How to start online orders with your shops: a first-week plan

Why not move every shop at once

When a distributor decides to move to online orders, the temptation is to message every shop at the same time. It rarely works: some are afraid of anything new, some have no time, some simply prefer the phone. You end up working twice for weeks, with some orders in the system and some in chat, and everything gets harder to track.

It is much better to start small: in the first week only three to five shops, the ones that order from you most often and in the largest amounts. With them you learn what to explain, where people get stuck, and what to fix before you approach the rest.

Days 1-2: prepare the catalog and prices

A shop can only order what it sees in the system, so the catalog comes first.

Start with your 20-30 best-selling products; you do not need to upload everything at once.
For each product give a name, a unit (piece, case) and a price.
Group products into categories so a shop finds what it needs fast.
Double-check prices: if a shop sees an old price, the very first order starts an argument.

Day 3: choose the first shops

Do not just go for the biggest shops. The best candidates are the ones that:

order often, so they feel the benefit of the new way quickly;
are comfortable with a phone and already message you in a chat;
trust you and will forgive a mistake while things settle in.

Call or message them personally. A sentence or two is enough: "Besides ordering by phone, you can now order straight from the catalog on your phone. It is free for you, and you can see the status of your order."

Days 4-5: help the shop place its first order

Signing in is simple for a shop: it enters its number, receives an SMS code and, if it is the first time, fills in the shop details (name, address, location on the map). Many people hesitate at this step, so make the first order together.

Ask the shop to place an order it would have placed anyway, not a test one.
If you are on the phone, ask for a screenshot if something confuses them.
Accept the order right away and tell the shop you received it; that reassures them the system works.
Deliver it the way you always do: payment on delivery stays directly with you.

Days 6-7: review the week and decide who is next

At the end of the week ask yourself a few questions:

How many of the shops sent an order through the system?
Who got confused, and by what? That is exactly what you explain to the next shops in advance.
Did your own work change: fewer calls, less copying by hand, fewer mistakes?
Which product was missing from the catalog?

If the first shops took to it, add two or three more next week. Every new group already has a tested explanation and a ready catalog.

What to tell a shop: five main points

It is free: the shop pays nothing for the service.
Nothing gets forgotten: it sees the whole catalog and the prices, so quantity and price mistakes do not happen.
It sees the status: no need to phone to ask where the order is.
One place: one cart can also order from other suppliers, if they are in the system too.
Payment does not change: the shop still pays you on delivery.

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