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Industry · Distribution & Logistics
FMCG ERP for high volumes, thin margins and complex channels
FMCG businesses move huge volumes at low margins through layered channels — distributors, wholesalers, modern trade and general trade. Trade promotions and schemes can consume a large share of revenue, and short shelf lives punish poor planning.
- M01Sales & Schemes
- M02Inventory (Batch/Expiry)
- M03Mobile Sales
- M04Purchasing
- M05Manufacturing
- M06Accounting
Context
ERP in fmcg
The ERP must handle volume efficiently, track promotions properly and provide visibility beyond your own warehouse into the channel.
01Operational challenges
What usually breaks before the ERP project starts
01
Promotion spend without measurement
Schemes and discounts given without tracking effectiveness.
02
Secondary sales blindness
No visibility of distributor sales to retailers.
03
Expiry losses
Short-dated stock in the channel returned or written off.
04
Route sales control
Van sales cash and stock reconciled manually.
02Core flows
How the ERP should handle each part of the business
- Sales flow
- Primary sales to distributors; route sales to retailers; schemes and discounts applied automatically.
- Procurement
- Raw and packaging materials or finished goods planned from demand forecasts.
- Inventory
- Batch and expiry tracking; FEFO dispatch; channel stock visibility via distributor reporting.
- Warehouse
- High-volume case picking and route loading.
- Manufacturing
- Where applicable, high-volume batch production with packaging lines.
- Accounting
- Trade spend accruals, scheme settlements and distributor claims.
- CRM
- Retail outlet coverage, beat plans and merchandising visits.
03Industry workflows
Workflows specific to fmcg
01
Scheme management
Buy-X-get-Y, slab discounts and display schemes defined with validity and settlement.
02
Van sales
Stock loaded to vans, sales recorded on mobile, cash and returns reconciled daily.
03
Distributor claims
Scheme claims validated against sales data before settlement.
04
Expiry returns
Near-expiry stock identified and returns processed with reasons.
04 — Reporting
Reports that should come out of the system, not a spreadsheet
- Primary and secondary sales by region
- Trade spend vs incremental volume
- Stock ageing and expiry risk
- Outlet coverage and strike rate
- Distributor stock levels
- Margin after trade spend
05 — Compliance
Compliance considerations
Food labelling, product safety, price display rules and tax invoicing requirements vary by market. Batch tracking supports recalls.
Regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction. We configure the system to support your obligations; confirm specific rules with your auditor or compliance advisor.
06 — Integrations
Systems the ERP needs to talk to
Distributor management systems, mobile sales apps, retailer EDI, and BI tools are typical integrations.
07AI opportunities
Where AI is genuinely useful here
Practical uses that sit on top of clean ERP data. None of them replace getting the core transactions right first.
01
Promotion analysis
Estimate uplift from past promotions to guide future spend.
02
Claim validation
Check distributor claims against sales evidence automatically.
03
Order suggestions
Suggest retailer orders based on past purchases during visits.
08ERP modules
Modules a typical deployment includes
- M01Sales & Schemes
- M02Inventory (Batch/Expiry)
- M03Mobile Sales
- M04Purchasing
- M05Manufacturing
- M06Accounting
- M07CRM
- M08Reporting
09Roadmap
Implementation roadmap
- 01
Primary sales and inventory
Core order-to-cash and batch tracking.
- 02
Schemes
Trade promotions with accruals and settlement.
- 03
Route and mobile
Van sales and outlet visits.
- 04
Channel visibility
Distributor integration and secondary sales.
10Common mistakes
Mistakes we see repeatedly
01
Schemes as manual discounts
Untracked discounts make trade spend invisible.
02
Ignoring secondary data
Without it, demand planning is blind.
03
No expiry control
FEFO and alerts must be configured from day one.
04
Complex mobile apps
Route sales apps must be fast and work offline.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can the ERP manage trade schemes?
Yes, through promotion and discount rules, with extensions for complex scheme types and settlements.
Does it support van sales?
Mobile sales with van stock and daily reconciliation can be configured, often with a mobile app integration.
Can we see distributor sales?
Through distributor portals or data integration, depending on distributor systems.
Similar industries
Industries with related workflows
WholesaleCustomer-specific pricing, high-volume order entry, credit control, rebates and fast fulfilment.DistributionMulti-warehouse distribution ERP: demand planning, replenishment, fulfilment and supplier management.LogisticsERP for logistics providers: job management, shipment costing, carrier billing and customer invoicing.
Next step
Is your trade spend working?
We will look at schemes, channels and expiry control.