What a 3PL client portal should show your clients

A 3PL client portal should show inventory by SKU, inbound shipments, order status with tracking, returns, and invoices with the activity behind them, because every fulfillment client eventually asks the same few questions. Where is my stock? Did my shipment arrive? Why was I charged for this? A client portal exists so they can answer those themselves, and so your account managers can stop being a search engine.

This page lists what a portal should show, in the order that tends to matter. Use it as a checklist when you review software or write requirements.

Start with the questions, not the features

Before you list screens, write down the last ten questions clients sent you by email or phone. Group them. You will probably find that most fall into five buckets: stock levels, inbound shipments, order status, returns, and money.

A portal that answers those five well beats a portal with thirty features nobody opens.

1. Inventory view

The first screen most clients open. It should show:

• Quantity by SKU, split into on hand, allocated to orders, and available.
• Location or at least warehouse, if you run more than one site.
• Lot or expiry details, for clients who ship goods that need them.
• A downloadable export, because clients will paste it into their own sheets whatever you do.

Be careful with real-time claims. Say when the figures were last updated. A client who sees "available: 40" at 9 a.m. and a different number at 10 a.m. needs to know why.

2. Inbound shipments

Clients should be able to tell you something is coming before it arrives, and then watch what happens.

• A form to create an advance notice: carrier, expected date, SKUs and quantities.
• Status as it moves: expected, arrived, being checked, received.
• A discrepancy view that lists differences between what they said was coming and what you counted.

The discrepancy view saves arguments. If the client claimed 100 cartons and you counted 96, the portal should show 96, who counted, and when, with a way to add a note or photo.

3. Orders

• A list of orders with status: received, allocated, picked, packed, shipped.
• Tracking numbers and carrier links once shipped.
• A way to upload orders in bulk, if the client does not use a storefront connection.
• A way to request a cancel or an address change, with a clear note that these are requests, since a picked order cannot always be stopped.

Show exceptions plainly. "Held: address could not be validated" is more useful than a status of "processing".

4. Returns

Returns are where clients feel least informed.

• A list of expected returns and what has arrived.
• The result of inspection and what you did with each item: restocked, held, discarded, sent back.
• Photos where the condition mattered.

Without this, the client's customer service team sends your team a message for every return.

5. Billing

A client who can see the activity behind an invoice rarely disputes it.

• Invoices with line items, not only totals.
• The storage count or activity log that produced each charge.
• Payment status and how to pay.
• A way to ask a question about one line, attached to that line.

Billing detail is also the part owners worry about showing. If your charges are hard to explain, the portal makes that visible. That can be uncomfortable, and it is also a good reason to fix the charge.

6. Users and permissions

A client's warehouse manager and their finance person should not see the same things.

• Several users per client account.
• Roles, such as view only, operations, billing.
• A record of who changed what.
• A way to remove a user when someone leaves, without calling you.

Check how access is priced. Some tools charge by user, which means every extra login a client wants costs someone money.

7. Documents and notices

• Signed contract and rate card.
• Standard operating notes for that client: labeling rules, packing instructions, carrier preferences.
• Notices of planned downtime or holiday schedules.

Putting packing instructions in the portal, next to the client's SKUs, also helps your own team find them.

What to leave out of a first version

A portal can try to be everything. For a first release, these can wait:

• Dashboards with many charts.
• Custom report builders.
• Chat inside the portal. Email works.
• Anything that requires clients to learn a new process before they get value.

Questions to ask when you evaluate one

1. Can each client see only their own data, and how is that enforced?
2. Can the client create advance notices and orders, or only view them?
3. Is every figure traceable to the transaction behind it?
4. How are users charged? Per user, per client, flat?
5. Can I show my own name and logo, or does the client see someone else's brand?
6. What does the client see when something goes wrong?

Test the last one with a deliberate error. Create an order with a bad address and see what the client would be told.

Subscription or custom build

Most 3PLs buy portal features as part of a subscription. A custom build is one option next to buying subscription software: one-time custom build, no per-seat, per-truck or per-client fees. Whichever route you choose, the checklist above applies equally. Ask for the same screens, test the same errors.

Next step

Pull the last ten client questions and tick off which of the seven areas above would have answered them. The areas with the most ticks are your portal's first release.

Questions people ask

What should a 3PL client portal show?

It should show inventory by SKU, inbound shipments with discrepancies, order status with tracking, returns and inspection results, and invoices with the activity behind them. It also needs users with roles, and documents.

What can wait in a first version of a client portal?

Dashboards with many charts, custom report builders, chat inside the portal, and anything that makes clients learn a new process before they get value can wait.

How do I decide what a portal needs first?

Write down the last ten questions clients sent you, group them, and tick off which portal areas would have answered them. The areas with the most ticks are your first release.

What should I ask when evaluating a client portal?

Ask whether each client sees only their own data, whether clients can create notices and orders, and whether every figure traces to a transaction. Also ask how users are charged, whether you can show your own brand, and what the client sees when something goes wrong.

What is a 3PL client portal?

A place where clients answer their own questions, such as where their stock is, whether a shipment arrived and why they were charged, so account managers do not have to.