Running an effective wholesale or distribution operation is all about logistics. Smooth and seamless workflows; careful inventory management so that optimal levels of stock are always carried; the most efficient allocation of staff; perfectly-engineered packing and distribution routes – myriad different elements need to come together perfectly in a well-oiled operation.
How to achieve this? Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can be a massive boon for wholesale and distribution companies, automating tedious or complex manual tasks and number-crunching vast arrays of data to determine the clearest path through the complexity.
Here are five of the biggest benefits that wholesalers and distributers can realise by deploying ERP software.
Benefit 1: Cost reductions
Every business in every sector should always have an eye on costs, and one of the most dramatic impacts that ERP software can have for wholesalers and distributors is in cost reduction. ERP solutions seek to automate key business functions, particularly across financials, operations, and human resources. And automation generally means cost savings. Expensive human resource is freed from tedious, complex and repetitive manual tasks and able to focus on more creative, strategic and long-term tasks – a far better allocation of resource. Meanwhile, the data and insights generated by a good ERP solution can help drive further cost savings, for example through more accurate forecasting, smarter inventory management, and informing leaner supply chains.
Benefit 2: Rich data
ERP software makes business data more centralised, more visible and more useful. By capturing and consolidating information from disparate business departments, it enables better visibility into the business as a whole, and empowers strategic decision-making.
For example, by forging smarter data links between inventory management in the warehouse and customer order records, it can enable a more proactive approach to managing stock levels and predicting future inventory movement within the warehouse. By integrating finance and human resource data, it can generate intelligence regarding the efficiency of different teams and enable better planning on upgrading elements of the warehouse.
And no matter what sector your wholesale or distribution business operates in, the data collated by ERP software makes it easier to respond to industry-specific reporting and compliance requirements.
Benefit 3: Comprehensive visibility
On a related point, the visibility which ERP software grants into your back-office operations allows greater join-up between production, materials, finance, business planning and human resources. Business visibility is the first step on the road to business intelligence and empowers genuinely proactive and innovative wholesale and distribution.
Benefit 4: Improved inventory management
Effective inventory management is fundamental to an effective wholesale and distribution operation, and ERP software enables it. From ensuring that the right stock is in the warehouse when a customer places an order (but never an excessive amount of stock which cannot be shifted in time), to transferring stock seamlessly from warehouse to customer, ERP software facilitates smooth inventory management, end-to-end. By introducing automation to your inventory management processes, ERP software reduces errors, facilitates paperless processes and frees up human resource to focus on more complex or strategic tasks also.
Benefit 5: Planning ahead
ERP software not only enables short and medium-term forecasting through its demand planning capabilities; it also empowers longer-term business planning and growth. Robust and scalable back-office functions are key to supporting wholesalers and distributers in sustainable growth, and ERP software enables these.
The right ERP software shoulder be able to scale up to cover multiple warehouses and currencies if your business expands globally, so it facilitates ambitious growth without the need for hefty software investment.
Smart IT is the UK’s most experienced Odoo ERP Gold partner. Speak to us today to start your ERP journey.
Five benefits of ERP for wholesalers and distribution companies