Customer and supplier portals
Give customers answers without a phone call.
When customers, dealers and suppliers have to call or email for every order update, your team becomes a manual lookup service. We build secure portals on Microsoft Power Pages that show each user their own orders, stock and documents, straight from your ERP.
Manufacturer? See how customer and dealer portals work alongside an ERP, step by step.
Portals for manufacturersThe short answer
What is a customer portal and when does a business need one?
A customer portal is a secure website where customers, dealers or suppliers sign in to see their own information, such as order status, stock, invoices and documents, and to submit orders or requests. A business usually needs one when staff spend hours answering the same status questions or re-keying orders that arrive by email. Built on Microsoft Power Pages, the portal reads from your ERP, so there is no second system to maintain.
Is this you?
Signs your customers need a portal.
If two or more of these are true, there is usually a measurable case for change.
Customers call or email to ask where their order is
Every status enquiry pulls someone away from their work to look up the ERP and reply. When the same questions arrive every day, a portal can answer them without anyone being involved.
Dealers and distributors need stock levels before they quote
If partners have to ring for availability before they can sell, sales slow down and your team becomes a bottleneck. A portal shows the stock and pricing each partner is entitled to see.
Orders arrive by email, PDF and phone in different formats
Each format has to be read and re-keyed into the ERP, which is slow and introduces errors. Portal order forms capture orders in one validated format that flows straight into your system.
Suppliers and subcontractors send documents back and forth by email
Insurance certificates, compliance documents and onboarding forms get lost in inboxes and expire unnoticed. A supplier portal collects them in one place with reminders when they are due.
Scope
How we build a portal on your existing systems.
Every engagement is scoped to a specific process. These are the components that make up the work.
01
Access and roles design
We agree who sees what before building anything: which accounts, orders, pricing and documents each customer, dealer or supplier can access, and what they can submit.
02
Connection to your ERP and CRM
The portal reads orders, stock and account data from your existing systems through their APIs, either on demand or synchronised on a schedule, so your team never maintains a second copy.
03
Self-service views and forms
Order status, stock availability, invoices and document downloads, plus forms for orders, returns and service requests that are validated before they reach your ERP.
04
Secure sign-in and simple administration
External users sign in through Microsoft Entra External ID, and your team can add or remove access themselves without raising an IT ticket.
Typical outcomes
What changes once customers can serve themselves.
These are the general outcomes of this approach. Client-verified measurements are published on our case studies.
SBA Earthmoving Attachments gave customers self-service access to stock, product and order information through a Power Pages portal connected to ECi M1, alongside automating around 200 purchase orders a week.
- Fewer "where is my order" calls and emails
- Customers and dealers served outside business hours
- Orders entered once, in a consistent format
- A clear record of who viewed or submitted what
Questions we get asked
Frequently asked questions.
What is the difference between a customer portal and our website?
Your website is public and explains what you do. A customer portal sits behind a sign-in and shows each customer only their own orders, stock, pricing and documents. A Power Pages portal usually runs on a subdomain such as portal.yourcompany.com.au, alongside your existing website rather than replacing it.
Why not just give customers access to our ERP?
ERP user licences are expensive, the screens are built for your staff rather than customers, and it is hard to limit what an external user can see. A portal shows only the information each customer needs, in a simple interface, with permissions you control.
What can customers, dealers and suppliers do in a portal?
Typically check order status and delivery dates, see stock availability and the pricing that applies to them, download invoices, certificates and drawings, and submit orders, returns or service requests. Suppliers can upload compliance documents and respond to requests. Most portals start with one or two of these and grow from there.
Can a portal connect to MYOB Acumatica, ECi M1 or other ERPs?
Yes, wherever the ERP provides an API or a reliable data export. SBA Earthmoving Attachments' portal connects to ECi M1. We confirm what data your ERP exposes during discovery, before any build starts.
How long does it take to build a customer portal?
A first release covering one or two views, such as order status and stock availability, is typically delivered in a few weeks to a couple of months. The main variables are the quality of your ERP's API and how many user types need different access.
Related
Where this usually connects.
Workflow automation
Replace email chains, spreadsheets and manual re-keying with governed workflows that route, approve and record work automatically.
Operational business apps
Purpose-built apps for the shop floor, warehouse and field, replacing paper forms, shared spreadsheets and processes that only exist in someone's head.
System integration
Connect ERP, CRM, MES, PLM and finance systems so information moves automatically, without replacing the platforms you depend on.
Bring us the process that is slowing you down.
A 30-minute discovery call is enough to work out whether automation is the right answer, and what it would take.