The problem was not selling parts online
A conventional store assumes stable products, known prices and direct checkout. Many Comanai parts begin with a sample, drawing or obsolete reference. Identification, clarification, quotation, approval and documentation happen before a sale.
Useful context was split across conversations, spreadsheets, quotations, purchase orders, drawings and individual knowledge. The risk was not only lost time, but losing the relationship between a part, its revision, the customer and the next repeat order.
Questions that shaped the product
- Should it be a public catalog, a private portal or both?
- How can a customer request a part without knowing the exact reference?
- Is a quote accepted in full or line by line?
- How should assemblies be represented without treating them as unrelated parts?
- Which documents belong to the customer and which remain internal?
- How can prior work be reused without duplication or lost traceability?
How we approached it
- 1
Map the real journey. We followed the workflow from technical need through delivery and reorder. Catalog, quote and order could not be designed as isolated modules.
- 2
Separate roles. Customer and manager need the same history but different actions. We created connected workspaces with distinct permissions and priorities.
- 3
Complete one workflow first. The first goal was an end-to-end operation: request, quotation, purchase-order acceptance, tracking and closure.
- 4
Test the exceptions. Multi-line requests, varying quantities, assemblies, missing files, partial quotes and later changes exposed the decisions that mattered.
- 5
Turn history into an asset. Completed work feeds a technical library, so the next request begins with validated knowledge.
What changed during development
From catalog to commercial operating system
The value was not a storefront, but the connection between requests, quotations, orders, documents and progress.
From generic status to understandable milestones
One order status was not enough. Review, production, quality, shipping and delivery became visible milestones.
From individual part to product structure
Assemblies required hierarchy, quantities and documents without breaking line-level quotation.
From one-click acceptance to evidence
B2B acceptance needed the customer's purchase order linked to the exact quote version.
From archive to reusable memory
Documents became related to customers, plants, equipment, parts and previous operations rather than lost attachments.
What the live product now solves
- Centralizes technical and commercial context for every request.
- Supports catalog parts and non-catalog technical needs.
- Keeps quote revisions, acceptance and purchase orders together.
- Shows progress without relying on email chains.
- Organizes companies, plants, teams and permissions.
- Preserves documentation and history for faster reorders.
What we learned
- Digitizing is not copying the current process screen by screen.
- Exceptions reveal more than the perfect happy path.
- Traceability must be designed early.
- A B2B portal creates value by reducing questions and reconstruction, not merely by looking modern.