In wholesale and distribution, sales run along two tracks: regular dealers who order from their desks, and outlets visited in the field. Both tracks end at the same warehouse, the same customer account and the same accounting system. Problems usually arise because the two tracks work without knowing about each other.
1. Orders arrive scattered across phone, WhatsApp and e-mail
Each channel lands with a different person and is then keyed into the ERP by hand. Messages that arrive after hours wait until morning, and a misread product code turns into a wrong shipment. A portal where dealers enter their own orders moves the data entry workload back to its source.
2. Sales reps do not know current prices and stock
If a rep in the field is working from a printed price list or an old Excel file, the prices they quote and the delivery dates they promise conflict with head office. In a tablet or phone app, current prices, promotions and warehouse stock are visible, and the order is completed beside the customer, with their approval.
3. Credit limit breaches are spotted after shipment
Shipping new goods to a customer whose debt is already over the limit makes the collections problem worse. Checking the account balance and credit limit at the moment of ordering, and routing over-limit orders for approval, catches this risk before shipment.
4. Visit and collection performance cannot be measured
When nobody knows which rep visits which customer how often, how many visits end in an order and how much is collected in the field, territory planning is guesswork. Route, visit and collection records generate this data on their own.
