SOLUTIONS // ERP // DISTRIBUTION & WHOLESALE
ERP for distribution and wholesale, from order to collection.
We build ERP for distribution and wholesale businesses that trade on thin margins and long credit. Field orders, price lists, schemes, godown stock, deliveries and collections run in one system that your company owns.
THE PROBLEM
What goes wrong today.
A distributor's margin is lost in small errors: a scheme applied twice, an old rate on an invoice, goods released to a customer already past the credit limit. The errors happen because orders arrive on WhatsApp, stock is spread across godowns and vans, and outstanding is chased from memory.
A salesman takes an order at a retailer's counter, types it into a chat and moves to the next shop. Someone in the office decides which price list and scheme apply, and bills it. Nobody looks at the outstanding until the van is loaded. When the retailer disputes the invoice a month later, the only record is a chat thread.
Stock is the second leak. The billing software shows one figure for the company, while the goods sit in two godowns and on vans that have not come back. On FMCG and pharma lines, the newer batch goes out while the one nearest expiry stays at the back of the rack. Damaged goods come back without a note, and the claim on the principal company is filed late or not at all.
Billing software is enough for a trader with one counter and one godown, and we say so. A custom ERP becomes worth building when you run several godowns, a field team, customer-wise rates and scheme rules that a billing package does not hold correctly.
Signs it is time
- Orders reach the office as WhatsApp messages and voice notes
- A customer over the credit limit still gets the next delivery
- Scheme mistakes surface only when the principal settles the claim
- Nobody knows what is on a van until it returns
- Near-expiry stock is discovered at the annual count
THE WORKFLOW
What the system follows, step by step.
A distribution ERP follows an order from the salesman's phone to the money in the bank: order capture, credit and price check, picking and dispatch, delivery and returns, invoicing, then collections. The checks happen before the goods move, not after.
- 01
Order capture in the field
The salesman books the order on a phone app at the outlet, with the items that outlet usually buys shown first. Orders stop arriving as chat messages that someone in the office has to retype.
- 02
Credit and price check
The system applies the customer's price list, the running scheme and tax, then checks outstanding and overdue days against the credit limit. An order over the limit is held for approval by a named person.
- 03
Picking and dispatch
Approved orders are grouped by route and turned into a pick list by rack, with the batch nearest expiry suggested first. The loader scans what goes on the van, so the van's stock is known when it leaves.
- 04
Delivery and returns
The driver records what was delivered, short or refused, and takes back returns with a batch and a reason. Returned goods are counted into the right godown the same evening.
- 05
Invoicing and credit notes
The invoice is printed at dispatch for booked orders, or on the van for ready-stock sales, with scheme lines and tax worked out by the system. A short delivery or a return raises a credit note against that invoice.
- 06
Collections
Each salesman starts the day with the bills due on the route, oldest first. Cash, cheque and UPI receipts are recorded against specific invoices at the shop, which ends the argument over which bill a payment settled.
WHAT WE BUILD
The modules this sector needs.
The modules a distributor needs are about selling and collecting, not making: a pricing and scheme engine, credit control, godown and van stock, a field sales app, route planning and a collections ledger.
Price lists and schemes
Customer-wise and area-wise price lists, slab discounts, free-quantity offers and date-bound schemes held as rules. A salesman cannot quote a rate the rule does not allow.
Credit control
Limits by amount and by days, a hold on orders that breach them, and an approval trail when the owner lets one through.
Godown and van stock
Stock by godown, rack, batch and expiry, with each van treated as a moving location. Transfers between godowns are recorded as they happen.
Field sales app
Beat plans, outlet visits, order booking and the outlet's outstanding, on the salesman's phone. Supervisors see which outlets were visited and which were skipped.
Routes and delivery
Orders grouped by route and vehicle, loading sheets, and delivery confirmed with a signature or a photo of the stamped invoice.
Returns, damages and claims
Sales returns, expiry and breakage logged with batch and reason, then compiled into the claim you raise on the principal. Scheme claims are built from the invoices that carried the scheme.
Collections and outstanding
Bill-wise outstanding, ageing by salesman and route, post-dated and bounced cheques, and a daily cash sheet for each van.
INTEGRATIONS
What it connects to.
A distribution ERP connects to the accounting software, GST e-invoicing, payment collection and the messaging app your customers already use. Each integration is built to your own account and confirmed in discovery.
| System | What flows across |
|---|---|
| Tally or Zoho Books | Invoices, credit notes and receipts post to the ledgers bill by bill, so the outstanding your accountant sees matches the salesman's list. |
| GST e-invoicing and e-way bills | Both are generated at dispatch through your own e-invoicing account or provider, with the vehicle number taken from the route sheet. |
| Razorpay | Payment links and UPI QR codes go out with invoices, and each payment is matched back to the bill it settles. |
| WhatsApp Business API | Order confirmations, invoice copies, payment reminders and receipts are sent to retailers from your business number, using approved templates. |
| Barcode scanners and handheld terminals | Batch and expiry are captured by scanning at inward, picking and van loading, without typing. |
| Xero or MYOB | For Australian wholesalers, customer invoices, credit notes and payments sync to the accounting file, so debtor ageing agrees in both systems. |
QUESTIONS WE GET ASKED
Before you decide.
Which ERP software suits a wholesale or distribution business in India?
For one godown and counter sales, billing and accounting software such as Tally is often enough. A packaged distribution ERP suits a business with one price list and a standard discount. Custom is worth the spend when schemes, customer-wise rates, van sales and field collections have to work together.
Can salesmen take orders on a mobile app without internet?
Yes. The field app keeps the outlet list, rates, schemes and outstanding on the phone, takes the order offline and syncs when the signal returns. Credit holds are applied at sync, so an offline order cannot bypass the limit.
Can the ERP track batch and expiry for FMCG and pharma stock?
Yes. Every receipt, pick, sale and return carries a batch and an expiry date, and picking suggests the earliest expiry first. Pharma distributors should tell us in discovery which licence and record-keeping rules apply to them.
How does the system stop sales beyond a customer's credit limit?
The order is checked against the limit and the overdue days when it is booked, and held if it fails. Release needs approval from a person you name, and the approval is stored with its reason.
Will it work with Tally and GST e-invoicing?
Yes. We post invoices, credit notes and receipts to Tally, and generate e-invoices and e-way bills from the dispatch entry. If Tally alone still covers your operation, read our comparison of Tally and a full ERP before you spend on a build.
THE FULL PICTURE
This page covers one sector. Process, cost drivers, the comparison with packaged software and our published work are on the main page for custom ERP software development.
Further reading
- Tally vs ERP: When Your Business Has Outgrown TallyTally keeps the books of a great many Indian businesses, and most of them have no reason to leave it. This guide explains how to recognise when operations have outgrown it, and why the usual answer is to keep Tally for accounts and put an ERP in front of it.
- ERP Implementation Cost in India: What You'll Actually PayThe licence is one line of an ERP quote. Implementation, customisation, data migration, training and yearly support are the others. Here are the lines of a real quote for a packaged ERP and for a custom one, and what moves each of them.
Where we work
We deliver ERP for distributors and wholesalers from Infopark, Kochi, for businesses in Kochi and across Kerala, the UAE and Australia.
NEXT STEP
Tell us how the work runs today.
Describe the workflow and where it breaks. If a packaged product would serve you better than a custom ERP, we will say so.