Wholesale Distribution

We will define your needs, wants, and how you would ideally use new automated solutions across your wholesale distribution company, whether you are primarily brick and mortar, wholly or partly online, a merchant wholesaler, a co-op, agent, or broker.

We will guide you through selecting the best fit, and most cost-effective business applications and implementation partners to best automate customer relationship management, purchasing, inventory management, warehouse management, logistics, and accounting.

After finalizing your Wholesale Distribution ERP software and services contracts, EAG stays with you to oversee your implementation until you successfully go live.  We will oversee integrations, data migration, change management, budgets, design and configuration, walkthroughs, training, testing, and go-live cutover and will provide executive and project sponsor support throughout the duration of your project.

• The sales function is manual and paper-based, and as a result, customer service is handcuffed by system limitations.
• There is a lack of automation and integration with vendor systems; this creates extra time-consuming manual data entry.
• The Chart of Accounts is complex and financial reporting is manual, challenging, and performed outside the system.
• Sales has very little exposure to accurate, real-time inventory levels resulting in potential lost sales and difficult communication with existing clients.
• Price and availability changes are manual, time-consuming, and difficult to track.

• There are so many manual processes and papers to manage, that employees do not feel they have enough time to do their jobs accurately.
• New items and SKUs do not copy over special pricing, creating a need for unnecessary manual intervention.
• No route tracking tools for inventory delivery, creating a lack of visibility into inventory location/status.
• Customers have no online access to orders, invoices, or payment status.
• Inventory purchases are backed by system-generated data but still require manual manipulation.
• Paper tracking of operations results in delays and data accuracy concerns.

Our rapidly-growing wholesale distribution clients are already very busy with their day jobs and do not have time to become ERP experts.  Though your key people still have to devote some time to an ERP initiative, hiring an ERP consultant frees them up to make the important ERP decisions while staying focused on their day job.

The more complex your business, the more likely for difficulty when selecting and implementing software. ERP Advisors Group will help you uncover your true needs and will only vet the most viable options for your size, requirements, resources, and strategy.

We will create your requirements document and demonstration script with wholesale distribution industry best practices in mind while retaining what is unique to your company, leaving out the manual workarounds.

Many clients hire us to help when they suspect they need a business case for new software.  ERP Advisors Group helps stakeholders buy into what is best for the company by getting their input at multiple stages throughout the Needs Analysis, Selection, and Implementation.

A frequent complaint we hear from prospects who tried to select software on their own is feeling confused about the software's capabilities.  We get vendors to show your requirements during their product demonstrations. This ensures you feel confident about selecting the best products that can meet your needs.

We negotiate tens of millions of dollars of deals every year for our clients. We provide contract reviews on all terms and conditions, including software, services, and every agreement embedded throughout the contract. Our clients receive price protection for many years to come on their purchases. While we don't guarantee it in writing, we normally save our fees on this step alone.

Wholesale Distribution is a competitive industry, with ever-increasing costs and low margins. Distributors want to differentiate themselves with value-added services, further solidifying their needs for solutions that enable them to be the best they can be.

Automation for purchasing and demand forecasting are important requirements. Distributors need help predicting market patterns to replenish supplies without overbuying. In a low-margin industry, supply needs to be as close to demand as possible to avoid wasted resources. Beyond warehouse management requirements, distributors also need help managing orders and the supply chain. Order processing and fulfillment will guarantee customers have a great experience from the moment they place their order through to final delivery. Then, logistically, the distributor can ensure the product reaches its final destination in a timely manner while providing customers an opportunity to track their delivery.

All these capabilities should be offered in a single solution, seamlessly interacting with the core ERP system. Communication between systems and departments guarantees a clean, accurate General Ledger, alongside strong Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable capabilities. By implementing a solid platform for growth, distributors can guarantee connectivity and operate the entire business from a single source of truth.

There is not always a straightforward, one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Some distributors will find what they need in their ERP, while others need more robust capabilities that can only be found in a separate Warehouse Management System (WMS). 

Generally, if your operation is complicated with a high volume of fast-moving inventory, numerous product configurations, or fulfillment for a variety of e-commerce channels, then you may need a WMS to manage warehouse operations. This will help you gain better visibility into inventory and improve processes. However, this does not necessarily need to happen in Phase 1. You can take a slower approach by implementing your ERP first then optimizing the system post-go-live, especially if you have selected a platform with a network of WMS modules or partners. If you are unsure what your business should do next, schedule a free consultation with the experts at ERP Advisors Group.

Food, goods, electronics distributors, and everyone in between have different requirements that need specialized approaches. While there are general Wholesale Distribution solutions on the market, there are also niche solutions meant to deliver on a deeper level. Depending on what your business does, you may have to answer to regulatory compliance or balance specialized packaging. Perhaps you transport perishable goods in large, refrigerated trucks. Regardless, there is a solution out there for you, but oftentimes you do not NEED to go with a best-of-breed or extremely specialized solution.