The short answer
Use CeramicPortal’s Admin tools to manage your business records and the Buyer App to browse a connected supplier’s assigned catalogue and place an order. A retailer running its own showroom is a different use case from that same business ordering from a wholesaler.
Keep these in mind
- Choose the tool from the task and business context.
- Buyer ordering is distinct from running a showroom’s own sales.
- Test the retailer view separately from Admin access.
Start with the person’s job
The word retailer can refer to a showroom owner selling to a walk-in customer or to a business buying from a supplier. Those are different jobs, even when the same person performs both during a day.
Ask what the person needs to do now. Do they need to manage their own sales, products and records? Or do they need to request tiles from a connected supplier? That question is more helpful than choosing an app based only on the business’s label.
Compare the responsibilities
| Task | Admin / own business tools | Connected Buyer App |
|---|---|---|
| Maintain the business’s master products | Responsible team reviews the records. | Browses the supplier-assigned catalogue. |
| Set retailer product access and rates | Supplier team controls the assignments. | Receives the assigned view. |
| Send a request to a supplier | Review the relevant buying workflow. | Select products and quantities, then place the order. |
| Handle a received retailer request | Supplier team reviews and continues the work. | Tracks the request within the available app workflow. |
| Manage sales documents and reports | Business team uses the permitted tools. | Does not replace the supplier’s Admin responsibilities. |
Follow one supplier–retailer relationship
- The supplier prepares the retailer’s customer record and contact details.
- The supplier reviews which products and rate list that retailer should receive.
- The retailer signs in with the recorded mobile number and one-time code.
- The retailer browses the connected supplier’s catalogue and submits a request.
- The supplier finds the request in Admin, reviews it and chooses the relevant next action.
Keep showroom selling separate from supplier ordering
Buyer access should not be confused with a subscription for running the showroom’s own business. When comparing Retail, Distribution or Retail + Distribution plans, choose according to the workflows your organization operates, then review the current capacity and terms on the pricing page.
If the same organization performs both showroom selling and retailer supply, discuss the combined arrangement. Do not assume that using two sales contexts should create two unrelated master catalogues.
Test the correct person’s view
A supplier’s Admin screen cannot prove what a connected retailer sees. Test the Buyer App using the intended supplier relationship and a known product. Confirm the catalogue, rate and submitted request before rolling it out to more people.
Likewise, a successful Buyer App order does not demonstrate a staff member’s permission to change business records. Review the role and task separately when assigning internal access.
Use a clear first-use handover
Tell each person which task their access is for, how to recognise the correct business or supplier context, and whom to contact for help. Keep account credentials and one-time codes private.
During a demo, ask to see the same request from the buyer’s side and the supplier’s side. That makes responsibility easier to understand than presenting both interfaces as interchangeable apps.
Common questions
Does Buyer App access replace showroom business software?
No. Ordering from a connected supplier and managing the showroom’s own sales are different use cases.
Can a retailer use more than one connected supplier?
Where multiple supplier relationships are configured, the retailer can switch between them in the app.
Explore the relevant workflow
Put the explanation in context.
Product education from CeramicPortal. Examples are illustrative unless identified as recorded product evidence. The available actions depend on your account and assigned access.