Online Orders & Trade Modes

In traditional B2B export websites, factory managers often face a dilemma: should you enable an online shopping cart, or only provide a simple contact form?

Depending on your industry, product value, and customization degree, export trade workflows differ substantially. SymbolFlow Appsuite offers two pre-engineered business modes for industrial manufacturing: Marketing & Showcase Only and B2B Wholesale / RFQ.

You can switch the site’s operating mode with a single click in the admin dashboard, without writing code or hiring developers.

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1. Comparing the Two Core Business Modes

Business Mode	Config Value	Target Industries & Products	Frontend Buyer Experience
Showcase & Inquiries Only	none	Heavy machinery, complex custom production lines, non-standard engineering projects	No cart or instant checkout. Clean layout featuring a “Contact Us” call-to-action or general contact form
B2B Wholesale / RFQ	b2b	Industrial hardware, fasteners, rubber dampers, valves, tools, and standardized spare parts	Multi-spec variant matrix, multi-line item batch ordering, WhatsApp inquiry with dynamic params, and commercial RFQ submission

[!TIP] Export Sales Strategy: If your products have standardized part numbers, physical dimensions, or sample pricing, we strongly recommend enabling b2b mode. Overseas engineers and procurement managers expect fast table filtering and direct quotation requests without back-and-forth emails.

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2. Configuring Trade Modes in the CMS

Trade mode is a site-wide global configuration. Modifying it immediately adjusts all product detail and catalog layouts.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Log into your Payload CMS admin dashboard (e.g. https://your-domain.com/admin).
2. In the left navigation sidebar, navigate to the Globals section.
3. Click on Offerings Settings (商品/服务设置).
4. Scroll down to the E-Commerce & Online Orders (在线订购与商务模式设置) group.
5. In the E-Commerce / Business Mode dropdown, choose your desired mode:
   • None (Marketing & Showcase Only): Pure marketing and showcase.
   • B2B Wholesale / RFQ (Specification Matrix & WhatsApp Inquiry): Industrial wholesale and RFQ ordering.
6. Click Save Changes in the top-right corner.

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3. Global Currency & Measurement Units

When you select b2b mode, the dashboard reveals additional currency and measurement fields:

Configuration Item	Field Name	Options / Examples	Purpose & Best Practice
Currency	currency	USD, EUR, CNY, GBP, JPY	Base commercial currency for product pricing; default recommended is USD
Currency Symbol	currencySymbol	$, €, ¥, £	Symbol displayed across product tables, cart summary, and proforma invoices
Weight Unit	weightUnit	kg, g, lb	Base weight metric for sample freight calculation and packing lists

[!IMPORTANT] Base Currency Consistency: Numerical prices in your variant matrices are evaluated according to this configured currency. For instance, if the base currency is USD, entering 0.85 represents $0.85 USD. Ensure all generated quotes and formal Proforma Invoices align with this setting.

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4. Frontend Experience in B2B Mode

When b2b mode is active, international buyers browsing your catalog (e.g., the VD Cylindrical Rubber Damper) enjoy an industrial-grade procurement experience:

1. Parametric Filtering: Buyers click chips (e.g., M8 thread, 30mm height) to instantly filter matching variants.
2. Multi-line Batch Ordering: Instead of opening separate tabs, buyers can input quantities for multiple SKUs on the same table (e.g., 500 pcs of SKU A, 1,000 pcs of SKU B).
3. Dual Conversion Channels:
   • Channel 1: Click Submit RFQ to submit a structured commercial inquiry with company details, work email, and technical requests;
   • Channel 2: Click Chat on WhatsApp to launch WhatsApp with a pre-filled item list ready for instant communication.

In the next section, we will explore how to configure the WhatsApp Instant Inquiry Channel.