An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a fast and efficient software system for businesses to manage the core functions of their business processes in real time. These core functions include supply chain management, customer relationship management, project management, inventory management, and more.
Wholesale and distribution companies frequently deal with challenges and setbacks, such as inventory shortages and supply chain disruptions, which reduce productivity and customer service. ERP systems can help wholesale businesses overcome these problems by staying current on the latest inventory and supply chain data within their operation.
What is a Wholesale Operation?
A wholesale operation consists of wholesale businesses and dealers selling discounted goods in bulk to retailers, distributors, and individuals worldwide. Sometimes, the wholesalers create the goods themselves, but they usually obtain them directly from the product manufacturers at even greater discounts.
Most products you see on the shelves in retail stores come from wholesale dealers. The retail stores buy those items at discounted prices and then resell them to end consumers for higher prices. The difference between the discounted and retail prices is the store’s profit for each sold product.
Wholesale dealers are the intermediaries between the retailers and the manufacturers. They are critical in supporting and sustaining the supply chain of any retail business. If there are disruptions in the wholesale operations, such as reduced productivity and inventory, then there will be less supply and higher prices for end consumers.
For this reason, wholesale dealers must manage their inventory and supply chain efficiently to satisfy the demands of retailers and consumers. Since the wholesale industry is highly competitive, wholesalers must work overtime to offer competitive pricing and reliability to their commercial clients. Custom ERP systems can help them achieve this objective.
How Custom ERP Systems Can Streamline Wholesale Operations
Standard ERP systems cannot adequately assist wholesale dealers with complex national and international operations. On the other hand, custom ERP systems can streamline critical operations for wholesalers, from order processing to logistics and financial management. They serve as centralised platforms for wholesale dealers to manage all aspects of their operations quickly and accurately.
Below are the top ways custom ERP systems can streamline wholesale operations.
1) Automatically Replenish Inventory
One of the biggest threats to a wholesale operation is low inventory. If a wholesale dealer does not have inventory to send to its clients, it could ruin their business relationship and ultimately hurt the reputation and sustainability of the wholesale business.
Custom ERP systems can automate the process of inventory management by automatically tracking inventory levels and product transportation. So, if your custom ERP system detects low inventory for your operations, it will automatically submit an order to the manufacturer for more bulk supply to refill the inventory. That way, you don’t even run out of inventory to satisfy your clients.
2) Process Sales Faster
Maintaining client satisfaction requires wholesale dealers to process orders quickly. Custom ERP systems can automate and streamline all aspects of sales management for dealers, such as generating estimated price quotes, sending invoices, creating contracts, order fulfilment, order tracking, and more. Not only will clients receive their shipments faster, but they can track their location from the shipping hub to the destination.
3) Monitor the Manufacturers and Suppliers
Wholesale dealers are heavily dependent on their product manufacturers and suppliers. The great thing about custom ERP systems is that they allow wholesale dealers to track the performances of their manufacturers and suppliers. They can tell you everything from the status of raw material exports to the shipment of the finished manufactured goods. Tracking this performance helps wholesale dealers manage their part of the supply chain as they await their shipments.
4) Improve Customer Service
Custom ERP systems are designed to improve customer relationships in many ways. In addition to tracking and managing shipments and inventory, custom ERP systems allow wholesale dealers to track real-time and historical customer data to create targeted marketing campaigns and recommendations.
5) Generate Analytics and Reports
Custom ERP systems can provide wholesale dealers with well-organised reports of analytical statistics and real-time data regarding their operations. These reports can tell wholesale businesses a lot about their operations, such as client behaviour, sales performance, procurement status, and inventory levels. Based on the information in the reports, wholesale dealers can make better business decisions to improve their operations.
How to Customize the ERP System
If you have never used an ERP system, you may wonder how to customise it to suit your wholesale operations appropriately. The customization process involves system integration, data mapping, data cleansing, configuring workflows, inserting custom fields, and more.
Here is a rundown of the basic steps involved in customising an ERP system for wholesale operations:
1) Figure Out What You Want to Customize
How much of the ERP system do you want to customise? You can customise the user interface, documents, forms, third-party software integration, or the source code entirely. Make sure you know what you’re doing before attempting to customise your ERP system because any mistakes can have huge ramifications on your wholesale operations. That is why it’s best to work with a specialist to help you customise your ERP system.
2) Collaborate with Stakeholders
A custom ERP system will usually involve integration with the third-party software systems of your stakeholders, including the manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers. Your stakeholders can provide you with the necessary codes and information to integrate your ERP system with their system.
3) Create the Custom Design of the ERP System
After you know what you want to customise and integrate, the next step is the custom ERP system design process. You and your specialists can begin designing the architecture of your custom ERP system based on all the requirements you laid out for yourselves in the beginning.
4) Develop the Custom ERP System Software
Based on the design created, the specialists will use your coding and technical skills to develop the custom ERP software into a functional system for your wholesale operations. These specialists must know business logic, APIs, UI design, software engineering, and coding.
5) Test the Custom ERP System
Before using your custom ERP system in your wholesale operations, you should test it to ensure there are no errors or malfunctions in the system. Ask other employees and stakeholders to provide feedback on the system’s efficiency from both the centralised location and the client side. If there are any issues or errors, fix them all until the custom ERP system functions flawlessly.
Customise Your ERP System Today
Do you need a professional or specialist to customise your ERP system to streamline your wholesale operation? Bluehub specialises in streamlining ERP and inventory systems by customising them to accommodate the size and complexities of a wholesale business.
