Which back-office / ERP system?

[unstoppable]

Hi,

I have a traditional wholesale business and we do some retail also both online and offline. We also have sales reps that we use for wholesale business. I need a software solution which I can use to manage everything from one place including:

• suppliers and purchase orders
• customer records
• sales orders, invoicing and returns
• inventory management
• fulfilment/dispatching
• reporting
• preferrably also accounting so it will speed things up when it comes to VAT and tax returns
• and other relevant stuff

I believe I need an ERP system? As a small business I cannot afford SAP or other systems like that yet - may be in the future. At the moment we are managing everything using excel etc which is very time consuming. Can someone please recommend a good scalable solution please which will help with the above and will be scalable enough as we grow but at the same time won't break the bank?

If you are a user of such system then I'll be particularly interested in hearing from you please along with an idea on costs involved.

Many thanks.

 

[ffox]

I cannot afford SAP or other systems like that yet - may be in the future.

But you can afford Office 365. SAP is just a platform that will need tailoring and configuration. Office 365 is similar, but probably better than SAP in every respect and scalable from one man business size to global enterprise size.

Avoid the Home, Personal and basic Business plans as they do not include SharePoint, any other plan would fir your need.

You will probably need some simple development to design the storage structure, data capture forms, work flows etc, but that comes at a very much lower cost than SAP development.

 

[unstoppable]

Hi ffox, thanks for you reply. Unfortunately I know nothing about office 365 so wouldn’t know where to start. I am looking for something which requires minimal configuration to get started and hit the ground running. Something that doesn’t require any hefty consultancy or setup fees.

 

[unstoppable]

What do others here use?

 

[ffox]

I am looking for something which requires minimal configuration to get started and hit the ground running.

Without wishing to sound as though I'm taking the mick. What you want is what thousands of other want. A silver bullet software solution.

Sorry, it doesn't exist. Take a look at your need list -

I need a software solution which I can use to manage everything from one place including:

• suppliers and purchase orders
• customer records
• sales orders, invoicing and returns
• inventory management
• fulfilment/dispatching
• reporting
• preferrably also accounting so it will speed things up when it comes to VAT and tax returns
• and other relevant stuff

You are not going to get that without a considerable input from the business side. Even if it was available out-of-the-box, you would have to radically change your business practices to make them fit the software. Is that what you really want?

 

[Clinton]

Try Apache's Ofbiz . Also worth checking: ERPNext.

 

[unstoppable]

Thanks for your input. I’m aware everything requires a bit of setup. I’m willing to spend days rather than weeks on the setup and in monetary terms 100s rather than thousands. My list is actually very typical of a wholesale business so I will be surprised if there are no pre-existing out of the box solutions that come pretty close..

 

[ffox]

My list is actually very typical of a wholesale business so I will be surprised if there are no pre-existing out of the box solutions that come pretty close..

Okay. Good luck and do come back and let us know how you get along.

 

[unstoppable]

Thanks Clinton, will check out your suggestions.

Are there any other wholesale businesses on this forum? If so what back office systems do you use, I’m curious?

 

[Mark Laurie]

I have tagged a friend in this who I believe MAY be able to assist, look out for a call/message from Pete Lilliman of Statii Ltd

 

[SERC1204]

Hi

You will be able to find an out of the box ERP solution that will do what you're asking, but you'll probably find it is better at some aspects than others (e.g. its great at the accounts side of things, but too simplistic on stock, or vice versa, great on processes but only basic reporting). Setting up such a system can be done in days, but getting to grips with it may take longer. They key is planning and understanding the new system and how to use it before you really start using it. You will have to adapt the way you currently do things, but if you're growing (and will continue to do so) and currently using Excel you're sitting on a time bomb that will go off eventually if you don't adapt anyway.

There are a plethora of options out there and you often find certain solutions are "geared" towards certain types of business sectors. I once worked for a wholesale business (to retail customers) and the system we had raised POs, booked the stock in, booked the stock out, raised sales invoices, processed purchase invoices, handled the accounting, produced VAT returns and produced some (relatively flexible, but quite rudimentary) reporting, all with minimum physical paper. If you're currently using Excel, then a jump to that specific system will probably be a big and expensive one, there are smaller/cheaper solutions out there.

Sage 50 used to be the "go to" option (mainly because there wasn't much else out there!) but there is now much more to choose from that costs less and works better! What ever system you decide on, make sure you choose one with good support, and I don't just mean a helpline for when you stuck on something. A good support service will be able to make sure you're using the system in the best way to get the most out of it as well as being able to scale it up as you grow. Don't think of this as just a "back office" solution and don't choose something that is "good enough", as this can turn to false economy in the future.

 

[unstoppable]

Hi SERC1204 - thank you for your detailed advice. I appreciate it. You are talking along the same lines as what I am looking for.

 

[unstoppable]

I've been researching and found a company called Khaos Control. They seem reasonably economical but I don't know if they are any good.

Has anyone heard of them? Anyone used their ERP software?

Thanks