Distribution comes with plenty of challenges. Here are some of the problems distributors and wholesalers face in their daily work, and how Stockagile can help solve them with its system.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the answer to these business needs, helping you become more efficient and results-driven.
Here is what this blog will cover:
- Inventory control problems
- Tracking problems
- Communication barriers
- Pricing slip-ups
- Loss of integration
- Complicated processes
- Lack of mobility
- No standard reports
1. Inventory control problems
Organizing inventory is a huge challenge for distributors. Tracking orders, optimizing storage, moving goods and so on all require a lot of planning and documentation.
A small mistake can easily cause you to lose an order. Stockagile keeps track of every pending or fulfilled order, and also keeps you informed about stock shortages.
With this planning you can keep supply and demand in sync, since it is automatic, which means fewer expenses and more savings.
2. Tracking problems
Without the right kind of automation, wholesale distributors have to enter details into spreadsheets. Manual entry is slow and prone to errors.
On top of that, spreadsheets can’t store every kind of inventory and delivery information. With an ERP system, you get backward and forward traceability so you can track every item along with its quality-control assessments.
3. Communication barriers
Understanding customers can become difficult for large corporations. If the geographic gaps between your warehouse, your suppliers and your customers are too big, you’ll run into language and currency conversion barriers.
Stockagile comes with support for multiple languages and currencies. So no matter where your stakeholders are, you can maintain transparency and communication across every region.
4. Pricing slip-ups
Slip-ups can be costly, especially when you work with low margins, which is usually the case for most wholesale distributors. Customers may ask for discounts on wholesale products, and that can eat into those margins.
Calculating the right prices accurately isn’t easy. With Stockagile, you can easily set different price levels for wholesale, retail and custom orders.
5. Loss of integration
Pulling data from several spreadsheets takes time and creates confusion. When data isn’t integrated in a single place, important information can get lost in translation.
With Stockagile, every detail is stored in one place and you won’t have to piece together fragments from various files. The right information will help you make better business decisions.
6. Complicated processes
If your solutions are inconsistent across departments, for example between sales, warehousing and accounting, it can complicate your order-to-cash process.
However, when you use Stockagile, data is stored in a single location that every department can access. Everything is centralized and easy to operate.
7. Lack of mobility
Today’s customers are global, which means there are no set hours. A customer might place orders outside working hours, which means you have to stay alert for many hours.
To make the process easier, you can access Stockagile from anywhere, since an internet connection is all you need to place an order.
8. No standard reports
If we don’t opt for an ERP, it’s very hard to examine reports with all the data and assess them properly. Updating every transaction with custom, accurate reports helps you make better decisions.
Stockagile provides software designed to make everyone’s life easier, so you can focus on your core operations, from serving your main customer to growing faster.