How do I set up a B2B wholesale platform for my business?

Before you build, define the structure of your wholesale ecommerce experience. Identify the customer segments (trade buyers, distributors, VIP accounts), product tiers, minimum order quantities, and pricing models. This clarity flows directly into your Chatref workspace setup.

• Map out your buyer journeys: from login to bulk ordering, quotation requests, and reorders.
• Gather the content your agent will need: product specs, wholesale price sheets, shipping policies, and account application forms.
• Decide how you’ll handle user roles and permissions inside your ecommerce platform - these will later align with Chatref workspaces for segmented support.

A well-planned wholesale platform configuration ensures your AI agent answers accurately from day one and scales with your catalog.

Get your business content into Chatref so the agent speaks your language. The onboarding flow is built for operators who need to go live fast.

1. Create a workspace in Chatref for your wholesale platform. Workspaces let you segment training data by buyer tier or region, so a VIP distributor sees different responses than a small reseller.
2. Upload your documents - PDF catalogs, pricing guides, order-form instructions, FAQ pages. Chatref ingests them instantly; no coding required.
3. Test the agent in the live playground with real wholesale questions (e.g., "What’s your MOQ for stainless fasteners?") before embedding it on your store.

The entire onboarding process typically takes minutes, not days, giving you a knowledgeable sales assistant that actually knows your inventory and terms.

Your wholesale platform deserves a consistent, professional feel. Chatref’s customization tools put full control over the look and behavior in your hands.

• Brand colors and logo: Set your primary color and upload your logo so the widget appears as a native part of your wholesale store.
• Greeting and tone: Craft the opening message and define the voice - formal and detailed for B2B buyers, exactly the way you’d speak in a trade show.
• Lead capture forms: Collect prospect details right in the chat, turning casual site visitors into qualified wholesale leads.

All customization is included with every Chatref account. No extra fees for branding removal.

The final step is adding the Chatref website widget to your wholesale ecommerce platform. It’s a single snippet of code that works on any site.

• Copy the embed code from your Chatref workspace.
• Paste it into your platform’s header or theme settings (Shopify, BigCommerce, custom-built stores all work).
• Set the allowed origins to restrict the widget to your domain, securing your content.
• Your AI agent will begin answering buyer questions immediately, grounded in the product knowledge you uploaded.

With the widget live, you’re setting up a b2b ecommerce help layer that deflects routine queries, lets your sales team focus on high-value deals, and never hallucinates answers - perfect for wholesale platform configuration.

Steps to configure a B2B wholesale platform

1. Choose your ecommerce foundation (Shopify Plus, BigCommerce B2B, Magento, etc.) and enable native wholesale features like customer-specific pricing and bulk ordering.
2. Map your buyer hierarchy and product catalog; create customer groups and price lists.
3. Onboard your training content into Chatref workspaces so an AI agent can handle sales queries from day one.
4. Customize the Chatref widget to match your brand and embed it on your storefront.
5. Test the full buyer flow - login, browsing, adding to cart, and agent-assisted checkout - then activate the live widget.

How to customize your wholesale platform

Customization comes in two layers. First, use your ecommerce platform’s theme editor to design product pages, checkout, and navigation. Second, use Chatref’s branding panel to tailor the AI chat widget: apply your color palette, upload your logo, set a custom greeting, and configure lead capture forms. Both layers work together to create a cohesive, high-touch B2B experience without development overhead.

Setting up user roles and permissions

Within your wholesale ecommerce system, define roles such as Admin, Sales Rep, and Wholesale Buyer. Restrict access to price lists, catalogs, and order history per group. Chatref complements this with workspaces: assign different buyer segments to separate workspaces so the AI agent maintains conversation context and offers tier-appropriate information. This alignment keeps your data secure and support relevant.

Integrating payment gateways

Payment gateway integration happens at the platform level - not inside Chatref. Connect your gateway (Stripe, Authorize.net, PayPal, etc.) to your wholesale store through the platform’s settings. Once live, you can train Chatref’s agent on your payment terms, accepted methods, and checkout instructions. The agent will guide buyers through the payment process, reducing cart abandonment while the transaction itself stays securely within your ecommerce infrastructure.