Why wholesalers need a self-service portal
Many wholesalers still let business customers place orders via email, phone or even fax. But customers can easily do it themselves through a self-service portal. We’re happy to explain the benefits—for you as a wholesaler and for your customers.
Reduce unnecessary customer contact
As a wholesaler, it's important to stay in touch with your customers. Speaking with them regularly helps you understand their needs and serve them better. But a lot of customer contact is unnecessary. Placing an order is often just that: telling you which products they want. It’s a waste of time to have a €20-per-hour sales rep retype the order. And what about calling to check product availability or order status? All of that information can easily be digitized.
What if customers could take care of those things themselves? Then your team could focus on more valuable work, like bringing in new customers. Or on meaningful contact with existing ones—for example, advising them on upcoming trends.
Convenient for customers too
New generations are used to managing everything themselves. In their free time they browse online stores and place orders based on real-time stock levels—without having to call anyone. And these generations are now among your customers. They prefer to place orders whenever it suits them. It’s important to meet that expectation.
What is a self-service portal?
A self-service portal for wholesalers is essentially a simple, private webshop. Only your regular customers can log in and view the products you offer them, along with their specific pricing. They can place orders and check the status of current ones.
The portal doesn’t need to support online payments, have fancy marketing copy, or rank well in Google. It does need to be easy to use, and the information should always be up to date.
To keep the information current and avoid having to retype orders, the portal should be directly connected to your warehouse software. Orders go straight into your system, and stock levels and order statuses are automatically updated in the portal.
How to set up a self-service portal?
Some WMS or warehouse software platforms offer ready-made portals you can start using immediately. Picqer, for example, includes a Customer Portal that you can set up in just a few minutes.
If your warehouse software doesn’t offer a portal, you can also use webshop software. For example, by setting up a Lightspeed store or using open-source tools like WooCommerce. These systems are designed for retail but can be adapted in a few hours into a closed-off portal where customers don’t need to pay online.
Already have a webshop for consumers? Ask your web developer if you can use the same software to create a self-service portal for your B2B customers.
Start gradually
We don’t recommend giving all your customers access to the portal on day one and shutting down your phone :) Try it out with a few customers first so you can get used to it and fix any issues. Once you're comfortable and your customers are happy, you can roll it out to more users.
No warehouse software yet?
Still not using warehouse software? Then that’s your first step. A good online WMS makes your internal processes more efficient. Once that’s in place, launching a self-service portal is a small next step.
Want to get started with easy-to-use online warehouse software? Try Picqer free for 14 days and make your warehouse run 5× more efficiently by tomorrow.
Take the next step as a wholesaler
With a self-service portal, you save time, make your customers happier and reduce errors. It’s a powerful addition to any wholesaler’s offering. And now is the time to do it. The technology is ready.
