Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for the wholesale and distribution industry

If you’re struggling to keep track of stock availability, you can never be 100% sure you aren’t overpromising. Business Central gives real-time stock visibility across warehouses, branches and third-party locations. This helps you see what’s available, what's committed and what's on the way, so you can be confident in your ability to deliver on time and in full – and avoid losing money on shortages you didn’t see coming.

With demand forecasting, automated replenishment suggestions and seamless integration with leading third-party demand forecasting and planning tools like EazyStock, Slimstock and AGR, Business Central can make inventory planning more straightforward. Plus, by removing an overreliance on spreadsheets and manual calculations, purchasing teams can respond quicker to changing demand, supplier lead times and stock movements.

If poor stock placement or nonsensical picking routes are driving your warehouse team up the wall, Business Central can help them get more organised. With clearer warehouse zones and pick and put-away worksheets, you can help cut down unnecessary warehouse movements and get orders out the door faster.

Take warehouse efficiency further with specialised apps from Clever Dynamics. Clever WMS Containers lets you process multiple items in one go for extra speed, while WMS Devices gives your warehouse operatives an easy way to go hand-held scanning.

There’s also WMS Plus – warehouse intelligence and heatmapping built by our experts that can increase inventory accuracy and reduce picking errors. It uses rules and logic to prioritise pick order based on time sensitivity and other factors that make your warehouse run smoother day to day, all to support OTIF performance.

Many wholesale and distribution businesses rely on a growing mix of customer portals, online marketplaces, eCommerce platforms and electronic trading networks. Business Central helps bring these channels together thanks to out-of-the-box integrations with Shopify and many other popular, cloud-based eCommerce platforms.

For organisations exchanging electronic documents with customers and suppliers (including major retailers, wholesalers, merchants and online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay), Clever EDI supports trading via Peppol and other EDI frameworks, helping automate the exchange of orders, invoices, dispatch notifications and other key documents. That means less manual administration, fewer errors and greater visibility across the order lifecycle.

Getting an order out of the warehouse is only part of the journey. Whether you manage fulfilment yourself or rely on third-party warehouses and logistics providers, you still need a clear view of stock, orders and what needs to go where. Business Central brings sales orders, inventory and warehouse shipments together, helping you manage dispatch from one system and maintain visibility of stock across your own and third-party locations.

Whichever shipment method you use, Clever Shipment Management for Business Central helps you manage it effectively – and if you operate your own transport, you can quickly determine drop order based on optimum shipping route using the app. Meanwhile, Clever Shipping Agent Integration automates communication with carriers by sharing key delivery information directly from Business Central. This removes the need to switch back and forth between different apps, improves data accuracy and helps you stay in control.

For businesses managing their own delivery fleet or requiring greater visibility after dispatch, integration with electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) solutions like Podfather helps provide real-time delivery updates and confirmation of receipt directly against customer deliveries.

Maintaining healthy margins can be a difficult balancing act when customer expectations, supplier costs and operational demands are constantly changing.

With built-in reporting, dashboards and Power BI integration, Business Central helps wholesale and distribution businesses turn operational data into more informed decisions, with a clearer view of customer and product profitability, margin leakage and gross margin.

With purchasing, inventory, warehouse and sales data connected in one system, you can see what's driving profitability and where opportunities for improvement exist. Combined with the warehouse insight provided by Clever WMS Plus and a true understanding of unit cost of imported items from Clever Landed Costs, businesses can make more informed decisions that support both efficiency and long-term growth.