The verdict in three sentences
Selling to public laboratories imposes a buying process that standard webshops ignore: contract prices per institution, a purchase order with a PO number, and an e-invoice sent over Peppol. A B2B portal that handles these three points natively halves admin time per order and secures 30-day payments. Downloadable safety data sheets and one-click quotes do the rest for researchers.
A lab does not buy like a consumer
The typical case: a distributor of consumables and small equipment (pipettes, tips, gloves, glassware, non-hazardous reagents, benchtop centrifuges) based in Amsterdam, 18,000 SKUs, 900 customers across university labs, academic medical centres, research institutes, biotechs and private testing labs. The researcher chooses, the lab manager approves, procurement issues the PO, finance pays.
| Step | Public laboratory | Private laboratory |
|---|---|---|
| Applicable price | tender or framework agreement price | negotiated or list price |
| Trigger | purchase order with PO number | online order or internal requisition |
| Approval | lab manager then procurement | lab head |
| Invoicing | e-invoice via Peppol, PO number mandatory | PDF or e-invoice |
| Payment terms | 30 days | 30 to 60 days |
| Documents expected | quote, SDS, lot certificates | SDS, certificates |
A portal that forces a public buyer to pay by card, or ignores the PO number, will simply not be used. Dutch public bodies also expect suppliers to respect the 30-day payment term in return, and late payment interest applies when they do not, so a clean PO trail protects your cash as much as theirs.
Features that matter for 900 labs
Multi-user accounts. An institution has several groups, each with researchers, a manager and sometimes separate budget codes. The researcher builds a cart, the manager approves it and adds the PO number.
Tender pricing. Each account sees its contract price with validity dates and included items. Outside the contract, the portal switches to a quote request.
One-click quotes. The cart becomes a numbered PDF quote, valid 30 or 60 days, which the manager attaches to the purchase request. When the PO arrives, the quote converts to an order with no re-keying.
Regulatory documents. SDS in the regulatory format, certificates of analysis per lot and manuals are downloadable from the product page and order history.
| Feature | Measured gain (2026 estimate) |
|---|---|
| Customer-generated quote | 10 to 15 minutes of sales time per quote |
| Order from quote without re-keying | near-zero pricing errors |
| PO number captured at checkout | rejected e-invoices cut by 3 to 5 times |
| Self-service SDS | 20 to 40 fewer support requests per month |
| Shared cart and approval | order lead time cut by 2 to 4 days |
| One-click reorder | 30 to 40% of recurring orders |
Budget and scope
Market B2B platforms cost roughly EUR 1,000 to 4,000 per month, and Peppol connectors or tender pricing logic are often extra development. Large international lab suppliers have invested hundreds of thousands of euros in their portals: a regional distributor should aim narrower and fit its customers better.
At Kolonell, this kind of portal is custom work: simple from 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR) for catalogue, accounts and quotes, medium from 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) with tender pricing, two-step approval and an ERP connector, complex from 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) with automated Peppol invoicing, punch-out to institutional procurement systems and lot tracking. Anything else is priced in the quote.
Mini case study
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Eva, sales director of a lab supplies distributor in Amsterdam, handles 1,800 orders a month and 450 manual quotes. Each quote takes 12 minutes, each public order 8 minutes of checking and re-keying. About 6% of public invoices are rejected for a missing PO number, delaying payment by 15 days.
- 70% of quotes automated: 315 x 12 min = 63 hours per month.
- Public orders (1,000 per month) checked in 3 min instead of 8: 83 hours per month.
- Invoice rejections cut from 6% to 1.5% on 1,000 invoices averaging EUR 380: 45 invoices, about EUR 17,000 per month no longer paid 15 days late.
Nearly 146 hours freed each month, almost one full-time role, for a project in the medium to complex tier.
FAQ
Can the portal send e-invoices over Peppol automatically?
Yes, through a Peppol access point in the complex tier. The PO number and buyer reference are captured at checkout, which removes most rejections.
How are hazardous products handled?
Restricted items are visible but orderable only by authorised accounts, with mandatory SDS download. This usually covers 5 to 10% of the catalogue.
What happens when a tender contract expires?
The portal deactivates contract prices on the end date and moves the account to quotes. The account manager gets an alert 60 days ahead.
Should we offer card payment?
For biotechs and small private labs, yes: 10 to 20% of private orders go by card or iDEAL. Public customers stay on PO and bank transfer.
How long to go live?
Allow 12 to 18 weeks for the medium tier, including 3 to 4 weeks to migrate product data and SDS.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your catalogue, share of public customers and ERP, and we will scope a portal built for tenders and your timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
