B4B - Customer Portal

The Context

This portal is the final piece of the B4B ecosystem, designed for end customers:

1. Hoyostools → Main distributor
2. Businesses → Hoyostools’ clients (use the Management Panel)
3. End Customers → Businesses’ clients (use this portal)

Each business can register its customers and give them direct access to place orders, no middleman needed.

The Problem

Before the portal, end customers had to:

• Call or message their supplier to check prices and availability.
• Wait for confirmation before placing an order. This created bottlenecks for businesses, especially outside of office hours, and limited sales opportunities.

The Solution

A simple, self-service portal where each customer sees only what they can buy from their supplier:

Personalized Access

Customers log in to view:

• Their assigned catalog.
• Custom prices.
• Real-time stock levels.

Easy Product Search

• Browse by category.
• Search by name or product code.
• Filter by availability and price.

Streamlined Ordering

• Add items to cart.
• Review order details.
• Confirm and receive email confirmation. Orders go straight to the supplier’s Management Panel.

Order History

• View past orders.
• Reorder frequently purchased items.
• Track order status.

Technical Challenges

Multi-level Authentication

The system identifies:

• Which business the customer belongs to.
• Their assigned catalog and pricing.
• Their access permissions. We used JWT with custom claims to load all context at login.

Real-time Inventory

The portal checks stock from two sources:

• The business’s own inventory.
• Hoyostools’ catalog (if enabled by the business).

Performance

With thousands of products and customer-specific pricing, we optimized queries and caching for instant responses.

Results

• 24/7 ordering—no more waiting for business hours.
• Customer autonomy—check prices and stock without calling.
• More sales—businesses receive orders with less effort.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Laravel 6, shared API with the Management Panel.
• Frontend: Vue.js 2, responsive and user-friendly.
• Database: MySQL, same instance with tenant filtering.
• Infrastructure: VPS with Nginx and Let’s Encrypt SSL.