Custom ordering portal development: self-service for your business customers
Building an ordering portal gives your wholesale customers, dealers and franchisees their own environment in which they order directly from you: with their own prices and range, up-to-date stock and the status of previous orders. Appfront builds ordering portals that replace or reduce the manual process of ordering by email, phone or via a sales representative, and that connect seamlessly to your ERP and stock management.
What is an ordering portal?
A order portal is a secure self-service environment in which business customers, such as wholesale buyers, dealers or franchisees, place orders with a supplier or manufacturer themselves. Instead of emailing, phoning or passing an order on to a sales representative, the customer logs into their own account and sees their negotiated prices and discounts, the range available to them, current stock, the status of open orders, and past invoices and credit notes. It complements or replaces the manual ordering process that still fills phones and inboxes every day at many wholesale and manufacturing businesses. An order portal is one form of our broader portal development, alongside customer and supplier portals.
Not a consumer webshop
A standard webshop shows every visitor the same prices and range, and is aimed at attracting new buyers. That doesn't suit B2B trade, where pricing agreements and volume discount tiers differ from customer to customer.
Instead: a working environment for existing customers
An order portal is access by account. Every logged-in customer sees their own contract prices, previously ordered items, favourites and order history. That lowers the barrier to ordering and eases the pressure on your internal sales team.
What we build: from a loose ordering process to one central portal
Every ordering portal project starts by mapping out your customer structure: which pricing agreements, discount groups and ranges exist, and in which systems that information already lives. Based on this, we design the ordering flow, build the functionality in sprints and connect the portal to your ERP and stock.
From customer structure to a working portal
We start not with the screen but with the logic behind it: who may order what, at which price, and through which approval process. That logic determines how roles and ranges are set up, before we write a single line of code.
The components found in almost every order portal
Customer-specific prices and ranges
Each customer or customer group sees only the range released for them, at the prices and discounts agreed with them. You manage this logic centrally, and the portal automatically adjusts the display based on who logs in.
Stock integration with ERP and WMS
The portal displays current stock levels directly from your ERP or warehouse system. Customers can see straight away whether an item is available, and you avoid orders for products that are not actually in stock.
Repeat orders and favourites
Regular customers often order the same items. With saved favourites and the ability to repeat a previous order in a few steps, a routine order becomes a matter of confirming rather than rebuilding.
Quote-to-order flow
For custom product ranges or larger orders, we build a flow in which a quote is requested or received, approved by the customer in the portal, and converted into an order without manual re-entry.
Multiple delivery addresses per customer
Customers with several branches, shops or project sites manage their own address book and choose the correct delivery address for each order, without your internal team having to process this manually.
Who do we build order portals for?
An order portal delivers the most value when you have a fixed group of business customers who order from you regularly. This comes in several forms, each with its own emphasis in pricing logic and workflow.
Wholesalers and distributors
Your professional buyers, shopkeepers or installers order directly from your range on their own trade terms, rather than through your inside sales team. This reduces errors in orders passed on by phone and frees up your sales team.
Manufacturers and producers
Dealers and resellers order straight from the source, with visibility of stock, lead times per item and their own dealer prices. This strengthens the relationship between manufacturer and sales channel.
Franchise organisations and dealer networks
Franchisees and affiliated outlets order from a centrally negotiated range, with their own budgets or credit limits per outlet and full visibility of their order status.
Technology and integrations
An ordering portal never stands alone. Much of its value lies in the integration with the systems where your prices, stock and customer agreements already live. We choose technology based on your situation, not on hype.
Platform and technology
For the frontend we typically work with React or Next.js, for fast, responsive screens that also work well on a tablet in the warehouse. We build the backend with Node.js, Python or .NET, depending on your existing environment. Data is stored in PostgreSQL, and the environment is containerised with Docker and hosted on cloud infrastructure that scales with your order volume.
If you work with Foodticket and want the data in your own systems, see our page on a Foodticket integration.
- React / Next.js for the customer interface
- Node.js / Python / .NET for the backend
- PostgreSQL as the central database
- Docker for consistent environments
- CI/CD for safe, controlled releases
Integrations with your business systems
The portal retrieves prices, range, stock and customer data from your existing systems and writes orders back to them. We have experience integrating with ERP systems such as Exact Online, AFAS Profit and SAP, with stock and WMS packages, and with the payment terms and credit limits recorded per customer in your accounting system. If there is no standard API, we build a custom integration layer as a bridge. Do you need your own supplier, rather than your customer, to receive orders through a portal? Then we build a supplier portal on the same technical foundation.
- ERP: Exact Online, AFAS Profit, SAP
- Stock and WMS systems
- Payment terms and credit limits per customer
- Invoicing and credit notes from your accounting system
- Legacy systems via a custom integration layer
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Why choose Appfront for your ordering portal?
Almost any agency can build an ordering screen. The difference lies in how well we understand the pricing logic, discount structures and systems behind that screen, and how robustly the portal continues to perform as your customer base grows.
Our philosophy
Your ordering portal is not a separate sales channel. It is a digital translation of how you already trade with your customers, including the exceptions, volume tiers and agreements that come with it.
Technical depth
Our team combines expertise in software development, system integration and B2B trade logic. Unlike an off-the-shelf ordering platform, we build custom software that fits your pricing structures and systems, without tying you to the capabilities or licence terms of a standard package. The source code is yours, with no licence fees on the software itself.
- Experience with complex pricing and discount structures
- Integrations with commonly used ERP and stock systems
- Architecture that scales with your customer base
Iterative approach
We work in sprints and deliver working software after each sprint that you can test, including with some of your own customers. This way we adjust based on real-world use, not on assumptions made in advance. If you want to offer invoice visibility or service communication alongside ordering, have a look at our broader customer portal offering, or at a full B2B e-commerce portal with a more extensive catalogue and marketing functionality.
- Working software after every sprint
- Direct feedback from your own customers
- Transparent communication about progress and decisions
Related portals
An ordering portal is one of the portal types we build. Depending on your situation, a broader or different variant may be a better fit.
Portal development
An overview of all the portal types we develop, from customer and partner portals to ordering and supplier portals.
Building a B2B e-commerce portal
For organisations that want a fully fledged digital sales channel alongside ordering, with an extensive product catalogue and marketing functionality.
Building a customer portal
Broader than ordering alone: an environment for document management, invoice visibility, project status and service communication with your customers.
Custom supplier portal development
The reverse direction: a portal in which your own suppliers exchange orders, stock and documents with you.
Frequently asked questions about building an ordering portal
Ready to digitise your ordering process?
From customer-specific pricing to a full integration with your ERP and stock: we build the ordering portal that strengthens your wholesale, manufacturing or distribution business. Get in touch for a no-obligation conversation about what is possible for your organisation.