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003 — Customer Portal: Navigation

The Layout

Every page in the Customer Portal has the same header. Learning it once means you can reach anything from anywhere.

flowchart LR
    H["Header — always visible"] --> L["Logo → Home"]
    H --> P["Products menu"]
    H --> B["Brands menu"]
    H --> S["Search box"]
    H --> N["🔔 Notifications"]
    H --> W["Request Selector"]
    H --> U["Your name ▾"]

    U --> U1["Help"]
    U --> U2["Light / Dark mode"]
    U --> U3["Company Profile"]
    U --> U4["Sign Out"]

Customer Header screen

Header Items

Item Business purpose What happens when you use it
Logo Return to the start Opens the Home page
Products Browse by category Opens a large menu of product categories; choosing one shows its products
Brands Browse by manufacturer Opens the brand list; choosing one shows that brand's products
Search Find a specific product fast Suggests matching products as you type
🔔 Notifications See what changed Shows recent activity on your company's orders. When there is nothing new it reads All caught up
Request Selector Switch between your baskets Lists your draft requests so you can pick which one you are adding to. Also offers New and View All
Your name ▾ Account and company options Opens the menu shown above

The Request Selector — the key habit to learn

You can keep several draft requests open at the same time — for example one for a routine restock and one for a special project. The selector in the header decides which one receives the products you add.

Always check the selector before adding products. Items go into the draft request currently shown there, not into a single universal basket.

Option in the selector What it does
A draft request name Makes that draft request the active one
New Creates a fresh draft request and makes it active
View All Opens Company Profile → Draft Requests, showing every draft request

If you have not created any yet, the selector reads No draft requests found.

Company Profile — your working area

Everything about your own company lives behind one menu item. Choosing Company Profile opens a page with its own side navigation.

flowchart LR
    CP["Company Profile"] --> T1["Users 🔒"]
    CP --> T2["User Tags 🔒"]
    CP --> T3["Draft Requests"]
    CP --> T4["RFQs"]
    CP --> T5["Orders"]
    CP --> T6["Archived"]

🔒 = visible to Company Administrators only.

Section What it shows
Users Your colleagues' portal accounts
User Tags Labels you use to organise those colleagues
Draft Requests Baskets you are still building — not yet sent to SAMTIA
RFQs Requests you have sent, and quotations you have received back
Orders Business that is confirmed and in Processing
Archived Cancelled requests, kept for reference

The four order sections follow the natural life of a purchase: build it (Draft Requests), negotiate it (RFQs), receive it (Orders), file it away (Archived).

Screen Directory

Screen How to reach it Covered in
Home Logo, or after sign-in 004
Products list Products menu, Brands menu, or search 004
Product details Click any product 004
Draft Requests Company Profile → Draft Requests 005
RFQs Company Profile → RFQs 005
Orders Company Profile → Orders 005
Archived Company Profile → Archived 005
Order details Click any draft request, RFQ or order 005
Users Company Profile → Users 006
User Tags Company Profile → User Tags 006
Chat Open Chat on an order 013
Help User menu → Help —
Release Notes /release-notes —

Tips

  • Notifications tell you when a quotation arrives. The bell is the fastest way to know an Account Manager has replied.
  • The Home page is a summary, not a dead end. It shows your counts, your items needing attention, and featured products — start your day there.
  • Nothing you see is shared with other customers. Prices, products and orders are specific to your company.