Order management
Office and field order capture with pricing, discounts and credit checks applied at entry.
- Customer-wise pricing
- Credit limit checks
- Order status visibility
07Distribution · ERP
Distribution ERP for Order, Delivery and Settlement
From order capture to vehicle loading, delivery, returns and settlement — recorded once and reconciled against stock and receivables. Our distribution clients report the practical result as fewer stock shortages and fewer wrong deliveries.
- Route and vehicle loading
- Delivery confirmation
- Returns handling
- Receivables and settlement
Distribution runs on trust until the numbers stop agreeing
A distribution operation has stock moving through hands and vehicles all day. Without a system, the gaps show up in exactly the same places.
- What was loaded onto a vehicle and what came back is reconciled from memory and a loading sheet.
- Wrong items reach customers, and the credit note is the first record of it.
- Sales reps quote from a price list that is one revision out of date.
- Collections come back to the office as cash and paper, days after the invoice.
- Nobody can say which customer balances are genuinely overdue versus disputed.
Recording the load, the delivery and the return as system events closes those gaps — a client described the result as a large reduction in stock shortages, wrong deliveries and manual errors.
Order to settlement, step by step
The same order record carries through every step, so the settlement matches the load.
Capture the order
Orders taken at the office or by reps in the field against current pricing and the customer’s credit position.
Allocate stock
Available stock is allocated to orders so two vehicles are not promised the same cases.
Load the vehicle
A loading document is produced per vehicle or route, and stock moves from the warehouse to the vehicle in the system.
Deliver
Deliveries confirmed against the order, with short deliveries and rejections recorded at the point they happen.
Handle returns
Unsold stock and returns come back onto the system when the vehicle is unloaded, not at month end.
Settle the route
Cash, cheques and credit sales reconciled per route, with variances visible the same day.
What a distribution implementation covers
Most distributors start with order-to-delivery and add route settlement and receivables once the flow is running.
Stock allocation
Allocation against confirmed orders so promised stock is not sold twice.
- Allocation by order
- Available-to-promise view
- Shortfall alerts
Vehicle loading and routes
Loading documents per route, with stock held against the vehicle until delivery or return.
- Route-wise loading
- Vehicle stock position
- Unload reconciliation
Delivery and returns
Delivery confirmation, short delivery and return recorded against the original order.
- Delivery confirmation
- Short delivery handling
- Return to stock
Receivables
Invoices, collections and outstanding balances by customer and by route.
- Ageing analysis
- Collection recording
- Customer statements
Route settlement
End-of-run reconciliation of stock loaded, delivered, returned and collected.
- Cash and cheque settlement
- Stock variance
- Rep-wise performance
Reports that keep a distribution business honest
Each one is built from movements the operation already records in the system.
- Route-wise sales, returns and collection performance.
- Stock loaded versus delivered versus returned, by vehicle and by day.
- Customer ageing, with disputed balances visible separately from overdue ones.
- Fast and slow movers by territory, so stock is positioned where it sells.
- Rep-wise order value, collections and return rate.
How the implementation runs
The sequence is the same across industries — what changes is the detail captured in the first step.
We start with a free requirement study on your site, produce a written scope with a fixed quotation, then build in phases with a demo at the end of each one. Masters and opening balances are migrated and reconciled before go-live, staff are trained on their own data, and support continues after handover. The full implementation process is set out on the main ERP page.
Distribution ERP questions answered
Can the system handle vehicle and route loading?
Yes. Loading documents are produced per vehicle or route, stock is held against the vehicle until it is delivered or returned, and the unload is reconciled at the end of the run so variances surface the same day.
Does it work for both manufacturing and distribution?
Yes — clients running both have finished goods flow straight from production into the warehouse and out through distribution without re-entry. See the manufacturing ERP page for the production side.
Can sales reps capture orders in the field?
Field order capture is part of the scope where you need it, including current pricing and the customer’s credit position at the point of order. Bring your rep workflow to the requirement study so it is quoted accurately.
How are returns handled?
Returns are recorded against the original order when the vehicle is unloaded, so stock goes back on the system immediately and the customer’s balance reflects it without a manual credit note exercise.
Related ERP pages
Reconcile every route the same day it runs
Tell us how many vehicles and routes you run and how settlement works today. We will show the order-to-settlement flow on the system and quote the implementation in writing.