How to Protect B2B Margins / The Role of the Merchant Panel
B2B companies are under increasing pressure to digitize their sales processes. Customers are becoming accustomed to buying online, competitors are moving ahead, and standing still comes at a cost. At the same time, few organizations are ready to implement a full B2B e-commerce platform straight away. Processes may not yet be standardized, adoption levels are uncertain, and sales teams can be wary of tools they perceive as a threat to their role.
Key takeaways:
- The Merchant Panel is a sales tool for sales representatives, not a customer-facing purchasing platform. It therefore does not require a move to full self-service and can be introduced without fundamentally changing the sales team’s role.
- It enables sales representatives to manage the customer journey from the initial interaction through to the final sale: accessing customer data, preparing a quotation or cart, and placing an order all during a single meeting.
- It centralizes price and discount management, giving the company greater control over margins.
- It supports multilevel discount approval workflows, the full quotation lifecycle, including automated follow-ups, and the sale of products outside the standard catalogue.
- It can be used both by companies without B2B e-commerce and by organizations that already have an e-commerce platform. In the latter case, it connects the sales representative’s quotation process with the customer’s online purchasing environment.
- It helps organize data, processes and working practices, creating a foundation for a full B2B e-commerce platform in the future.
What is the Merchant Panel?
The Merchant Panel is a digital workspace for sales representatives that enables them to manage the customer journey from the initial interaction through to the completion of a sale. Instead of returning from a meeting with notes and a list of tasks to follow up on, a sales representative can access customer data, prepare a quotation or cart, and place an order on the customer’s behalf directly during the meeting.
The solution is designed for sales teams rather than customers. This makes it a practical, gradual step towards digitizing sales processes. It does not require an organization to introduce a customer-facing self-service model, while giving sales representatives access to digital tools directly within their day-to-day work.
In a traditional sales process, a representative meets the customer, takes notes and then enters the agreed details into the system after returning to the office. This increases the risk of errors, extends the sales cycle and creates additional work for sales or customer service teams. The Merchant Panel enables representatives to work online during the meeting itself. They have access to up-to-date information and can prepare a quotation or order immediately, while the customer can approve the terms shortly after the meeting – for example, by email or directly in the system.
Why do sales representatives lose control over margins?
One of the most costly and least visible challenges in B2B sales is the loss of control over margins. When calculating final customer prices manually, often using Excel, sales representatives may rely on outdated price lists or exceed their discount authority because they do not have access to current data at the right moment.
The Merchant Panel addresses this issue by managing prices and discount permissions centrally and enforcing them within the system. Sales representatives can only offer terms that fall within the permissions assigned to them, while exceptions can follow a defined approval process.
How does the Merchant Panel handle complex price negotiations?
Without an online sales tool, a typical process looks like this: a sales representative records the customer’s requirements during a meeting and then contacts the internal customer service team, which enters the order into the system. This means that two people are involved in processing a single order, adding another step to the process.
The Merchant Panel allows the sales representative to complete the order directly during the meeting, without having to involve additional teams.
The same challenge applies to product knowledge. With product catalogues containing hundreds of thousands of SKUs in some industries, no sales representative can be expected to know the entire range. The built-in product search allows them to check product availability, specifications and sales conditions in real time and recommend the appropriate product to the customer.
An additional capability is the option to quote so-called working products items outside the standard catalogue. In distribution and construction, for example, a customer may request a product that is not currently included in the company’s catalogue but can potentially be sourced from an external supplier. The Merchant Panel allows the sales representative to prepare a quotation for such a product, with the sale being finalized once the purchasing team confirms that the product can be sourced and secured.
What happens to quotations that disappear in emails and messaging apps?
Without a central tool, quotations are created and managed across multiple channels – messaging apps, email and phone calls. This makes it difficult for an organization to monitor how many quotations have been prepared, their current status and their conversion rates. Customers may also lack clear visibility into the status of their enquiries.
The Merchant Panel centralizes the quotation process in one place, giving the organization real-time visibility into ongoing opportunities and the sales pipeline.
The solution also supports the process after a quotation has been sent. Instead of leaving sales representatives without visibility into what happens next, the tool enables them to monitor quotation status and automatically send configurable reminders to customers when no response has been received within a defined period. This keeps the quotation within a controlled sales process from preparation through to the customer’s decision.
When is the right time to implement the Merchant Panel?
The Merchant Panel can support organizations at two different stages of their development.
Scenario A – the company does not yet have B2B e-commerce
The organization is beginning to digitize its sales processes and wants to improve the way sales representatives work, but is not yet planning to introduce a full self-service model. This may be due to the nature of its products, purchasing processes or customer base. For products requiring expert advice or complex investment decisions, the sales representative often remains an important part of the purchasing process. The Merchant Panel allows the sales team’s work to be digitized without moving the entire purchasing journey to a self-service channel.
Scenario B – the company already has B2B e-commerce
Customers already use the platform and place orders independently, but sales representatives still need tools to manage more complex sales processes.
In this model, the Merchant Panel can be integrated with the e-commerce platform: the sales representative prepares a quotation, the customer receives it for approval, and once approved, the quotation can be converted into a cart or order available within the customer’s account.
This allows a process initiated by the sales representative to move seamlessly into the e-commerce channel, keeping the customer within the company’s digital ecosystem. It also creates opportunities to use additional platform capabilities such as cross-selling and upselling.
How does the Merchant Panel prepare a company for full B2B e-commerce?
The main benefit of implementing the Merchant Panel goes beyond improving the day-to-day efficiency of the sales team. The solution helps organize data, processes and working practices – precisely the areas that can create challenges for companies attempting to implement full B2B e-commerce without sufficient preparation.
Working in one system means more structured product and pricing data, a standardized discount approval process and greater visibility into the quotation pipeline. Sales representatives become accustomed to digital ways of working with quotations and orders before a customer-facing platform is introduced, helping organizations prepare their teams for the next stage of digitalization.
FAQ
Does the Merchant Panel replace a B2B e-commerce platform?
No. The Merchant Panel is a tool for sales teams, not a customer-facing purchasing platform. In companies without B2B e-commerce, it can operate as a standalone solution supporting the sales process. In organizations that already have an e-commerce platform, it complements it with a sales representative-led quotation process.
Does implementing the Merchant Panel require sales processes to be fully standardized beforehand?
Not necessarily. One of the benefits of this approach is that sales processes can be structured gradually as the solution is implemented. The Merchant Panel can centralize customer data, product information, pricing and quotation preparation and approval without requiring the entire sales process to be fully standardized before implementation.
Can the Merchant Panel be easier for sales teams to adopt than a self-service model?
The Merchant Panel does not fundamentally change the sales representative’s role in the customer relationship. The sales representative remains a direct participant in the sales process. At the same time, the solution gives them access to customer data, product information and sales functionality in one place. This reduces the number of activities performed outside the system and helps sales representatives move more efficiently from the customer meeting to the order.
Can the Merchant Panel handle very large product catalogues?
Yes. The built-in product search allows sales representatives to quickly find the right product and check its availability, even in catalogues containing hundreds of thousands of SKUs. They do not need to memorize the entire product range – they can access up-to-date product information directly during the customer conversation.
