I wanna know the difference of between "picking" and "WM picking" In Manage outbound Deliveries VK06O app, we can choose picking type "Only picking without WM" or "Only WM picking". However, I'm confused about how to use these depending on the situation. ... View more

Hi, i want to know i am adding bulk sales order using DTW, but everytime they show me the error like this, can anyone sort me out on this.. ... View more

Hi, I am worked on a desktop application by Visual Studio 2022 and it uses crystal report for generating report. Now, I am trying to deploy this application with Visual Studio setup project. When I tried to install the setup on a client machine and tried to generate a report, it's failed. Below is error message. --------------------------- An error has occurred while attempting to load the Crystal Reports runtime. Either the Crystal Reports registry key permissions are insufficient or the Crystal Reports runtime is not installed correctly. Please install the appropriate Crystal Reports redistributable (CRRedist*.msi) containing the correct version of the Crystal Reports runtime (x86, x64, or Itanium) required. Please go to http://www.businessobjects.com/support for more information. --------------------------- I am not sure what is problem. Any ideas? ... View more

The cloud has changed everything at a time when distributors are working tirelessly to transform themselves by pioneering new business models, products, services, and experiences. Operations optimization and continuous enhancement have never been more critical and the cloud is increasingly becoming a choice that is a catalyst for innovation and digital transformation for distributors. Most distributors are only beginning to scratch the surface with the full potential of the cloud.  In the past, distributors purchased an on-premise ERP, they customized it to meet their specific needs but this made it expensive to maintain and difficult to upgrade.  The cloud is changing all of that.  It brings scale, process efficiency, employees productivity, and development speed which opens up all new possibilities. Here are a few examples of distributors being able to move fast and adapt their business strategy more effectively by leveraging the agile nature of the cloud. Brakes, a UK based B2B food distributor, moved rapidly when Covid-19 hit to implement a B2C approach leveraging SAP Commerce Cloud.  In a weeks’ time they were able to shift business models and began distributing food packages from businesses to households to address the food shortages (https://news.sap.com/uk/2020/07/sap-commerce-cloud-helps-brakes-deliver-on-promise-to-feed-the-nation/ ). Similarly American Hotel Register, a hospitality supplier based in Libertyville, Illinois, had to act quickly when Covid-19 struck.  With hotel occupancy dropping off significantly and buying habits of their customers shifting away from what they were used to seeing.  Customers were now looking to find essential items like paper products and safety items like masks.  American Hotel register was able to shift quickly to make changes with SAP Commerce Cloud to their website that drove sales to these items.  (https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&partnerref=FCEE-thought-leadership-site&eventid=2434255&sessionid=1&key=75158406E2CE3A5A5320EEEE9B4C8E3A&regTag=&sourcepage=register ). And just recently MSC Industrial Supply, a MRO distributor based in New York, is an example of a distributor evolving to a cloud first company by uniting with Google Cloud to move their SAP ERP systems to the cloud as part of their overall digital transformation ( https://cloud.google.com/press-releases/2021/0614/msc-industrial-google-cloud?utm_campaign=603ee46641b0a800019824ea&utm_content=60c8c584acd7220001aeb6df&utm_medium=smarpshare&utm_source=linkedin ). The Cloud first shift is happening and these are some great example of the types of transformation made possible with the Cloud.  It provides distributors with innovation, flexibility and speed due the simplification and elasticity it provides.  It also allows your technology providers like SAP to deliver the latest and greatest industry specific capabilities to customers rapidly. Distribution was a changing industry prior to the pandemic, that change has accelerated.  I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that soon only through cloud-delivered applications will distributors be able to stay competitive in the industry.  As you look to modernize your strategy and systems, there is not one path to the cloud.  In order to find the best path for you, like the company examples above, it starts with understanding how it can help you to better serve your customers and suppliers.   ... View more

Wholesale imports and exports have been increasing at a slower rate as compared to the total sales in the industry. Wholesalers are mainly engaged with the domestic market and, as a result, were not significantly impacted by the Trade War compared to other industries. However, wholesale imports are a significant component of the total imports industry in China. Supply chain flexibility is another trend that has been useful in the wholesale distribution industry in recent past. Wholesales can adjust the use of raw materials, production and shipping to make the process most cost-effective and profitable. The Pandemic brought in so many unpredictable disruptions in supply and demand due to the global crisis. B2B businesses had a hard time surviving the challenging situation and taught them the importance of diversification, multi-channel selling and alternative source of supply. Wholesalers, distributors, and importers have been exploring source alternatives from other countries for their business and their customer’s business continuity. Vietnam, for example, may stand to gain the most from products that it already supplies to United States. A study concluded that for every $10 million of Chinese exports that it takes over, it contributes an estimated increase of 4.4% to Vietnam’s GDP alone. Other countries may benefit from a potential replacement of Chinese exports. These include the Philippines, Cambodia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. They produce similar goods that China exports to the United States. Only South Korea, Indonesia, and Myanmar may see a muted effect in switching away from Chinese exports. China manufacturing is extremely diversified, from clothing and footwear to cars and computers. Finding sourcing alternatives might be a challenge. Unlike China, each country has a specific strength in production. Countries that produce similar goods to China will see the most investment inflows. Taiwan is a prime candidate to replace Chinese exports due to its proximity. And it is one of the largest investors and contract manufacturers in China itself. Other likely recipients may include Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. If a drop in Chinese exports happens, it will affect Taiwan and Malaysia the most since they are major suppliers of parts for electronic and optical equipment, and electrical machinery. Less affected would be Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam may see a negligible effect because of their low participation in the Chinese production chain. As a chain reaction, wholesalers, distributors, and exporters in these countries are likely to see a slowdown in orders as well because Chinese manufacturers would scale back on their exports. But arguably any short-term drop in business is likely to be offset by a pick-up in orders as Chinese manufacturers relocate to these very same countries. However, with shifts in sourcing and digitalization, Wholesalers in China are increasingly implementing new inventory management technologies that allow them to make data-driven business decisions and handle business operations centrally. Having a flexible supply chain and make B2B selling experience similar to B2C customer experience is essential to their ongoing survival. Wholesale distribution companies are calling on advanced technology and automation and artificial intelligence to make their business processes more efficient. Automation and tracking innovation allows wholesalers to more effectively manage operations and make informed decisions about shipping, staffing, and warehousing. China’s proactive support and investments initiations from the government have resulted in increased growth in AI and machine learning to  give B2B wholesalers the ability to easily manage and analyze data to handle planning and reduce operational costs with connected devices. This is helping streamline the automation in sales, billing, finance and other operational and resource intensive tasks. Global trade has been on the rise for decades. With investments in technologies and solutions this trend has only increased.  In order to be successful, global wholesalers in China need to focus on digitalization of their buying and supply chain workflows, ensure their online marketplaces are transforming cross-border trade, implement integrated cross-channel marketing strategies, and streamline their cross-border payment technologies. Wholesalers will need to adapt in order to stay competitive as customers continue to make purchases internationally. Big enterprises like Alibaba.com are at the forefront of the global growth of wholesale distribution. Making it possible to connect buyers and sellers across the globe complying with International trade regulations. Wholesale distributors need to take a page from their book in order to expand their businesses globally. Data-driven decisions of how much inventory to hold, when to buy and what to buy, from who to buy and who to sell to has been increasingly gaining traction. The Chinese governments digitalisation support and drive has enabled wholesalers to access and rely on a large pool of data available. Distributors can now make conscious and strategic decisions for their marketing, sales, and operational strategies, which in the long run will leave very little room for guesswork. Transformation and digitalization were critical during the Pandemic. Many wholesalers took this opportunity to exploit the Industry’s changing trends and customer expectations to invest and expand their business via ecommerce, inventory management, supply chain flexibility and efficiency, thereby securing their future in the global trade markets.   ... View more

  How Wholesale Distributors Calculate Margin   Do you know what keeps wholesale distributors awake at night? It’s margin, it’s their motto, their fear, and their hope. Margin is the most critical metric for a wholesale distributor. It is a well-kept secret as valuable as the formula for Coca-Cola. In fact, there are only a few people in an organization that know and understand the real margin. However, there are a few definitions of margins that have generated some confusion. Let’s look at the few of the most important types of margins: The Pocket Margin Sales representatives have a window to negotiate the sales price called “pocket margin” that they can work within. The pocket margin is the Net Sales Price minus Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). Pocket margin also known as gross margin, but it is not often the true margin, it is only a line the sales rep cannot cross. Inside the pocket margin formula, the net sales price can have two different versions: The list sales price minus all sales discounts and applicable promotions on an invoice The list sales price minus all sales discounts and applicable promotions on an invoice including any contractual based rebates not appearing on the invoice. This is also known as the net/net sales price, or double net sales price. COGS, which normally represents the cost of manufacturing, is what the wholesale distributor considers the purchase price since distributors do not manufacture. The average net purchase price includes all discounts applicable from suppliers including any contractual based rebates not appearing on the supplier’s invoice The distributor might artificially increase the above price to their sales reps to keep the actual Pocket Margin confidential The term Pocket margin is often used for one transaction, and the gross margin is for a larger scope of transactions over a longer period of time which may also include periodic fees (like the ones Amazon charges for its Prime members) on invoices to customers and suppliers. The Net Margin In order to get to net margin, a cost analyst takes the “true” gross margin as the basis and substracts the marketing, sales, logistics and administrative costs, which may be applied to separate cost centers to arrive at the overall Net Margin for the wholesale distributor. Marketing costs include marketing initiatives either captured by business unit cost center or spread across all products sold Sales costs include travel, wages, and incentives of your sales force and get applied to a hierarchy of cost centers representing different sales teams inside the various sales departments Logistic costs include the warehouse cost, transportation cost inbound and outbound, as well as the cost for broken, lost, and returned products Administration cost include all costs for corporate, local offices and support departments.   The Precision Net Margin However, available data today allows for more precision in ascertaining the net margin. Finance and executives like to know the net margin by sales team, geography, customer, product category, and even by the product. In some cases, there may be alerts on specific margin destroyers. To find the margin destroyers, the above costs need to be accounted for according to product and customer hierarchy. However, this cannot be done at the transaction level because the cost is NOT captured at the sales order level and these indirect cost are attributed to the various cost centers. Then you need disaggregating keys to allocate costs to each customer, product, and geographical segment to drill down to the true cost. The choice of the keys can be a huge challenge – but an analyst will be able to use any data represented to choose the keys. For example, for transportation, your first key would be to disaggregate the cost, considering the weight and distance of the customer. You can then split and allocate the logistic costs to the different customers and product hierarchy.   This will give you the Precision Net Margin (PNM) which will identify the margin destroyers that you need to transform into margin makers. For example, if you sell the same product at the same price to two customers, one close to your distribution center, and one at a distant location, the one at the farther location could end up being a margin destroyer due to the shipping costs. Wholesale distributors have the same challenges as other industries to ensure the various margins stay above the line. Nevertheless, there are two questions for a wholesaler to consider: Have you included any contractual rebates on the sales side and purchase side? How deep do you need to drill down on the PNM to discover your margin destroyers? Learn more about margins here ... View more

The Wholesale Distribution industry isn’t immune to supply chain obstacles like the pandemic, natural disasters, trade tariffs, or product shortages. COVID-19 has caused disruptions to intensify and challenged distributors with, finding new suppliers, planning disconnects, and lack of visibility into inventory availability. The lack of supply chain flexibility and agility have been exposed as distributors navigate the unpredictable and fluid situation around the COVID-19 pandemic. Distributors desperately require supplier collaboration and improved information sharing. They need intelligence, flexibility, and agility across all supply chain transactions. Mitigating supply chain disruptions and ensuring continuity requires full transparency into your supplier’s ability to deliver on time. While distributors can reasonably expect main suppliers to provide this transparency, they are struggling to get visibility into smaller ones. The higher the transparency, the more real-time the insights, the clearer distributors are on their decisions, the more suppliers trust in the purchasing process. Giving suppliers greater transparency can help transform the supply chain from disconnected to collaborative. A digitally connected supply chain lets those in the network sense and respond to demand changes quickly. Distributors can gain greater flexibility and visibility to reduce inventory buffers while increasing service levels. A collaboration transformation requires innovative, cloud-based tools that enable you to: Integrate your suppliers’ operations into your supply chain planning and execution in real time, regardless of location or ERP used Work collaboratively both up and down stream with suppliers Identify and respond to unplanned supply chain events quickly, before they impact your customers The SAP® Ariba® Supply Chain Collaboration solution provides a digital link in the quest to drive an efficient supply chain network. It connects distributors and suppliers in a common plan, so distributors can orchestrate multitier supply chains to reduce inventory. Distributors can optimize intelligence spend management processes with powerful capabilities that include: Sharing forecasts, orders, and inventory information with suppliers and obtain their responses in real time Anticipate and resolve supply assurance problems quickly with collaboration dashboards that alert them to supply and demand mismatches Supply Chain Collaboration in Wholesale Distribution clearly helps streamline and simplify the way distributors work with their suppliers, making it easier to do business in uncertain times. ... View more

China is the second-largest economy in the world with an annual GDP growth that consistently outpaces the U.S. During the pandemic, China outperformed all other the leading economies. As the world’s number one exporter and number two importer. China’s economy is shifting from manufacturing to consumption and services. Industrial production is still the largest sector in the economy. However, the wholesale industry is significantly much more important in China, constituting 83% of the Wholesale and Retail industry. Within Wholesale distribution sector mineral, building, and chemical products account for 55% of the total sales and 40% of the total enterprises​. Although China’s GDP has stagnated, the wholesale and retail industry has been growing over the past years.  In fact, wholesale distribution is the most dominant sector in terms of contribution to total sales. The top industries under wholesale have been experiencing strong  growth rates​ since 2015. The number of wholesale enterprises increased by 50% and the total sales increased by a whopping 63%​!  Why? Because there has been a huge emphasis on digital marketing.  For example: Ecommerce represented 24% of total retail sales in 2019 (compared to 9% in Germany and 11% in the U.S)​ Emphasis on digital transformation 83% on CX as compared to the rest of the world at 32% 58% on digital marketing as compared to the rest of the world at 40% 75% on e-commerce initiatives as compared to the rest of the world at 23% The drivers for transformation and digitalisation include: Speed. Bestore’spartnership with Alibaba to aggregate its fragmented supplier and customer bases. More than 260 suppliers, along with a handful of logistics partners, are now fully integrated to handle more than 1 million orders per day, reducing end-to-end supply chain response time by 50% and delivering from farm to shelf within about seven days. On the demand side, about 70 million product data points are fed upstream to guide product R&D and innovation.​ Personalization. Micro-segmentation helped L’Oréal deploy individualized marketing to micro-segments of customers, achieving a click-through rate 50% to 100% higher than the industry average.​ Engagement:Using Baidu Development Research Center’s technology to help it collect user engagement data, Qingting FM who offers individualized audio streaming to 130 million monthly active users boosted revenue from paid members by 300% over the last two years​. 5G: According to International Data Corporation (IDC) and our literature research, from 2016 to 2019 China built 140,000 5G base stations, deployed 1.19 million data center racks, and invested around RMB 320 billion in AI technology; it also achieved approximately 92% optical fiber penetration among broadband subscribers by the end of 2019. Notably, the Chinese government is doubling down on its investment in new infrastructure as a strategic priority for driving the digital economy which will generate 12.3 trillion dollars by 2035, wholesale and retail account for 1.295 trillion dollars. Infrastructure:According to estimates, in 2020 China built 580,000 5G base stations, deployed 930,000 data center racks, invested about RMB 100 billion in AI technology, and achieved approximately 95% optical fiber penetration among broadband subscribers. ​ Business processes.Traditionally, business-to-business (B2B) operations and engagement models demand face-to-face interactions. During COVID-19, the increased use of remote working applications was initially stark—enterprise communication platform DingTalk’s monthly active users rose from about 65 million at the end of 2019, to roughly 177 million by March 2020—a more than 1.7-times increase. Pharmaceutical sales agents were able to meet with physicians’ online instead of in-person, opening the door to further such interactions in the future. Moreover, Chinese telecom companies maintained their 2020 5G development targets despite the outbreak, suggesting that digital tools for remote work and interactions will likely continue to proliferate rapidly, catalyzed by the next-generation communications infrastructure. ​The Pandemic has been devastating for many businesses. Disrupting supply chain globally throughout the year, many businesses were forced to find alternatives in order to keep their operations afloat. The way that business looks at trade has forever changed, and this directly applies to many facets of wholesaling. Although the process of selling through multiple channels online and offline is nothing new to the Consumer eCommerce world, more and more B2B businesses in China are starting to embrace omnichannel selling to deliver a streamlined and connected buying experience across all platforms. Alibaba.com is a prime example of a B2B eCommerce marketplace that is expanding to further cater to the needs of wholesale distributors. Alibaba’s LST platform connects traditional stores directly with suppliers/wholesalers, increasing business opportunities and the amount of information and data. The Alibaba’s platform connects buyers and sellers from around the world offering maximum flexibility for all parties involved. With the constant advancements in B2B technologies and capabilities, the wholesale distribution industry is quickly catching up. Distributors are embracing the new world of selling, digitalizing their processes and managing inventory online, especially after COVID-19. Wholesale distributors have evolved from mailing list of physical catalogues to online catalogues resulting in enhanced customer experience, optimizing product and logistics costs. Wholesalers are investing in ecommerce ecosystems at an aggressive pace so that they can provide the same easy ordering and customer experience that online retailers enjoy. Online wholesale stores will become increasingly discoverable through search engines, price negotiations could happen in real time, and the ordering process will take place virtually using online catalogues and payment gateways. As B2B businesses evolve to a more traditional retail approach, they will be able to offer wholesale customers the same sophisticated level of services that retailers have been taking advantage of for years. Today, B2B eCommerce platforms and marketplaces are becoming more and more accessible to wholesalers and buyers alike. Distributors can now reach out to varied audiences. That means buyers can easily connect with suppliers to close business deals. ... View more

After almost two years of the pandemic and its many impacts, sometimes the “old times” seem very distant. Even the Olympic Games have been shifted by a year and are heavily impacted by Covid 19 protocols such masks, social distancing and as a near complete ban of spectators at the events. With all the focus on the virus we often times run the risk of overlooking other trends and challenges that continue to shape the wholesale distribution industry. In some cases, these trends were somewhat hidden in the shadows, and in many other cases enjoyed a boost over the last two years. Multi-channel and blurring business model lines Parts of wholesale distribution had been going through a digital transformation phase well before the pandemic hit us. Although value-added services have been part of many B2B businesses for decades, supplementing product business, for wholesale distribution that ratio is continuously shifting. Value-added services have now become the new focus and products just one element in their comprehensive solution offering. In parallel wholesale distribution business has been shifting towards eCommerce and other low/no-touch models. An industry that was formerly built on personal relations now must find ways how to automate processes, analyze demand and customer behavior, and digitize expertise. Shift from just-in-time to just-in-case So, while these fundamental shifts are underway the rules of the game have changed. Global Supply Chains have seen a great deal of pressure and challenges. Of course, Covid 19 played a big part but other factors cause disruption too, for example, a ship “parked illegally” in the Suez Canal, or a run for various in-memory components to mine bitcoins. Suddenly car manufacturers had to delay production due to shortages of electronic parts. Due to the gap in manufacturing and supply chain, distributors have had to evolve their sourcing and forecasting. While the old global economy was tuned for maximum efficiency and just-in-time, it seems that the new paradigm will see the return of safety buffers, a service that wholesalers traditionally offered to value chains. Geopolitical challenges and new regulations Unfortunately one of the many sad conclusions of the pandemic is that it did not seem to bring the world together to meet this global challenge – neither at an international level nor at an individual country level. Many international companies are increasingly seeing themselves in the middle between a brewing cold war between the USA and China. Similarly, the trade relations between western economies and Russia are still strained. In an industry that relies on global supply chains and international trade partners this has created significant challenges. On top of that, new regulations around sustainability (e.g. the European initiative for supply chains aka Lieferkettengesetz) are creating a lot of administrative effort and a risk of significant fines. Some of these requirements and risks are difficult to handle for many companies, which result in free trade obstacles rather than in an improvement global standard, contrary to the initial intent. Future of work With two years of lockdowns, restrictions, social distancing, home office requirements as well as no-touch business models, we will likely see an irreversible shift of how we work and maybe more importantly, how we want to work in the future. For instance, one of the hardest hit industries is the hospitality industry. Many of these businesses are having a hard time finding enough employees since many of their former staff had to find alternative employment during the shutdown (and do not want to come back to their former jobs). In an industry like Wholesale Distribution that had to fight for good talent before the pandemic, they now will have to go the extra mile to find and win the right employees. This will likely get even more complicated – especially for low-skill, low paying jobs. This can be somewhat alleviated by a broader implementation of automation and artificial intelligence. In the case of wholesale distribution, companies will put even more effort into branding and visibility, as well as evolving work models, especially in areas that have been traditionally inflexible and not very innovative. Enough about challenges, there are still plenty of opportunities The wholesale distribution industry has been in a period of disruption, transformation, and redefinition for several years now. And from the by no means complete selection of challenges listed here it is not likely that this perfect storm is about to end soon.  That’s why it’s even more important to see the possibilities and opportunities. Wholesale was already well into its transformation journey before the pandemic hit and thus better prepared for the current situation. Most companies in the industry made it through the pandemic remarkably well so far. In closing the loop to the Olympic Games and the unfavorable framework in which they have had to compete, there were still those beautiful moments – when participants from around the world walked into the Olympic Stadium, creating a colorful, international quilt or when athletes from supposedly hostile nations shook hands. When a 13-year old wins a gold medal for skateboarding or when a couple of impressive mimes go through the Olympic pictograms in a matter of minutes. Don’t lose hope, keep looking for beauty and happy moments, draw energy from these positive emotions and focus on your set of goals be they personal or professional. These Olympic Games’ motto is “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”. For wholesale distribution, they can apply too, innovation and business transformation projects are seeing a new wave of energy and clearer direction that will ensure their businesses deliver on their promise. ... View more

Conditions that Have Distributors Embracing a New ERP System I got a chance to read Mark Jordan’s post that shared his point-of-view around the “Top 5 Reasons to Buy an ERP”. I thought I would add a few additional practical insights on the topic….. Some may call it a “new ERP system”, others may refer to it as a “digital transformation”. Whatever you call it, it is clear distributors are actively in search of enterprise technology to help extend the future of the businesses. Over the last month, several distributors have simply asked me, “What are the typical conditions that drive companies like us to invest in an intelligent enterprise?”. By intelligent enterprise, I mean a new system that may include both intelligent ERP and integrated B2B and SCM solutions. My responses have been both strategic and tactical in nature. Distributors have shared the following challenges with me….. “Our systems, although they served us well for many years, are now just too old to take us where we want to go”. Many wholesale distribution systems are home grown and now difficult to maintain. Some were purchased decades ago and are no longer supported or have been heavily modified and beyond upgrading. “Our future business models cannot be enabled by our current systems”. Distributors have evolved from transitional wholesaling to hybrid business models that include, specialty manufacturing, value added services, B2C channel expansion, etc., they create lists of new functional system requirements that IT resources must deliver on. “We don’t want to support or update our own data center anymore”. Many distributors want to get out of the business of maintaining their own mainframe or AS/400 data centers. They want to reduce IT TCO by moving their system into a private cloud environment. A private cloud allows both a reduction in IT cost, and the ability to always keep their ERP system updated. “We have a number of ERP’s we have accumulated from a series of acquisitions. We would like to get on a single platform” The number of distributors with revenue over $1B has doubled in the last decade because of industry consolidation through acquisitions. M&A activity has doubled over the last 5 years, leaving distributors with multiple ERP systems to support. They are striving for a single system allowing for centralized real-time information. “Our systems cannot support our global expansion strategy” ERP systems need to support multi-language and multi-currency requirements as distributors expand globally. Often an international growth strategy is a catalyst for replacing an existing aging ERP. As Mark concluded in his post, “Whatever the reason, it is becoming a fundamental imperative for wholesale distributors to digitalize their business to gain the competitive edge required to compete in the coming years.”   ... View more