Case Study
We built a wholesale marketplace that puts manufacturers in front of buyers
One system, from membership approval through to orders, messaging and moderation.
What we built
Toptanfactory is a platform that brings manufacturers and wholesale buyers together. It has three user roles: manufacturer, buyer and admin. Each role has its own panel, its own permissions and its own flow. Everything runs inside the one system, from a membership application through product entry, orders and payment notification to review moderation.
- Project Duration
- 240 working days
The problem we solved
Wholesalers could not show their prices
There was nowhere to put a wholesale price, so most of the time the price was never shared at all.
Buyers could not find anywhere to buy wholesale
Someone looking to buy in bulk struggled to work out which manufacturer sold what, and who to talk to.
Units per carton and minimum orders
Wholesale does not sell by the single unit. It sells by units per carton and a minimum order quantity, and there was nowhere to state that properly.
Stock counts took work
Tracking how much of a product was left, and keeping that current, was a manual job.
Building a company profile was hard
A manufacturer had no tidy place to introduce themselves, show what they make and say where they are.
The existing applications were dated
The older applications doing this job had fallen behind, in how they looked and in how they worked.
The modules we built
Membership approval
Manufacturer and buyer applications reach the platform only after an admin approves them.
Product catalog and variants
Where products are defined and maintained together with their variants.
Category and industry structure
Products and manufacturers are classified by industry, category and subcategory.
Cart and order management
The whole flow, from placing an order through to tracking its status.
Payment notification
The step where a buyer reports their payment and an admin confirms it.
Messaging between parties
Buyers and manufacturers talk to each other inside the platform.
Reviews and moderation
Product and manufacturer reviews pass through moderation before they go live.
Bulk import from Excel
Manufacturers load their products from a file instead of entering them one by one.
Analytics and reporting
Product and manufacturer impressions, visit tracking and the admin dashboard reports.
How it runs end to end
Manufacturer
- 1Registers, and the application waits on admin approval
- 2Once approved, adds products one by one or in bulk from Excel
- 3Product images pass moderation before they go live
- 4Products are listed on the category, industry and city pages
- 5Follows incoming orders and messages from their own panel
Buyer
- 1Signs up, and sees prices once the account is approved
- 2Searches products and manufacturers by category, industry or city
- 3Saves favourites and talks to the manufacturer inside the platform
- 4Builds a cart and places the order
- 5Sends the payment notification, follows the order, leaves a review
Admin
- 1Reviews and approves manufacturer and buyer applications
- 2Checks images and reviews before either goes live
- 3Confirms payment notifications and manages order status
- 4Manages categories, campaigns and access codes
- 5Every action lands in the activity log
Frequently asked questions
Can buyers see prices without an account?
No. Prices appear only once an account is approved. A wholesaler not wanting to publish prices to the open web is the reason the platform exists.
Do manufacturers add products one at a time?
Either way. They can enter products one by one, or load them in bulk from an Excel file.
Is published content checked?
Yes. Product images and reviews pass moderation before they go live, and membership applications go through admin approval.
How many user roles are there?
Three: manufacturer, buyer and admin. Each has its own panel, its own permissions and its own flow.
Could you build a marketplace like this for us?
Yes. Platforms that connect buyers and sellers, with more than one role and an approval flow, are one of the kinds of work we do.
Facing Similar Problems?
If you have in mind a platform that connects buyers and sellers, with more than one role and an approval flow, let us talk about what it takes.
Average Response Time: 15 Minutes