Distributors & wholesalers
Hundreds of retail accounts, each on its own price tier and payment terms.
B2B Ordering Portal
Your dealers and trade customers order themselves, at their own prices.
Orders arrive by WhatsApp, email and phone, and someone re-types them into the accounting system. A trade portal lets each customer see their own price list, order against their credit terms and check where the delivery is.
Customer-specific
pricing
pricing
Ordering
round the clock
round the clock
Credit limits
and terms
and terms
Order and
delivery status
delivery status
Order receivedPriced against the customer's list
Credit checkedHeld if the account is over limit
Out for deliveryCustomer can see it without calling
The problem
Taking orders by phone is a full-time job
Trade customers are not difficult. They just want the price they were promised, stock they can rely on, and an answer about their delivery — and every one of those questions currently lands on a person.
- Orders come in by WhatsApp, email and phone, then get re-typed into the accounting system by hand.
- Every customer has a different price list, so what they are quoted depends on who picks up.
- Half the morning goes on “is this in stock?” and “where is my order?”
- Credit limits are checked manually, so goods ship to accounts that are already over the line.
- The same monthly order is keyed in from scratch every time, and typos come back as credit notes.
Built for trade suppliers
Businesses that sell to other businesses, on account
The pattern is the same whether you ship pipes, prawns or pharmaceuticals: named accounts, negotiated prices, credit terms, and orders that repeat.
Manufacturers selling to dealers
Appointed dealers ordering from a catalogue, with territory and margin rules.
Food & beverage supply
Restaurants, cafés and hotels ordering on a cut-off time for next-day delivery.
Building materials & hardware
Contractors ordering by project, with quotations and part deliveries.
Medical & pharmaceutical
Clinics and pharmacies ordering controlled items with batch and expiry tracking.
Spare parts & industrial supply
Large catalogues where finding the right part number is most of the work.
A portal is worth building when you have upwards of fifty trade accounts, more than one price list, orders that repeat, and sales reps taking orders while they are out.
If you sell to a handful of customers on one price list, a shared order form and an invoice template will do the job. We will tell you that rather than quote for a portal.
From login to reorder
How an order moves through the portal
Six steps. After the first order, most customers live in steps three and six — reorder, confirm, done.
Sign in
Approved trade accounts only. Each buyer sees their own company, not the open market.
Own prices
Contract pricing, tier discounts and promotions applied to the catalogue automatically.
Build order
Reorder from history, upload a spreadsheet, or search by part number.
Checked
Credit limit, minimum order value and stock checked before the order can be submitted.
Fulfil
Order reaches the warehouse with the delivery date and the customer's PO reference on it.
Invoice & reorder
Invoice issued against terms. The order stays in history for one-click repeat next month.
Nothing here removes your sales team — it removes the typing. Reps keep ordering on behalf of customers who would rather phone, and those orders land in the same place as the rest.
Core modules
Main modules and functions
Most suppliers start with accounts, pricing, catalogue and ordering, then add credit rules and the accounting link once customers are actually using it.
Trade accounts
Company accounts with several buyers, roles and permissions, multiple ship-to addresses, account status.
Contract pricing
Per-customer price lists, quantity tiers, promotional pricing, effective dates, price on application items.
Catalogue & stock
Product data with pack sizes and units of measure, substitutes, live or indicative stock levels.
Order capture
Reorder from history, saved order templates, bulk upload by spreadsheet, minimum order and multiple rules.
Credit & terms
Credit limits and payment terms, automatic holds, deposits, and online payment where you want it.
Quotations & approvals
Quote to order conversion, internal approval when an order breaks a pricing or credit rule.
Delivery & fulfilment
Requested delivery dates, cut-off times, partial shipments, PO references, delivery orders.
Sales rep ordering
Reps place orders on behalf of a customer, see their territory, and pick up abandoned carts.
Integration & reports
Sync or export to your accounting or ERP system, plus sales by customer, product and rep.
From a live build
Screens from a trade ordering system we built
From PCMS2U, a channel ordering platform where appointed agents place, track and invoice orders for their customers. Customer data in these screens has been obscured.
Implementation
Typical implementation
Six stages. The one that decides whether the project runs on time is the second, and it is about your product and pricing data rather than software.
Scoping workshop
Sessions with sales, finance and the warehouse. We write down the pricing rules, the credit rules and who is allowed to order what.
Output: module list and written trade rulesProduct & pricing audit
We check the product master and the price lists before anything is built: duplicate codes, inconsistent units of measure, prices that exist only in a rep's notebook.
Output: clean-up list with countsDesign & sign-off
Screen-by-screen design of the customer side and the back office, reviewed with the people who take orders today.
Output: signed-off screens, build scheduleBuild in stages
Accounts, catalogue, pricing and ordering first, so a pilot customer can place a real order before credit rules and reporting are finished.
Output: test system, updated fortnightlyMigration & UAT
Real catalogue and price lists loaded, then your reps and two or three friendly customers run live scenarios: order, credit hold, part delivery, invoice, reorder.
Output: migration report, signed UATLaunch & onboarding
Customers are brought on in batches rather than all at once, with the reps introducing the portal on their normal visits.
Output: live portal, SOP, support window
Timeline
About four months, longer with an ERP link
For a supplier with a few thousand product lines and the modules above. Accounts, catalogue and ordering on their own is closer to ten weeks.
Month 1Month 2Month 3Month 4
Scoping workshop
Product & pricing audit
Design & sign-off
Core build
Credit, delivery, rep ordering
Accounting or ERP link
Migration & UAT
Launch & onboarding
The accounting or ERP link is the item most likely to move. If your system has a documented API this stays inside the four months; if orders have to move by scheduled file transfer, allow another three to four weeks.
Client feedback
From a retail group we've worked with
Working with UNO & Team was really good. They are open to explore together with us on the possibilities and requirements for our website development. The results are amazing!