ERP Software

Smaller to mid-side wholesale distributors need ERP solutions tailored to their needs.

Small and medium sized wholesale distribution enterprises face most of the same tall challenges as their bigger brethren.  Customers are becoming more demanding and less forgiving, suppliers more numerous and spread out around the globe, competitors more sophisticated and aggressive. Tried and true manual practices and mile-long spreadsheets no longer cut it. They don’t give you the visibility you need into inventory, supplier performance, customer satisfaction and what parts of your business are actually profitable.  It’s time for a comprehensive business management software solution. But how comprehensive? High-end wholesale distribution ERP systems can completely overwhelm smaller distributors that have smaller IT footprints to begin with and limited resources to make the leap forward.

Numerous software vendors offer solutions tailored to mid-market needs, with loads of distribution-specific functionality and pre-configured, well rung-out capabilities. They can provide a flexible and scalable foundation for your business processes that can both spur growth and accommodate it. When evaluating your options, compare solution sets in these six categories:

Materials Management. Integrated functionality should support procurement from quotation to contract, inventory management, purchasing, stock handling and returns. Rather than treat these as separate processes, you should expect newfound visibility into operations that will enable you to forge more profitable alliances with suppliers, partners and customers.

Sales and Distribution. Order processing, delivery, billing, payment and after-sales service should be highly automated and integrated with wholesale distribution software. Look for embedded, proven distribution practices that optimize fulfillment and transportation actions to improve customer service. All customer and order data should be in a single database, available to everyone involved in the sales cycle.

Logistics and Warehouse Management. The right solution should support logistics and warehouse best practices, including “lean” warehouse management, and end-to-end batch processing, from receipt to distribution.

Accounting. The beauty of a right-sized wholesale distribution ERP solution is that it rolls up all organization-wide activity into one version of the financial results. Of course this means you should expect efficient management of the general ledger, A/R, A.P, cash management and other functions.

Controlling. Year-end closing of the books is becoming more complicated, with changing local, regional and national reporting requirements as well as organizational fluidity. Expect controller functionality that supports best practices in this area.

Forms and Reports. To get up to speed quickly and to also ensure a long life for your wholesale distribution ERP, look for both a robust library of standardized forms and reports and the ability to create custom reports that support evolving business objectives.

Beyond these six areas, also ascertain that down the road you’ll be able to augment these core capabilities with Customer Relations Management (CRM) and Business Intelligence (BI). Your initial wholesale distribution ERP system should be configured with these additional applications in mind.

Written by :

tracey boxer