Supplier Portal and Business Partner Portal: How They Differ from a Dealer Portal
Contents
A dealer portal helps drive sales. But companies work with more than just buyers: they have suppliers, contractors, carriers, and franchisees. They also handle an ongoing flow of requests, documents, and approvals, which typically lives in email, messaging apps, and spreadsheets.
Three types of portals
Dealer portal
For those who buy from you: catalog, prices, inventory, orders, documents, and mutual settlements.
Supplier portal
For those you buy from:
- supply requests and their confirmation;
- delivery timelines and schedules, booking warehouse unloading times;
- uploading documents: invoices, waybills, certificates;
- updating price lists and delivery lead times;
- claims regarding quality and delivery timelines;
- reconciliation of settlements and payment statuses.
Contractor or counterparty portal
For partners who perform work:
- tasks and requests;
- approval of cost estimates and changes;
- certificates of completion;
- payment statuses;
- employee documents and permits.
What all portals have in common
- contract-based login rather than open registration;
- roles and permissions within the partner company;
- documents from the accounting system and document uploads into it;
- statuses and notifications;
- an activity log;
- CRM integration: the manager or purchasing agent sees everything in their own system.
When you need a supplier portal
- more than 20-30 active suppliers;
- buyers spend a lot of time following up on deadlines and statuses;
- documents get lost in email;
- the warehouse does not know what will be delivered or when;
- disputes over prices and volumes arise frequently;
- you need a unified registry of supplier certificates and documents.
When you need a contractor portal
- the company regularly works with external contractors;
- approving estimates and completion certificates drags on for weeks;
- contractors constantly ask about payment status;
- you need to track permits and documents of contractor employees.
Integration with accounting
- a supply request is created in 1C or MoySklad and transferred to the portal;
- the supplier confirms deadlines and quantities, and the data returns to the accounting system;
- supplier documents are attached to the goods receipt;
- payment statuses are pulled from the accounting system automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Will suppliers want to use the portal?
They will if it speeds up payment and eliminates unnecessary calls. One rule helps: documents submitted through the portal are processed faster.
Can you combine multiple portals into a single portal?
Yes, a single portal with different roles for dealers, suppliers, and contractors.
Do you need integration with an accounting system?
Yes, otherwise documents and statuses will have to be duplicated manually.
