Frequently asked questions

The only solution that integrates directly into your suppliers to provide real-time price and stock availability of everything they sell.

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What is The Marketplace?

The Marketplace is a site that connects you to all your suppliers in one place, making your life easier. You can now search for all listed IT and Office products across all suppliers, comparing pricing and stock availability instantly, with the ability to quote and order more efficiently and effectively than ever before. You remain in control of your pricing and profit. South Africa’s largest resellers use The Marketplace to help scale their business - it’s the solution you've been looking for.

Who can use The Marketplace?

This is a trade only site. It's built for the IT and office products reseller. You have to have accounts with distributors / suppliers to access the site. Whether you are a one man reseller, or the largest reseller, you will have access to the same features.

How much does it cost?

It's FREE to use, but to access the full quoting and ordering module, you will need to sign up for the Premium version. The Marketplace can revolutionise your business. The great thing is that you quote and order IT products every day, so you can quickly evaluate the benefits. We’ve made pricing so simple: A monthly fee per user, no setup costs, no hidden costs, no contracts, and the ability to cancel anytime. You simply carry on using the software.

Is there a demo?

We offer webinars, videos, guides and other support. Otherwise simply sign up. No obligation, seriously.

How long does it take to set up?

It takes a couple of minutes. Simply sign up and you can get started searching and looking through the over one million products. Create your quote template and you can get quoting; then add your supplier account numbers and you can start ordering. We’ve made it so simple to get going.

Who has access to my information?

We pride ourselves on the security we have built around the software. Your data is highly confidential and we will never share any of your customers, quotes, orders, margins etc with anyone, no matter what. Your trust in our solution is all we have and we would never jeopardise that under and any circumstances.

Who does the pricing of the products available on the site?

All product pricing on the site is published by each individual distributor, based on your pricing terms from them. The Marketplace has no ability to change the pricing from the supplier that is being displayed. Each distributor is responsible for uploading the correct pricing for you. If you feel that pricing is incorrect, please let us know immediately and we will work with you and the supplier to make sure you always get the best available pricing. The pricing on the site can be cheaper than the price you get when calling the distributor as the cost to service you through The Marketplace is cheaper than when you call or mail them. This is dependent on the individual supplier and may vary from time to time.

How do I find products and the best pricing?

The great thing about The Marketplace is that we’ve made it easy for you to search and navigate the site to find exactly what you're looking for, and to compare pricing and stock availability from all suppliers on one page. We standardise on vendor product codes and names, but suppliers often use different codes for the same product to confuse you and make comparing difficult. We’ve built an algorithm to uncover this, to make sure you're comparing apples with apples.

Will I see my pricing from all suppliers immediately?

No, in this market different resellers pay different prices for the same product from the same supplier – which is often determined by how much you spend with your suppliers. In order to get your pricing you need to complete your distribution settings page. This will prompt the suppliers to upload your pricing. However, we also provide a guide of trade prices on our product detail page for all registered users to help you get started. We work with you to get the best pricing, because we understand that price is important. The more you buy, the better your pricing becomes.

Can I try it out?

Absolutely. We offer a free, no obligation version that shows you the lowest prices for stock and availability. No setup costs, just register.

Are the prices I see here the same as on the supplier's website?

The prices you see are your personalised, negotiated prices according to your agreements with your suppliers. Sometimes the pricing on The Marketplace may actually be cheaper. The major advantage is that you can see multiple suppliers' prices for the same product, in a single view. It even recommends the cheapest in stock price for you automatically. So you don’t need to phone or mail each supplier every time you need a quote or need to order. If the pricing is not correct, please contact us immediately.

I don’t buy from distribution. Can I still use The Marketplace?

No. The suppliers have to approve your application for you to see pricing - so if you are not a reseller, you will not get approved by suppliers to see prices.

What products can I find on The Marketplace?

IT hardware, software and office products are our key areas; however, we are constantly reviewing and expanding the range of suppliers. If you are involved in another area, we may still be able to help.

How many suppliers have you got set up? If mine is not included, can it be added?

Pretty much all the bigger suppliers in South Africa are listed on The Marketplace. If they’re not, and you would like to add them, let us know and we’ll get them on board ASAP.

I can’t find the product I'm looking for?

We receive price lists every 15 minutes from suppliers, with all their products and pricing for you. From time to time they do miss some products, which then don’t come through to us. We have a dedicated team that works through all the price lists to ensure you don’t miss out on anything. Please be sure to alert us immediately of any missing SKUs, so that we can contact the relevant supplier and get you the product and pricing straight away.

How long does it take to get set up?

The distributors normally set you up within 48 hours of your application.

Who updates existing pricing and adds new pricing?

We maintain and create all the content for new products coming into the market. Each supplier is then responsible for ensuring they have sent us the correct pricing and stock information to consolidate and publish for you.

What quote does my customer receive?

You own the customer relationship, all quotes come from you. On your settings page, you can create a personalised quote that will be your quote template. You determine your markup and price to provide your customer. The Marketplace pricing algorithm helps you quickly find the supplier with the best price and with stock available.

What is Quick Quote?

Quick Quote is a helpful feature that enables you to quote quicker and more accurately than ever before. If you know the product SKU, you simply enter it and The Marketplace pricing algorithm goes to work populating your quote with the best price and supplier details. All you then need to do is add your markup. It has never been this quick and easy.

How do I manage all my quotes?

There's a quote dashboard, where all your quotes are stored for you to access at any time. You can edit, resend, and review your pipeline and profit. What’s even more helpful is the fact that you can convert any quote directly to an order with one click.

Can I customise my quote?

At the moment we have a standard quote template to get you going. You can still add your company logo, addresses, message, and terms and conditions - so your quote will look professional, and unique to you. Look out for new templates coming soon.

Can I add my own services to a quote?

This is a key feature to the quoting module. We understand that you may want to add services, labour, delivery and more - so you can add these line items with pricing to your quote. See the learning video for more information around adding no-stock items to quote.

Can I still apply for special bid pricing?

Big deals are important - we encourage you to contact your suppliers directly for special bids on big deals. This is exactly why we built The Marketplace for you, so you can attend to your run rate business quickly and efficiently, and then spend time chasing the big deals and being in front of your customers. You can then adjust your cost price accordingly.

How are my orders managed?

You can now create a single order that can go to multiple suppliers at once - we do that heavy lifting in the background for you. Remember that we are helping you get your orders to all your suppliers quicker and more efficiently than ever before. But it's up to the supplier to accept the orders once we get it to them.

Where do my orders go and who do I pay?

The Marketplace is a conduit for you to place orders with your existing suppliers easier than ever before. So when you order, you create a purchase order number, add it to your order, and we’ll send it to the supplier automatically – it doesn’t matter if there's more than one supplier per order. We are integrated into the suppliers' ERP, so no more waiting for orders to be captured and processed at the supplier. We input the order directly in their system for quick and accurate execution. You will then receive a statement and copies of PODs from each supplier like you always do. We just make sure that the experience is so much less painful.

How does shipping work?

This depends on the supplier and your relationship with them. The default is shipping to your shipping address where you can consolidate and ship to your customer on your paperwork, allowing you to control the customer experience. We are also able to do drop shipping, when your suppliers send products directly to your customers. You, the reseller, still have a direct relationship with your customer, you still invoice and collect cash from them – it’s only the delivery that gets done by the supplier.

Is it completely automatic?

It can be, but if you wish, you can manually approve orders, select suppliers or even choose to consolidate selected orders. You can even send orders to suppliers through your own system and not use our order function. We allow you to continue working as you currently do – just better.

Can I track orders?

Order status and tracking information is automatically returned to our system allowing you to always know exactly what is happening to the orders you have placed. This information is provided by the supplier directly into the system and is dependent on the supplier capability.

What if my suppliers do not accept electronic orders?

The system sends out PDF purchase orders by email to these suppliers, with the ability for them to confirm receipt. This keeps the process efficient for you – it is the supplier who carries the cost of not supporting efficient systems. Since status and tracking information may not be supported by these suppliers, you can set up the system to assume the order is delivered or manually mark orders as complete. We are working hard to get all suppliers on board with these efficient, modern systems.

What if I don’t have an account with a supplier that sells a specific product?

We understand that you don’t have accounts open everywhere, its an admin nightmare. So although we encourage you to open accounts with all suppliers you can still quote and order from The Marketplace itself. If you have to complete an order quickly. There is an additional margin we charge to cover costs of managing this for you.

Can I have a webstore where my customers can order from?

Yes, absolutely. This is an additional cost and involves set up costs. Having a webstore also requires you to have an understanding of payment gateways, SEO, e-commerce, consumer customers and shipping. Remember that you will also need to maintain margins and selling prices, and it is difficult to have different prices for different customers as your website is open to the world wide web for anyone to view. It looks easier than it is, but we can help you get up and running if you're up for the challenge. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Automation. Can I link to my existing systems?

Watch this space – we are busy opening up the API’s to partners so they can integrate systems, CRM and ERP across all software vendors.

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