The verdict in three sentences
A self-service B2B ordering portal for a wholesaler costs between 25,000 and 70,000 EUR (excl. tax) depending on the ERP connector and the granularity of per-customer pricing. The timeline is 12 to 20 weeks, far shorter than a marketplace because there is only one vendor: you. The real gain is not commercial but operational: order-processing cost drops by about 50% by eliminating manual entry.
What a reordering portal must do
Your professional customers do not want a seductive catalog: they want to quickly reorder what they have already bought. So the portal must prioritize fast ordering (reference import, scanning, standing lists), history and one-click reordering, with negotiated per-customer pricing and ERP synchronization of stock and prices.
| Feature | 2026 range (EUR excl. tax) | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping & mockups | 3,000 - 6,000 | Aligns field needs |
| Customer accounts & custom pricing | 5,000 - 14,000 | Per-customer / volume prices |
| Fast ordering + 1-click reorder | 4,000 - 12,000 | Avg basket +15-25% |
| History & order tracking | 3,000 - 8,000 | -30% support calls |
| ERP connector (stock, prices, orders) | 6,000 - 20,000 | Zero double entry |
| QA, training, go-live | 4,000 - 10,000 | Customer adoption |
| Full portal total | 25,000 - 70,000 | 12-20 weeks |
Add maintenance at 12%/year (3,000 to 8,400 EUR excl. tax) and managed hosting of 80 to 250 EUR/month. The ERP connector (SAP Business One, Sage, Cegid, Odoo) is the most variable item: a standard API costs little, an in-house ERP requires custom middleware.
The ROI shows up in processing cost
An order placed by phone, email or fax ties up an inside sales rep: re-keying, price checks, stock control, confirmation. In self-service, the customer does that work themselves and the ERP validates automatically.
| Metric | Before portal | After portal |
|---|---|---|
| Processing cost / order | 9 - 14 EUR | 4 - 6 EUR |
| Entry time / order | 8 - 12 min | 0-2 min |
| Entry error rate | 3 - 6% | < 1% |
| Orders outside business hours | 0% | 25 - 40% |
| Average basket | baseline | +15 to 25% |
The portal shifts the entry workload to the customer while raising the basket through suggested reordering and 24/7 availability.
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Mini case study
Nadia, sales director of a professional-hygiene wholesaler in Nantes, processes 1,200 orders/month at an average processing cost of 11 EUR, i.e. 13,200 EUR/month. She invests 48,000 EUR excl. tax in a portal with a Sage connector, maintenance 5,760 EUR/year. After rollout, 60% of orders go self-service at a 5 EUR processing cost. Monthly saving: 720 orders x (11 - 5) = 4,320 EUR/month, i.e. 51,840 EUR/year. Net of maintenance (46,080 EUR net/year), the portal pays back in a little over 11 months, before even counting the higher average basket.
FAQ
Dedicated portal or standard e-commerce store? A B2C store handles neither per-customer pricing, nor multi-buyer accounts, nor fast reordering by reference. The dedicated portal costs a bit more but fits professional reordering habits, which determines its adoption.
Is the ERP connector essential? Strongly recommended: without it, your teams re-key orders into the ERP and the portal only adds work. A connector (6,000 to 20,000 EUR excl. tax) is what turns the portal into a net productivity gain.
How long to go live? Plan 12 to 20 weeks depending on ERP complexity and the number of pricing rules. A first batch of pilot customers can start as early as week 14 to fine-tune before the general rollout.
How do you ensure customer adoption? Short training, importing their usual lists, one-click reordering and a tangible advantage (price, 24/7 availability, tracking). A realistic target is 50-60% of orders self-service in the first year.
What maintenance budget should I plan? Maintenance at 12%/year of the initial cost covers fixes, evolution and connector upkeep, i.e. 3,000 to 8,400 EUR excl. tax. It is the line item that keeps price/stock synchronization reliable over time.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your ERP, your monthly order volume and your pricing rules, and we will budget the portal and its ROI. 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.
