B2B Portal for FMCG distributors — your customers reorder themselves, 24/7, with the right price and real stock
Self-service B2B software for FMCG distributors serving convenience stores, HoReCa, gas stations and independent retail. Catalog with contracted prices per customer, live stock from WMS, recurring orders, real-time delivery status, native integration with field-agent SFA and your ERP (SAP, Charisma, Senior, WinMentor).
Why "WhatsApp and phone orders" cost more than you think
The classic model in FMCG distribution: the convenience store calls the field agent or sends a WhatsApp product list. The agent keys it into the SFA. The SFA sends it to the ERP. Someone at the office validates price and stock. If there's an issue, they call the customer back. The order enters picking 6-12 hours later. The customer knows nothing until delivery arrives.
For a distributor with 500-3000 active outlets, this means: 30-60% of orders come through unstructured channels (WhatsApp, phone, email), 8-15% have transcription errors, the field agent loses 2-3 hours/day on order entry instead of selling, the back office has 2-3 full-time people on manual validations. And the small customer — the convenience store — can't reorder at 22:00 when doing the night inventory.
The Azuvio B2B portal moves order entry to the source: the store's clerk logs into the portal or mobile app, sees the catalog with their contracted prices, sees real stock, places the order directly, gets instant confirmation and delivery tracking. The field agent focuses on what matters: relationship, exposure, promotions, new customers. SFA stays for visits, but is no longer the primary order channel.
What the B2B portal does for an FMCG distributor
The features that matter when you have 500+ recurring customers.
- Catalog with contracted price per customer — Each customer sees their prices: price list, volume discounts, active promotions, payment terms. Single source — same price the agent sees in SFA and the ERP validates at invoice. Zero gaps between agent promise and office invoice.
- Live stock from WMS — Real-time SKU availability with reservation on add-to-cart. Plus visual indicators: low stock, back in X days, recommended alternatives when out-of-stock. Zero orders on depleted SKU.
- Recurring orders & templates — Customer saves "my weekly order". One click → repeat, adjust quantities only. Or schedule auto-reorder ("every Friday at 8:00, send standard order"). Cuts order entry time from 20 min to 2 min.
- MOQ, MOV, packaging units — Rules per product/customer: min order quantity (MOQ), min order value (MOV), packaging units (case, pallet, layer). Portal enforces them in the cart — no more office calls because the customer ordered 7 units of a case-only product.
- Credit limit & real-time balance — Current balance, credit limit, due invoices, overdue — all visible. Orders over credit go to "pending approval" with manager alert. Zero deliveries to financially blocked customers.
- Order status & delivery tracking — Customer sees every step: received → picking → shipped (with tracking) → delivered. Cuts "where's my order?" calls by 70-80%. Plus proactive delay alerts.
- Native integration with agent SFA — Portal orders appear instantly in the responsible agent's SFA. Agent sees history, intervenes only when needed (upsell, resolution), no longer order-entry channel. Agent can also place orders on customer's behalf from SFA — same source.
- Mobile app for customers — Native Android + iOS, offline mode for barcode scanning, push notifications for promos and offer expiry. The convenience store scans the shelf with the phone, generates the order in 5 min.
WhatsApp/phone orders vs Azuvio B2B Portal
1 FMCG distributor, 1500 active outlets, ~800 orders/day.
| Aspect | WhatsApp / phone / agent | Azuvio B2B Portal |
|---|
| Order channel | WhatsApp/SMS/voice + agent keys into SFA | Self-service portal/app — 24/7, no intermediary |
| Transcription errors | 8-15% orders with at least one error | <0.5% (source validation) |
| Agent order-entry time | 2-3 hours/day/agent | 0 — agent sells, doesn't key |
| Correct price | Gaps between agent offer and office invoice | Single source — contracted price live |
| Stock availability | Known only at picking | Live from WMS, reserved on add-to-cart |
| Credit limit | Manually checked by office, post-order | Auto-validated at order confirm |
| Delivery status | Phone call to office | Push notification + in-app tracking |
| Night/weekend orders | No — agent/office unavailable | Yes — portal works 24/7 |
| Recurring orders | Paper/Excel list, manually rewritten | Saved template + scheduled auto-reorder |
| Operational cost per order | 3-7 EUR (agent + office + corrections) | 0.2-0.5 EUR (infrastructure) |
B2B portal implementation for FMCG distributor — 6 weeks standard
From kickoff to go-live with the first 50 pilot customers.
- Week 1 — Catalog & pricing rules audit — Map catalog (active SKUs, alternatives, packaging units), pricing rules (lists, volume discounts, promos), MOQ/MOV per customer/segment. Output: complete ruleset validated with commercial team.
- Week 2 — ERP & WMS connection — ERP integration (SAP/Charisma/Senior/WinMentor) for customers, accounts, balances, credit limits. WMS integration for live stock. Sandbox testing with real anonymized data.
- Week 3 — Portal branding & mobile app — Portal customization with your identity (logo, colors, domain — portal.yourbrand.com). Branded mobile app build (Android + iOS), store publishing.
- Week 4 — Onboarding 50 pilot customers — Select 50 representative pilot customers (size/segment variety), create accounts, 30 min training/customer (live + video), dedicated WhatsApp support for first 2 weeks.
- Week 5 — UX & rules tuning — Based on pilot feedback: UX adjustments (order flow, search, filters), business rules (alerts, escalations), agent training on how to handle portal-incoming orders.
- Week 6 — Rollout & adoption — Communication to rest of customer base (email, agent, printed materials with QR), adoption incentives (portal-order discount, loyalty point gamification). Target: 60% portal orders in first 3 months.
Real problems in FMCG distribution — and how the portal solves them
- Problem: Field agent spends 2-3 hours/day on WhatsApp order entry — no time for active selling, exposure, promotions, new customers. Azuvio B2B Portal solution: Order entry moved to customer (portal/app). Agent sells, doesn't key. Win conversation rate up 15-25%.
- Problem: 8-15% of orders have errors (wrong quantity, wrong SKU, wrong price). Post-delivery corrections cost 50-150 RON/incident. Azuvio B2B Portal solution: Source validation — customer sees catalog, price, stock directly. Errors below 0.5%.
- Problem: Small store can't reorder evenings/nights when running inventory. Loses 1-2 days catching the agent. Azuvio B2B Portal solution: Portal 24/7. Order placed at 23:00 enters picking next morning.
- Problem: Office has 2-3 full-time people on price/credit/MOQ validation. Costs 8.000-15.000 RON/month + slow scaling. Azuvio B2B Portal solution: Automated rules — office handles only exceptions (1-3% of orders). Dedicated staff reduction or reallocation to value-add activities.
- Problem: "Where's my order?" — 30-50 calls/day to the office from customers wanting delivery status. Azuvio B2B Portal solution: Live tracking + push notifications. 70-80% call reduction.
- Problem: Promotions don't reach store in time. Agent explains them in next visit, 1-2 weeks later. Azuvio B2B Portal solution: Push notifications + portal banner — promo reaches all eligible customers instantly, with expiry countdown.
Built for distributors with 200+ active outlets
Representative scenarios — exact numbers in any specific deal depend on your product mix, region and current digitalization level.
- North-east FMCG distributor — 1,200 active outlets — Portal adoption: 68% portal/app orders in 4 months. Office order-processing staff reduced from 4 to 1.5 FTE (reallocated to key accounts). Agents with +18% time on effective sales visits.
- HoReCa beverage distributor — 450 restaurants & bars — Night orders (after restaurant close, 23:00-02:00) represent 35% of volume 3 months post-launch. Orders from a segment that would otherwise have gone to competition with available night agent.
- Gas stations distributor — 2,800 regional outlets — Recurring order templates configured by 78% of outlets in first 6 weeks. Average order-entry time: dropped from 18 min/order to 2.5 min.
Technical & commercial details
Catalog & pricing engine
Support for multiple price lists (per segment, region, contract), volume-scaled discounts (quantity or value), promos with complex mechanics (1+1, M+N free, second-category discount), bundles, automatic cross-sell at checkout. All prices sync live with ERP — change price in ERP, active in portal within 30 seconds.
WMS integration for live stock
Push-based connection: any stock movement (receive, pick, adjustment) propagates instantly to portal. Reservation on add-to-cart with configurable TTL (10-30 min) to avoid indefinite stock locks. Configurable per-warehouse/channel buffer — keep 50 units reserve for key accounts, rest on portal.
MOQ, MOV, packaging units
Rules per product (product MOQ), per customer (total MOV), per category. Portal enforces in UI — "Add to cart" disables with clear message if rule isn't met. Multi-UoM support: unit / case / pallet / layer, automatic conversion.
Credit limit & financial integration
Live read from ERP: current balance, unpaid amounts, overdue due dates, allocated limit. Orders over limit don't block automatically — enter "pending approval" with workflow (CFO, key account manager). "Emergency credit" possibility with 2-factor validation.
Notifications & communication
Push notifications (mobile), transactional email, optional SMS (Twilio/Vonage). Branded templates for: order confirmation, status change, shipment with tracking, delivery confirmed, invoice generated, due date approaching, new promo, reorder recommended. All configurable per customer (opt-in/opt-out).
Mobile app
Native iOS + Android, your branding (logo, colors, splash screen), store publishing with your developer account (or ours, for a fee). Offline functionality: cached catalog, barcode scanning, draft orders that sync on reconnect. Shelf-label scanning for ultra-fast reordering.
API & integrations
Documented REST API (Postman) for any custom integration: accounting, BI, marketing automation, loyalty programs. Webhooks on key events (order created, payment confirmed, order delivered). SSO for enterprise customers (SAML/OAuth).
FAQ
- Does the portal replace field agents?
- No. It moves order entry, but agents remain essential for relationship, exposure, promotions, resolution, new customers. Portal + agent SFA = combination, not alternative.
- Does it work for non-tech customers (convenience-store clerk)?
- Yes. The mobile app is optimized for the real scenario — 3-5 clicks for a recurring order, barcode scan for new products, WhatsApp support for questions. Typical pilot: 85-95% of customers manage to order alone after one 20-min training session.
- Does it integrate with our existing ERP (SAP/Charisma/Senior/WinMentor)?
- Yes, native connectors for all common Romanian ERPs. Plus REST API for any custom ERP. Bidirectional sync: customers, prices, stock, orders, invoices.
- We already have SFA — is functionality duplicated?
- No. Portal comes alongside — portal orders appear in the responsible agent's SFA. Plus we integrate with your existing SFA (Comarch, Comindware, custom) or use Azuvio's native SFA.
- How do we manage the WhatsApp → portal transition — old customers resist change?
- Hybrid transition over 2-3 months: portal + WhatsApp in parallel, with portal incentives (discount, priority delivery, loyalty points). WhatsApp orders are also keyed into portal by agent — becomes backup channel, not primary.
- How much does it cost?
- SaaS per agent user + activity (active portal customers + processed orders). For distributor with 1000-2000 customers, ROI comes from 1.5-2 reallocated FTEs + 10-15% average-order-size growth (portal suggests cross-sell). See /pricing.
- How long is implementation?
- Standard 6 weeks from kickoff to 50 pilot customers. Full rollout on full base: 3-4 months.
- Does it work for distributors delivering to HoReCa?
- Yes, scenario identical to convenience store. HoReCa additionally needs night orders (after close) — portal solves exactly that.
- Do we support multi-site customers (convenience-store chain)?
- Yes. Central account (headquarters) with sub-accounts per location. HQ sees consolidated, locations order individually with optional approval rules (per-subaccount limit, escalation to HQ over threshold).
The Azuvio stack for FMCG distributors
B2B Portal + SFA + OMS + WMS — in one platform.
Want to move order entry to the customer?
2-minute B2B portal demo for FMCG distributor. See contracted-price catalog, live stock, recurring orders, mobile app for the convenience store.