The verdict in three sentences
For a spare parts distributor in Berlin with 25,000 SKUs, a B2B ordering portal costs between EUR 30,000 and 70,000 excl. VAT in 2026, depending on how deep the ERP integration goes. What makes the difference is not the design but OEM part-number search and customer-specific negotiated pricing, which drive adoption by garages and workshops. With 70% of orders still placed by phone, the return comes mostly from 2 sales administration FTEs redeployed to follow-ups and account development.
What a spare parts B2B portal costs in 2026
The budget depends on four blocks: catalogue (volume, attributes, cross-references), pricing, stock and the ERP bridge. An off-the-shelf configured solution is still possible under EUR 30,000, but it quickly hits limits with OEM cross-references and the cascading discounts typical of the trade.
| Functional block | 2026 range (EUR excl. VAT) | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 25,000-SKU catalogue, product sheets and technical attributes | 6,000 to 12,000 | 3 to 5 weeks |
| OEM part-number search, cross-references and typo tolerance | 5,000 to 12,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Customer pricing, discounts by product family, free-shipping thresholds | 4,000 to 10,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Real-time multi-warehouse stock and displayed delivery time | 3,000 to 8,000 | 2 weeks |
| Quick order (part-number entry, CSV import, reorder) | 2,500 to 6,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| ERP sync (SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, DATEV export) | 7,000 to 18,000 | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Multi-user accounts, buyer approval, order history | 2,500 to 4,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
In practice the total lands around EUR 30,000 for a tight scope (one warehouse, ERP with an open API) and up to EUR 70,000 when you must handle several warehouses, a legacy ERP without an API and highly fragmented price lists. Add hosting and maintenance, roughly EUR 400 to 1,200 per month.
Phone or portal: the sales administration maths
A phone order for spare parts takes 6 to 9 minutes on average: identifying the part, checking stock, recalling the negotiated price, re-keying into the ERP. On a portal, the customer does that work and the ERP receives a clean order.
| Indicator | Before portal (70% phone) | After portal, at 12 months (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Share of phone orders | 70% | 25 to 35% |
| Sales admin time per order | 7 minutes | 1.5 minutes (check) |
| Part-number or pricing errors | 3 to 5% | under 1% |
| Sales admin FTEs on data entry | 5 | 3 |
| Orders received after hours | under 5% | 20 to 30% |
| Average basket | index 100 | 108 to 115 (suggestions, reorder) |
The 2 freed FTEs are not necessarily cut: most distributors redeploy them to quote follow-ups, dormant account reactivation or technical support, which generates additional revenue.
The three points that make a portal fail
First pitfall: a search engine that does not recognise part numbers with or without dashes, spaces or OEM prefixes. A mechanic who cannot find a part in 10 seconds picks up the phone again. Second pitfall: displayed prices that differ from the sales rep's, often because the ERP sync misses exceptional discounts. Third pitfall: wrong stock levels, which cause stock-outs after checkout and destroy trust within weeks. All three must be tested with 10 to 15 real customers before go-live.
Mini case study
Thomas, sales director at a heavy-vehicle parts distributor in Berlin-Spandau, handles 180 orders a day, 126 of them by phone. His sales admin team has 5 people at EUR 48,000 fully loaded per year. The chosen portal costs EUR 52,000 excl. VAT, plus EUR 800 per month for maintenance.
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After 9 months, 60% of phone orders have moved to the portal. Two FTEs are redeployed to sales follow-up, i.e. EUR 96,000 of capacity per year redeployed. Data-entry errors fall from 4% to 0.8%, avoiding about EUR 9,000 a year in credit notes and returns. First-year cost: 52,000 + 9,600 = EUR 61,600. Estimated annual gain: EUR 105,000. Payback: about 7 months after full adoption.
FAQ
Do we need to change ERP to launch a B2B portal?
No in the vast majority of cases. SAP Business One, Dynamics or Sage expose APIs or scheduled exports; only the bridge costs more, EUR 7,000 to 18,000, if the ERP is old.
How long to put 25,000 SKUs online?
Allow 10 to 16 weeks in total, including 3 to 5 to clean the catalogue data. The quality of technical attributes weighs more on the timeline than the development itself.
Will customers really give up the phone?
Not all of them: a realistic target is to move 50 to 65% of phone orders to the portal within 12 months. Garages and workshops ordering several times a week adopt fastest.
Can we show stock per warehouse?
Yes, with a sync every 5 to 15 minutes or in real time via API. This module costs EUR 3,000 to 8,000 depending on the number of warehouses.
Who maintains the portal after delivery?
A maintenance contract of EUR 400 to 1,200 per month covers hosting, fixes, security updates and monitoring of ERP flows.
Let's scope your project. Send us your SKU count, your ERP and your share of phone orders: we will price a B2B portal between EUR 30,000 and 70,000 with a 10 to 16 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.
