What is a dealer portal?
Put simply, a dealer portal is a B2B ordering system. B2B means business-to-business sales. A dealer, wholesaler or corporate buyer logs in with the username you give them; they see products at their own prices, check stock, place orders and follow their current account.
From the outside it looks like an e-commerce site, but the logic is different. On a retail site everyone sees the same price and pays by card. In a dealer portal, each customer works with a different price, different payment terms and a different credit limit.
How it differs from e-commerce
| Topic | Retail e-commerce | Dealer portal |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Open to everyone | Registered customers only |
| Price | Same for everyone | Specific to the customer or group |
| Payment | Usually upfront, by card | On terms, current account, with limits |
| Orders | A few products | Dozens of line items, often repeated |
| Information | Product and shipping | Account, invoices, statements, order history |
Who needs one?
A dealer portal is most useful when:
- You have dozens or hundreds of dealers ordering regularly
- You carry a large number of products, ordered by code
- You apply different prices and discounts to different dealers
- Your sales team spends most of its time entering orders
- Orders that arrive after hours wait until the next day
Take a plumbing supplies distributor, for example. Dealers place orders of dozens of line items every week, and most of them repeat the previous week. A "repeat previous order" button and a quick-order screen by product code cut this work down to minutes. We see similar cases often in the mechanical and HVAC and construction and building materials industries.
Core features
- Dealer-specific prices and discounts
- Stock status and estimated delivery information
- Quick ordering by product code, order upload from Excel
- Current account, open invoices and statements
- Order and shipment tracking
- Space for promotions and announcements
Needs checklist
If you answer "yes" to three of the questions below, a dealer portal will most likely give you back a lot of time:
- Do most orders arrive by phone, message or email?
- Do dealers call you often to ask about stock and prices?
- Do wrong codes or quantities creep in during order entry?
- Do you send separate price lists to your dealers?
- Does accounting get questions about account balances several times a day?
Frequently asked questions
Is a dealer portal the same thing as B2B e-commerce?
Largely, yes. B2B e-commerce is the broader concept; a dealer portal is the version of it built for companies that sell through a dealer network.
Does it make sense for a small dealer network too?
Order frequency and the number of products matter more than the number of dealers. A portal pays off even with a few dealers who order often.
What happens to my sales reps?
Your reps are freed from data entry and can spend their time visiting dealers and winning new customers. If you like, they can also enter orders in the portal on a dealer's behalf.
For the full service, head back to the B2B dealer portal page, or get in touch to talk through your needs.