Your trade customers order from consumer websites every week. When they come to order from you, a PDF price list and a phone call feel slow. The bar has moved, but not in the direction most portals assume. Buyers don’t want more features; they want fewer steps.

The non-negotiables

• Their price, not the list price. Account pricing, discounts and credit balance, straight from your ERP.
• Real stock. If it says in stock, it should be on the shelf.
• Delivery booked at checkout. A date and a run, or pick-up, without a follow-up call.
• Repeat orders. “Same as last month” in one click.

What reps still do best

A portal doesn’t replace your sales team. It frees them from taking routine orders so they can spend time on new accounts and bigger projects. Let reps order on behalf of customers in the same system, so there is one record either way.

The best trade portal is the one your customers use at 9pm without calling you.

Don’t forget the back office

Every portal order should become a sales order in your ERP automatically. If someone re-keys it, you have moved the problem, not solved it.