Wholesaler website: find a reference, request a quote and reorder

Our method begins by studying the distributors your customers compare. We examine reference search, filters, product documents and the price enquiry journey. This analysis is then compared with your actual offer: product families sold, brands distributed, usual quantities, delivery territories and accepted account types.

Keywords are researched from these products and uses. An exact reference query, “wholesale food packaging” and “workshop consumables supplier” reflect different stages of purchase readiness. They are avenues to investigate without inventing volumes. Salespeople’s enquiries and internal catalogue searches, where available, complement the analysis.

The plan distinguishes categories that help people discover the offer from product pages used to check compatibility or reorder. A page is justified by the available data and the decision it facilitates. The quote specifies research and enrichment work; importing thousands of rows does not mean each already has useful, publishable content.

Closing the entire catalogue to visitors may prevent a future customer from checking your range. Conversely, making all negotiated prices public does not suit every commercial relationship. We define information visible before login, account-opening conditions and actions permitted afterwards.

One possible configuration shows references, characteristics and public documents while reserving commercial terms for approved accounts. Another publishes a base price while applying specific agreements after login. Your sales policy determines how it works; a user simply ticking a “business” box is not enough to define their permissions.

The journey must explain what happens after an account application, who checks it and how the user receives a response. Any supporting documents are limited to what is necessary and protected. The website also specifies whether it accepts private individuals, single-item purchases or only certain types of business, avoiding enquiries it cannot fulfil.

Fictional case: a packaging distributor receives a request for 12 cartons of jars. Each carton contains 50 units. The buyer knows an old reference but does not know whether lids are included. They want a single delivery. The product page must resolve these questions before transmitting an ambiguous order.

The journey shows the current reference, the validated correspondence with the old one, dimensions and exact carton contents. The summary converts 12 cartons into 600 units without silently changing the pricing unit. The lid appears as included or as an additional reference according to the distributor’s data.

If availability permits only part of the delivery, the website applies the agreed rule: request confirmation, offer partial delivery or block the order. Customers should not discover after payment that an essential part of the batch is missing. Indicative and confirmed dates have distinct labels.

In a first version, a quote-request basket may suffice. The salesperson validates account pricing, transport and availability before commitment. Self-service ordering opens only when these rules are reliable. This choice enables a usable journey to launch without promising stock synchronisation existing tools do not provide.

An access matrix is a useful deliverable before choosing the platform. It reveals the differences between viewing a reference, preparing a purchase and committing an order. The following example must be adapted to your policy and tool capabilities.

On a small screen, scroll the table horizontally.

This matrix then supports acceptance testing: a user from one company must not retrieve another’s quotes by changing an address. Access removal, changes of company and departing buyers are also planned. Additional roles and complex approvals are quoted specifically.

The catalogue starts with a representative sample: simple product, variant, pack, discontinued reference and compatible accessory. We examine how identifiers, descriptions, dimensions, units and media are currently maintained. A manufacturer reference and your internal reference may coexist, but their roles must be explicit for search and import.

Filters are chosen according to buyers’ decisions. Diameter, material or use may help; a property poorly populated across half the range may instead hide relevant products. We identify missing data and the person able to correct it. A writing tool does not invent compatibility or equivalence.

For a redesign, a table maps old URLs to useful destinations. A permanently removed reference can explain discontinuation and suggest an approved alternative. An approximate match causing the wrong purchase costs more than offering no suggestion. Useful PDFs, drawings and instructions remain accessible from the relevant product page, with versions and distribution rights checked.

An editable catalogue with quote requests suits situations where prices still depend on negotiation or logistical checks. A shop becomes appropriate when purchasing terms are sufficiently defined to apply at order time. A reordering portal may take priority if customers often need the same products.

The specification details rules that genuinely change the project: minimum quantities, order multiples, account prices, free-shipping thresholds, transport quoted separately, internal approval or authorised deferred payment. We check the selected platform’s capabilities before presenting a rule as a standard feature.

A connection to management software requires deciding where each item of information is maintained and how failure is handled. If a price or stock level cannot be confirmed, the journey must apply a predetermined fallback. The website does not claim “real time” based solely on a periodic import.

Connectors, data transfers, licences and custom developments are quoted separately. A standard shop at €990 excluding VAT does not automatically include a B2B portal with all these mechanisms. A written scope allows options to be compared before commitment.

Buyers should be able to add several references without completing a full form for each. Depending on the agreed scope, a request can combine a quote basket, line-item list or structured file. File import is a feature to assess; the expected format and treatment of unknown lines must be explained.

Useful details include the business, contact, references, quantities with units, destination and receiving constraints. A preferred date remains a preference until confirmed. Information about a loading bay, access or consolidated delivery is requested when it genuinely affects pricing.

The summary allows an error to be corrected before sending and states whether the request commits an order. A case number makes correspondence easier. If the quote request is sent to the CRM, the salesperson receives its source and requested lines, not merely a “new contact” message. Attachments and private price lists follow access rules distinct from the public catalogue.

Acceptance testing starts with orders selected with your team: a simple order, negotiated price, quantity below the minimum, stock shortage and delivery constraint. The expected result is written before testing. Two accounts are used to verify restricted prices and documents, including after logout and switching users.

If transfer to management software fails, the order must neither disappear nor be recreated with every retry. We test planned recovery, alerts and status visibility for the team. Mapping the website’s number to your tool’s number makes investigation easier without exposing another account’s data.

Launch can be limited to one range and a few willing pilot customers. Their difficulties help correct labels and operation before a wider opening. Your team receives update procedures and knows who handles anomalies. Telephone and salesperson orders remain part of the organisation rather than being assumed to disappear at publication.

Monitoring distinguishes new customers, existing customers using the portal, quote requests and completed orders. We also observe searches with no results, lines corrected by salespeople and duplicate-entry time. Catalogue views do not prove that the purchasing journey works.

Fictional calculation example: if 50 monthly orders each require 6 fewer minutes of re-entry, the capacity freed is 5 hours. At an assumed internal cost of €35 per hour, this represents €175 of valued time. This is not automatically a cash saving: the use of those hours must be checked and the portal’s additional costs and oversight deducted.

Orders moved from telephone to website are not all new sales. To analyse commercial profitability, the distributor examines margin after processing and delivery costs, then project spending over the same period. This review helps decide whether the next priority is better search, a logistics rule or new product content.

Can we show products while reserving prices for businesses?

Yes, if the platform and access rules support it. We define what remains public, account approval and terms visible to each account. Confidential prices must be protected in the data served to visitors, not merely hidden on screen.

Must we import every reference at launch?

Not necessarily. A priority range allows data and uses to be checked before a broader import. The initial set must remain coherent for buyers: main products, variants and useful accessories. Other ranges can be added after their information is corrected.

Our stock is updated only once a day: is that a blocker?

It depends on sales frequency and the promise made to customers. The website can state that availability requires confirmation and favour quote requests. Immediate ordering with guaranteed stock requires a mechanism compatible with reservations and other channels.

Can the website support salespeople on the road?

A mobile catalogue and quote preparation can help them. Entering orders for customers, accessing prices and approving requests must be scoped with permissions and traceability. These features are not assumed to be included in a standard shop.

These pages explain journeys or integrations that can complement your project.