Today, wholesale distributors must offer a broader product mix and
meet increasingly sophisticated demands from more suppliers and customers.
Wholesale companies also face increased competition to gain and maintain
customer loyalty. And increased competition squeezes revenue, profits
and margins, making it harder to ensure profitability. New technology
solutions and initiatives can help wholesale distributors meet the
challenges of today's economic environment.
IBM offers a portfolio of solutions that can help your company realise
measurable benefits. From supply chain management (SCM) to enterprise
application solutions (EAS), our complete, scalable solutions can help
you build efficient and effective critical business processes so you
can reduce costs, gain customer loyalty, and increase profits.
Our solutions can help you improve inventory management, people
productivity and operational efficiency so you can reduce operating
expenses and increase profits.
Food wholesale distribution is highly competitive. And slower
growth in this industry has put pressure on distributors to be more
efficient than in the past.
The nature of food wholesale means tracking competitors, and understanding
customer buying behaviours, product performance and promotions effectiveness.
It means having valuable, up-to-the-minute data for business analysis.
In this fast-moving low-margin industry, timely collaboration and
tight supply chain management (SCM) are critical.
IBM helps food wholesalers increase productivity in order to control
operating expense. Our solutions help you with the general needs
of your industry, such as inventory management, people productivity
and operational efficiency, as well as your specific business needs.
For example, a grocery distributor may need technology to help in
providing value-added services (VAS), such as printing shelf price
labels for use in the retail grocery store.
Find out more about our SCM and enterprise application solutions
(EAS) designed for collaboration, order tracking, financial management,
inventory management, warehouse management, sales analysis, e-business
and customer relationship management. |
- Business intelligence (BI) helps you manage and
control your business, and spot trends early in their cycle.
- Business management systems (BMS) support financial,
customer service, and miscellaneous operations, such as
vendor billbacks, specialty rebates and vehicle maintenance.
- Order-management systems help customers, sales
representatives and customer service to build orders.
- Purchasing and forecasting systems are strategic
in managing and controlling your largest asset — inventory.
- Warehouse and labour management systems help manage
order accuracy, space allocation, product location and labour
utilisation.
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Voice technology in the distribution
center
Speech-recognition technology is on the rise. An increasing
number of high-volume distribution companies are investing
in speech technology solutions for greater order accuracy
and improved customer- or store-service levels. But companies
considering the move are concerned with the relatively high
solution cost and whether the cost justifies their investments.
This is where Voice Technology in the Distribution Center
comes in. The 33-page report — completed by global logistics
and supply chain consulting firm KOM International Inc. —
covers the evolution of the industry, types of speech-technology
solutions, how they work, types of operations and functions
most suited for speech technology, and the benefits. It also
discusses integration with warehouse management systems, budgetary
requirements and profiles of solution suppliers for distribution
operations. |
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