Swirl's B2B online ordering page is a private order screen for our trade customers: restaurants, wine shops and other venues. Once you log in, every wine shows your contract price and the number of bottles we can ship right now, and you can place an order in a few clicks, any time of day or night.
Hello, I'm Federico Fanelli, CEO of Swirl. Importing Italian wine, you quickly learn that the biggest time sink is not the wine itself but the back and forth of ordering. The phone line is busy, a number on a fax is hard to read, someone has to check stock and call back. Small frictions like these turn into real stress when they happen in the middle of service.
In this article I walk through the real screens (using a demo account set up for screenshots), show what the ordering page can do, and explain why we care so much about it. Trade prices differ by customer, so they are blurred in every image.
Why we built it: good service starts with easy ordering
For an importer, service is not only about choosing great wine. What matters most to a venue is that the right number of bottles arrives when needed, without mistakes.
Many venues count stock after closing and plan the next day's prep while they order. The phone is not an option at that hour, and an email still means waiting for "Is it in stock?" to be answered. The ordering page exists to remove that wait.
| Ordering before | Ordering on the portal |
|---|---|
| Phone, fax or email during business hours | Any time, 24/7, also from a smartphone |
| Ask us to check stock | Shippable stock shown on every wine |
| Look up prices in a price list | Your contract price shown directly |
| Quantities copied by hand, easy to mistype | What you type becomes the order data, and a photo of your handwritten note is enough |
| Wait for a call back to confirm | Order number issued the moment you confirm |
| Hunt for invoices and delivery notes | PDFs available on screen any time |
Of course, we still take orders by phone and email as before. The ordering page is simply one more channel, and the fastest one.
Logging in: no password needed
Enter your registered email address and a verification code is emailed to you. Type the code and you are in. There is no password to remember. Addresses that are not registered as trade accounts cannot open the ordering page, so contract prices stay private.
After login: your price and our stock at a glance
The screen right after login (demo account). Trade prices are blurred.
At the top you see your venue name and the price tier that applies to you. Below that is the month's campaign or notice (this October, the Pink Ribbon Month "Life in Rosé" project).
Everything is organised in four tabs.
- Your wines: the wines you ordered in the last 6 months. "Add my last order to the cart" repeats your previous order in one click.
- Catalog: every wine available to you.
- Past orders: open a past order, adjust quantities and order again.
- Invoices: order status, plus invoice and delivery note PDFs.
The 日本語 / EN switch at the top right changes the interface language and how wine names are written, so teams with international staff can order from the same screen.
Catalog: search, compare, see stock
The catalog. Each wine shows its SKU, contract price (blurred) and stock.
Stock means "what we can ship now"
The stock figure is our warehouse stock minus bottles already committed to other orders. When fewer than 12 bottles remain, an orange "only N left" label appears, and a wine with no stock cannot be added to the cart at all. The point is simple: no "sorry, that's out of stock" email after you have ordered.
Find wines your way
- Search by wine name or SKU
- Group the list by origin, region or producer
- Tap a label to enlarge it, open "Details" for the description
- "+1 case" adds 12 bottles (quantities are entered in bottles)
Print your price list on the spot
"Price list" prints, or saves as PDF, a list with your own contract prices. Handy when you review your wine list or share it with an owner.
Upload your own order sheet (AI)
If you already use an order form, "Upload order" reads a PDF, photo or Excel file. AI extracts the lines and places them in the cart for you to check before confirming. Any line that cannot be matched to one of our SKUs is shown on screen; the system never quietly swaps in a different wine.
Order straight from your handwritten notes
No order form? No problem. Snap a photo of the note you scribbled while checking stock after service, wine names and bottle counts, and upload it straight from your phone. AI reads the handwriting and adds the matching wines and quantities to your cart. Check it, confirm, done: no retyping.
Order by CSV
You can also upload a CSV with one "SKU,quantity" pair per line. A sample file is available from "CSV template".
Cart and delivery: date and time slot, set on the spot
The cart (shown in Japanese). Amounts are blurred.
The cart calculates total bottles (and cases), subtotal excluding tax, consumption tax and the tax-inclusive total in real time. Then you set the delivery details.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ship to | Choose a saved address, or add a new one on the spot; it stays available next time (works for multiple venues) |
| Requested delivery date | The earliest possible date is filled in automatically, and earlier dates cannot be chosen |
| Delivery time slot | Morning, afternoon, 14:00 to 16:00, 16:00 to 18:00, 18:00 to 20:00, 19:00 to 21:00 |
| Notes | Your PO number or delivery requests, written onto the order |
| Next order cut-off | Orders placed by noon ship the same day, for delivery as early as the next day; the cut-off time is shown on screen |
Dispatch dates and any delay notices are always one click away via the delivery status link in the cart.
Review screen and order number: one last check
The review popup before confirming (shown in Japanese).
"Place order" opens a summary of lines, total bottles, total amount, requested date and delivery address. Press "Confirm order" and an order number (SO-xxxxx) appears immediately: your order is done. Unusually large quantities trigger an extra prompt, so a slipped digit gets caught.
A confirmed order goes straight into our order system. Because nobody re-types it, we can start preparing the shipment faster and without errors. If you need a change after confirming, email us with the order number before it ships and we will take care of it.
Invoices and delivery notes: no more searching
The "Invoices" and "Delivery notes" buttons at the top, or the Invoices tab, list number, date, amount and status; one click opens the PDF. Payment terms and how invoices are sent stay exactly as agreed.
New trade customers: apply online
The wholesale account application page.
Restaurants and shops that do not trade with us yet can apply on the wholesale account application page: enter your business details, contact person and delivery address, and agree to the trade terms with an electronic signature. A signed copy is emailed to you as a PDF. We review every application and send your login details by email.
Have these ready
- Registered company or venue name, representative
- Corporate number (companies)
- Liquor sales license number (retailers)
- Contact name, email and phone
- Head office and delivery address
Main trade terms
| Item | Terms |
|---|---|
| Order unit | By the case (mixed cases from 12 bottles) |
| Shipping | Normally free of charge (orders under 12 bottles may incur a charge) |
| Dispatch and delivery | Orders by noon ship the same day; earliest delivery is the next day (two days for some areas such as Hokkaido and Kyushu) |
| Payment | Month-end close, bank transfer by the end of the following month |
| Prices | Excluding tax. Trade prices are shown on the ordering page |
New customers may be asked to prepay until a trading history is established. Full terms are on the application page.
Why we care so much
Swirl is a small importer. That is exactly why we let systems handle what systems do well, and keep our own time for talking about wine.
- Respect your time: order after closing, between prep, whenever it suits you.
- Keep our promises: the stock shown is what we can ship, and the price on the review screen is the price you pay. When what you see matches what you get, trust follows.
- Remove mistakes: the quantity you type becomes the order, with no manual copying.
- Notice when something goes wrong: if you log in but cannot complete an order, we can see it on our side, and we may reach out to help.
- Keep improving: AI order-sheet reading, price list printing and the delivery status page were all added step by step while running the service, and we will keep going.
If a feature would make your life easier, tell us at trade@swirlwine.co.jp.
FAQ
Q. Do I have to use the ordering page?
A. No. We still take orders by phone and email as before. The ordering page is an extra channel you can use at any time.
Q. Does it work on a smartphone?
A. Yes. On a phone, the "Cart" button at the bottom right takes you to the cart.
Q. My verification code does not arrive.
A. Please check your spam folder. If it still does not arrive, your email may not be set up as a trade account yet: contact trade@swirlwine.co.jp.
Q. If a wine shows as in stock, can it still go out of stock after I order?
A. The figure shown already excludes bottles committed to other orders, and quantities above it cannot be added to the cart, so by design a confirmed order should not run short.
Q. I want to change a quantity after confirming.
A. That is possible until the order ships. Email trade@swirlwine.co.jp with your order number.
Log in, or apply
Registered customers can go to the ordering page (log in). New customers can start with the wholesale account application. A step-by-step ordering guide (PDF) is linked at the top of the ordering page.
Questions about wines or sample requests are always welcome. Let's find the right bottles for your menu together.
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