Frequently Asked Questions
For Suppliers / Manufacturers
Every portal is unique to the manufacturer and requires customers to use unique logins to access the portal. Not all portals provide the same information, and the navigation is different for each one. IDEA OrdrTrak standardizes how the information is displayed creating a simple to use platform for your customers. Customer log in to one web page and are able to see information from their suppliers on one screen without having to keep up with multiple user names and passwords.
Emails are hard to manage and keep up with especially if customers are buying from multiple suppliers. Having an easy to use website where customers can go to see updates will make them more efficient and eliminate the need to search through emails to find the latest update. Order status changes frequently which makes keeping up with emails even more difficult and inefficient.
Yes. If you are providing order update information through IDEA OrdrTrak, the number of calls and emails to your customer support team will be reduced greatly allowing them to focus on other tasks.
Yes. In almost every way we look for information, one site providing many solutions is better than going to multiple sites. Project managers who are able to see multiple manufacturers on one screen will quickly realize the value and want all of their suppliers to provide data to the site. It is similar to why people visit travel websites to see all options for a trip versus going to 10 different sites and getting 10 different options. They want everything on one screen to save time.
Your customers will only see order status information like Product Number and Description, Estimated Ship Date, Actual Ship Date, Carrier and Tracking Number for their purchase orders. Customers request this information more frequently than other order related info making it extremely valuable to have real time access and eliminate the need to burden your customer service team with additional requests. This will not include inventory, pricing, invoices, or other data. IDEA OrdrTrak has the ability to provide that information to customers through this platform but requires additional collaboration with our team.
No. One connection to IDEA OrdrTrak allows all of your customers to see the order status data for their purchase orders once they set up an IDEA OrdrTrak account. They will create an account, select your company and key in their account number. This will allow them to see only their order information.
Sales reps will have access to order information placed by their distributors as well as their distributors having access to the same information. This access will greatly reduce the email and phone traffic your customer service team sees from your representatives.
A single, secure API is created by our team and links your order information to IDEA OrdrTrak. Once the connection is made, you are now connected to all of your customers through this single link. You will no longer need one to one connections with customers to provide them order status data.
The API will be unique to your company and the length of time is determined by access to your IT team. Setup is relatively easy once we get started. It can be done in as little as a day.
No. IDEA OrdrTrak is designed to connect all suppliers to all customers globally and will work for any industry or sales channel model.
Yes. Your procurement team will have access to the platform and can see updates from your suppliers for orders you place with them.
For Distributors / Resellers
Yes. If your suppliers are connected to IDEA OrdrTrak, you will be able to see the status for all of your orders on a single screen saving you time going to each manufacturer individually for updates.
The suppliers you buy from probably email you updates or have a portal for you to log into for information. Having the information from all of your supplier on one screen will allow you to easily copy/paste information into your internal system. We may also be able to assist in creating an automatic process for uploading the information directly into your system but that would require additional collaboration. If your suppliers use sales reps to market their products, if your suppliers are using IDEA OrdrTrak, you will see the same information the representative sees which will eliminate the time required to get updates on order status from the representative.
Many projects require multiple suppliers to provide all required products. If the suppliers you are using are using IDEA OrdrTrak, you simply search by the project name you used when entering the order and all manufacturers tied to the project are shown on a single screen along with the product ship status eliminating the need for you to chase down this information and allowing you to be of better service to your customers. An example of what that looks like is shown on the Demo tab on top of this page.
For each office location, an admin will be designated to setup access to the suppliers using your unique customer number along with setting up users who will be able to see the order information.
Yes. You have the ability to allow access to your customers to see the order information. Your admin simply clicks a button on the web page after your customer creates an account and they instantly get access thus reducing the emails and phone calls looking for updates.
Yes. Since it is web based, you simply login to the website on your phone or tablet and can see if an order has shipped or even track the order and see who signed for it while out of the office or on the job site.
For Sales Representatives
Yes. If your manufacturers are connected to IDEA OrdrTrak, your team will be able to see the status for all of your orders on a single screen saving you time going to each manufacturer individually for updates.
Yes. If your customers have an account with IDEA OrdrTrak, they simply log in to the website and see instant updates on their orders without needing to email or call your team to get that information
By having one website with information from everyone formatted and displayed in the same way, your customer service team becomes way more efficient in how they update your internal systems as well as locate and provide updates to customers who may need them. The information shown on the IDEA OrdrTrak platform can be copy/pasted into your internal system making it a much faster process to keeping your system up to date. The efficiency will increase every time one of your manufacturers signs up and you should encourage them to use the platform. It will also reduce the volume of requests they receive from you and your customers if the information is available to everyone in real time.
No. The one connection they make to IDEA OrdrTrak connects their data to everyone allowing everyone involved in the transaction to see the real time status of their order.
All portals are not created equal and require separate user names and passwords to keep up with. In addition, they are not designed in the same way and require learning where to go to find information. IDEA OrdrTrak displays order information for all manufacturers in exactly the same format. You can search by PO, manufacturer name, or even project name. Being able to see the information in a standard format will also allow for quick copy/paste to enter the updates into your internal system or into an email to update a customer.
No. In some cases you may have your own portal and other representatives have their own portal for updates on just the manufacturers you represent. IDEA OrdrTrak is open to all manufacturers and customers will have one login and password to see updates for all manufacturers they buy from. Customers log in to one website and see information for ALL manufacturers connected to IDEA OrdrTrak.
For End Users / Contractors
The first step is to create an account on IDEA OrdrTrak and then connect to the suppliers you buy from. If you purchase products from a distributor, reach out to them and ask if they are connected to IDEA OrdrTrak and they can simply allow you access to order status information. Any manufacturer you purchase through the distributor should also be connected to IDEA OrdrTrak so you can see updates in real time.
Yes. IDEA OrdrTrak was created to connect companies and reduce the delay in getting updates on orders. With the supply chain issues we are facing, access to real time information is critical in preventing installation delays and/or labor scheduling.
Having clear visibility to when product you ordered is going to ship is critical to operating your company efficiently. IDEA OrdrTrak was created to put order status in the palm of your hand without the need to email or call anyone for an update. Making sure the companies you are buying from provide that information through IDEA OrdrTrak is going to allow your team to provide better service to your customers., both internal and external.
Knowing when product is going to arrive is critical to scheduling installation and managing a project. In addition, once an order ships, having access to tracking information is critical to ensure product arrives on schedule and is not lost on site. All of this information will be available on IDEA OrdrTrak from the manufacturers who are connected to the platform, and the information is displayed on one screen for you to see what is shipping as scheduled and what product may be delayed. When product shipments are delayed, you can adapt quickly and not disappoint a customer or make other arrangements if product is not going to arrive on time.
Yes. Since it is web based, you simply login to the website on your phone or tablet and can see if an order has shipped or even track the order and see who signed for it while out of the office or on the job site.