Q. Who can use Independent Portal?
A. Anyone who represents a business in the Australian grocery sector can use Independent Portal. The site specifically caters to suppliers and purchasers of fresh produce and other direct supply food products, but any business dealing with fast moving consumer goods could benefit.
Q. What is the key benefit of Independent Portal?
A. Independent Portal provides a means of on-line stock ordering, enabling both suppliers and their customers (usually retailers) to benefit from the convenience and efficiency of on-line ordering.
Q. Is Independent Portal an intermediary in your business's trading relationships?
A. No. Independent Portal provides a service facilitating trade between businesses, however is not a party to trading contracts. As such we cannot in any way guarantee the fulfilment of such contracts - delivery of goods, payments etc.
Q. What technology or device do I need to use Independent Portal?
A. All you need is a reasonably modern device (ideally no more than about 5 years old) such as a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet, and an internet connection. Note that some features are hard to use on very small screens, so a tablet is preferable to a smartphone.
Q. Do I need to log-in to use the site?
A. Yes, you need to be a registered user and log-in using your email address and a password to use the site. (Note: some information-only pages such as this one are accessible without logging in)
Q. How do I become a registered user?
A. As part of the business-registering process one or more individual(s) / user(s) that represent the business are also registered. Such users can register subsequent users to represent that same business.
Q. How do businesses register with Independent Portal?
A. Businesses should contact Independent Portal.
Q. Is Independent Portal a free service?
A. Independent Portal is free for most users. Businesses that supply goods through the site's stock ordering service are charged a modest quarterly fee based on the number of active customers and in some cases the volume of sales.
Q. Is Independent Portal a 24 / 7 / 365 service?
A. Yes. However, all systems need upgrades and maintenance from time to time. Generally planned maintenance will be conducted outside of business hours (7am to 7pm AEST). Occasionally outages will occur at other times. In any case we try to keep outages to minimum - in number and duration. We do recommend however that all users have back-up processes to mitigate risks to business in the event of outages.
Q. Is Independent Portal available outside Australia?
A. Independent Portal is focused exclusively on the Australian market. Non-Australian businesses may not register nor use the system. However authorised users representing Australian businesses may access the site from anywhere.