The problem
E-commerce clients email all day: how many units are left, has order 4471 gone, when will the delivery be booked in. If 8 clients send 15 such emails a week each and every reply takes 4 minutes of looking up, that's 480 minutes a week, about 34 hours a month (480 x 4.3) of someone's time.
What the AI does
Mintsoft's 3PL client portal page says clients can view inventory levels in your warehouse, check order progress, raise ASNs and schedule goods in, create their own reports (which can be scheduled for automatic delivery), check invoices, and raise queries through the portal that are tracked until resolved. Give each client a login, show them how to find what they usually ask about, and answer only what the portal can't. White-labeling the portal with your branding is an optional module.
A worked example
A 3PL in Telford with 8 clients selling on Shopify and Amazon, and one account manager who answers client emails between other jobs.
Before
About 120 client questions a week at 4 minutes each: about 34 hours a month
After
About two thirds answered in the portal; 40 questions a week still handled by email or ticket: about 11.5 hours a month
What it's worth
About $548£412€490A$791C$775 a month saved, against $499£375€446A$720C$705 for Mintsoft's 3PL Starter plan. That's about 22.9 hours (34.4 minus 11.5) at an assumed $24£18€21A$35C$34 an hour; the two-thirds fall is an assumption, so count the emails before and after. If you already use Mintsoft for the warehouse and billing, the portal is included and costs nothing extra.
How to set it up
- Count client emails and calls for two weeks and note what they ask most.
- Set up a portal login for each client and check they see only their own stock, orders and invoices.
- Run a 20-minute call with each client to show them stock, order progress and how to raise an ASN.
- Set up a scheduled stock report for clients who want one emailed each morning.
- Reply to questions the portal answers with a link to where it's shown, and count the emails again after a month.
What goes wrong
- If stock isn't booked in or adjusted promptly, the portal shows the wrong numbers and clients stop trusting it.
- Some clients will keep emailing. Agree in your service terms that stock and order questions go through the portal.
- Check permissions carefully when setting up logins; one client seeing another's stock or sales is a serious breach of trust.
- White-labeling is a separate module; the pricing page doesn't give its price.