A large volume of supply chain partners, shifting customer demands, diverse product offerings, and other factors have made modern distribution environments more complex than ever. A distribution management system (DMS) can help you manage every aspect of your distribution environment more effectively.
These systems provide real-time visibility into your entire distribution process and serve as an essential part of your enterprise resource planning (ERP). As such, you need ERP integration to get the most out of your DMS for supply chain efficiency.
Distribution management refers to the process of moving products from the supplier to the end customer. A distribution management system helps you manage every step of this process so your customers get the supplies they need on time, every time.
A distribution management system refers to the software platform you use to process orders, manage your inventory, and communicate with your vendors. Some systems will automate parts of your workflow, such as automatically generating purchase orders when your inventory reaches a critical level.
ERP systems manage your operations, including invoicing, inventory tracking, analytics, and customer communication. When your ERP system doesn’t integrate with your distribution management system, you could potentially see inaccurate inventory levels or delays in order processing. Using ERP software that doesn’t integrate with your DMS can also impact your demand forecasting because you won’t have a clear picture of your entire supply chain.
Modern customers expect their orders to be delivered faster. They also value accuracy. If you’re not delivering full and correct orders on time, you risk losing your competitive advantage. Many customers also expect transparency. You need to communicate throughout the process, allowing them to track their orders at every step.
Distribution management systems provide this visibility and help you communicate with your customers in real time. In the modern business world, paper-based systems can actually be a liability. Relying on paper for purchase orders, invoicing, accounts payable, and other processes is too time-consuming. You also run the risk of human error when you have to manually transfer paper-based data into your computer systems.
WorldView’s Enterprise Content Management lets you index, store, and retrieve documents and automate your workflows. Our solution integrates with your DMSi-based ERP system, letting you manage all of your documents in a single location.
Anyone on your team can quickly assess purchase orders and other documents and submit them for approval so you can fulfill orders faster. We also offer AP workflow automation so you can automatically approve invoices or route an exception to a manager. Your entire team gets real-time visibility.
Our solutions will consolidate statements with supporting documentation, improving your communication with your customers and encouraging prompt payments. You can also look up keywords and other values directly from your ERP system to save time when searching for documentation.
Your customers get real-time information, and you build your reputation for transparent communication. As an added bonus, you maintain a digital paper trail for easy compliance.
WorldView recently assisted Capital Forest, a manufacturer of high-quality building materials, to implement a digital document management system that integrated with its DMSi-based ERP system.
The company, which has been in business for more than 40 years, didn’t always commit to the latest technology. However, it was using DMSi as an ERP solution. DMSi recommended WorldView’s solutions for automating document creation, storage, and sharing.
Once DMSi connected Capital Forest with WorldView, our team chatted with the company’s leadership to understand its current capabilities and document management needs. Our team learned that Capital Forest wasn't regularly tracking when or why it would accept or deny customer returns.
CR Workflows proved to be the solution Capital Forest needed to enhance its operations. This system allowed the company to create a digital paper trail to track and manage returns. Capital Forest learned that it was processing more returns than it thought because it had been accepting multiple returns over a year past the initial order.
By adopting CR Workflows, Capital Forest was able to maintain a clear and consistent return policy and communicate it to both its employees and its customers. The team also saw a reduction in human errors and miscalculations.
Distribution management systems offer crucial visibility into every aspect of your supply chain. These tools give you insights that help you improve your operations and deliver better customer service. Finding a system that integrates with your ERP will help you translate these insights into action. You can uncover the bottlenecks in your processes or identify where you need to be more consistent in your operations.
Learn how WorldView’s solutions can help you make the most of your DMSi-powered ERP. Contact us today to learn which solutions are right for you.