Inventory is the backbone of your distribution business. This free 24-page guide provides a practical framework to evaluate inventory management and WMS capabilities—covering multi-branch visibility, barcode scanning, demand planning, ATP, cycle counting, and analytics for complex wholesale operations.
Poor inventory discipline shows up in margin erosion, cash flow constraints, and service failures—especially in multi-branch environments where stock imbalances and manual processes are common.
Excess inventory, markdowns, dead stock, and misaligned purchasing silently erode gross margin. The guide outlines controls and analytics needed to protect margins at SKU, branch, and customer levels.
Capital tied up in slow-moving stock constrains growth. Better demand planning, replenishment logic, and lead-time learning reduce carrying costs while still hitting service-level targets.
Inaccurate ATP, stockouts in the wrong branch, and manual order promises damage customer relationships. Real-time, multi-branch visibility enables reliable service and on-time delivery.
Understanding your specific challenges is the first step in selecting the right inventory and WMS solution.
Excess inventory in one location while facing stockouts in another without intelligent replenishment logic.
Thousands of SKUs naturally lead to obsolete inventory silently eroding profitability.
Paper-based receiving, put-away, and picking create bottlenecks, errors, and inefficiency.
Supplier lead times rarely match promises, causing stockouts or excessive safety stock.
Use these functional areas as a checklist when evaluating inventory management and WMS solutions.
Different distribution verticals have unique inventory management requirements. The guide covers scenarios for each.
Download the complete 24-page practical checklist for evaluating inventory and WMS solutions.
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Use this checklist during demos, RFPs, and reference calls to evaluate potential vendors.
Typically the COO, VP of Operations, or Supply Chain Director leads the effort, then shares the guide with branch managers, purchasing teams, warehouse leadership, and IT so everyone evaluates systems from the same playbook.
No. Many distributors use the guide to improve inventory processes and WMS execution on their current platform, while laying the groundwork for a more significant ERP upgrade later.
Yes. The guide includes scenarios for electrical distribution, HVAC/plumbing, fasteners/industrial/MRO, convenience store/tobacco/food, and pharmaceutical/medical distribution so you can see how requirements differ by vertical.
Inventory management focuses on stock levels, replenishment, and planning across locations, while WMS handles physical warehouse execution like receiving, put-away, picking, and shipping. For distributors, these should be integrated in a single platform.
Implementation timelines vary based on complexity, but the guide includes considerations for phased rollout by branch, pilot location testing, data migration requirements, and training/change management that typically span 3-6 months.
Strategic framework for evaluating cloud ERP across demand planning, purchasing, inventory, WMS, and logistics.
How to optimize operations across multiple warehouse locations with centralized visibility and control.
Inventory Management Buyer’s Guide
Cloud ERP for wholesale distributors. Modern UX, reliable operations, and scalable performance.
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