Case study · Custom portals
Supply-chain portals for Portillo's
Two secure portals that moved franchise ordering online, with live FedEx and UPS shipping and stock that updates itself.
Client
Portillo's
Industry
Restaurant chain
Location
Oak Brook, llinois, USA
Services
Web portal development · Custom WordPress plugin

40%
Less time spent processing each order
2
Secure portals, for franchisees and head office
2
Shipping carriers built in, FedEx and UPS
01 · The challenge
Franchise ordering ran by hand
Portillo's franchisees order raw materials, branded apparel, supplies and stationery from head office. Every order was handled manually, which made it slow to process, hard to track and easy to get wrong.
Head office found it hard to keep stock levels accurate
Orders were difficult to fulfil on time
Franchisees and head office had no single place to follow an order.
02 · What we built
Two portals, one for each side of the order.
We designed and built two custom portals on WordPress, with a custom plugin for the ordering logic. Franchisees place and follow their orders in one; head office reviews, ships and accounts for them in the other.
Private login
Only approved franchisees and head-office staff can get in.
Online ordering
Franchisees order supplies, apparel and stationery in a few clicks.
Order review for head office
The Portillo's team sees each order as it arrives and processes it straight away.
FedEx and UPS shipping
Live shipping quotes and tracking, through both carriers' APIs.
Automated stock
Inventory updates in real time, and payments and shipments are recorded automatically.
03 · The result
Order processing time down by 40%.
Orders now move from franchisee to head office to carrier in one system, and both sides can see where each one stands.
More accurate stock, with less waste and fewer delays.
Payments and shipping handled in one flow, with less admin for head office.
A smoother ordering experience for franchisees.
We've gained visibility and control across our franchise supply chain like never before. This solution has saved us countless hours and eliminated errors that impacted our franchisee relationships.
Details Withheld
Technology
Front end
WordPress
Back end
PHP · Custom WordPress plugin
Database
MySQL
Integrations
FedEx API · UPS API
Services used
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