Distribution and Wholesale Software: Credit Is the Whole Business

Part of our guide hub: ERP software

Ask a Pakistani distributor what keeps them awake and almost none of them will say stock. They will say recovery: the money sitting with four hundred retailers, some of it thirty days old, some of it ninety, and a sales team whose incentive is to sell more rather than collect.

Distribution software that treats credit as a reporting feature rather than the centre of the system is solving the wrong problem.

Credit and recovery, properly

Credit limits that actually block

A credit limit that produces a warning the order taker can ignore is not a credit limit. The system needs configurable enforcement: hard block, or approval from a named person, with the override recorded.

Ageing that the sales team sees

Outstanding by customer in buckets, visible to the salesperson on their phone when they walk into the shop. A salesperson who can see that this retailer owes 180,000 rupees and 60,000 of it is over sixty days has a different conversation than one who cannot.

Collection recorded at the point of collection

Cash and cheques taken in the market, receipted on the spot from the phone, with the customer getting an SMS confirmation. Collections recorded in the evening from memory are how money goes missing and disputes start.

Cheque management

Post dated cheques are standard practice here. The system must hold them with due dates, track deposit and clearance, and handle bounced cheques with the charges and the effect on the customer’s credit standing.

A distributor with two hundred post dated cheques in a drawer and no system record is running a real risk.

Van sales and field operations

A large share of distribution here is van based: load the vehicle in the morning, sell through the route, settle in the evening.

What that requires:

• Van loading as a stock transfer to the vehicle, so van stock is tracked separately.
• Invoice on the spot from a phone, printed or sent by WhatsApp.
• Offline operation. Markets have poor connectivity. Full offline sales and collection with later sync is a hard requirement.
• Evening settlement: stock loaded, stock sold, stock returned, cash collected, and the difference reconciled before the salesperson leaves.
• Route and journey plans, with visit compliance. Which shops were meant to be visited, which were, and which were productive.

Schemes and trade offers

Underestimated in almost every implementation, and a significant share of margin.

Pakistani distribution runs on schemes: buy ten get one, target based rebates, display allowances, slab discounts, and manufacturer promotions that change monthly. The system must apply them automatically at invoicing and, crucially, track claims back to the principal company.

Distributors who cannot substantiate scheme claims lose money they are owed. That reconciliation is often worth more than any efficiency the software provides.

The rest of the requirements

• Batch and expiry for pharma, food and cosmetics, with first expiry first out picking and near expiry reporting. See pharmacy management software for the retail end of this.
• Multiple units of measure that convert: buy in cartons, sell in pieces.
• Returns, both saleable and damaged, with the claim back to the principal.
• Multi warehouse with transfers as proper documents including in transit stock.
• Sales tax invoicing in the required format, and FBR digital invoicing integration where it applies to you.
• Principal wise reporting, because a distributor carrying six brands needs profitability by brand.

What to ask in a demo

1. Try to invoice a customer over their credit limit. Watch what happens.
2. Show a salesperson’s phone view with one retailer’s ageing before taking an order.
3. Record a post dated cheque, then bounce it, and show the effect on the customer’s credit.
4. Apply a buy ten get one scheme automatically at invoicing and show the claim to the principal.
5. Run a full van settlement where cash is short by five thousand rupees.
6. Sell offline in aeroplane mode, then sync.

If the first two are slow or absent, the software will not solve the problem you actually have.

Build or buy

Buy if you are a single or two location distributor with standard processes; several regional products handle this market reasonably well. Build when you carry many principals with complex scheme structures, run a large field force, or need deep integration with a principal’s system.

Related reading: inventory management software and what an ERP really costs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most important feature for a distributor?

Credit control with enforced limits and ageing visible to the field team, followed by collection recorded at the point of collection. Stock control matters and is rarely the binding constraint.

Does it need to work offline?

Yes, for any van sales or field operation. Markets and warehouses commonly have poor signal, and a salesperson who cannot invoice is a salesperson not selling.

How much does it cost in Pakistan?

Off the shelf distribution systems are usually licensed per user or per location. Custom builds covering van sales, schemes and multi principal reporting generally start in the low millions of rupees.

Can it handle multiple brands and principals?

It should, with separate profitability, separate scheme structures and separate claim reconciliation per principal. Test this specifically if you carry more than two.

Ezitech builds distribution, inventory and field sales platforms with offline capable mobile apps for businesses across 10 or more industries. Tell us how many retailers and principals you handle.