The verdict in three sentences
A Toronto distributor of heavy equipment and truck parts handling 80 price requests a day by phone, email and text loses sales every time a rep takes 40 minutes to reply. A B2B webshop with 15,000 SKUs and search by OEM number and by model costs between CAD 60,000 and 170,000 and ships in 4 to 5 months. The budget depends mostly on catalogue quality and part cross-references, not on design.
What a spare parts B2B webshop costs
2026 ballpark figures for an Ontario distributor, excluding HST, by feature level:
| Level | Budget CAD excl. HST | Timeline | Main scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browsable catalogue with quote request | 60,000 to 75,000 | 3 months | 15,000 product pages, part number search, quote by email |
| Standard B2B webshop | 85,000 to 120,000 | 4 months | account pricing, online ordering, card payments |
| B2B webshop with credit and ERP | 125,000 to 170,000 | 5 months | capped credit, real-time stock, automatic invoices |
| Catalogue migration and clean-up | 12,000 to 35,000 | in parallel | OEM cross-references, photos, fitment |
| Hosting and maintenance | 1,200 to 3,500 per month | ongoing | backups, security, improvements |
| Training for reps and garages | 2,500 to 7,000 | 2 weeks | adoption by key accounts |
The most underestimated line is catalogue migration. A 15,000-row spreadsheet without mapping between OEM numbers and aftermarket equivalents makes search useless, however good the site looks.
Part number search, the heart of the project
A shop foreman looks for a part three ways: typing the OEM number read on the old part, picking the make and model of the machine, or sending a photo. The webshop must cover the first two; the third stays with your reps.
| Search mode | Development cost CAD | Share of searches (estimate) | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| OEM number and cross-references | 10,000 to 21,000 | 55 % | tolerance for dashes and spaces |
| Make, model, year | 13,000 to 26,000 | 30 % | fitment database to build |
| Free-text search | 3,500 to 7,000 | 10 % | trade slang for parts |
| VIN lookup | 17,000 to 34,000 | 5 % | manufacturer data sometimes paid |
| Garage accounts with discount by family | 7,000 to 13,000 | not applicable | 3 to 5 discount tiers |
| Capped credit per account | 8,500 to 17,000 | not applicable | automatic block above the limit |
Payment combines cards for small shops, EFT for fleets and net 30 terms with a credit limit for approved accounts. A limit of CAD 15,000 to 80,000 per account is a common order of magnitude.
Mini case study
Mike, owner of a truck parts distributor in Mississauga, receives 80 requests a day and converts 30 %. Three reps spend 60 % of their day on them. After launching a CAD 110,000 webshop, 40 % of requests become self-service, and conversion on the rest rises to 38 % thanks to faster replies. With an average order of CAD 1,500 and 22 % margin, the 8 extra orders a day bring about CAD 2,640 of daily margin, close to CAD 55,000 a month over 21 working days. The investment pays back in about two months if adoption follows.
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FAQ
Should prices be public?
No, most distributors show prices only to logged-in accounts with their discount applied. A public list price on the 20 to 30 % of fast-moving wear parts still attracts small independent shops.
How long does the fitment database take?
Allow 6 to 10 weeks for 15,000 SKUs with one dedicated person and a usable supplier file. Start with the 2,000 SKUs that make 80 % of revenue.
How should large payments be handled?
Key accounts prefer EFT or net 30 terms, while cards cover orders of CAD 150 to 4,000. Card fees of 2.5 to 3 % on large orders are a good reason to push terms accounts toward EFT.
Does stock need to be real-time?
Ideally yes, with a sync every 5 to 15 minutes from the ERP or inventory system. Without it, 5 to 10 % of orders are for unavailable parts.
Do phone and email orders disappear?
No, they remain for photos and complex cases. Reps send a webshop order link instead of retyping, which keeps the customer habit while structuring the sale.
Let's scope your project. We scope your spare parts webshop, SKU count, OEM search and credit terms, with an indicative budget of CAD 60,000 to 170,000 and go-live in 4 to 5 months. 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.
