| Sector | Wholesalers, distributors and cash-and-carry operators |
|---|---|
| Common problems | Orders retyped from calls and messages, price tiers in someone's head, stock unknown, proof of delivery on paper |
| Typical fix | Customer ordering that writes straight into the system, price tiers held per customer, reorder points, digital proof of delivery |
| Also relevant | Credit limits, batch and expiry tracking, returns and credit notes |
| Starts with | A free operational audit |
| Area served | Ireland |
A business that runs on re-entry
Wholesale has a specific and unusually costly pattern: the order arrives in a human format and has to be converted into a system format by a person. A customer rings, or sends a message, or emails a list. Somebody writes it down. Somebody types it in.
That conversion step is where the errors enter, where the delay sits, and where a surprising amount of a wholesaler's payroll goes.
Where the time goes
- Orders typed from calls and messages. Twice, if they were written on paper first.
- Prices held in people's heads. Agreed customer tiers that only long-serving staff know, which means only they can take orders confidently.
- Stock that is not quite known. So orders are accepted that cannot be filled, and shortfalls are discovered at picking.
- Picking from handwritten lists. With no record of what was actually picked versus ordered.
- Proof of delivery on paper. Which has to travel back before anything can be billed or queried.
- Credit limits checked informally. Or after the fact, once the exposure already exists.
- Returns and credit notes handled ad hoc. Agreed verbally and reconstructed at month end.
What automating it looks like
Capture the order where it arrives
The point is not to force customers onto a portal. It is that taking an order writes the record directly, with that customer's agreed prices, live stock and credit position on screen while they are still on the phone. Customers who do want to self-serve get a portal; the rest keep ringing, and the re-entry disappears either way.
Prices that belong to the customer
Agreed tiers held against the account, so pricing is consistent, anyone can take an order, and a disputed invoice is settled by looking.
Stock that is trusted
Live quantities with reorder points, so shortfalls surface at order time rather than at picking, and reordering stops depending on somebody noticing.
Digital proof of delivery
Signature, timestamp and photograph captured at the door and available immediately. Billing stops waiting for paperwork to travel, and a disputed delivery has an answer. See delivery depots.
Credit control that is part of the process
Limits and current exposure visible when the order is taken, which is the only moment the information can actually change a decision.
Where to start
Start with a free operational audit. We will follow one order from the moment it arrives to the moment it is paid, and count the handlings. In most wholesalers the figure surprises people.
Frequently asked questions
Our customers order by phone and WhatsApp. Is that a problem?
It is not a problem to be eliminated, it is a channel to be captured. Customers order the way that suits them and trying to force them onto a portal usually fails. The fix is to make the order become a record the moment it is taken, with prices, stock and credit position visible while the customer is still on the phone, rather than retyping it afterwards.
Why do price tiers cause so much trouble?
Because they usually live in the head of whoever has been there longest. Different customers have different agreed prices, and when that knowledge is not in the system, orders get priced inconsistently, new staff cannot take orders unsupervised, and a disputed invoice cannot be settled from a record. Holding tiers against the customer fixes all three.
What does digital proof of delivery change?
It removes the gap between delivery and billing. A signature on paper has to travel back before anything can be invoiced or a query answered, and a disputed delivery without a record is usually credited rather than argued. Captured digitally with a timestamp and a photograph, it is available immediately. Oxus does similar capture for parcel operators in DepotIQ.
Can you connect this to the accounts package we already use?
Usually yes, and that is normally the right answer rather than replacing it. Orders, deliveries and credit notes flowing into your existing accounts system removes the re-entry without disrupting the part your bookkeeper already knows. See systems integration.
We handle food with batch and expiry requirements.
Then batch tracking is not optional and it is worth building properly. Knowing which batch went to which customer is the difference between a targeted recall and a general one, and expiry tracking is the same date-watching mechanism Oxus builds everywhere.