Wholesale business pain points
Running wholesale on spreadsheets and messengers destroys profitability. Buyers don't see current prices, confuse article numbers, inventory is counted manually. Sales teams spend hours answering the same questions, packing slips are printed in triplicate. Result: missed deadlines, invoice errors, lost clients to competitors with convenient online ordering.
- No single catalog - each reseller maintains data in their own format, updates sync with delay
- Unpredictable lead times - without inventory visibility, buyers don't know when they'll get goods
- Poor call-to-order conversion - some prospects never get callbacks and switch to competitors
- Calculation errors - dealer commissions, procurement taxes; impossible to quickly recalculate cost across channels
- Paper-based workflows - invoices, acts, shipment notes printed manually; archives clutter the office
- No sales visibility - hard to track who buys what, when, and which products move in each region
What we build
A B2B portal is a personal workspace for each buyer: real-time access to products, pricing, and order status. Behind the scenes, a management dashboard for your team: warehouse sync, payment tracking, sales analytics by channel and reseller.
- Searchable catalog - filter by article number, category, manufacturer; product photos, specs, one-click pricing
- Custom pricing per partner - loyalty terms, volume discounts, seasonal offers, different prices for different resellers
- Shopping cart and checkout - quantity selection, shipping options, reorder from purchase history
- Real-time inventory - warehouse system integration, visibility per location, pre-orders for incoming stock
- Account management - portal admin invites multiple users from a partner firm, role-based access control
- Analytics and reports - spending by product, purchase trends, channel profitability, demand forecasting
- ERP integration (ERP systems, SAP, Bitrix24) - automatic sync of products, prices, order status, invoices
- Security - HTTPS, two-factor auth for B2B clients, audit logs for all operations
Wholesale: before and after the B2B portal
| Metric | Before portal | After launch |
|---|---|---|
| Order entry time | 30-45 min (call+clarify+invoice) | 5-10 min (self-service) |
| Order errors | 8-12% (typos, wrong SKUs) | Under 1% (system validates inventory) |
| Payment cycle | 7-14 days (wait for confirmation) | 2-3 days (auto-invoice) |
| Inventory visibility | Updated once daily, manually | Real-time after each shipment |
| Repeat orders | Must remember SKUs or search chats | One click from history |
| Reseller oversight | Month-end reports with lag | Dashboard updates hourly |
| Sales support cost | 1-2 people on phones all day | Chatbot handles common questions |
| Cost per sale | 15-20% of order value | 5-8% (automation cuts overhead) |
Integrations with industry systems
A B2B portal rarely works in isolation. Your equipment, accounting systems, and payment platforms already interact. The portal fits into this ecosystem: it gets products and prices from your ERP system, sends orders to logistics, syncs payments with accounting, sends alerts via SMS and email.
- ERP systems Enterprise - the standard accounting and inventory system in wholesale; the portal connects via API or directly to the database for catalog and inventory sync
- SAP and Oracle - used by large distribution networks; integration via REST API or built-in exchange modules
- Bitrix24 - popular CRM in mid-market; the portal sends new orders to CRM where managers see customer history
- Payment systems (Yandex.Kassa, Sber, Tinkoff) - automates payments, instant confirmation in the portal
- Logistics companies (courier services, DPD, Boxberry) - real-time shipping cost calculation, tracking in the buyer's dashboard
- POS systems and terminals - if you have retail locations, the portal syncs discounts and promotions with them
Portal features that save money
| Feature | How it works | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Promotional discount engine | You set discounts for products or order volumes, cart price auto-recalculates | No messenger haggling over price, everyone sees the current rate |
| Auto-replenishment subscriptions | Buyer indicates products to order weekly, system creates orders automatically | Repeat inventory never gets forgotten, you get predictable demand |
| Logistics integration | Real-time shipping cost calculation, tracking in the buyer portal | Buyers don't call asking when it arrives, they see it themselves |
| Product ratings from resellers | Products get rated by buyers, popular ones rank higher in catalog | You see which products resellers want, which to remove |
| New product broadcast | Mass announcement of new items, open tracking | New products reach resellers fast, larger initial orders |
| CRM sync | All orders and contacts visible in one management system | Manager sees full customer picture, can make targeted offers |
B2B portal implementation stages
Developing a B2B portal is not just coding, it is a deep understanding of your business process. Each stage includes meetings, approvals, and real-world scenario testing. We work in parallel across multiple streams to keep the project moving.
- Discovery (1-2 weeks): interviews with procurement, logistics, IT teams; current workflow analysis, warehouse system requirements, reseller feedback
- Design and architecture (1-2 weeks): mockups for buyer portal and admin dashboard, API contracts, security review
- Backend development (3-6 weeks): APIs for products, pricing, orders, users, warehouse system integration
- Frontend development (3-4 weeks): buyer and admin interfaces, mobile optimization, cross-browser compatibility
- Testing and integration (2-3 weeks): order flow validation, failure scenarios, load testing, warehouse sync verification
- Launch and support: migrate order history, team training, first-month monitoring, support hotline
Why S2 Digital for your B2B portal
We work directly with your team, not through managers. Two developers sit in your process, ask clarifying questions about business logic, demo completed features every week. You always know the project status and can reprioritize if needed.
We lock code ownership in the contract - your portal is your asset, not a rental. If you ever want to switch developers, the code stays with you. After launch, we provide support: bug fixes, feature additions, scaling guidance. We build for long-term partnership.
A mid-size B2B portal (80-120 features, one ERP integration, 300-500 users annually) starts at 800K RUB. Final quote depends on integration scope, scalability needs, and timeline. Let's discuss your specific requirements in a conversation.