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Abas Business Software is an ERP solution that serves the manufacturing and distribution markets. Abas Distribution suits distributors of HVAC and mechanical, electrical, chemical supplies and more....Read more
VAI’s is an independent software developer and the author of S2K Enterprise, an award winning cloud-based ERP solution utilized by customers operating across the distribution, manufacturing, specialty retail, and service sectors, ...Read more
Inform Distribution Management Software by DDI System is the choice of thousands of distributors. The software is fully integrated allowing distributors to manage everything from inventory and purchasing to sales performance. ...Read more
Körber's K.Motion Warehouse Management System is an adaptable, process based WMS designed to be tailored to companies' unique business practices. Due to its modular design, users can pick and choose from a suite of applications to...Read more
Supporting specialized functionality for distribution, manufacturing, government, and other industries, Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a highly customizable system that benefits from numerous partner-developed vertical extensions....Read more
Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides integrated solutions that allow businesses to track leads, automate field service, drive sales and improve operations using mobile, enterprise-ready business apps from the cloud. What is Mi...Read more
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne is an enterprise resource planning software with primary features such as real estate management, human capital management, environmental health and safety and commodity trading. What is JD...Read more
With a continually shifting business landscape and growing competition, wholesale distributors are pressured to exceed customer expectations. You need an easy-to-use, modern ERP solution that addresses the highly specialized, core...Read more
Cove Systems is a software solution designed to handle the needs of distributors both large and small. The system is an integrated solution that offers accounting, order entry, purchasing, transportation management....Read more
BizAutomation is an ERP solution suitable for any industry. At the core of the system is intuitive and integrated functionality for Customer Relationship Management, and Financial Accounting. The system is delivered as a SaaS....Read more
Interprise Suite is a highly customizable solution for small and medium-sized distributors. This ERP suite offers e-commerce, crm, inventory, accounting, suppliers, customers, shipping, credit card processing, and banking manageme...Read more
Royal 4 Enterprise is an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with built-in modules for distribution, manufacturing, planning, inventory management, reporting and company financials. It serves midsize to large en...Read more
Built for growing product-selling businesses using QuickBooks, Acctivate is a premium inventory management & multi-channel order fulfillment add-on that helps you focus on growth without operational limitations. Solve for QuickB...Read more
Electrical distribution software is software for distributors of electrical supplies for contractors. It’s not actually a unified software category, but instead refers to several supply chain management (SCM) applications that are used by all distributors, not just electrical distributors. However, there are certain vendors that offer applications tailored to the needs of electrical distributors. Additionally, the term “electrical distribution software” sometimes refers to special solutions for managing the distribution of power in a grid. We’ll take a look at what electrical distribution software is, how it differs from power management software and whether you need it. We’ll cover a number of important issues, including the following topics:
What Is Electrical Distribution Software?
Electrical Distribution Software vs. Power Management Software
Common Features of Electrical Distribution Software
Evaluating Electrical Distribution Software
As we’ve explained, electrical distribution software is specifically used by distributors of electrical supplies. Electrical distribution software helps electrical distributors manage warehouse operations, accounting, purchasing and customer relationships. Managing these operations involves three separate kinds of supply chain management applications: warehouse management, order management and inventory management.
Warehouse management software is for managing warehouse operations, order management software is for generating invoices and tracking both purchase and sales orders and inventory management software is for tracking inventory movements. Electrical distributors may need just one of these applications, or they may need all three. Additionally, some distributors will need integrated accounting. If you have this requirement, you’ll either have to find an accounting program that integrates with the other applications you’re using or invest in an ERP system that includes an accounting module.
In the warehouse, distributors have to track a variety of supplies as small as fuse switches and as large as 10,000 foot reels of wire. Wholesale electrical distributors also purchase and sell in different units of measure. For instance, wiring is often bought by the reel and sold by the foot. Keeping track of the location, quantity and price of these items is difficult, so electrical distributors need an automated system to track their inventory and multiple pricing schemes. Moreover, they don’t just need an automated system (most distributors these days use automated inventory tracking, after all), but an automated system that can track inventory and warehouse operations such as slotting and picking in the requisite units of measure (e.g., feet) and automatically calculate invoices using these measures.
Like many names for B2B software categories, the term “electrical distribution software” is ambiguous. In addition to the meaning we’ve already covered, it also refers to software for analyzing, managing and optimizing the distribution of power within a power grid. Generally, this software category is used to design power networks and control expenses at complex campuses such as industrial plants. It falls into the broader category of energy management software, but offers a host of highly specialized features specifically for analyzing the workings of power grids and optimizing them via management of switching sequences etc.
For instance, the software is capable of complex network analysis and modeling that factors in connections between network components and the modes of operation of these components. Additionally, it has special data ingestion features for collecting data from sources like meters. Energy management goes beyond designing and managing power grids, and not all energy management solutions address the complex issues that power grids present.
If you need to manage the distribution of power within a grid, you can examine our listing of energy management solutions. The solutions on this page are supply chain management solutions for distributors of electrical supplies.
Electrical distribution software is designed to meet the unique needs of electrical supply distributors, simplifying the task of tracking inventory levels and pricing items using standard warehouse management system functionality, with the following specialty-specific features:
Reel tracking | Reel tracking allows distributors to track the number of reels in stock as well as how many feet per real are available at a given moment, minimizing partial reel waste. |
Price updating | Pricing update features allow the distributor to continually adjust pricing levels according to changes in the market and special contract agreements. |
Aggregation | Since electrical distributors get involved in value-added services like assembly, kitting and bundling, electrical distribution software should aggregate component parts in a kit or package. |
Lot tracking | On large projects, contractors often want to order everything up front but receive the materials and pay for them as needed, rather than all at once. Lot tracking and billing features are designed to handle this order/delivery dichotomy, tracking the inventory by lot order as it comes in and goes out. |
Front counter | Many electrical wholesalers have a storefront where they can fill contractor orders on the spot as the contractors are on their way to a job site. In this instance, your electrical distribution software will need a retail point-of-sale system, as well as wholesale warehousing and invoicing capabilities. |
In addition, most of the top systems will include accounting capabilities, including rebates, invoices and payroll, which combines to make a full enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
There are dozens of different electrical distribution software programs, each having slightly different features and strengths. Before purchasing electrical distribution software, buyers should take the following points into consideration: