Distributors and wholesalers
System for distributors with route sales
Your sales reps take orders in the field, the warehouse picks with a scanner and the invoice goes out on delivery. If you use SAP Business One or NetSuite, it all lands in your ERP.
Where a distributor loses money
It usually slips away between the order and the payment. The sales rep jots the order in a notebook or sends it on WhatsApp, someone at the office types it in again, the warehouse picks whatever it can find and the driver learns at the customer's door that two boxes are missing.
Then comes collections. You have customers on 15 and 30 days, others who are already over their limit and one who always says they already paid. If that information lives in the sales rep's head, the day that rep is out, nobody knows who to collect from or how much.
In Nori, the order the rep takes in the app reaches the warehouse exactly as entered. From there it goes to the truck load, the delivery and the invoice. Nobody types it in again, and when something doesn't add up you know which step it happened at and who did it.
A day at the distributor
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6:30
The plan is generated
In Route sales › Day planning you press Generate every route. Each route gets the customers due today and, if it's a delivery route, the orders delivered that day.
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7:00
The distribution center picks the load
The warehouse clerk prints the pick list and the Load sheet, which puts the last customer's goods at the back of the truck. Create transfer to the truck records the load.
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8:00
Presale on the road
The rep taps Arrived at each customer and takes the order with that customer's prices. If the customer has open invoices, the rep collects on the spot. The visit stores the time and the GPS location.
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11:00
Customers at the warehouse
Customers who come in their own truck pay at the register and pick up. In Goods delivery their order shows as To pick, and the wait time turns amber, then red, if it runs long.
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14:00
Delivery and collections
The driver delivers in full or in part and can collect on delivery. If there's no signal in the neighborhood, the app saves everything and sends it when the connection comes back.
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18:30
Settlement
In Route sales › Settlements you reconcile the truck by item and the cash by payment method. Differences are recorded with their cause and the rep's register is closed with its cash count.
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19:00
The day's invoices
In Sales › Invoice deliveries you combine each customer's delivery notes into a single invoice. In Mexico, when a customer pays a credit invoice, Nori stamps the payment complement, the CFDI (Mexico's e-invoice) that records the payment.
What a distributor uses every day
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Price by customer
The wholesaler, the corner store and the small restaurant buy the same item at different prices. Each customer has their own price list and Nori applies it on the order, at the register and in the app.
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Volume pricing
A tiered promotion lowers the price once the customer goes over a certain number of boxes. With the Simulator you check the result before your reps use it.
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Credit with approval
If a customer goes over their limit or has an overdue balance, the sale asks for approval. The supervisor approves it from the Authorization tray, at the register with their PIN, or from their phone.
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Piece, pack or box
The same item is sold in several units, each with its own price.
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Receiving against the order
When the supplier arrives you scan what comes off the truck against the purchase order. Anything not ordered is rejected and each line shows its last cost.
The warehouse with traffic lights
Many distributors also sell from the warehouse. The customer comes in, pays at the register and waits for the goods at the dock. The Goods delivery board shows each order as To pick, Picking or Ready to deliver, and an alert sounds when a new one comes in.
If the order has dry and refrigerated goods, each area opens Picking per warehouse and sees only its own lines. When they finish they print the picking ticket with the order number as a barcode.
At delivery, that ticket is scanned and then each item. If something is missing, you deliver what's there and the rest stays pending on the order.
Example
A Wednesday in numbers
Santa Clara Distributors is a made-up example. It sells groceries and disposables to stores and small restaurants with four presale reps and two delivery trucks.
On Tuesday the reps take their orders in the app. By seven on Wednesday the delivery plan already has them in order. During picking, Nori flags three incomplete lines before the truck leaves and the rep lets the customer know that same morning. In the afternoon, the settlement finds a small cash difference and it's recorded with its cause.
- orders taken on Tuesday
- 96
- orders taken on Tuesday
- incomplete lines caught before leaving
- 3
- incomplete lines caught before leaving
- collected on the route and applied to 41 invoices
- $58,300
- collected on the route and applied to 41 invoices
- cash shortage, recorded with its cause
- $420
- cash shortage, recorded with its cause
What you need to get started
- Your item catalog with barcodes and sales units.
- Your customers with their price list, credit limit and credit days.
- Each customer's location, to place them on the route designer map.
- Your routes with their distribution center, their truck and whether they are presale, van sales or delivery.
- In Mexico, your digital seal certificate (CSD) to stamp invoices and payments.
- An Android phone or iPhone per sales rep and, if you want to print receipts on the road, a Bluetooth printer.
- If you use SAP Business One or NetSuite, the access to connect it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have presale routes and delivery routes?
Yes. Each route has its own sales model: presale, van sales or delivery. A common setup is for the presale route to take the orders and the delivery route to drop them off the next day.
What happens to the goods that come back on the truck?
In the settlement you decide whether leftovers go back to the distribution center or stay on the truck for the next day. Damaged goods the driver picks up go to a separate returns warehouse and aren't resold.
Are payments on credit invoices stamped?
Yes, in Mexico. When you record a payment on a stamped PPD (pay-later) invoice, Nori issues the electronic payment receipt with the installment and the remaining balance.
How do I keep a rep from giving too many discounts?
Each role has a discount limit. If the rep goes over it or changes the price by hand, the sale asks for approval and the Authorization tray records who approved it.
Does it work with SAP Business One or NetSuite?
Yes. Nori sends your ERP the documents and payments made on the road and at the warehouse, and prices and price lists come down from the ERP. The NetSuite connector is in testing.
Related guides
- Design routes and plan the daySet up each route with its CEDIS and truck, place customers on the map with their visit frequency, and generate the day plan and truck load every morning.
- Work the route and settleWhat the sales rep does at each stop from their phone, the supervisor's live board, and settling the truck and the cash at the end of the day.
- Goods delivery with status lights and scannerA board that shows which orders are waiting, picking by warehouse, and handing over goods by scanning against the sales order or invoice.
- Authorizations and supervisor PINChoose which operations need approval, who approves them and how. Approve from the tray, at the register with a PIN, or from your phone.
Want to see it with your products?
We'll show you Nori with a catalog and routes like yours.