They suggested setting up a "customer portal" for our dealers — what does that mean, and would it work for us?

We launched a similar portal for our 55 dealers last year. Before that, we'd get at least 60 calls a week just asking "is this in stock?" and "what's my balance?" After the portal, those dropped to maybe 4-5 calls a week, and shipping errors on order entries dropped to practically zero.

You can spend 140,000 TL on software, but dealers will still message on WhatsApp saying, "Hey buddy, put me down for 2 pallets." Getting traditional dealers out in the provinces to actually use a portal to place orders is way harder than building the software itself, so keep that in mind.

There's only one way to get them used to it: offer an extra 1% or 2% discount on orders placed through the portal, and politely decline phone orders, asking them to submit them via the portal instead. Everyone will be on board within two months.

definitely watch out for the integration part. if the devs say "we'll build the UI and you handle the accounting side" run away. without a two-way api connection it just doubles the workload.

were in the cleaning industry too, went through the exact same shipping blunders then the biggest perk was the techncal datasheets and MSDS documents. they used to constantly bug us for docs over WhatsApp; now we uploaded everything to the portal and they download it themselves. like our account reps finally got some breathing room.

Three years ago when we had 30 dealers, we thought, "we're too small, we don't need this." As we grew to 60, orders got completely tangled, and we lost two major dealers over delivery delays. That was when we realized a portal isn't just for growing sales volume; it's for keeping the clients you already have.

Before approving that 140,000 TL budget, make sure this is explicitly written into your specs: the system must work seamlessly in mobile browsers without requiring a separate app download. You can't expect a field dealer to sit down at a desktop to place an order; they need to be able to do it right from their phone while standing in the warehouse.

We need to take it step by step. Ask who prepared the quote and who will actually do the work.

Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for.

There's a trap here, let me mention it. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

Saved.

Timely topic. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

There's a common mistake people make when doing this. If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I agree with this. The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say.

If you dont write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

the opposite happened to me, that's why I'm writing and if you don't write this down from the start it leads to arguments later.

Same here. The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say.

Code without setup documentation isn't yours, even if you have it. If you post the result here, it will help others too.

timely topic but when you try to change everything at once nothing settles.

if acceptance criteria arent written when the work is done is open to debate then if I were you, Id go this route.

If you're going this route, sort this out first. Access credentials should be opened in the company's name, not personal accounts.