Food Distribution Software

Food Distribution

Foodservice distribution is facing increasing challenges for the independent operator trying to compete with the national and systems distributors. Independent broadline and specialty distributors have discovered how to leverage Microsoft technology to effectively compete on both a local and regional level.

One of the biggest challenges that our foodservice customers face is their desire to move away from the multiple proprietary legacy systems that have historically been prevalent in the industry to a more flexible, widely supported platform that provides information needed to make key decisions in a rapidly changing environment—in one system! Take a look at some of the situations below, if these describe your current condition, give us a call; let’s talk about what ABC Computers and Microsoft can do to help you.

Are these challenges for your company?

Retailer issues:

• Customer-specific requirements (e.g., packaging, labeling, delivery requirements, etc.) that are difficult to manage and implement efficiently
• Lower prices placing a squeeze on already razor-thin distributor margins
• Greater ability to place and monitor orders on the Web
• Fast answers to questions about delivery, price, and availability
• Retailers continue to grow their market share, forcing more technology and integration upon distributors ( e.g., RFID, POS Support)
• Customers need shipments in hours, not days

Operations:

• Sheltered income/Promotion management is very difficult; managing hundreds of suppliers’ different promotions to hundreds of customers
• Find ways to capture catch weights easily and integrate them with accounting for accurate and efficient billing
• Cost-effective ways to deliver products directly to store shelves using DSD Route Accounting
• Seasonal buying forces large risks in inventory planning
• Internal inefficiencies erode gross profit, diminish customer service and slow growth—sometimes due to the lack of integrated systems
• Recruiting and retaining good people
• Lack of flexible systems slows ability to offer new services and products

Product issues:

• Constantly changing products can make it difficult to properly stock
• Short product life creates challenges in inventory management, business systems, and customer satisfaction
• Approximately half of all products from manufacturers fail—which ones should be stocked?

Food safety:

• Tracking and tracing product from manufacturer to store shelves in case there is a recall or other concern

But it’s not only about the software. It is about challenges that come from every avenue of a business – from Accounting to Human Resources. Finding and implementing a solution to address not only the individuality of your business, but the everyday hurdles in the distribution industry can feel like an overwhelming consideration to make. It doesn’t have to be…

With the right ERP solution, our Foodservice clients have:

• Achieved better forecasting visibility
• Improved marketing programs to better capture bill back and rebate information
• Automated warehouse functions
• Provided key decision makers with dynamic flexible reporting to answer the questions they have regarding their business

ABC is committed to providing solutions tailored to the distinctive processes of each client’s business. There are no two clients operating exactly the same, and we never treat our customers just like the other guy. Your company’s success is individualized. Microsoft Dynamics NAV, along with ABC, gives food distributors the required visibility to track products, lower inventory levels, and deliver on retailer-specific requirements, while lowering the cost of internal operations. Built on a platform you know, Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps deliver integration from customer to warehouse to general ledger to supplier. It is a solution that you and your employees need to support your growth, while allowing the flexibility required to meet increasingly difficult customer and government mandates. To get you from packaging to profits! If you are looking for an effective yet manageable solution, we suggest Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

ABC Computers has helped foodservice distributors achieve impressive results by allowing them to grow their businesses without adding additional staff. Simultaneously providing executive teams the information they need in order to make purchasing, pricing, and marketing decisions related to their businesses.

How? While many aspects of foodservice distribution are similar, every operator is unique. ABC invested heavily in listening, learning, and only then working to apply our skills, experience, and software tools to help our clients improve their systems. We believe that the best way to help you is to spend time learning what makes your organization special and then help you leverage that strength through improved systems and processes.

Some of the features of the ABC Computers Foodservice solution:

• Catch weights
• Multi-level market based pricing
• Vendor rebate tracking and automation
• Customer rebate tracking and automation
• Order guides
• Executive dashboards to help support quick decisions required of foodservice leaders
• Truck routing and delivery schedules
• Sales force automation tools
• Warehouse automation
• Complete source code to allow for easy customization to meet your specific needs

What Can Microsoft Dynamics Do For Food & Beverage Distributors?

Microsoft Dynamics helps enable food and beverage distributors to:

Improve Operations and Reduce Costs

• Streamline business systems, which speeds order picking by 2X to 6X with powerful and integrated Automatic Data Collection (ADC) solutions
• Allows distributors to significantly increase volume without increasing the size of the building or staff
• Delivers real-time reports and alerts to management and retailers on the status of critical business status
• Create accurate demand-forecasting models that lower inventory and improve customer service
• Start new operations quickly with fast implementation of ERP and the rest of their technology solutions
• Deliver business-wide reports to understand where savings can be found and where customers are being serviced most effectively
• Lower inventory costs by managing the size and age of inventory with varying shelf lives and delivering demand signals to purchasing directly from sales and retailers

Develop Profitable Customer Relationships

• Automatically track and trace products from the manufacturer to the retailer
• Manage manufacturer promotions
• Increase flexibility of systems to efficiently deliver on customer demands such as specific packaging, marking, and shipping requirements
• Implement customer-specific technology and reporting requests
• Quickly customize business reports required for improved business performance
• Speed critical answers to customers with low-cost, easy-to-implement Web-based systems
• Improve customer support by effectively tracking and monitoring customer needs and requests

Click here to learn how ABC Computers and Microsoft Dynamics help Single Source Inc. with their unique distribution needs!

See a Demo of the Foodservice Solution

Offices in Waupaca, Rhinelander and Onalaska, Wisconsin, as well as South Bend, Indiana. Staff located throughout the Midwest including Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago. Clients served in WI, IL, IN, MI & MN, as well as nationally and internationally.