Wholesale and Distribution

Industry Expertise

There was a time when Wholesale & Distribution was a pure trading environment. Companies bought goods, stocked them and sold them on. Warehousing and logistics were the primary functions that had to be managed. Today's wholesale and distribution companies are different animals.

They have to contend with:

The provision of added value services, such as re-packaging and product assembly

Complex, often global, sourcing arrangements

Increasingly short order to delivery times

Continuous downward pressure on prices from customers

Increasing regulatory requirements for tracing and tracking products and effectively managing product returns.

Wholesalers work hard to build profitable growth but, faced with shrinking margins, growing costs, and new competitors, many wholesalers are offering value-added services to improve customer loyalty, and outsourcing core business processes to reduce costs. As competition continues to grow in the industry, wholesalers will have to find new ways to streamline and rationalise their internal infrastructure to drive the operational excellence demanded by customers.

All this means that having effective warehousing and logistics operations is no longer enough. Wholesale and Distribution companies must have complete visibility of their complex supply chains in order to:

Forecast demand more accurately, to avoid stock-outs and schedule resources effectively

Closely match supply and demand, to optimise inventory throughout the supply chain

Improve traceability and tracking, without adding overheads

Improve delivery performance while reducing costs

Cost effectively manage the reverse supply chain.

The bottom line? Warehousing & Distribution companies large and small need business solutions that enable them to manage their increasingly complex supply chains efficiently, effectively and for maximum profitability.

Sapphire in the wholesale & distribution industry

- Read the HiB case study

- Watch the Liberty Wines case study

- Read the United Fleet Distribution case study

Sapphire can help you improve your business processes to make your business more agile. We provide solutions that will help you to:

Meet an increased demand for faster turnaround – without increasing headcount.

Have up to the minute information on your supply chain to improve decision-making.

Standardise your business processes throughout your entire organisation.

Improve delivery times and inventory management

Reduce costs through improving financial, sales, procurement and warehousing processes.

Gain real-time profitability reporting through departments, subsidiaries, sales, product lines and customers.

Improve traceability and quality control.

Save time and effort in the event of product recalls.

For more information on the solutions that can fulfil these requirements please visit our products and solutions section.

If you are interested in seeing any of our product and services in action, why not check our events section for further information?

For more information, please contact us.