A wholesaler of professional hygiene and cleaning products, based in Porto, received 85% of its orders by phone and email. Prices varied per client but were recorded in separate Excel spreadsheets — one per sales rep — with no centralisation whatsoever. Pricing errors, stock promised but unavailable, and the inability to order outside business hours were constant complaints from clients. The implementation of a B2B portal with dynamic pricing, centralised management and multi-warehouse stock visibility reduced errors by 91%, increased the average order value by 22% and freed the sales team for high-value consultative work.
The Scenario Before: Controlled Chaos (Barely Controlled)
LimpaGross (real case — data altered under NDA) is a wholesaler supplying hygiene, cleaning and disposable products to hotels, restaurants, cleaning companies, gyms and offices across northern Portugal. With 28 employees, two warehouses (Porto and Braga), over 3,200 product references and 520 active clients, the company turned over 4.6 million euros annually.
The sales model was entirely relational. Each of the 6 sales reps managed their own client portfolio with individually negotiated prices. Those prices were recorded in personal Excel spreadsheets — stored on each rep's computer, with no sharing or centralisation. When a client called in the absence of their usual rep, nobody knew which price to apply.
The order flow was as follows: the client phoned or emailed. The operator logged the request, consulted the pricing spreadsheet of the responsible rep (if they could find it), checked stock (by phoning the warehouse or consulting the ERP, when they remembered), and confirmed the order with the client. At the end of the day, all orders were entered into the invoicing system.
The problems were predictable and persistent:
Inconsistent pricing. The same client received different prices depending on who answered the phone. On average, we detected pricing discrepancies in 18% of orders processed by operators who were not the client's usual rep.
Phantom stock. The stock visible in the ERP did not always match reality in the warehouse. Products reserved for other clients, goods in transit between warehouses and unprocessed returns created an average gap of 7% between theoretical and actual stock.
Out-of-hours ordering impossible. Many clients — especially cleaning companies working night shifts — needed to order in the evening or at weekends. Without an online portal, they left voicemail messages that were only processed on the next business day.
Zero visibility for the client. Clients had no way to browse the catalogue, see their prices, check the status of an order or consult their purchase history without phoning.
The Problem in Numbers
• Orders with pricing errors: 18% when processed by a non-regular operator.
• Orders with unavailable product (after confirmation): 9.2%.
• Average processing time per order: 14 minutes (phone + entry + verification).
• Lost out-of-hours orders: an estimated 35–40 per month.
• Weekly hours spent on order processing: 92 hours (6 reps + 2 operators).
• Formal complaints per month: 28 on average.
• Client retention rate: 78% annually (22% lost per year).
The Solution: An Intelligent B2B Portal
Module 1: Catalogue with Dynamic Per-Client Pricing
The core of the solution is a B2B portal where each client sees the full catalogue with their specific prices. The dynamic pricing engine operates at multiple levels: base list price (per product category), price table per client segment (hospitality, catering, professional cleaning, offices), individual client discounts (negotiated by the sales rep and recorded centrally), and volume discounts (automatically tiered based on the quantity ordered).
When the client logs in to the portal, they immediately see their final price — with all applicable discounts already applied. No need to phone to find out how much a product costs. They can compare products, view technical datasheets, consult alternatives and check availability in real time.
All price tables are managed centrally by the sales management team, with a full history of changes. When a rep negotiates a special price for a client, they record it in the system — and that price becomes visible to the entire team, eliminating the problem of personal Excel spreadsheets.
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See Custom Development →Module 2: Real-Time Multi-Warehouse Stock Management
The portal displays the real availability of each product in each warehouse. The client sees not only whether the product is available, but also in which location — and can choose the collection point or dispatch warehouse. If a product is out of stock at the nearest warehouse but available at the other, the system automatically calculates the transfer cost and additional lead time.
Synchronisation with the ERP is real-time. Every sale, every goods receipt, every inter-warehouse transfer instantly updates availability on the portal. Stock reservations are made at the moment of order confirmation, eliminating the problem of selling the same product to two clients.
The system includes automatic replenishment alerts. When a product's stock reaches the defined minimum level, the system automatically generates a purchase suggestion to the supplier, with the quantity calculated based on average sales over the previous 12 weeks and the supplier's delivery lead time. The purchasing manager reviews and approves with a single click.
Module 3: Self-Service and Client Tools
The portal offers the client a set of self-service tools that eliminate the need to contact the sales team for routine operations: full order history with the ability to repeat previous orders in one click, PDF download of invoices and delivery notes, current account and outstanding balance enquiry, delivery scheduling with date and time-window selection, and creation of regular shopping lists (for example, "Hotel X weekly order").
One feature that proved particularly popular was the "recurring cart". The client configures a list of products and quantities that are ordered automatically at a defined frequency (weekly, fortnightly, monthly). The system generates the order automatically and sends the client a notification to confirm or adjust before dispatch. This feature was adopted by 38% of clients within the first 6 months.
Results After 8 Months: The Transformation in Numbers
• Orders with pricing errors: from 18% to 0.6% (97% reduction).
• Orders with unavailable product: from 9.2% to 1.1%.
• Average processing time per order: from 14 minutes to 0 (client self-service).
• Out-of-hours orders: 29% of total (previously non-existent revenue).
• Average order value: 22% increase (digital catalogue cross-selling effect).
• Formal complaints per month: from 28 to 4 (86% reduction).
• Client retention rate: from 78% to 92% annually.
• New clients (via portal): 64 new clients in 8 months.
• Revenue: 19% increase in the comparable period.
Impact on the Sales Team
The most significant change is not in the numbers — it is in the redefinition of the sales team's role. Before the portal, the 6 reps spent 70% of their time processing orders (operational activity with no added value). After implementation, that dropped to 15%. The remaining 55% was redirected to high-value commercial activities: prospecting new clients, negotiating contracts, technical training on new products and strategic key-account management.
The total investment in the project — B2B portal, pricing engine, ERP integration, multi-warehouse synchronisation and training — was EUR 36,000. The estimated annual operational saving is EUR 112,000. Payback was achieved in under 4 months.
Conclusion
The traditional wholesaler model — built on personal relationships, phone calls and Excel spreadsheets — is not scalable and makes the company vulnerable to the loss of key employees (when a sales rep leaves, they take with them the knowledge of prices and client preferences). The B2B portal does not replace the commercial relationship — it amplifies it, freeing reps for what truly matters: creating value for the client and for the business.
If your wholesale operation still relies on phone orders and pricing in personal files, every month that passes is a month of accumulated inefficiency and missed opportunities.
