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The auto parts distribution business exceeds the 1 billion euros in annual sales. Over 50% of sales are generated by the top 10 distributing companies, with the remainder being shared among other industry players.

The development of companies in this sector depends on how they integrate in their strategy a number of factors such as:

• Improving customer experience through the quality and diversification of parts and accessories portfolio
• Diversification and structure of customer portfolio
• The usage of modern technologies with a very significant impact on the development and growth of the competitive advantage

Whether you distribute bricks, adhesives, mortar or cement, the building materials distribution industry is full of difficult requirements throughout the supply channel. Distributors of building materials face demand fluctuations depending on various factors, such as weather conditions, seasonality, etc. Distributors of building materials need a scalable and flexible ERP solution with advanced functionality capable of meeting the requirements of each department from receiving the order, processing it, inventory supply and control and delivery until the invoice is registered and collected.

In such a competitive environment where the margins are very difficult to keep, one of the surest way to increase the efficiency and profitability of wholesales distribution companies is to reduce operating costs. When companies become uncertain about their income, the business model or the effectiveness of their operations, they gaze back to the information generated by all departments that helps them analyze, find ways to improve and develop winning strategies.

For distributors and other businesses touching inventory, a great enterprise resource planning system like SocrateCloud ERP provides significant advantages over managing your business through in-house and piecemeal solutions. 

Optimizing stock is an important skill for every business which sells physical products, and especially for distribution companies. It's a difficult balance to maintain.

Regardless of industry, the KPIs are tools for measuring performance, for knowing if your business improves or degrades and if an intervention is required.

There are several types of KPIs: strategic KPIs (market share, profit, turnover, customer satisfaction), management KPIs (resource availability, costs, budget), operational KPIs (individual performance, processes performance, products, specifications, efficiency).

Have you ever wondered what having a successful business means? A successful distribution business, like any business, starts with a successful business plan, with hard working and involved people, to help it grow "organically". This "organic" growing requires time and attention.

But how do you know if your distribution business is moving in the right direction? How can you make sure that you know at any time what happens to your money? What are the signals that you need systems for business growth? After 22 years of experience and thousands of discussions with distribution business people,

SocrateCloud ERP and SocrateBI support Handlopex Romania in developing a multichannel distribution network of tyres and rims. In its first year of operation, Handlopex Romania generated a turnover of 1.5 million Euro and was positioned as a reliable supplier on the Romanian market.

Handlopex, a European leader in the distribution of tires, with a turnover exceeding EUR 170 million and sales of over 3 million tyres annually at group level, chose SocrateCloud, complete solution for distribution, to manage the entire activity of the new Romanian branch, which generated a turnover that exceeded 1.5 million in the first year of operation and has positioned itself as a reliable distributor on the Romanian market.

Cross-docking is a warehouse activity, a transfer of goods from trucks that come from a distribution center (from manufacturers in most cases) onto trucks that go to the final customers. Cross-docking means reducing or partially removing the storage activity, reducing the stock activities (inventory, putaway, transfer, etc) and, finally, the costs.

As mentioned previously, late last year I had the opportunity to meet a few Logistics Managers, to reconfirm the most important challenges in their field. The conclusions of these meetings were made from both the interviews and my personal observations, and among the most important challenges in logistics management was the lack of flexibility.