Logistics & Global Supply Chain
From Phone Orders To A Self-Serve Ordering System
Vantage Group Digital built and now runs the trade ordering system behind Ternary Safety Solutions' wholesale business, turning phone and email ordering into a store where trade accounts order themselves, at their own prices, across a catalogue of more than 50,000 lines growint steadily. Multiple supplier catalogues consolidated into one store, over 50,000 SKUs live and priced.
50,000+ SKUs under management
50,000+
SKUs under management
20+
Suppliers Connected
50+ hrs
Time save p/m
Ternary is an Indigenous led PPE and safety supplier in Eagle Farm, Queensland, selling into energy, utilities and construction. The demand was there. The ordering wasn't.
Every order arrived by phone or email. Every price was worked out by hand against a spreadsheet, per customer, per line. Stock sat across more than 20 supplier ranges, so a single customer order could mean chasing several companies before anything shipped. And the accounts on the other end were serious buyers whose procurement teams expect to order from a system, not a phone number.
The problem wasn't winning customers. It was that every order cost admin hours.
We built the commerce layer on the Shopify store Ternary already had, so nothing was thrown away and retail kept running alongside trade.
The catalogue came first. More than 20 supplier ranges were imported, cleaned, tagged and priced into a single store. Not simply loaded, but structured: correct categorisation, consistent product data and search that finds the part, because a catalogue buyers can navigate is a catalogue they order from.
Then the accounts. Each trade customer was set up with its own price list, payment terms and credit arrangement, so every account sees its own pricing, orders on net terms and never rings up to ask what something costs.
Then the ways they order. Buyers don't all order the same way, so the store takes it however suits them: browse and add to cart, upload a purchase order, or drop in a CSV or ordering sheet and have it turn into an order. Where a buyer needs a price first, quotes are generated automatically and convert straight to an order once accepted.
Then the orders. Because stock sits across many suppliers, orders route automatically. A single customer order splits into separate purchase orders to the right supplier for each line, and flows through to Xero so invoicing and reconciliation aren't a second job. What used to be an afternoon of coordination happens at checkout.