The distribution business is competitive, and it’s getting more so every day. It’s now easier than ever for customers to source products from manufacturers and low-cost global competitors. Customers today also demand omnichannel options and want to purchase, exchange, and return products both in-store and online.
This means that distributors must be agile and use modern technologies if they want to keep up with this fast-moving market. In this series of two blog posts, we will explore seven ways distributors can compete and grow with cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, such as Acumatica. This article shares the first three.
#1 – Generate Sales and Increase Leads
To survive in a competitive market, distributors must boost revenue from their existing clients and gain new ones. Acumatica Distribution Edition helps distributors generate leads and make more sales by providing:
- Marketing and Sales Force Automation—Acumatica’s marketing and sales force automation tools allow distributors to generate leads, create targeted email campaigns, manage inbound marketing and social media interactions, and track progress through the sales pipeline.
- Connected Commerce Storefronts—By setting up an eCommerce storefront connected to Acumatica, distributors can reach new markets and sell 24/7. Acumatica allows distributors to synchronize pictures, pricing, categories, and inventory with your website. The orders then flow directly into Acumatica for fulfilment.
- Native Point of Sale Automation—The Acumatica point of sale (POS) application connects to POS hardware, such as credit card processes. Distributors can process returns in-store and online, for example. The POS app gives distributors real-time inventory information and pricing.
- Applications for Service and Support—These applications permit distributors to streamline customer service, automate field service, and manage warranty claims. Service Management, for example, gives field technicians schedules, equipment information, component part inventories, service histories, and equipment warranties.
#2 – Optimize Inventory Levels
To be successful, every distributor must properly manage business inventory. For the best return on investment on inventory, distributors must maintain optimal stock levels and maximize return on investment. Acumatica’s ERP software delivers on these fronts. It can help distributors:
- Optimize Inventory with Replenishment—These tools let distributors set and track reorder points. The software also recommends order quantities based on the user-defined minimum and maximum stock levels. This allows distributors to fine-tune their inventory management processes.
- Minimize Perishable Inventory Issues—Perishable inventory is a challenge for distributors. To minimize waste and maximize profits, Acumatica tracks the age of inventory items, generates alerts when products are approaching expiration dates, and implements first-expired-first-out (FEFO) picking.
- Monitor Supply and Demand in Real-time—Acumatica’s real-time reporting capabilities allow users to see inventory levels, sales trends, and customer demand. This information can allow businesses to make informed decisions about stocking levels, product mix, and pricing.
- Streamline Item Management—Matrix items simplify management, product family creation, and ordering. When an item has multiple attributes such as size, color, or style, matrix items allow distributors to manage these variations. This streamlines the ordering process and provides customers with more accurate information about product availability.
#3 – Streamline Warehouse Operations
Inefficient inventory practices cost distributors time, money, and valuable resources. Acumatica helps warehouse managers improve efficiency by automating the picking process with bar-coded transactions and flexible order fulfilment strategies.
Acumatica’s Warehouse Management (WMS) solution, which includes advanced wave and batch picking, allows vendors to fulfil orders faster. It will enable distributors to decrease the number of errors, increase data accuracy, and cut out manual data entry by automating the pick, packing, and shipping process. Specifically, Acumatica’s Warehouse Management Solution offers:
- Embedded WMS with Barcoding—Accuracy is key to a successful business. With Acumatica’s distribution edition, you can reduce errors and improve customer satisfaction with accurate order fulfilment. Acumatica Distribution Edition comes with a sophisticated WMS app and barcode printing to automate picking, packing, shipping, warehouse transfers, physical inventory counts, etc.
- Flexible Order Fulfilment—To meet customer expectations, you need a flexible and adaptable fulfilment strategy. Acumatica’s WMS app supports multiple inventory locations, drop-shipments, backorders, and special orders.
- Extended Warehouse Applications—EDI and other technologies can improve warehouse management by creating an electronic link between your company’s logistics department and transportation providers, such as trucking firms. This process decreases paperwork and improves efficiency.
Acumatica’s Distribution Management software is a complete, end-to-end solution that helps distributors streamline their inventory management processes.
To discover how Acumatica’s Distribution Management software can save your distribution business time and money, check out this Acumatica Demo.
Additional Distribution Resources
7 Features Every Distributor Needs in their ERP Software
7 Ways Distributors Can Grow with Modern Cloud ERP Software – Part 2