General Distribution

Control and manage your inventory for maximum customer satisfaction and minimum working capital.

To survive today in the world of general distribution you need a system that can efficiently manage your inventory throughout your business, from initial supplier orders to final customer shipment, whilst helping you maintain that all important margin.

Solarsoft brings years of general distribution experience to help you to control your business and achieve outstanding customer service, promoting loyalty and repeat business. Solarsoft distribution industry software supports single site businesses as well as multi-location, international operations running highly automated warehouse processes. Transparent management information and a fully integrated web sales option will help you drive sales while trimming costs.

Key Benefits

Better management information
More effective sales order processing
Smarter buying
Efficient stock/warehouse operations

Solarsoft offers distributors a modern enterprise application specifically developed to meet the needs of businesses from industrial equipment wholesalers through specialist suppliers of high-value electronic components to importers and distributors of fast moving consumer goods. Our software is designed to help staff and managers focus on improved customer service and profitable growth.

We will take care of your accounts and stock records, of course, but we understand that modern systems must actively help businesses deliver the streamlined service, sharp prices and reliable product delivery critical to winning orders in competitive markets.

Built on our proven xVP technology platform, our software for distribution is designed to be rapidly installed and easy to learn, cutting training time and delivering value from day one.

Management Information

Getting reliable and up-to-date information about what is happening within your business can be a complicated task. Most business owners know what their top selling product is - but which products contribute the most margin and which customers are buying those products?

The Management Information Option* is easily mastered and presents key performance data for your business in a graphic “dashboard” giving you instant access to:

Margin by product, supplier or customer
Supplier price and delivery performance
Patterns of sales by region or between products
Stock turn, ageing and outages

What's more, with a few clicks of the mouse, a line-byline breakdown of the transactions behind each summary chart can be inspected or exported to Excel for further analysis.

Sales Orders

Our goal for sales order processing is to maximise the value of each customer contact. Our software supports multiple sales channels: there's a Web Sales Option for online account service and tele-sales features for efficient customer service on in-bound and out-bound calls. Product images, data sheets, and flexible delivery options round out features essential to a modern, full-service distributor:

Out-bound call schedules and shopping lists for efficient tele-sales service
Integrated PO generation for back-to-back orders
Kitting and quotation calculators
Full search and histories available with smart search
Flexible price lists and targeted promotions

The superior technology of the xVP platform makes light work of e-commerce applications using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or web services for fully automated handling of customer orders, shipping notices and invoices.

Inventory Management

From goods-in to dispatch, xVP promotes efficient warehouse operations, precise stock management and timely delivery. Multiple warehouses, multiple bin types and optional bin-level stock control are available with full support for a complete range of movements and operations:

Streamlined GRN operations – orders, returns, goods-in and PO matching
Automated putaway and pick & pack operations
Pallet and container tracking with bulk break and flexible units of measure
Delivery management with drop shipment, returns and collections
Accurate stock records using smart wireless devices and barcodes

Large product catalogues are easily maintained and managed using the powerful key word search that does not require users to memorise product codes to find items quickly and accurately.

Purchase Orders

Distribution businesses can maintain full control over their purchases using the requisition and purchase order process controls in xVP. Purchasing is completely integrated with ledgers, sales order processing and stock control, offering:

Efficient order quantity alerts for breaks and supplier discounts
Comprehensive history and drill down
Full returns process handling
Best price/performance – reliability, defects, discounts

Optional Bankers Automatic Clearing Services (BACS) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) messaging is available for automation of supplier orders and payments.

Technology & Options

Built on our cross-vendor platform, xVP, Solarsoft for Distributors is a Windows based system that is modern, open, reliable and easy to use. Easily installed on low-cost industry standard servers, xVP is a low-risk investment that delivers a high return.

Standard edition: Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server
Open source edition: Linux and mySQL
Relational database for ODBC access to data
XML message support for fl exible data exchange
Built-in data migration tools for rapid implementation
Compatible with a wide range of warehouse and yard automation equipment such as WiFi handheld devices and barcode scanners

xVP supports the Solarsoft Open Services Architecture (SOSA), a data gateway that allows systems to be easily and securely connected to business partners and customers via simple web services. SOSA compliance means that xVP also supports the full range of Solarsoft added-value Options plug-in applications that allow the core system to be extended as your business grows. Options include Web Sales for online customer service, our Warehouse Automation and Delivery Management Options for end-to-end barcode tracking and proof of delivery and the Management Information Option for graphic performance analysis.