B2B in the Hardware Sector: The Way to Open Thousands of Products to Dealers

What is B2B in the Hardware Industry?

In the hardware industry, B2B refers to wholesalers, importers, and distributors shifting their sales to their dealer and hardware store networks from telephone, WhatsApp, and field visits to an online ordering channel. The sector faces four unique challenges: catalogs with thousands of items, numerous sizes and packaging variations of the same product, frequently changing prices, and low-value but frequent orders.

In this structure, it's common for a sales representative to spend the day reading prices over the phone, or for a dealer to place an order with an outdated list. The B2B portal displays this traffic on the screen, showing each dealer their own price and current stock.

In hardware, the main job of B2B is to transform thousands of items into a catalog that retailers can find with a few clicks.

Trizbi is a B2B dealer management software that integrates with its own ERP infrastructure and manages dealers' order, inventory, accounts receivable, and collection processes on a single platform. Designed for businesses with dealer, distributor, or wholesale customer networks, Trizbi's B2B Dealer Portal allows each dealer to view their own prices, control inventory, place orders 24/7, and track their accounts receivable. We explained the general structure of the online ordering channel in our articles "What is a B2B Portal?" and " Digitalization in Wholesale Sales ".

How to Make Thousands of Products Available to Retailers? 6 Steps

To make thousands of products available to dealers, it's first necessary to import catalog data into the system in bulk, then define pricing and ordering rules on a dealer-by-dealer basis, and finally automate the process of helping dealers find what they're looking for and handling announcements.

1. Import the catalog in bulk. Entering thousands of items individually takes months; products must be imported in bulk from supplier files or the existing system. With Trizbi, you can import and export products via XML, and automatically transfer up-to-date product prices and stock information from your suppliers to your inventory. There is no quantity limit for product entry ( Advanced Product Management , Integrations ).

2. Establish your product structure. In the hardware sector, there are many variations of the same product in terms of size, color, and packaging. A group, category, brand, and variant structure allows the retailer to find the right item. At Trizbi, products are classified by group and category, brands are defined, and sub-products are added by creating a variant structure based on variables such as color and size. The product card includes the product and manufacturer code, currency, VAT rate, and quantity per box; products can be automatically added and removed on specified dates.

3. Define pricing and discount rules. Each dealer's price list and discounts must be defined in the system once and applied automatically to orders. Trizbi creates personalized price lists for each dealer, and currency-specific price lists are used as needed; discounts are defined generally, by brand, group, and category ( Dealer Management , Campaign and Price Management ).

4. Define the ordering rules. Minimum and maximum order quantities, the products visible to each dealer, and shipping conditions should be clearly defined on a dealer-by-dealer basis. At Trizbi, minimum and maximum order quantities are customized for each dealer, and the products and pages each dealer sees are determined. Custom shipping calculations can be arranged for each dealer; dealers without custom calculations will be presented with a standard shipping price list.

5. Make it easy for dealers to find what they're looking for. Searching and filtering thousands of products is a key factor in determining order processing time. At Trizbi, dealers can easily access products using search and filter options. With the multi-cart feature, they can create multiple carts simultaneously and track orders for different branches, customers, or product groups from a single screen.

6. Automate announcements and campaigns. Price changes, new product and stock information should be communicated to dealers in bulk via the system, not individually by phone. At Trizbi, dealer announcements such as new product announcements, price changes, and shipping processes are made via notifications; bulk SMS messages are sent about price reductions, stock decreases, or out-of-stock products. Campaigns such as discounts on selected products, discount coupons, and discounts on shopping limits are defined according to the target audience.

What are the benefits of B2B in the hardware industry?

The biggest benefit is that numerous small orders can be taken without consuming the sales team's time; this is followed by up-to-date pricing, the right items, and measurable promotions.

• Phone and message traffic decreases: Price, stock, and "is this product available?" questions are answered on the portal.

• Small orders become profitable: Frequent orders of low value are taken from the hardware store without wasting staff time.

• Price updates are done all at once: The changed price is reflected to all dealers simultaneously; there is no risk of ordering with the old list.

• The right item, the right quantity: Variant and packaging information is displayed on the screen, reducing the likelihood of ordering the wrong size or missing quantity.

• Sales continue 24/7: Even after the dealer closes their shop, they can still place orders for the next day.

• Campaigns become measurable: The system tracks which orders came from which campaign.

At Trizbi, stock levels are automatically updated with purchases and orders, and stocks are tracked on a warehouse basis across multiple warehouses ( Warehouse and Stock Management ). Sales representatives visiting hardware stores can instantly see the stock status and place orders in seconds using the Trizbi Mobile field sales application, available on iOS and Android. The number of orders received for each product on which dates, and the total orders per sales representative, are reported in Order Management analytics; orders benefiting from campaigns are also monitored separately.

How to Choose B2B Software for Hardware?

When choosing B2B software for hardware, the key factor is its ability to handle the size and rate of change of the catalog. A system without bulk data transfer, variant structure, and dealer-based ordering rules creates a manual maintenance burden for thousands of items. When evaluating, you can look at the following criteria and their equivalents in Trizby:

To delve deeper into the inventory side, you can refer to our article on Inventory Management Strategies ; for the general framework of B2B sales, our guide on What is B2B E-Commerce?; and for the collections side, our article on What is a Dealer Collection System?.

Industry Example: Dealer Sales with a Comprehensive Catalog

The challenges of selling to a dealer network with a catalog of thousands of pen holders are largely similar across sectors. The experience of two companies using Trizbi paints a picture close to the problems faced by hardware wholesalers:

Sincanlı Tractor: Over 40,000 items

Sincanlı, a tractor spare parts company operating in all 81 provinces of Türkiye, had a catalog exceeding 40,000 SKUs across 24 branches by 2022, according to its success story, with an average of 200 new items added to stock each month. Sincanlı began using Trizbi B2B and ERP solutions for website management, customer relationship management (CRM), product management, and dealer management. According to the success story, website management saw nearly a 100% improvement, and the seamless operation of online integrations significantly reduced workload.

Read Sincanlı's success story . For industry details: Dealer Management in the Spare Parts Sector.

Era Balloon: Extensive distribution network

Era Balon, a company serving balloons and party supplies with a wide distribution network both domestically and internationally, needed to centralize its order management, inventory tracking, and payment processes in a secure system. With Trizbi, dealers were able to place orders quickly and securely through their assigned membership system, and inventory tracking was possible in real time. According to the success story, website management improved by almost 100%.

Read the Era Balloon success story · All references

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to enter thousands of products into the system one by one?

No. In Trizbi, you can import and export products via XML, and automatically add up-to-date product prices and stock information from your suppliers to your inventory. There is no quantity limit for product entry.

Can I define the number of items per box and the order quantity?

Yes. In Trizbi, the quantity per box is defined on the product card; minimum and maximum order quantities can also be determined separately for each retailer.

Prices change frequently; how do I inform dealers?

At Trizbi, price changes and new product announcements are sent via notifications. You can also inform dealers about price reductions, stock shortages, or out-of-stock products via bulk SMS.

Can I give prices in different currencies?

Yes. On Trizbi, the currency is defined on the product card, and currency-specific price lists can be created as needed.

Can dealers prepare multiple orders simultaneously?

Yes. With Trizbi's multi-cart feature, dealers can create multiple carts simultaneously and track orders for different branches, customers, or product groups from a single screen.