The main workflow, step by step
The window below walks through the portal's main route, from a dealer placing an order to a warranty request being settled. Choose a step to see its screen. The dealer, products and records are invented for the demonstration.
New order
DraftNot sent- Dealer
- Northgate Equipment
- Price list
- Tier B, contract prices
| Item | Qty | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| HX-240 pump unit | 6 | In stock |
| Seal kit SK-12 | 40 | In stock |
| Control panel CP-3 | 2 | Back order |
Off the pathAn item on back order stays in the order with its expected date, or the dealer splits the order in one step.
Order review
SO-10482Held for credit- Reason
- Order takes the dealer over its credit limit
- Rule applied
- Hold and notify the account manager
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Contract prices | Applied |
| Stock | Reserved |
| Credit limit | Exceeded |
Off the pathOrders inside the limit never reach this screen. They go straight to the ERP.
Order status
SO-10482Part shipped| Line | Status | Tracking |
|---|---|---|
| HX-240 pump unit | Shipped | Carrier link |
| Seal kit SK-12 | Shipped | Carrier link |
| Control panel CP-3 | Next dispatch | Pending |
Off the pathIf the ERP moves a delivery date, the dealer is told and the order shows the old and the new date.
Warranty request
WR-2291Submitted- Product
- HX-240 pump unit
- Serial number
- Matched to a shipment
- Fault
- Seal failure, photos attached
- Asked for
- Replacement part
Off the pathA serial number that was never shipped to this dealer is flagged before the request can be sent.
Claim decision
WR-2291Approved| Step | Owner | State |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence review | Service engineer | Done |
| Decision | Service manager | Approved |
| Replacement order | Created in the ERP | Linked |
Off the pathA rejected claim returns to the dealer with the reason and the warranty term it relies on.
Who uses it, and what each role can do
A portal is mostly a question of who may see and do what. These are the roles we normally start from, adjusted to how your dealer network is organized.
| Role | Sees | Can do |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer buyer | Their company's catalogue, prices, orders and claims | Order, reorder, raise and follow warranty requests |
| Dealer manager | Everything their company's users have done | Approve orders above a set value and manage their own users |
| Sales office | Orders held for review and every dealer account | Release, amend or return an order with a reason |
| Service team | Warranty requests with their evidence | Ask for more information, approve, reject and start the replacement |
| Administrator | Dealers, price list assignments and documents | Invite dealers, publish documents and set the rules above |
When the work leaves the usual path
Most of the value, and most of the design work, sits in the cases that do not follow the happy route. Each one gets a defined behaviour and an owner.
| Situation | What the system does | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Order above the credit limit | Holds the order and notifies the account manager | Sales office |
| Item out of stock | Shows the expected date and offers to split the order | Dealer |
| Price changed since the quote | Shows both prices and asks the dealer to confirm | Dealer |
| ERP cannot be reached | Accepts the order, queues it and marks it as pending | No one, it retries by itself |
| Warranty outside the cover period | Lets the request through, marked as out of cover | Service manager |
| Dealer account suspended | Signs its users in with read-only access | Administrator |
What it connects to
The portal is a window onto systems you already run. What it connects to in your case is settled during scoping, and these are the usual ones.
| System | What moves | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| ERP | Items, dealer price lists, stock, orders, deliveries and invoices | Both ways |
| Document or product information store | Manuals, datasheets and certificates by product | Into the portal |
| Carrier tracking | Shipment status and tracking links | Into the portal |
| Single sign-on, optional | Staff identities for large dealer groups | Into the portal |
| Email and notifications | Order, delivery and claim updates | Out of the portal |
| CRM, optional | Dealer activity for account managers | Out of the portal |
What a first release includes
Dealer accounts and roles
Invitation, sign-in, company users and a manager role, with every dealer limited to its own data.
Catalogue and prices
Products, search and filters, with the price list and availability that apply to the signed-in dealer.
Ordering and reordering
Cart, saved lists, repeat orders, order rules and submission to the ERP, with its order number returned.
Order tracking
Status by line, delivery dates, tracking links, and invoices and delivery notes to download.
Warranty requests
A guided form with a serial number check and evidence, a review queue for your service team and a decision record.
Document library
Manuals, datasheets and certificates attached to products and filtered to what each dealer sells.
Often added after the first release
- Spare parts drawings with ordering from the diagram
- Dealer performance dashboards
- Training and certification records
- Marketing material ordering
- More languages for dealers abroad
What we need from you
- Access to a test copy of your ERP, and someone who knows its item, price and order data
- Your dealer list, with the price list or terms each dealer is on
- The warranty terms as you apply them today, including the cases that cause arguments
- Product documents, or the place they live now
- One person who can decide between sales, service and IT when their rules conflict
Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
What to do next
Send us a short description of how dealers order and claim today, and where it goes wrong. We reply with questions, then a scope and a proposal built around your systems. Start a conversation or book a 30-minute call.
Common questions
Do we need to replace our ERP to have a dealer portal?
No. The portal sits in front of the ERP you run and reads items, prices, stock and order status from it. What matters is that the ERP can be reached, through an interface or through scheduled exports. We check that first, because it decides how current the portal can be and how orders are written back.
Can each dealer see different products and prices?
Yes. Each dealer is tied to its price list, its discounts and the product ranges it is allowed to sell, taken from the ERP where those terms are already kept. A dealer does not see another dealer's prices or orders. That separation is enforced on the server and tested, instead of only being hidden in the interface.
How is this different from a B2B ecommerce store?
A store sells to whoever arrives. A dealer portal serves companies you already have agreements with, so it starts from the contract: negotiated prices, credit terms, order rules, warranty and documents. Many portals include store features such as a cart. The difference is everything after the order, which is where most dealer questions come from. Our B2B ecommerce page covers the store side.
What decides the size of the project?
Mostly the ERP and the rules. A portal on an ERP with a documented interface and simple price lists is a contained project. Customer-specific pricing, several warehouses, complex warranty terms or an ERP that only exports files each add work. We scope from your real data and propose a first release, with later additions listed separately.