Wholesale distribution managers have a lot on their plate. They’ve got to plan, source, stock, sell, recover and analyses across multiple business units.
Luckily, an ERP solution can automate and streamline most of the tasks involved in this. It can ensure leaner operational processes, better business decisions, and even pay for itself within a year of purchase.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are a significant investment, so it helps to know how and where it’s going to generate a return. That’s where we come in.
Here’s a list of five cost-saving features wholesale distribution companies can expect with an ERP solution:
- Integration of all your business units and processes: All sales, purchasing, stock, materials resource planning, production and financials data can be managed through a single point of entry and viewed holistically. This reduces operational costs, and enables you to easily identify issues and opportunities for improvement at the same time.
- Lot (batch) traceability and tracking: ERP solutions offer enhanced visibility of raw materials and finished goods throughout every phase of the business. This ultimately results in better control. You can reduce the amount of stock held in the warehouse, respond to customer needs faster, and act quickly in case of incidents like product recalls.
- Strong analytical reports: The right solution enables you to monitor key performance indicators by customer, product, region, branch and sales. This financial visibility means you can maximize profit areas, reduce costs, make informed decisions, manage risks and, importantly, ensure compliance.
- Real-time data: Wholesale distribution companies need up-to-date information for inventory management. It ensures better decisions based around stock performance and availability, and helps to streamline demand planning.
- Contact management: You can enhance customer service and reduce labor costs by creating and managing all your quotes, sales orders, purchase orders, and customer and vendor information in one place. This enables you to convert quotes to orders in one click, automate email invoices and log communication for prospects, customers and vendors.
ERP solutions are a significant investment, but they soon pay for themselves and can continue saving you time and money long after their purchase. Find out more about selecting and implementing a new solution please contact us.
Learn about our ERP success story with MacGill Discount Nurse Supplies, an organization in the wholesale distribution industry!
