NetSuite ERP Consultant Blog

Solve 3 Challenges with Distribution Industry Software 

Written by Annette Manias | Jul 20, 2021 6:11:00 PM

Be Better Prepared to Be Resilient and Agile for Today's Distribution Environment

The need to be resilient and agile in business was confirmed time and again during the past year. The current environment promises to be even more demanding as we look ahead. Savvy customers are becoming more discerning, data continues to become overwhelming, and customizations are becoming more important. The right distribution industry software can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you so you’re ready to respond to whatever the future brings.

Challenge #1: Customers Want More Access to Data

What constitutes a perfect customer experience today is miles different than it looked not too long ago. Today’s tech-savvy consumers want real-time, all-the-time access to their order data at a level of granularity that’s difficult to support manually. To further complicate your ability to satisfy them is their expectation that they should be able to engage with your company through whatever channel they prefer, and they may use several in any single interaction. How will you support your customers’ desire for omnichannel interaction if you have your data in different systems?

The key to overcoming this challenge is delivering a truly omnichannel process. Distributors don’t often think about omnichannel commerce, but to be successful in an ever-growing, never-slowing omnichannel landscape, your wholesale distribution business relies on the integration of all of your core business systems. Distributors that have connected their supply chain, CRM, retail channels, and inventory will have a competitive advantage in two ways:

  • Most companies still struggle with disconnected data silos that don’t share information and can’t automatically pass an order from one point to the next. With NetSuite for Distribution, this is automated for you.
  • With real-time data at all steps in the process, it’s much easier for you to provide that ideal, omnichannel experience your customers expect.

Challenge #2: Data, But No Insights

As data sets grow in complexity, Deloitte found companies must find alternative data management solutions to handle the load. But now there’s a new problem: All this data, and no way to find insights in the noise. 

Technology advances across the supply chain can support vehicle automation, robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and blockchain. With a single source of record integrated with your financial and operational systems, an intelligent system can utilize all that to detect and alert you to risks and opportunities you would never be able to find or see in Excel spreadsheets. For example, NetSuite Supply Chain Control Tower includes:

  • Alerts identifying critical supply chain issues that require immediate attention.
  • Pre-configured supply chain KPIs to track the health of your supply chain.
  • A Predicted Risks engine that identifies purchase orders that may be in jeopardy.
  • “What If” scenarios that enable wholesale distributors to simulate the business impact of inventory changes across their entire supply chain.
  • The ability to match inventory to customer orders across varying customer types and timelines with the Commitment and Allocation Engine.

Challenge #3: Crucial Customizations Require Code

Being agile means being able to change things on the fly, as quickly as possible. For most companies, sometimes even adding a new user requires a support ticket or IT resources and days or even weeks to be completed.

In today’s up-to-the-minute environment, ideally your distribution industry software should enable you with the flexibility you want, while providing the rigor you need. For example, NetSuite for Distribution software enables you to self-service many of the customizations you have to send to experts now, such as:

  • Creating customizable, role-based dashboards specifically tailored for each business user’s need, providing a real-time view into company performance across finance, sales, marketing, inventory, service and fulfillment.
  • Connecting NetSuite application forms, fields and records in a simple point-and-click view. SuiteBuilder makes it easy to rapidly represent sophisticated data relationships without any code to surface insights and trends.
  • Personalizing NetSuite to your company's own terminology and branding.

Learn more about how distribution companies like yours are seeing tremendous results after implementing NetSuite distribution ERP with the guidance of the experts at Oasis Solutions

The Oasis Difference

If you decided to implement NetSuite, then you’re already off to a great start! It’s flexible, customizable and robust enough to help your business be more productive for the long-term. Our ERP consultants are available to help you avoid costly mistakes before your next ERP implementation.

Since 1991, Oasis Solutions has been serving businesses throughout North America with software consulting, development, training, and support. Oasis is an award-winning business management software partner for Sage software, NetSuite, and Workday Adaptive Planning.

Oasis has been around since before technology was a buzzword. We assist businesses in assessing, attaining and supporting business, manufacturing and inventory management software.

Our team has more than 350 years of combined industry experience. Our software specialists offer expertise in accounting, human resource management, and custom software development. Unlock your company’s full potential and discover how to start improving your business today with your custom Oasis Analysis.

Call: 502.429.6902
Email: sales@oasisky.com
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