Dealer Portals
One Catalogue, Two Channels: Homeowners and the Trade
Why a B2B and B2C ordering platform should run homeowners and dealers from one catalogue, with separate pricing, payments and checkout for each channel.
A B2B and B2C ordering platform for made-to-measure products should run homeowners and trade accounts from one catalogue, with one set of sizing rules, and change only what each channel needs: price, payment method and the shape of the checkout. Keeping two catalogues in two systems is how prices drift, rules get out of sync, and orders reach the shop with options that no longer exist.
Why manufacturers end up with two systems
The usual story goes like this. The business starts with dealers, so there is a trade order form or a spreadsheet. Later, homeowners start asking to buy direct. Someone sets up a store on a general e-commerce platform for retail, with its own product list and its own option apps.
Now there are two catalogues. A new door style gets added to one and not the other. A finish is discontinued in production but still sells on the retail site. A size limit gets tightened for the trade form but not the store.
Each mismatch shows up later as a phone call, a refund or a remake.
What should be shared and what should differ
The test is simple: anything about the product is shared, anything about the buyer differs.
| Element | Shared or per channel | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product styles, finishes, options | Shared | The shop makes the same thing either way |
| Size limits and trade rules | Shared | A door that cannot be built cannot be built for anyone |
| Base price | Shared | One source of truth |
| Price shown | Per channel | Retail for homeowners, tier price for dealers |
| Payment | Per channel | Deposit or full payment for homeowners; card or terms for dealers |
| Checkout flow | Per channel | Guided steps for homeowners; fast bulk entry for dealers |
| Emails and documents | Per channel | Different language and information for each audience |
Once you separate it this way, the system design becomes obvious: one catalogue underneath, two front doors on top.
The homeowner channel
Homeowners need guidance. They are buying something they will look at for twenty years and may only buy once. Their checkout should:
- Walk them through choices one step at a time.
- Explain measurements in plain language and catch errors before they submit.
- Let them save and come back, because these are big decisions.
- Take a deposit or full payment, depending on the product.
- Look like your website, so they trust it. See why your checkout should look like your website.
The trade channel
Dealers know your products and want speed. Their channel should:
- Show their own price tier on every product, as covered in dealer pricing tiers without the spreadsheet.
- Accept bulk entry from a cut list or CSV.
- Take a PO number and offer terms to approved accounts.
- Allow reorders in one click.
- Show order status without a phone call.
Forcing a dealer through the homeowner's step-by-step flow wastes their time. Showing a homeowner a dense bulk-entry grid loses the sale. Same products, different paths.
Where general store platforms fit
General e-commerce platforms can handle simple retail well. For made-to-measure products, the gaps are usually trade rules and channel separation. Shopify product-option apps (such as Globo or Easify) cost from $0 to about $100 a month but do not include trade sizing rules, deposits or production sync. Shopify's native B2B features are available on Shopify Plus. For a fuller comparison, see Shopify option apps vs. a trade-specific configurator.
Questions to ask any B2B and B2C ordering platform
Before you commit, ask:
- Can homeowners and dealers order from the same catalogue, with one place to change a price or a rule?
- Can each dealer see only their own price?
- Can homeowners pay a deposit while dealers pay on terms?
- Are the size and option rules enforced in both channels?
- Do both channels send orders to production the same way?
- Can each channel have its own emails and documents?
If any answer is "we'd set up a second store", you are back to two catalogues.
Running it day to day
With one catalogue, maintenance gets simpler. A new finish is added once and appears for homeowners at retail and for dealers at their tier. A discontinued style is removed once. A tighter size limit applies everywhere immediately.
Your production team also benefits. Orders from both channels arrive in the same format with the same option names, so the shop never has to translate a retail order into trade language or the other way around.
How Inlay handles this
- Inlay runs your homeowner checkout and your dealer portal from the same catalogue and the same trade rules.
- Homeowners get a guided, branded checkout on your own subdomain, with deposits or pay-in-full per product through your own Stripe account.
- Dealers get logins, price tiers, PO numbers, Net 15, 30 or 60 terms, CSV and cut-list entry, and one-click reorders.
- Orders from both channels sync to Allmoxy or any system that accepts a webhook, CSV or email.
- The dealer portal is included on the Showroom ($299/mo) and Multi-brand ($599/mo) plans.
Book a 20-minute demo to see both channels running from your own catalogue.