The trade buyer experience
No public prices and no guest checkout. An approved buyer logs in and sees their own price tier, their MOQs, their credit balance and their order history. Quick order by SKU code or a pasted list, reorder the last delivery in one tap, case and pallet quantities rather than pieces, and a running total that already includes their contract discount and VAT treatment.
The supplier and distributor console
Price lists per customer group with per-account overrides, stock across multiple warehouses so a Cebu buyer is not promised Manila inventory, territory rules that keep a distributor's accounts off a competing distributor's list, and promo pricing with a start and end date. Order acceptance, partial fulfilment and backorder handling are built in because full-quantity delivery is the exception in wholesale.
RFQ, quotation and purchase order flow
Serious B2B orders rarely start at a cart. A buyer submits an RFQ, the supplier responds with a quotation valid for a stated period, the buyer converts it to a purchase order or uploads their own PO number, and it becomes a sales order without anyone rekeying it. Every version of the quote is kept, so a dispute about which price was agreed takes ten seconds to settle.
Credit terms, limits and collections
Accounts carry a credit limit and payment terms — 30, 45 or 60 days. Orders that would breach the limit are held for approval instead of silently shipping. Statements of account and ageing reports are generated per buyer, overdue accounts stop ordering automatically at your threshold, and payment reminders go out on schedule rather than when someone remembers.
Sales rep ordering and commissions
Your reps are not being replaced, they are being un-blocked. A rep opens a buyer's account on a phone in the buyer's warehouse, places the order at the correct price, sees credit status and open balances before promising anything, and the order is attributed for commission. Rep activity, coverage and order value per account become a report rather than a story told in the Monday meeting.
Documents, delivery and BIR compliance
Sales invoices and delivery receipts with your own numbering series, collection receipts, and the withholding-tax details Philippine corporate buyers ask for at year end. Delivery receipts are signed on a phone at the drop, with the signature and photo attached to the order. Third-party trucking or Lalamove bookings attach the tracking to the same record.
How a B2B platform earns
Not consumer commission — trade buyers will not absorb 15% and suppliers will route around you. What works: a monthly subscription per supplier for the ordering portal and its seats, a small transaction fee of 1-3% where you handle payment, catalogue or listing fees for suppliers wanting reach, and sponsored placement in category search. Many Philippine B2B platforms are simply sold as software to the distributor, and that is often the honest answer.