The verdict in three sentences
For a food wholesaler supplying 350 restaurants across London, taking orders by text and phone until midnight has become the main brake on growth: keying errors, stock-outs discovered too late, and sales staff turned into data-entry clerks. A dedicated mobile-first B2B ordering platform, with customer-specific price lists and an ERP connection, costs roughly 22,000 to 48,000 GBP (25,000 to 55,000 EUR) and goes live in 3 to 5 months. The payoff comes mainly from recovered sales time and larger baskets, far more than from saved commissions.
The 11.40 pm text message problem
The chef closes the kitchen, checks the walk-in and sends a text: "6 kg flank, 2 crates tomatoes, double cream as usual". At 5 am someone has to turn that into order lines, guess what "as usual" means, check the negotiated price and discover the flank is out of stock. Across 350 accounts, that is 250 to 300 orders a night, keyed in by two inside sales reps between 5 and 8 am.
The consequences are familiar: 3 to 6 % of lines wrong, credit notes, angry calls from chefs, and no chance to suggest complementary products. The restaurant owner wants to order in 2 minutes from a phone, before an 11 pm cut-off, with their own prices and usual products at the top.
Hospitality marketplace or your own platform
| Criterion | Hospitality ordering marketplace | B2B module on a standard e-commerce stack | Dedicated ordering platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry cost (2026 ballpark) | 0 to 1,700 GBP | 7,000 to 17,000 GBP | 22,000 to 48,000 GBP |
| Recurring cost | 3 to 10 % commission on volume | 130 to 500 GBP a month | Maintenance and hosting, 450 to 1,300 GBP a month |
| Customer-specific price lists | Limited | Partial | Full |
| Stock-outs and substitutions | No | Rarely | Yes, automatic suggestion |
| ERP link (stock, prices, invoices) | No, or export only | Often fragile plugin | Native, real time |
| Ownership of the customer relationship | Shared with the platform | Yes | Yes |
| Time to go live | 2 to 4 weeks | 1 to 3 months | 3 to 5 months |
For a wholesaler turning over 8 million GBP, a 5 % commission would mean 400,000 GBP a year if all volume went through a marketplace. Marketplaces remain useful to win new restaurants, not to serve the 350 you already have.
What the platform must do, and what it costs
| Feature block | 2026 range (ballpark) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile web app (PWA), 2-minute ordering | 7,000 to 13,000 GBP | 80 % of orders are placed on a phone after service |
| Per-customer price lists and usual-order lists | 3,500 to 7,000 GBP | The chef reorders 30 products without searching |
| Negotiated prices, minimum order and cut-off per route | 2,600 to 6,000 GBP | 11 pm cut-off, 7 am delivery |
| Stock-outs and substitutions | 2,600 to 5,200 GBP | Alternative offered before confirmation |
| ERP connection (stock, prices, delivery notes, invoices) | 4,300 to 13,000 GBP | No more double entry |
| Sales back office and dormant-account alerts | 1,700 to 3,500 GBP | Reps sell instead of typing |
| Total | 22,000 to 48,000 GBP | 3 to 5 months |
Roll-out happens in waves: 30 pilot restaurants for 4 weeks, then the rest route by route. A realistic target is 60 % of orders on the platform at 3 months and 80 % at 6 months. The remaining 20 %, often the oldest accounts, keep phoning, which one person can handle.
Technically this is closer to a custom web application than a standard shop, because pricing and route logic is specific to each wholesaler.
Mini case study
Tom, managing director of a fresh produce wholesaler in Park Royal, supplies 350 restaurants with an average basket of 360 GBP, 5 days a week. Chosen project: 36,000 GBP, maintenance 780 GBP a month.
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- Two inside sales reps at 42,000 GBP loaded each: 84,000 GBP a year, redeployed to prospecting 40 new restaurants.
- Keying errors: credit notes worth about 1.5 % of margin, brought down to 0.5 %.
- Basket size: complementary suggestions, a cautious 3 % uplift, so 360 × 3 % × 350 × 250 days = about 94,500 GBP extra revenue, 23,600 GBP margin at 25 %.
- First-year cost: 36,000 + 9,360 = 45,360 GBP.
From extra margin and fewer credit notes alone, the project pays back in 12 to 15 months, before counting new accounts won by the two redeployed reps.
FAQ
Will chefs really give up texting?
Yes, if ordering takes under 2 minutes and their usual products come first. With on-site onboarding, 60 % of orders move online within 3 months and 80 % within 6.
Do customers need to download an app?
No. A PWA installs from the browser in one tap, works offline in the walk-in and avoids app store overheads. It costs 30 to 40 % less than a native app.
How do you handle 350 sets of negotiated prices?
Prices stay in the ERP and sync every 15 minutes or in real time. Each restaurant sees its own price list, discounts and minimum order.
What happens when a product is out of stock at 11 pm?
Stock is read from the ERP at order time. If flank is missing, the platform offers an alternative the buyer approves, avoiding a surprise at delivery.
Can we keep marketplaces alongside?
Yes. Use them to acquire new restaurants. Once an account is loyal, move it to your own platform and stop paying the 3 to 10 % commission.
Let's scope your project. We map price lists, cut-off times per route and your ERP connection with you, starting with a 30-restaurant pilot before full roll-out. 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.
