Trade ordering is the backbone of the hardware industry — but for many businesses, the process hasn’t changed in decades. Phone calls, handwritten dockets, and email chains remain the norm. These methods are familiar, but they’re also slow, error-prone, and increasingly out of step with how builders and tradies expect to do business.
Meanwhile, attempts to adapt retail e-commerce platforms have often fallen short. Trade orders are complex: they require account-specific pricing, multi-jobsite deliveries, and fast, mobile-first interactions. Traditional online shopping systems simply don’t fit the realities of trade.
That’s why modernising trade ordering is no longer optional. It’s essential.
In this whitepaper, we explore:
- Why traditional trade ordering is under pressure
- The limitations of retail e-commerce in a trade context
- The design principles for a modern ordering framework
- The broader benefits of digitisation — from reducing errors to building customer loyalty
This isn’t just about technology. It’s about rethinking how the hardware industry connects with its most important customers: builders and tradies.