What Has Changed in Wholesale Distribution: 2015 & Beyond • White Paper

Future of Wholesale Distribution

How can you anticipate and adapt to the ever-evolving challenges in wholesale distribution and start to lead the way? Download the whitepaper and find out how.

Find Answers to Your Inventory Questions

Proven, easy-to-use Cloud ERP Distribution systems can make you more than competitive in wholesale distribution. They can make you a leader.

With accurate, companywide data, you’re able to minimize your inventory costs and create effective replenishment operations that anticipate and quickly respond to urgent changes.

Modern Cloud ERP Distribution Systems finally give you answers to your most pressing inventory questions:

  • What is the true availability and cost of the inventory from requisition through shipping?
  • How much is on hand in each of the warehouse locations?
  • What products are moving?
  • What products are dead and taking up valuable warehouse space?
  • Are there expired products?
  • What was the lot or serial numbers shipped?

Better Visibility Means Greater Adaptability

The wholesale distribution industry changes rapidly. And the distributors with complete visibility into their real-time data can adapt the fastest to these changes, make accurate decisions, and ultimately stay one step ahead of the competition.

Preparing for the Future of Wholesale Distribution

The Aberdeen Group recently released a white paper, which provides comprehensive analysis on the past and future changes within wholesale distribution. In it, they wrote:

“New Omni-Channel demands require increased visibility and a control tower approach (i.e. a set of integrated processes and technologies that support a seamless flow of product form source to end consumer).”

And to accomplish this, wholesale distributors must combine their automated business processes with excellent visibility and decision support.

Visibility Across Your Supply Chain

The need for greater vision doesn’t start and stop at your front door. When your suppliers, distributors, retailors, and customers all see the same real-time information, everyone adapts more quickly and makes better decisions.

And when all the links of your supply chain are seeing and sharing data in sync, you’re better equipped to quickly:

  • Access accurate, real-time data
  • Drill down into potential problems
  • Integrate data from multiple sources with ease
  • Create custom reports

Productivity That Makes You a Wholesale Distribution Leader

Finding the right inventory balance has always been the challenge for modern manufacturers. You want to serve your customers, so you want to have the right product ready at the right time. But at the same time, you don’t want to kill your bottom line by overstocking the shelves.

Leading Distributors successfully find the right balance between supply and demand by utilizing the right mix of automated business systems. They find greater supply chain visibility keeps their costs down and keeps them ready to respond to the revolving challenges in wholesale distribution.

Are You Leading the Distribution Industry or Following?

In its report, the Aberdeen Group compared the leaders (top 30%) and followers (bottom 70%) in wholesale distribution, characterized by:

Wholesale Distribution Leaders:

  • 95.4% of outbound orders delivered to customers complete and on-time
  • 94.6% of orders received from suppliers complete and on-time
  • 0.5% decrease in total landed per unit costs in the past year
  • 7.5% decrease in the frequency of out-of-stock inventory in the past year.

Wholesale Distribution Followers:

  • 86.4% of outbound orders delivered to customers complete and on-time
  • 84.8% of orders received from suppliers complete and on-time
  • 8.5% increase in total landed per unit costs in the past year
  • 0.9% increase in the frequency of out-of-stock inventory in the past year.

The study found that leaders who leveraged modern ERP software were specifically better than followers.  See info graphic for more details.

Distribution Leaders and Followers

Need More Information about Acumatica?

Take the tour and discover which business management features Acumatica Cloud ERP customers found most valuable.

The Acumatica Distribution Edition is an end-to-end cloud business management system designed to help wholesale distributors improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs.

Acumatica is the only secure, cloud- and browser-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that adapts to the needs of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Acumatica is a comprehensive solution, with vast capabilities in its Financial Management, Distribution Management, Customer Management, and Project Accounting suites, and is highly configurable and extensible.

Need More Information about Cloud ERP?

Are you in the process of educating yourself about cloud ERP? Or are you still making up your mind about which ERP to choose?

Learn exactly what Cloud ERP means and identify if a cloud solution is a good fit to empower your people, take control of your business, and play to your strengths.

Research ERP solutions, discover and evaluate potential solutions, and identify the software that can improve your businesses’ efficiency and reduce costs.

Find the resources you need to evaluate your ERP options whether you’re upgrading your current system or selecting a new one, so you make the right decision for your business.

Business and ERP White Papers