Chapter 3 — Commerce & WPA customer portal(Tutorial example at the end)
Why this chapter matters
Commerce is where you maintain “what you sell, to whom, at what price, and order status” in the console. WPA (customer portal) is a separate browser site where your customers browse categories, add to cart, and check orders — distinct from internal admin screens, closer to a normal web shop.
Examples:
- An importer maintains product lists and price lists so different customers see contract-specific prices.
- A restaurant supplier opens WPA so partner restaurants can order overnight; delivery cut-off rules schedule fulfilment.
- For a product launch, set WPA homepage promotions so customers see the campaign on login.
- To restrict who can sign in, use WPA permission management to allow specific contacts or accounts.
3.1 Commerce (admin console)
Items live under left menu Commerce; if you do not see an item, your role has not been granted that feature — ask an administrator.
| Menu name | In plain terms |
|---|---|
| Sales orders | Create and track orders, lines, and status. |
| Customer master | Maintain customers who buy from you. |
| Price lists | Define pricing rules or price cards per customer segment. |
| Product collections | Group products for merchandising or campaigns. |
| Product catalogue | Maintain names, codes, images, stock or shelf status, etc. |
| Delivery cut-off rules | Define same-day vs next-day by order time, special delivery days, etc. |
| WPA homepage ads | Banners or promo blocks on the customer portal home. |
| Data exchange | Bulk import products or related data via spreadsheets (per UI). |
| Meta catalogue management | More advanced catalogue structure (depends on modules enabled). |
| WPA permission management | Which contacts or accounts may log in to the customer portal. |
Add one product (example)
- Commerce → Product catalogue.
- Click Add, fill name, code, price-related fields, upload an image if needed.
- Set sellable / active state, then save.
Bulk import
- Commerce → Data exchange.
- If a template exists, download it, fill columns per instructions, upload.
- Fix any error rows the UI reports, then import again.
3.2 WPA customer portal (for your customers)
WPA is a separate website: customers sign in with your dedicated link, browse categories, add to cart, and review past orders. Changes you make in Commerce (prices, products) flow through to this site (timing depends on the system).
Typical customer screens (names may vary):
- Sign-in / forgot password: first-time access after you invite them; they set their own password.
- Home: promotions or featured entry points.
- Categories & product list: browse or search.
- Cart: adjust quantities, then checkout or submit an order (per your company rules).
- Order history: past orders and fulfilment status.
- Account settings: update contact info or password.
If a customer cannot sign in or see products: check WPA permission management that they are allowed, and confirm they use your company’s correct portal URL (from your service contact).
TutorialExample: sales quotes / orders and delivery coordination (diagram 2)
Quotes / orders: after you maintain product catalogue, price lists, and customer master, customers can self-serve via WPA and raise sales orders; or in chat you can use the designer’s Institution ordering cart node so they pick and submit inside WhatsApp (maps to “AI sales quote / order”).
Delivery & proof: after an order exists, flows can use Send template / Message for status, plus Request location or Wait for reply for proof of receipt (“AI logistics coordinator”).
How the product ties together: Commerce holds master and order data; WPA is a separate customer-facing route; chat-side ordering is wired through workflow nodes and commerce APIs. Whether WPA or cart nodes are enabled depends on permissions and consultant setup.