The verdict in three sentences
A B2B supplier managing 900 customers and as many price agreements needs an ordering portal with customer-specific pricing, fed by the ERP every night, not a standard webshop. Budget lands between 45,000 and 90,000 EUR (2026 ballpark), depending on ERP integration depth and discount rules. At 12 EUR per manually keyed order, the portal often pays for itself within a year.
Why a standard webshop does not fit
The head of sales at a packaging supplier in Berlin-Marzahn sells boxes, stretch film, tape and void fill to 900 customers: online retailers, 3PL warehouses and food manufacturers across Berlin and Brandenburg. Each customer has negotiated prices, sometimes line by line, with volume tiers and different free-delivery thresholds.
A standard shop shows a list price and at best a few customer groups. Here, a buyer at a logistics hub near BER must see exactly their contract price, pallet discounts and usual products first. Any price error destroys trust and triggers a credit note.
| Requirement | Standard webshop | Customer-specific pricing portal |
|---|---|---|
| Price shown | List price, a few groups | Each customer's contract price |
| Price source | Entered in the shop | ERP, synced nightly |
| Volume discounts | Simple rules | Tiers per customer and product family |
| Visible catalogue | Same for everyone | Limited to approved SKUs |
| Payment | Card at checkout | Account, 30 days net or SEPA direct debit |
| Multiple users | One account per person | Buyers, approvers, limits per site |
| Reordering | Standard basket | Saved lists, quick order by SKU |
Architecture and budget
The heart of the project is synchronisation. Each night the ERP (SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics, proALPHA or Sage depending on the case) exports every customer's price conditions; the portal imports them, computes net prices and updates stock. Orders flow back to the ERP in real time for picking.
| Component | Detail | 2026 ballpark (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery and wireframes | Sales workshops, buyer journeys | 4,000 to 8,000 |
| Catalogue and customer accounts | Approved SKUs, multi-user, approvals | 10,000 to 20,000 |
| Contract pricing engine | 900 price lists, tiers, free delivery, targeted promos | 8,000 to 18,000 |
| ERP connector | Prices and stock nightly, orders in real time | 12,000 to 25,000 |
| Quick order and lists | SKU entry, CSV upload, reorder | 5,000 to 9,000 |
| Invoices and balances | Invoices, statements, optional online payment | 4,000 to 7,000 |
| Acceptance testing and rollout | Price checks on a customer sample | 2,000 to 3,000 |
The total ranges from 45,000 to 90,000 EUR. Kolonell builds this kind of portal as a custom web application, priced on quote after discovery, with maintenance contracted separately.
A regulatory point to plan for: Germany's B2B e-invoicing mandate requires companies to receive structured e-invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD) since 2025, with issuing obligations phasing in by 2028. The portal must pass clean order data to the ERP, which issues compliant invoices.
Getting 900 customers to adopt it
Technology is not enough. Three levers matter. First, roll out in waves: the 100 most frequent buyers, then the rest over three months. Second, take nothing away: phone and email stay available, but the portal offers more, such as order history, delivery tracking and downloadable invoices. Third, measure: share of online orders, price error rate, orders placed evenings and weekends. Among B2B suppliers, about 35% of orders arrive outside office hours once a portal exists.
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Katrin, head of sales at a packaging supplier in Berlin, handles 3,000 orders a month, all keyed in by the sales office. At 12 EUR per order, that is 36,000 EUR a month. She budgets 70,000 EUR for the portal. After a year, 60% of orders come in online: 1,800 orders whose processing cost drops to about 2 EUR. The saving is 1,800 x 10 EUR = 18,000 EUR a month. Payback arrives in just under four months, and two sales assistants now spend their time following up quotes.
FAQ
Why sync prices nightly rather than in real time?
Price conditions rarely change during the day, and a nightly run over 900 price lists avoids hitting the ERP on every page view. An immediate manual update remains possible for an urgent renegotiation.
How long does the project take?
Plan 4 to 6 months: one month of discovery, 2 to 3 months of build and ERP connector, then a month of acceptance testing with about twenty pilot customers. The connector is often 30% of the budget.
How do we guarantee no price is wrong?
Before going live, prices computed by the portal are automatically compared with ERP prices on a sample of 50 to 100 customers. Any gap above 0.01 EUR blocks publication.
Can customers have several buyers?
Yes, each account can have buyers per site with an order limit, for example 2,000 EUR without approval, and an approver above that.
Does the portal handle recurring orders?
Yes, through saved lists and quick order by SKU. These features often cut ordering time from 15 minutes on the phone to under 3 minutes.
Let's scope your project. Send us your ERP, customer count and discount logic, and we will scope the portal, the connector and the wave-by-wave rollout 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.
