Built an integrated B2B commerce platform with inventory, payments and mobile access
A B2B marketplace operator
A multi-vendor B2B platform with an admin back end and a vendor mobile app, bringing catalogue, quotations, orders, payments and fulfilment into one system.
- Client
- A B2B marketplace operator
- Industry
- B2B commerce
The situation
The client wanted a marketplace where many vendors sell to business buyers. B2B buying rarely ends at a fixed price: buyers negotiate quantities, MOQs and terms, so quotations had to sit at the centre of the platform.
Vendors needed to run their side of the business from a phone, not only from a desktop admin panel.
Orders had to be followed through fulfilment and delivery, with payments to vendors tracked separately from customer payments.
What we did
One back end for the whole marketplace
A single API and PostgreSQL database hold vendors, products and variants, carts, orders, payments and payouts, so every part of the business works from the same records instead of separate tools.
Quotations as a first-class workflow
Buyers raise quotation requests; admins and vendors respond with prices, quantities, MOQs, validity dates and supporting documents, and can message each other on the quotation. Quotes can be emailed and carry signatures.
A mobile app for vendors
Vendors use a React Native (Expo) app to manage products and stock, respond to product and service quotations, handle service bookings, see their payouts and chat with the platform in real time.
Fulfilment and delivery
Orders carry a status history and fulfilment tracking through fulfilment centres, route plans and delivery agents, with agent KYC and earnings recorded.
The parts that were actually hard
Problem
B2B prices are negotiated, not listed.
How we handled it
Quotation requests, vendor quotations, messages and documents are modelled separately from the catalogue, so negotiation does not distort product data.
Problem
Money flows two ways: from buyers and to vendors.
How we handled it
Customer payments and vendor payouts are separate records, so what a vendor is owed is never inferred from order totals.
Problem
Vendors work on the move.
How we handled it
The vendor experience was built as a mobile app with real-time updates rather than a responsive version of the admin panel.
What we built
- Multi-vendor marketplace: vendors, categories, products, variants and specifications
- Product and vendor inventory management
- Quotation requests, vendor quotations, messaging, documents and signatures
- Cart, orders, order status history and fulfilment tracking
- Payment records and vendor payouts
- Fulfilment centres, route planning and delivery agents
- Reviews, wishlists, notifications and abandoned-cart reminders
- Vendor mobile app (built with Expo): products, stock, quotations, bookings, payouts and chat
Built with
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