing

In the example scenario, 30-50% of the original value of the indicator is associated with a more convenient addition of the existing customer range. This part is predicted to grow by 10-20% without other conditions changing.

The value of re-purchases by the same customers across all channels is compared, taking into account the season and price changes. Transferring an order to a portal or splitting into multiple purchases is not considered to be additional sales.

Conditional calculation scenarios. The assumptions have not been validated against client measurements.

When this solution is relevant

Many recurring B2B orders
Significant share of phone and email orders
Individual customer price lists and range
Managers check prices, balances or delivery dates on multiple systems
As sales grow, the need for order administration grows together
A large part of customer service consists of questions about order states and documents

Implementation requirements

The portal requires relevant customer pricing, packaging, delivery conditions and credit verification responses. Sales are compatible with what changes to the order the customer can make independently, and with accounting - how the confirmed quantity and term are returned and the EDI channel that is already in use is maintained.