Requirements live in a PDF.
Suppliers don't know which ETIM class, which mandatory features, which image format and which logistics fields the wholesaler needs — until the file is rejected.
Use case · Illustrative scenario2026
01 · TECHNICAL WHOLESALE
300 suppliers. One gate. No more Excel inbox.
A technical wholesaler for HVAC, plumbing and electrical products moves supplier data intake into a supplier portal. Every submission is checked against ETIM and house rules before it reaches the PIM — and suppliers fix only what failed.
Supplier Portal 2026 — scoping now prepares your launch.
“Three hundred suppliers, three hundred spreadsheets — and every one of them lands in someone's inbox.”
02 · Today
The PIM is only as good as what suppliers send.
The wholesaler lists around 250,000 articles from roughly 300 manufacturers — from boiler components and fittings to cable, switchgear and installation material. The shop, the counter staff and the professional customers all depend on clean, ETIM-classified data with images, data sheets and logistics information.
Suppliers deliver in whatever they have: BMEcat files of very different quality, Excel templates filled in by hand, image folders via file transfer, sometimes only price files. The master data team checks, completes and re-types. When something is missing, a category manager chases the supplier by email. When a supplier sends a corrected file, it is the whole file again.
New ranges are listed twice a year and prices change several times a year. During listing phases the backlog grows faster than the team can work it off.
| Inbound data · today | arrives | issue |
|---|---|---|
| BMEcat 2005 | Articles, ETIM features, media links | Outdated ETIM version · missing features |
| Excel template | Manual entries | Free text units · invalid GTIN |
| File transfer | Images, PDFs | No link to article |
| Price files | Prices, discount groups | No product data |
| Corrections, questions | No status · no history |
03 · Challenges
Where supplier onboarding breaks.
Errors are found late.
Invalid GTIN check digits, wrong units, missing country of origin or customs tariff number surface after import, when the master data team is already working on the record.
All or nothing.
A supplier has 80% of a new range ready. Today the file waits until everything is complete — or goes in half-checked.
The whole file comes back.
A correction means a complete re-delivery. Nobody can tell which of 4,000 rows actually changed.
ETIM completeness is invisible.
Category managers cannot see per supplier and per class how complete the data is, so they cannot prioritise follow-ups.
The team does the typing.
Skilled master data staff spend their time transferring values instead of governing the catalog.
04 · The setup
Suppliers submit. The gate decides. The PIM stays clean.
The supplier portal is the only door for inbound product data. Each supplier sees its own articles, its own requirements and its own submission history. The gate checks every record against ETIM and house rules while the supplier is still in the portal. Accepted records flow to the wholesaler's PIM, ERP and shop — as field-level deltas.
Diagram. About 300 suppliers upload XLSX, BMEcat, API data and assets into the supplier portal. Live validation, partial submission and internal review lead to accepted or rejected records; rejected SKUs return to the supplier for re-submission. Accepted data passes the gate to the wholesaler's PIM, ERP and online shop.
Completeness per supplier and ETIM class
Every record gets one of three answers
05 · Workflow
From invitation to accepted article.
- 01
Invite the supplier.
The category manager invites a supplier contact to the portal. Portal users are unlimited — every supplier, every contact, no seat cost.
- 02
Show what is required.
Per product group the supplier sees the ETIM class, mandatory features, logistics fields, image and document requirements — and downloads the matching XLSX template.
- 03
Upload and validate live.
The supplier uploads XLSX or BMEcat 2005, or pushes via API. Each record is checked immediately; errors appear per field and per SKU, while the supplier is still working.
- 04
Send what is ready.
Complete records can be submitted now; incomplete ones stay in the supplier's draft. No more waiting for the last 20%.
- 05
Accept or reject with reasons.
Master data and category management review held records, accept them or reject them with field-level comments. Accepted records enter the gate and flow to PIM, ERP and shop as deltas.
- 06
Fix only what failed.
The supplier's dashboard lists rejected SKUs and their errors. The supplier corrects and re-submits only those. Price and data updates later work the same way — only what changed.
06 · Modules & portals
What this setup uses — and what is live today.
- 2026
Supplier Portal (submission, live validation, partial submit, review, re-submit)
The only inbound door for supplier data
- LIVE
Validation rules · completeness
GTIN, units, mandatory fields, logistics data
- 2026
ETIM & BMEcat module
ETIM class and feature checks, BMEcat 2005 import/export, completeness per class
- 2026
RBAC roles & groups · admin console
Supplier-scoped access; category managers per product group
Append-only audit log
Who submitted, accepted, rejected what and when
Audit log live · audit UI 2026
- LIVE
Versioned REST API /v1 · delta endpoint · webhooks
Accepted data to PIM, ERP, shop
- LIVE
Customer Portal (optional)
Installers browse the enriched range
- ROADMAP
Per-tenant schema extension · data-quality scoring dashboard
Deeper house-specific attributes and scoring
- ROADMAP
SSO OIDC/SAML for internal users
Single sign-on for staff
07 · Expected effects
What typically changes.
Indicative
Requirements in a PDF → Requirements next to the upload, per product group.
Indicative
Errors found after import → Errors shown per field while the supplier is still in the portal.
Indicative
Files wait for 100% → Complete records move on; the rest follows.
Indicative
Corrections as full re-deliveries → Only failed SKUs come back.
Indicative
Completeness guessed → Completeness visible per supplier and ETIM class.
Indicative
Master data team types → Master data team reviews and governs.
Qualitative expectations for this scenario, not measured results. The share of records passing at first submission depends on supplier maturity and on how strict your rules are.
08 · Typical configuration
Version L, Supplier Portal, ETIM for 250k articles.
Category management, purchasing and master data add up to 30–60 internal seats; the catalog size needs the ≤ 500k band. Version L includes all three portal modules — Supplier Portal now, Customer Portal whenever you want it. The 300 suppliers and all their contacts are portal users: unlimited, at no seat cost. Indicative list price €37,500 per year.
Options
- Additional storage for supplier media: €55 per TB per month
- Customer Portal for installers: included in L
- Open Data module (≤ 500k) to publish the enriched range: + €9,600 / year
| Item | € / year |
|---|---|
| Version L — 26–100 seats, ≤ 500k SKUs, all 3 portal modules, 10 branded tenants | €20,400 |
| Supplier Portal (included in L) | incl. |
| ETIM & BMEcat module · SKU band ≤ 500k | €12,000 |
| Stage/test tenant · half capacity (25% of Version L) | €5,100 |
| Indicative list price | from €37,500 |
09 · Rollout
Pilot with ten suppliers, then in waves.
- 01
Weeks 1–3 · Scope
Weeks 1–3Rules and templates. Define mandatory fields, logistics data and image specs for the top product groups; set the ETIM version; build XLSX templates; decide review roles.
- 02
Weeks 4–8 · Pilot
Weeks 4–8Ten suppliers. Five mature BMEcat suppliers and five Excel suppliers. Tune rules until the pass rate is plausible and error messages are understood without a phone call.
- 03
Weeks 9–16 · Wave 1
Weeks 9–16A-suppliers. The suppliers behind most of the revenue. Onboarding sessions per wave; category managers follow up using the completeness view.
- 04
From week 17 · Wave 2+
From week 17Everyone else. Remaining suppliers in batches; e-mail and file-transfer intake is closed for onboarded suppliers.
Indicative plan, starting when the Supplier Portal is available for your tenant. Scoping and rule design can start now.
10 · Next step
Recognize your inbox? Book a scoping call.
Bring one real supplier file. We run it against a draft rule set and show you which records would pass, be held or be rejected — and what your suppliers would see.
11 · Keep reading
More on this scenario
2026
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The only door for inbound product data.
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Wholesale-ready, checked on every export.
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