If you are a distribution company, get a taster of our free whitepaper and discover the key 10 steps to follow to achieve success.

2. THE EVOLVING WORLD
OF DISTRIBUTION
“As a £30bn industry which supports
more than 1.1m jobs, wholesale
distribution makes a significant
contribution to the UK economy”
Source: 2015 Annual Review, FWD.

3. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR
CHALLENGES FOR THE
DISTRIBUTION SECTOR?
• Increased logistics & fuel costs
• Flexed competitive landscape – as
manufacturers and retailers offer more
to customers direct
• Fluctuating interest rates affecting
import and export
• The rise of the digital economy

4. MAJOR FACTORS
DRIVING CHANGE IN
DISTRIBUTION
• The sector has progressed from “box
shifting” to a customer-centric service
business model – where success comes
from added value throughout the
customer journey
• Supply chains are no longer linear;
communication and collaboration is
multi-directional and often circular in
nature

5. CUSTOMER IMPORTANCE
IS EVOLVING – SERVICE,
CUSTOMISATION &
TRANSPARENCY
• Clients are increasingly hunting by price
and switching from one supplier to
another with ease
• Shorter lead times are expected
• Customers want to see “track and trace”
and delivery flexibility within their order
process

6. THE RISE OF E-C0MMERCE
“E-commerce and multi-channel or cross-
channel demands impacts 87% of
companies, affecting order, inventory
and fulfilment processes.”
Source: Aberdeen Group

7. THE OMNI-CHANNEL
APPROACH
Increasingly prevalent, it helps distributors
achieve a direct-to-end-consumer delivery
model, 61% of the sector follow this
blended approach.
Source: B2B and B2C Convergence: A Call to Action, Aberdeen Group

8. 10 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO
DISTRIBUTION SUCCESS…

9. 1. PROFILE IS EVERYTHING
– PROFITABLE PRODUCTS
& CUSTOMERS
Take a step back from your customer
acquisition and cross/up sell strategy.
Where are you prioritising your resource and
promotional discretion?

10. 2. INVENTORY
OPTIMISATION IS VITAL
TO CASHFLOW
Much of your capital is tied up in inventory,
deferring and realising the revenue on stock.
Pressure is added through “just in time”
orders from customers.
Integrated, automated 2-way systems allow
information to flow between sales,
warehouse, procurement & logistics.

11. 3. OPTIMISING
FULFILMENT RATES
Fill rates are a core KPI that measure the
ability to fulfil orders from stock as and
when.
Accurate knowledge of core customers and
core product lines is essential in order to
achieve 90%+ fulfilment rates. Start with
your top 20% of products (by sale and/or
profit).
Build up a historical picture to better
anticipate seasonal swings in demand and
set realistic and competitive SLAs.

12. 4. BIG DATA –
RECOGNISE AND REDUCE
ERRORS
“Over 90% of dissatisfied customers never
complain – they just go elsewhere to meet
their needs.”
Source: Ferrell & Hartline
Capture all customer interactions, analyse
them in order to improve service delivery.
SLAs can be adhered to via the use of
notifications and alerts in real time.

13. 5. ON-TIME DELIVERY
Eradicate variability from transit times and
positively impact your ability to manage
fuel consumption and costs.
Empower delivery drivers to be more
efficient at the “last mile” with the right
tools and information.
Have the means to reschedule easily, make
partial deliveries, create, send and store
PoDs, and track deliveries.

14. 6. OPTIMISE DAY-TO-DAY
OPERATIONS
Maintain and motivate your workforce
with the right tools and expectations.
Unify what’s happening on the warehouse
floor with the rest of the business.
ECR models (Efficient Consumer Response)
provide real time stock views and minimise
storage costs and loss of revenue.

15. 7. REDUCE HUMAN ERROR
IN THE WAREHOUSE – DATA
CAPTURE & CYCLE
COUNTING
Review daily and manual processes where errors
occur - such as managing stock replenishment,
inventory control, ordering, shipping and returns
management, order cycles and service policies.
Look at an automated data capture system that
integrates with your business management;
reducing human input error, increase compliance
and avoid double entry.

16. 8. INCREASE AVERAGE
ORDER SIZE & LOWER COSTS
The basics cannot be ignored – achieve service
excellence first in order to guarantee repeatable
business and then grow share.
Address offline processes before expanding online,
otherwise internal weaknesses will be exposed to
customers, prospects and partners.

17. 9. INTERNAL & EXTERNAL
COLLABORATION ACROSS
THE SUPPLY CHAIN
In the modern distribution environment, with
mobile workers and disparate pieces in the supply
chain, firms need to work harder to support a
natural and productive collaborative workspace.
Collaborative technology that echoes intrinsic
human behaviours helps teams feel more
connected, informed and empowered.

18. 10. BRINGING IT ALL
TOGETHER – THE RIGHT
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
Address the steps so far and get a 360 degree view
to show where you have been, where you are going
and how to get where you want to be.
Business systems such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV
and Dynamics 365 help manage change, identify
profitability, measure effectiveness, optimise
inventory and develop relationships.

19. FIND OUT MORE…
Download the full whitepaper for free
Visit the website

20. ABOUT US…
Prodware UK specialises in the implementation, integration and maintenance of sector specific
ERP and CRM business management solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics
365 (AX & CRM).
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we have developed industry solutions for manufacturing,
distribution, professional services and holiday park organisations in addition to innovative software
for mobility and e-commerce that integrates with business management solutions.
A Tier One Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), Prodware Group create, integrate and host IT solutions for
businesses. Prodware Group serves more than 20,000 active clients and is the largest
Microsoft Dynamics partner in the EMEA region. Prodware Group is present in 15
countries and has a wealth of experience in providing global IT solutions to international customers.