Customer portal – reducing the workload for the internal sales team
In the internal sales department, inquiries about invoices, delivery status, or documents are part of everyday life and take up a lot of time. A B2B customer portal or customer self-service portal significantly reduces the workload on employees by allowing business customers to access their information online themselves at any time.
What is a customer portal?
A customer portal – often referred to as a digital customer portal or self-service portal in the B2B sector – is a digital platform that allows business customers to access their commercial information on their own at any time. Instead of calling the inside sales team or sending an email, they can find all relevant data directly online – quickly, transparently, and securely.
The focus is on documents and information that are already available in the supplier’s ERP system:
- Invoices
- Delivery slips
- Delivery status and tracking
- Credit notes
- Backorders
- Product availability
- Agreed prices
In addition, returns and refunds can also be processed. Customer-specific documents such as certificates, user manuals, or contracts can also be made available for download.
A customer service portal relieves back-office staff of routine inquiries while offering customers a modern self-service option that is available around the clock.
Typical inquiries handled by the back office that a customer service portal resolves
In the internal sales department, many hours of work each day are spent on routine tasks. Customers repeatedly contact employees with similar concerns. This results in a significant workload and ties up resources that are actually needed for consulting and sales.
Typical examples of such requests:
- Requesting a resend of invoices or credit memos
- Inquiries about the current delivery status or shipment tracking
- Information regarding outstanding balances or items not yet delivered
- Inquiries about agreed-upon prices and terms
- Providing documents such as certificates or user manuals
- Assistance with returns and shipments
A B2B service portal handles these recurring tasks automatically. Customers can access the information they need on their own, without requiring assistance from a staff member. This significantly reduces the number of follow-up inquiries and noticeably lightens the workload for the back-office staff.
How does the customer self-service portal work?
A customer service portal connects directly to the company’s ERP system / inventory management system. All data relevant to the customer is retrieved from there and made available via a secure web interface. Access is granted through a personalized login, ensuring that each customer sees only the information intended for them. It’s easy to use: Customers log in to the portal, retrieve the information they need, and download receipts or documents as needed. Inquiries that were previously handled manually by internal staff are now resolved automatically.
Key Features:
- Direct connection to the ERP system for up-to-date data
- Role-based access control to safeguard customer data
- Intuitive browser-based operation, accessible anytime, anywhere
- Quick deployment without time-consuming projects
In this way, many small routine processes are transformed into a streamlined self-service system that sustainably reduces the workload on the back-office staff and improves customer service.
Benefits for businesses
A digital customer service portal not only boosts efficiency but also provides a clear competitive advantage for industrial and wholesale companies. In this way, a customer service portal combines measurable efficiency gains with an improved customer experience.
The main benefits:
- Significant reduction in routine inquiries handled by the back office
- Freeing up capacity for personalized support and sales tasks
- Information available to customers at any time, regardless of business hours
- Faster response times and higher customer satisfaction
- Lower costs due to reduced support and administrative efforts
- Improved data quality through direct integration with the ERP system
Typical project results show:
- Up to 60% fewer follow-up inquiries in the back office
- Customer service process costs are reduced by 30 to 50%
- Customer satisfaction increases measurably thanks to transparency and 24/7 availability
In this way, a customer service portal combines measurable efficiency gains with an improved customer experience.
Implement a self-service portal with avanta – quickly and cost-effectively
With avanta, you can quickly, securely, and cost-effectively implement a customer service portal for the industrial and wholesale sectors. The solution is designed to integrate directly with existing ERP systems such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or ABAS. This ensures that all relevant data is immediately available without the need for duplicate data entry.
Features of the Customer Portal with avanta
- View invoices, credit memos, and packing slips
- Real-time delivery status and shipment tracking
- Overview of outstanding balances and current product availability
- Access to agreed-upon prices and individual terms
- Processing of returns and refunds
- Provision of customer-specific documents for download, such as certificates, user manuals, and contracts
- Role-based access control with individual permissions per customer or user group
- Multilingual interface for international customers
Key strengths of avanta:
- Short implementation times thanks to pre-built interfaces
- No high project costs
- Transparent usage model
- SaaS-based and open source – flexible, modern, and future-proof
- Modularly expandable, for example, to include a B2B store, punchout catalog, or AI-powered service and consulting bots
- Customizable to meet individual requirements, supported by a large community and an experienced partner network
This makes avanta not just a tool to lighten the workload of the back-office staff, but a platform that can grow along with the company's needs.
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