Dealer portal development: features and approach

For many manufacturers, having a dealer portal built is the step from emailing and calling to a network that serves itself. Anyone who works with dozens or hundreds of dealers, distributors or resellers knows the pattern: everyone asks for the latest price list, product photos or brochures, and nobody knows for sure which version a dealer is using. In this article you will read what a dealer portal is, which features belong in it and how to approach it sensibly.

What is a dealer portal?

A dealer portal is a protected online environment where dealers log in to find what they need to sell your products themselves. Think of marketing material, product information, price lists, technical documentation, training and orders. Instead of emailing and searching through shared folders, a dealer logs in and has the right file within seconds.

Why a dealer portal and not a shared folder?

A dealer portal gives you structure, control and insight that a shared folder does not offer. A link to a shared folder works as long as your network is small. After that you run into limits: you do not know who downloads what, you cannot restrict material per dealer and you never know whether someone is still using an old price list.

• Structure: everything logically organised and searchable.
• Control: dealer A sees different prices from dealer B, and some materials are only for certain partners.
• Insight: you see who logs in, what is downloaded and what people search for.
• Professionalism: a portal shows that you take your network seriously.

Which features does every dealer portal need?

Every dealer portal needs at least accounts with login, a searchable library of material, downloading and a place for news and updates.

Accounts. Dealers are given an account or request one. Logging in must be secure and simple, including password recovery.

Library. All materials in one place, organised by product, type and language. You can read how to set up such a library properly in building an asset library.

Search and download. Search by product name, filter by type and download multiple files at once.

News and updates. New products, price changes and campaigns, with a notification for the dealers for whom it is relevant.

Which extended features are possible?

Depending on your network, you can expand with roles, approvals, ordering, training, statistics and multiple languages.

• Roles and levels: premium partners see more than new dealers, inside sales sees different information from the showroom.
• Approval: new dealers only get access after approval by your team.
• Ordering or requesting quotes, connected to your stock and ERP or CRM.
• Training: videos, product knowledge and certifications. Better trained dealers sell better.
• Statistics: which dealers are active, which material is popular and where the gaps are.
• Multilingual support for international networks, with material per language and per country.

How do you manage permissions per dealer?

You manage permissions per dealer by dividing dealers into groups, for example by country, level or product line, and defining per group which content and prices are visible. Setting permissions per individual dealer quickly becomes unmanageable. With groups, you add a new dealer and they automatically get the right access. For exceptions you can add to this at dealer level. You manage all of this in an admin panel.

Where does the product information come from?

Ideally, product information comes from one central source, so that the portal, your website and your other channels always show the same data. Many manufacturers manage specifications, images and documents in different places. The dealer portal then quickly shows different information from the website. With a PIM system you record product data once and use it to feed all channels. That also makes a dealer portal easier to maintain.

How do we build a dealer portal?

We build a dealer portal with the technology that fits the size of your network and the features you need. We build the front end in Webflow if the portal ties in closely with your website, or in Next.js when there is a lot of logic. Data, login and permissions run on Supabase or Xano. Files are stored and delivered via Uploadcare. For large libraries we add a specialised search service.

For a portal that is mainly about campaign material for sales partners, also take a look at a marketing portal.

What do the costs of a dealer portal depend on?

The costs depend on the number of dealers and user groups, the amount of material, the number of languages and the connections with your existing systems. A portal with a library and simple permissions is more manageable than a portal with ordering, training and connections to ERP and CRM. The migration of existing material also counts.

How do you get started with a dealer portal?

Start with your dealers. Ask what they run into, what they cannot find now and what costs them time. Start with the features that deliver the most, usually the library with search and permissions, and expand after that. Better to go live quickly with the core than to wait months for a complete system. Read more about our approach on the dealer portal page and about our clients in manufacturing. If you would like to discuss your network, please get in touch.