If you run an online wholesale business, you probably already know how challenging it can be to juggle everything. Between managing inventory, billing, and shipping, the to-do list is seemingly never-ending. This is where a wholesale distribution software can provide immense value.
Wholesale software can help with operations such as order management and billing. In addition, it allows you to control and customize your workflow. As a result of these benefits, you get to enjoy more time to expand other areas of your business.
Today, we’ll discuss wholesale distribution software and why it’s essential for your business. Then, we’ll recommend the best wholesale software and look at the features and benefits of these solutions.
So let’s dive in!
An Introduction To Wholesale Distribution Software
Wholesale commerce has been on the rise in recent years. The industry has increased more than 4 percent every year since 2017 in the U.S. alone, with its trajectory expected to grow.
If you own an online wholesale business, you’re likely looking to optimize your operations. That’s where wholesale software can help. Simply put, such software can simplify essential business processes. As a result, running your company becomes easier, and you even improve your chances of boosting revenue.
Basically, wholesale distribution software can streamline shipping management, inventory processing, and financial management workflows. For example, it might automatically reorder stock from a vendor when your inventory level drops to a certain point.
The majority of wholesale distributors use numerous platforms to manage their operations. However, using distribution software can make keep tracking of multiple tools far more convenient.
For all these reasons, almost any wholesale business can benefit from using distribution software. At its core, the software can improve and speed up your operations. Ultimately, this can help you expand your online business and increase sales.
Why Wholesale Distribution Software Is Essential
Wholesale distribution software can handle important business processes such as shipping, manufacturing, financial management, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Furthermore, it can combine such processes into a single package where data is shared.
There are many ways your wholesale store could benefit from using distribution software. These include:
- Reduced operation costs
- Simplified sales processes
- Streamlined supply chain operations
- Optimized inventory management
- Improved customer experience and satisfaction
Ultimately, this software uses automation to take necessary tasks off your hand. And by reducing manual work, you and your employees have more time to run other areas of your business.
Key Features To Look For In A Wholesale Software
When researching wholesale software for your business, you’ll find that each solution offers a different set of features. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand what your business needs (more on this later) so you can choose the right software for your operations. Below, we listed down some key features to look for when seeking the best wholesale software:
- Pricing and discount management: One thing that sets wholesale businesses apart from retail stores is that it has a more complex pricing structure. As a wholesaler, you need to offer bulk discounts, set different pricing tiers, and offer flexible payment terms to your bulk buyers. Therefore, you’ll need software that will help you manage these discounts effortlessly and allow you to set minimum order requirements.
- Order management: Your wholesale software should be able to simplify the order management process, from the actual customer purchase experience to order tracking, invoicing, and fulfillment.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Look for a solution that will help you manage customer interactions and allow you to personalize your communication to engage wholesale customers and foster loyalty.
- Analytics: Access to accurate and timely reports will help you make data-driven decisions about your inventory, customer management, and overall operations.
- Inventory management: To succeed in wholesaling, it’s crucial to have the right products at the right time. Therefore, look for a solution that offers real-time inventory tracking and forecasting to ensure you always meet customer demand.
What Type Of Wholesale Software Do You Need?
Before we dive into the list of the best wholesale software, it’s important to assess your business needs first. This crucial step will help narrow down your options and ensure you choose the right tool.
Small business
If you’ve just started wholesaling, look for user-friendly and cost-effective options that offer key features like pricing management, bulk ordering capabilities, and basic CRM and inventory tracking capabilities. It’s also important to choose a scalable solution that can grow as your business as your business expands. This way, you won’t need to switch systems as your business needs change.
Medium-sized businesses
Medium-sized businesses often have more complex operational needs. Therefore, look for wholesale distribution software that offers advanced inventory tracking and order management to meet increased customer demand. Features like automated invoicing, detailed analytics, and reporting are crucial to help you make informed business decisions.
Large enterprises
Large wholesale enterprises deal with high demand, multiple warehouses, extensive product lines, and a large customer base. It’s therefore a must to invest in enterprise-grade solutions that allow for extensive automation, supply chain management, and advanced analytics. Your wholesale software should be able to monitor and manage stock levels across multiple warehouses to ensure you meet customer demand.
7 Best Wholesale Distribution Software For Online Sales
The best software for wholesalers offers everything you need to run your company operations smoothly. When choosing a solution for your business, it’s important to look for software with features such as billing and invoice automation, inventory management, and CRM tools.
With that in mind, here are the top seven wholesale software options for your online store!
1. Wholesale Suite
If you’re looking for a user-friendly, comprehensive all-in-one wholesale solution, then Wholesale Suite is one of your best bets. This comprehensive solution for WooCommerce allows you to bring your entire wholesale operations online effortlessly.
With Wholesale Suite, you can easily set wholesale prices, bulk discounts, additional user roles for wholesale, and product visibility restrictions. Moreover, our plugin lets you set minimum order requirements, wholesale shipping, and offer flexible payment options.
Wholesale Suite improves user experience with its efficient AJAX-driven, mobile-friendly bulk order form. When it comes to customer management, you can easily set up a B2B customer registration form to capture wholesale leads. Set up automated approvals for new leads and send welcome emails to keep your wholesale customers engaged from the start.
Key features:
- Efficiently manage wholesale pricing across multiple levels
- Control product visibility by user role
- Use minimum purchase rules to easily enforce order and product minimums
- Utilize a wholesale order form that streamlines one-page ordering
- Create a custom wholesale registration form to capture leads
- Offer flexible payment terms to buk buyers
Pricing: Check out our pricing page for more information.
2. NetSuite
A cloud solution management system for wholesale businesses, NetSuite uses software that consolidates operations and automates procedures for your store.
This tool has inventory tracking, order fulfillment, and supplier and vendor relationship management. All of these processes help streamline essential tasks. Companies from many industries, including retail, energy, and manufacturing, can benefit from using NetSuite.
However, the Netsuite interface isn’t very intuitive. This can detract from the user experience, especially if you’re a beginner.
Key features:
- Manage order, vendor, and warehouse optimization tasks
- Use the omnichannel commerce feature to reach customers online, by phone, or over email
- Access supply chain portals for your vendors, customers, and sales partners to maximize efficiency
- Plan, budget, and analyze finances
Pricing: You can contact Netsuite for pricing estimates for your wholesale business.
3. BlueCart
Restaurant, food, and hospitality businesses can greatly benefit from BlueCart. After all, this wholesale distribution software combines order management, billing automation, subscription management, and e-commerce marketing. And together, these core functions can simplify your wholesale business operations.
BlueCart features digital catalog software that lets you easily change your product catalog and update your prices. In addition, it provides a variety of warehouse operations solutions and a built-in CRM.
However, BlueCart comes with a potential drawback: it can be a tad glitchy, as some users have reported. Unfortunately, this can cause delays when placing orders.
Key features:
- Use inventory, recurring billing, and route and delivery management features
- Access order fulfillment settings
- Manage customer relationships
- Utilize unlimited storefronts and digital catalogs
Pricing: Wholesale businesses and enterprises can schedule a call with BlueCart for pricing information.
4. QuickBooks
A distribution platform suited to small to medium-sized businesses, QuickBooks uses cloud-based technology and provides a portal where clients can contact the help team for support.
QuickBooks is user-friendly and has an easy-to-learn interface. In addition, you can access QuickBooks from any device, including smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, QuickBooks is suitable for almost any wholesale industry, including healthcare, food and beverage, and electronics.
However, Quickbooks lacks certain industry-specific features. Therefore, it could be a poor option if you need highly-specialized software.
Key features:
- Centralize vendor information through a single source
- Automate inventory management with mobile barcode scanning
- Streamline order management
- Use landed cost calculations to protect your profit margins
Pricing: QuickBooks plans start at $1,740 per year for the Gold plan.
5. SYSPRO ERP
SYSPRO ERP offers a modular solution. It allows larger wholesale businesses to design systems according to their needs. This technology can make your business digital and streamline your supply chain.
This application is a solution that benefits businesses with more extensive distribution and manufacturing functions. Furthermore, SYSPRO ERP is suitable for various industries, including electronics, metal fabrication, and food and beverage.
However, performing upgrades with the SYSPRO ERP software requires careful research and can be challenging. Therefore, it’s probably not the best option for beginners.
Key features:
- Use cost tracking to monitor and identify product prices
- Manage orders and streamline the order-to-delivery process
- Utilize the sales analysis tool to predict product sales trends
- Optimize inventory and automatically monitor KPIs
Pricing: You can contact SYSPRO ERP directly for pricing information.
6. SAP Business One
SAP Business One is designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses and is perfect for entrepreneurs looking for an all-in-one solution.
This ERP software integrates key business functions into one system–from financial, customer relationship management, and inventory control. It’s also designed to be customizable to meet the unique needs of various industries.
With SAP Business One, businesses gain access to an intuitive and interactive report dashboard that features real-time insights on revenues, costs, and cash flow. However, as with any advanced ERP system, initial setup and customization can be complex, which presents a steep learning curve for beginners.
Key features:
- Manage financials, including accounting, banking, and financial reporting.
- Sales and customer management from lead generation to after-sales support.
- Business intelligence with real-time analytics and interactive dashboards.
- Mobile apps and a web client for business management on the go.
- Industry-specific capabilities.
Pricing: You can contact SAP directly for pricing information.
7. Fishbowl
This wholesale software is a great solution for business owners looking to improve inventory management. Fishbowl integrates with QuickBooks to help you maintain accurate financial records while managing your inventory efficiently.
With Fishbowl, you can accurately manage inventory across multiple locations, making it a great solution for wholesalers with several warehouses or outlets.
Key Features:
- Inventory tracking and real-time updates.
- Streamlined manufacturing processes with work orders.
- Warehouse management with barcoding and order fulfillment.
- Seamless QuickBooks integration.
- Detailed reports and analytics for decision-making.
Pricing: You can contact Fishbowl directly for pricing information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is wholesale distribution software?
Wholesale distribution software helps businesses manage their wholesale operations by integrating key operational aspects like pricing management, bulk ordering, customer relationship management, and inventory tracking into one solution.
How to be a wholesale distributor?
Firstly, identify the industry or niche you want to enter and understand customer demand. Once you’re set with your niche, develop a business plan that outlines your goals and strategies and research for the best suppliers (or manufacturers) where you can source your products. The next step is to set up your operations, which entails registering your business and setting up warehousing and logistics.
Consider leveraging all-in-one solutions like Wholesale Suite to easily set up an e-commerce wholesale store. Lastly, to grow your business and attract customers, you’ll have to employ marketing strategies to promote your store.
What is the best software for retail and wholesale?
The best software for your business will depend on factors like business size, industry, or specific needs. It’s important to get clear on your goals and needs when choosing the best wholesale software. For WooCommerce users, Wholesale Suite offers the most comprehensive features for creating a wholesale e-commerce store. This includes setting wholesale pricing, bulk discounts, and user-friendly order forms, wholesale lead capture, and flexible B2B payment terms.
Conclusion
Running a wholesale business can be a lot of work. Fortunately, wholesale distribution software can help you save time and reduce manual operations. Utilizing this software lets you focus on boosting sales and growing your business.
To recap, here are the top five wholesale distribution software options:
Do you have any questions about choosing wholesale distribution software for your online store? Let us know in the comments section below!
