Attributed to Phil Abbott, Director at ABS Limited.
Too often customer service teams are drowning in routine requests for copy invoices, order statuses and shipping confirmations. The frustrating reality? This administrative burden isn’t an inevitable cost of doing business, it’s a symptom of under-utilising one of your ERP system’s most powerful features that can eliminate hours of daily administrative work. Most businesses don’t even know it exists…
Customer and supplier portals are often underestimated, despite their potential to significantly reduce an organisation’s workload and improve customer relationships. Many companies heavily invest in core ERP systems but neglect these portals, missing out on a feature that can drastically increase efficiency.
Instead of constantly responding to routine requests, businesses can streamline their operations. For example, one of our clients was frustrated because answering a single customer’s frequent questions about order status consumed several hours, sometimes multiple times a day. Another client had an employee working almost full-time primarily to send out copies of shipping documents.
These common scenarios reveal significant inefficiencies that many businesses accept as part of their day-to-day operations. Portals provide a simple, self-service solution to these time-consuming interactions, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic tasks.
Understanding portal functionality
A customer portal allows your customers to log into your system through a web-based interface to access relevant information. Rather than emailing requests for copy invoices or order status updates, they can independently view their purchase orders, shipping information and available historical data.
The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity. When customers contact you asking for copy invoices, you can direct them to their portal login where they can find and download the documents themselves. This immediately eliminates the staff time required to locate, prepare and send these documents manually.
While viewing information represents the foundation of portal functionality, the real efficiency gains come from extending its capabilities. Customers could place orders directly through the portal, creating draft orders that your staff can then review and process. This works particularly well for repeat customers who understand your product range and have established ordering patterns.
Don’t confuse portals with shopping websites, they’re not the same. Unlike e-commerce websites, these portals require customers to have product knowledge. They work best when customers already understand what they’re ordering, rather than browsing and discovering new products.
The supplier side equation
Vendor portals serve a different but equally valuable purpose. For key suppliers, particularly those with standing or blanket purchase orders, these portals provide visibility into delivery schedules and requirements. For example, if you’ve contracted with a supplier to deliver specific quantities monthly over twelve months, they can log in to track progress and plan their production accordingly.
While I find vendor portals are used less frequently than customer portals, they prove invaluable for businesses with complex supply relationships or bespoke manufacturing arrangements.
Internal efficiency gains
What often surprises my clients is how portals can also streamline internal operations. Rather than training every employee on their full role within the ERP system, you can create focused portals for specific functions. For instance, warehouse staff might only need to confirm incoming stock against specific checklists. Instead of comprehensive ERP training, they can use a simplified portal interface that guides them through the specific task.
This approach significantly reduces training requirements while ensuring employees can perform their roles effectively within the system.
It also helps to move away from email-focused communication. While we’ll never eliminate email entirely, having dedicated spaces for specific types of business communication improves efficiency dramatically.
We can implement communication functionality within portals, allowing customers to ask questions about specific orders. When they have a query, they can communicate directly within the ERP environment. Staff receive notifications, can investigate internally, and respond without leaving the system or managing complex email trails.
Getting started
The technical implementation varies significantly between ERP systems. Some require additional licensing or custom development work. Systems like Priority ERP have an optional portal licence which includes a portal generator with out-of-the-box templates, making the process more accessible.
The key isn’t the technical complexity, it’s determining what functionality your customers actually need and will use. Start with basic visibility: order status, invoice history and shipping information. Once customers become comfortable with the portal, you can gradually introduce additional features.
While portals work across most industries, they’re particularly effective in B2B environments where customers regularly need access to transactional history. Fast-moving retail scenarios typically aren’t suitable, as these require full e-commerce functionality rather than portal access.
Construction, medical device manufacturing and other industries with complex order cycles benefit significantly. Any business that regularly receives requests for copy documents or order status updates will see immediate value.
The most important step is identifying your current pain points. If your staff spend significant time fulfilling routine customer requests, or if customers frequently ask for the same types of information, you have a strong case for portal implementation.
Start by evaluating what your ERP system offers natively, then determine what additional functionality would provide the greatest impact. Remember, the goal isn’t just reducing workload, it’s empowering customers to access the information they need while freeing your staff to focus on value-adding activities.
From my experience, businesses that implement customer and supplier portals typically wonder why they waited so long. The efficiency gains are immediate, measurable and often exceed initial expectations.
For more information visit: abslimited.co.uk
