Ordering from a file:when it makes sense.

Importing an order from a spreadsheet looks like a small extra. For some buyers it is the only reason they move from email to the portal. For others it makes no difference. It is worth knowing which group your customers belong to.

Who it really helps

A file helps buyers who already have a list: from their own program, a stocktake or a construction schedule. It also helps with large, repeat orders. A customer who buys five items once a month is fine with search and a list of recent purchases.

A trap you only see during rollout

Customers put their own codes in the file, not yours. The manufacturer's number, an old code, a barcode, sometimes their own stock number. If the store recognises only one kind of number, half the lines come back unknown and the customer goes back to email.

What a good import looks like

• The file first lands in a preview or the cart, not straight in fulfilment.
• You can see which lines were recognised, which were not and why.
• Prices are calculated for this buyer before they confirm anything.
• One missing item does not block the rest of the order.
• The confirmed order lands in the same queue as all the others.

Format, the conversation you cannot skip

Agree one simple layout with key buyers: code and quantity, the rest optional. Give them a template to download. A sheet with twenty columns, of which the system reads two, confuses more than it helps.

How it looks in Torveo

In Torveo a B2B buyer uploads a CSV or XLSX file or pastes a list, and the store matches lines by product code or barcode and puts them in the cart at that buyer's prices. Next to it is a list of recently bought products to reorder from.

A file import is worth as many lines as it recognises the first time.