Distribution ERP Consultant, UK

How UK wholesale distribution runs day to day

A delivered wholesaler in the UK lives by the order cut-off. Customers place orders through a rep, telesales, a web shop or an app until a set time, then the warehouse picks overnight or early morning, loads each vehicle in reverse drop order, and drivers deliver to shops, pubs and kitchens on a fixed day. At the door the driver records what was accepted, refused or short, and takes payment from customers who are not on account. Credits, returns and empties come back on the vehicle.

The cash and carry runs in parallel. Account customers and trade card holders pick from the shelves, pay at the till and leave with goods, so stock moves in real time while the delivered operation is allocating from the same building.

As a process map, the two meet at shared inventory: order capture by channel -> cut-off -> allocation -> picking by route -> loading -> delivery and proof of delivery -> credits and returns -> settlement, with counter sales drawing down stock all day. I map both, then define allocation rules so delivered customers are not let down by what the counter sold an hour earlier. That is usually the first requirement that separates platforms in an ERP requirements exercise.

Retailer EDI, promotions and supplier claims

Supplying grocery multiples, discounters or national convenience groups brings a different discipline. Orders arrive by EDI, often with tight booking slots at a regional depot, and the retailer checks your ship notice and invoice against its own purchase order. Mismatches lead to queries, delayed payment or deductions. Each trading partner has its own message formats and labeling rules, so I list them one by one rather than assuming a single EDI connection covers everything.

Promotions are the other margin question. Suppliers fund price promotions, retrospective volume discounts and listing deals, and wholesalers pass part of that on through promotional prices and customer deals. When agreements live in email, the business sells at the promoted price but forgets to claim the funding. The requirements I write cover:

• how each supplier agreement is recorded, with its period, lines and funding basis
• how promotional sales are flagged and reported back to the supplier
• how retrospective discounts accrue through the year
• who approves claims and how disputes are chased

This feeds integration scope as well, since an EDI provider, a promotions tool and the ERP all touch the same transactions and must agree on item codes, pack sizes and prices.

VAT records, credit accounts and customer data

UK distributors registered for VAT keep digital records and file returns through compatible software under Making Tax Digital, so the ERP or the accounting package it feeds has to produce returns without manual spreadsheet adjustments. Wholesale invoices often mix standard-rated, reduced-rated and zero-rated lines, especially in food and drink, and some categories carry extra rules. I record how each product group is coded today and leave the treatment to your accountant; the design job is making sure the code sits on the item, not in a clerk's memory.

Credit accounts are the other daily concern. Delivered customers often trade on weekly or monthly terms, and the driver may be the first person to notice a customer is struggling. The design covers credit limits checked at order entry and again at loading, stop lists that prevent a vehicle leaving with goods for an account on hold, and direct debit or card payments matched to the right invoices.

Customer and staff data, including vehicle tracking, falls under UK GDPR, so I note retention and access needs as requirements. These details become problems after go-live precisely because nobody wrote them down before it.

Moving off Sage and separate tills, and choosing a platform

The usual UK starting point is Sage 50 or Sage 200 for the books, an older wholesale package or EPOS at the depot, a separate delivery planning tool and a web shop added later. Each holds part of the customer record. Before selection I list every system, who uses it and which data it owns, then decide what the new ERP replaces and what stays connected.

Platform choice follows the channel mix. A wholesaler with a busy cash and carry needs a point of sale that keeps trading when the internet drops. A delivered-only distributor cares more about route planning and driver apps. One that supplies retail chains needs proven EDI connectors. I run scripted demos built on a real delivery day, including a refused drop, a promoted line and an account on stop, so each vendor shows its handling instead of describing it.

Migration priorities are open customer accounts and terms, current price files and deals, active promotions, barcodes with outer and case quantities, and open supplier claims. For product-level detail, see Odoo Inventory in the UK and Zoho Inventory in the UK, and the wider approach is on the distribution industry page.

Remote analysis that fits a wholesaler's day

I work remotely with UK distributors, keeping live workshops inside the British working day and sharing recorded process walkthroughs with depot and transport staff who start before dawn and cannot join a midday call. Most of the analysis runs through screen-shared sessions, sample delivery notes and invoices, and short clips of a picker or driver doing the job. A visit to walk the warehouse is possible by arrangement, though it is rarely the deciding factor.

Because I do not sell software, I can tell you when the current system is not the real problem. Sometimes the fix is a firmer cut-off, a clean price file or better allocation rules, and the ERP decision can wait a year. When a new system is the answer, I write the brief, review partner proposals and stay with you through testing. The UK ERP consultant page describes my working approach with British firms, and the UK hub covers wider market notes.