Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

BlueTrace Customer/Online Ordering — How It Works

BlueTrace's online ordering feature (called External Ordering) gives seafood distributors a branded, customer-facing storefront where their buyers — restaurants, chefs, retailers — can place orders directly online. Here's the full picture:

1. The Wholesaler Sets Up Their Storefront

Before customers can order, the BlueTrace org operator configures their storefront in Settings → Customer Ordering:

  • Branding — Upload a logo (two sizes: one for the storefront login page/header, one for email headers). The storefront URL/subdomain is set up by the BlueTrace team and is view-only for the operator.
  • Order Cut-Off Rules — The operator sets which days of the week they accept orders and what time orders for the next day must be submitted by. Same-day orders are not supported. Timezone is specified so cut-off times are unambiguous.
  • Inventory & Pricing Display — The operator controls what customers see:
    • Show list price, customer-specific price, or no prices at all
    • Show or hide available inventory counts
    • Optionally prevent customers from ordering more than what's in stock

2. Per-Customer Item Lists

Each customer inherits the org's global defaults, but the operator can customize on a per-customer basis — hiding certain items from one buyer, or making specialty items available only to specific customers. This is managed on the individual Customer record under an "Ordering: Items" tab.

3. The Customer Places an Order

From the customer's perspective (e.g., a chef on their phone after a shift or at a desk):

  • They visit the branded storefront URL and log in
  • They see the item list — what's available to them, with pricing and inventory if enabled
  • They see the order cut-off displayed clearly, so they know when to get their order in
  • They build a cart, enter quantities, and select a delivery date and time
  • Prices and any automatic fees (customer-level or item-level) are calculated and shown
  • They hit submit — the order immediately becomes a live sales order in BlueTrace, tagged as "External" origin with a status of "Open - Cut off at [date/time]"
  • A confirmation email goes out with the full order summary (items, quantities, prices)

4. Editing & Managing Orders

After submitting, customers can go back and update or cancel their order at any time before the cut-off deadline. Once the cut-off passes, the order is locked in and flows into the distributor's normal fulfillment workflow as a standard sales order.

5. Edge Cases Handled

The system handles several real-world complications:

  • Order submission fails if the cut-off has already passed
  • If an item gets disabled or goes out of stock mid-order, the customer gets a clear error
  • The "Help" button on the storefront lets customers submit a support request to the distributor (phone/contact info configured by the operator)

In short: the distributor sets up a private, branded ordering portal; their customers log in and shop like a simple storefront; submitted orders land directly in BlueTrace as sales orders — no phone calls, no emails back and forth.