If your order volume is modest, managers easily handle every request, and support inquiries are rare, you can easily do without a portal.
However, there are signs that show the need to automate wholesale order intake and move online if the company has not done so yet. The KPIs of individual managers and the entire sales department are not being met, or are met only rarely.
Let us clarify right away that this is not about systematically inflated KPIs, a problem that automation cannot solve.
But why do good salespeople fail to meet very realistic targets?
Often there is a simple reason for this: instead of selling, the manager is doing low-skill routine work.
Manually processes orders from repeat customers, prepares documents or checks their status, verifies prices, updates catalogs, prepares quotations...
These tasks can take up to 80% of a manager's time while having almost no impact on KPI achievement. And while he is busy with routine work, he is not looking for new markets or new customers, and spends less time selling special-offer items.
In addition, employees overloaded with routine work are under constant stress.
They lose the ability to resolve non-standard issues quickly and efficiently, and forget to offer interesting options to buyers. All of this again hurts revenue. A B2B portal automates repetitive, routine tasks.
This allows managers to refocus on tasks that directly affect business profit.
At the same time, it is easier for a manager to track KPI performance and the effectiveness of each manager without filling out extra forms and paperwork.
All information about how the company's managers interact with customers is stored in the B2B portal and available for analysis.
You get negative feedback from customers because of incorrect order contents or delivery timing. "I ordered 20 pallets of penne pasta, and they delivered spaghetti."
"The final invoice amount is different from what the manager quoted." "The thread pitch on the screws is smaller than what I was sent in the quotation." "I asked to repeat the previous order, and they delivered something I could not identify." If buyers are returning goods or filing complaints with wording like this, your company has most likely become hostage to fragmented data storage for products, prices, promotions, customers, and orders. There is no obvious culprit here: the current information storage setup evolved historically.
And the manager, like any human being, will sooner or later make mistakes when manually creating orders and documents. Even 10 years of experience will not prevent copying the wrong Excel cell or a finger slipping onto the "0" key while creating an order. When there are many requests, and information is spread across different sources that not all managers can access, human error is unavoidable. Not to mention how much overall order processing speed and fulfillment accuracy suffer.
If this sounds like your company, B2B portal development should be added to the list of priorities in the near future. A B2B portal for distributors and buyers will provide access to all the necessary information for both the manager and the buyer. In one place, they will see the product catalog and current stock levels, order statuses, documents and statements, delivery details, the contents of previous orders, and more. As a result, all information will be transparent and manageable for procurement participants.
