The verdict in three sentences
A London janitorial supplies wholesaler serving 600 hotels, care homes and cleaning contractors through email, phone and WhatsApp loses hours of re-keying, wrong product codes and forgotten repeat orders every day. A B2B ordering portal with customer-specific pricing, scheduled repeat orders and payment on account or by card brings order entry down to a few minutes and lifts the average basket. On the Kolonell grid, this custom portal sits between 4,000,000 and 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR), delivered in 10 weeks.
What ordering by email and WhatsApp really costs
The pattern is familiar across London: a hotel housekeeping manager in Southwark sends a photo of a paper order or a voice note, a sales administrator re-types it into the ERP, checks the negotiated price in a spreadsheet, then calls back to confirm quantities. With 600 active accounts and 35 to 50 orders a day, the team spends a large part of the day re-keying.
| Indicator (2026 order of magnitude) | Email and WhatsApp orders | B2B portal |
|---|---|---|
| Entry time per order | 12 to 18 min | 2 to 3 min (approval only) |
| Orders handled per day per sales admin | 25 to 30 | 80 to 120 |
| Wrong product code or price | 4 to 7 % of lines | under 1 % |
| Average basket | 380 GBP | 450 to 500 GBP |
| Orders placed out of office hours | lost or handled next day | 20 to 30 % of volume |
| Time from order to picking | 4 to 24 h | under 2 h |
The basket uplift comes from simple mechanics: the customer's usual product list, suggested consumables (bin liners with detergents, gloves with disinfectants) and a live free delivery threshold. These are market estimates to be recalculated on your own order history.
The features that justify a custom portal
Consumer webshops handle B2B poorly: a five-star hotel in Mayfair does not pay the same price as a small contract cleaner in Croydon, an NHS supplier pays at 30 days, a facilities company orders the same 40 lines every Monday.
| Feature | Standard webshop | Custom B2B portal |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiated prices per customer or group | no, or paid plugin | native, imported from the ERP |
| Scheduled repeat orders | no | yes, weekly or monthly |
| Payment on account (30 or 60 days) with credit limit | no | yes, per customer |
| Card, Apple Pay, BACS and Direct Debit | partial | yes, customer's choice |
| Multi-buyer accounts (several sites of a hotel group) | no | yes, with approval workflow |
| VAT invoices and statements | manual export | automatic, downloadable |
| Field sales app for on-site ordering | no | yes, offline mode |
On compliance, the portal issues VAT invoices at 20 % with the mandatory UK details, and keeps data aligned with Making Tax Digital through your accounting software.
Budget and timeline. UK agencies typically quote 25,000 to 60,000 GBP for this scope (2026 market estimate). On the Kolonell grid, a medium-complexity application sits between 4,000,000 and 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR): catalogue of 1,500 to 3,000 SKUs, customer pricing, repeat orders, payment on account and online, ERP sync. The typical plan is 10 weeks: 2 weeks of scoping, 6 weeks of development, 2 weeks of pilot with 30 customers. Standard maintenance costs 75,000 FCFA per month (110 EUR).
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Tom, sales director of a janitorial supplies wholesaler in London, 600 accounts, 40 orders a day, 4 inside sales staff.
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- Current entry time: 40 orders x 15 min = 10 h a day, around 220 h a month.
- With the portal, 70 % of orders come in online: 12 orders x 15 min + 28 approvals x 2 min remain, about 4 h a day. Saving: 130 h a month, close to one full-time role redeployed to account growth.
- Average basket: from 380 to 440 GBP over 880 orders a month, or 52,800 GBP of extra revenue. At an 18 % gross margin, that is about 9,500 GBP of margin a month.
- Investment: 5,500,000 FCFA (8,380 EUR). Estimated payback in roughly one month of additional margin, even if these assumptions are halved.
FAQ
How much does a B2B ordering portal cost in 2026?
On the Kolonell grid, budget 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) for a medium-complexity portal, against 25,000 to 60,000 GBP often quoted by UK agencies. The price depends on SKU count, ERP integration and approval workflows.
Can customers pay on 30-day terms?
Yes. Each customer gets a credit limit and payment terms, for example 30 days and 10,000 GBP. Beyond that, the portal offers immediate payment by card, Apple Pay or Direct Debit.
Do we need to change our ERP?
No. The portal syncs with your existing system (Sage, Xero, Dynamics or Odoo) for stock, prices and invoices, typically every 15 minutes.
Will hotel buyers really order online?
Adoption often reaches 50 to 70 % of orders within 6 months if sales staff onboard the first 50 accounts. The order link can also be shared by email or WhatsApp to avoid disrupting habits.
How long until go-live?
Allow 10 weeks, including a 2-week pilot with around thirty customers before opening to everyone.
Let's scope your project. Send us your number of accounts, SKUs and current ERP, and we will price your B2B portal within the 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA grid (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) with a 10-week plan. 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.
