The products that we consume undergo a rigorous life cycle before they are owned up by a certain individual or individuals to fulfil their needs or wants. When distribution management is considered, it can be referred to as a part of the supply chain process, which manages the distribution process from the point of the manufacturer to the point of sales.
This process occurs among the manufacturers, distributors, pre-sales, van sales, merchandisers, retailers and ultimately, the end customer. In this article, you will be able to gain an insight into the advantages of having efficient distribution management for your business, which we hope will contribute to its upliftment as well as enhance your knowledge further.
13 Advantages of the distribution management system (DMS)
1. Being Convenient.
Convenience is all that a manufacturer, middlemen and consumers need at times. An efficient distribution management system would ensure that the retailer would be able to pick up the needed items from the manufacturer or the supplier at ease or even may with just one click. Neither of the parties involved will run out of stock or be disappointed because their needs and wants will be supplied thoroughly throughout the process due to its automated system.
2. Real-time tracking.
Real-time tracking can be considered a vital feature in an efficient distribution management system. It allows you to monitor the distribution process then and there, and this would be advantageous in order to reduce errors and faults that may lie behind. For example, imagine that a certain product route does not seem to proceed to the right point of sale; the company would be able to recover the fault at the same point itself without moving further since the real-time data will give access to the information immediately.
Other than monitoring the performance, a distribution management system will also ensure to give a sneak-peak of trends and insight into network upgrades which will, in return, aid in optimizing the system performance while uplifting your business.
3. Improved outage management.
An outage can be referred to as a period of downtime in the network facilities, and an outage management system is software that models network topologies for outage restoration and decrease the downtime and interruptions caused to the parties involved in the business.
The integrated outage management system on your DMS is going to benefit the business in enduring ways. Specifically, a DMS system with an outage facility will allow the detection of errors and will isolate the affected area, help to identify potential issues before the issues become massive, and help to balance the load across the DMS by monitoring the load and redistributing power to maintain a balanced load, and it will also aid in regulating voltage, thus, preventing equipment damage and minimise outage and downtime.
4. Minimise incur of losses.
In simple words, an efficient distribution management system could cutoff costs which can hinder the upliftment of your business. Having a distribution management system means you will know every required information pertaining to the products, and you will be able to prepare your business with the appropriate amount of stocks, neither excess nor insufficient.
Imagine that you have excess stocks, it might go to waste in no time, and for certain, it will bring you losses; on the other hand, insufficient stocks could lead to customer dissatisfaction which will definitely cost you customers. Hence, having an efficient distribution management system will ensure keep you out of trouble.
5. Better forecasting and analytics.
Analytics and forecasts need to be seemingly accurate for a business to run forward. Having a DMS will aid in collecting a large amount of data from the distribution network, which includes the details of customers, suppliers, manufacturers, and the necessary parties involved in the business to get the work at ease. Moreover, the ability of the system to identify utilities and make predictions on the behavior of the system would be ideal for helping the business in future forecasting and for better data analyses. Better forecasting and analytics will prevent your business from future losses while also implementing ways to enhance the sectors in which it needs growth.
6. Improved customer satisfaction.
An efficient distribution management system would result in faster delivery of goods into the hands of the customers while also painting the product quality at the same time. The product quality is maintained since the DMS always keeps intact with the stocks by letting the employees know about their expiration dates or whether it’s damaged or not and by several other means, hence providing a quality product to the customers.
This makes things at ease for the customers through its attributed features like “one-stop shopping” and customer loyalty programs such as giving rewards and even following up with customer promotions. After all, all these will lead to improved customer satisfaction, which in turn will give the company positive customer feedback and attract a loyal customer base.
7. Less hassle in the inventory management process.
Inventory management is basically the process of managing inventories from raw materials to finished products. This can be considered a company’s valuable asset in its own terms. When there is no proper management of inventory, it can lead the business to be detrimental and would bring out a bulk of hassles while handling the business. Additionally, it is also vital to note that a large amount of inventory would bring could be a risk if it is a product that is subjected to spoilage and damage; hence it is of utmost importance to have a proper distribution management system to manage inventory.
8. Better demand response.
A distribution management system would help in managing demands by efficient responses to the customers and gaining their interest towards the business in order to build up a loyal customer base. Moreover, at present, a distribution management system is built to reduce peak demands while improving grid stability. This helps in utilizing the facilities in the business with the maximum usage of every aspect taken into use during the process.
The faster the responses. The more profit you can bring to the company!
9. Improved organisation of financial assets.
Financial assets are apparently the most crucial part of business, most of the time the sole reason for a business to run and as known when the financial assets are not managed properly, it can be highly detrimental in terms of the company. Yet, if your company is highly organised in the sector of financial assets, you are sure to be benefited in various circumstances.
For example, if you find an urgent implementation within the organisation and it needs to be fixed and costs you an amount, if there is a separate fund for urgent tasks, the company will not have to repent later on in terms of finance. Therefore, in order to accomplish an organised monetary section, it would be better to have an efficient distribution management system.
10. Mitigation of major and minor errors.
An error, either major or minor, could bring great losses to the company. Losses mean not just monetary aspects but also the loss of a loyal customer base that would give negative feedback and ultimately harm the reputation of the business. Hence, instead of having to face these circumstances, having an efficient distribution management system would be ideal.
It will aid your business in identifying the risks and other implications, such as competitors, natural disasters, whether there are the right amount of stocks, whether the products are up to standards or not, and so much more which will almost mitigate the major and minor errors about to happen.
11. Better collaboration with the business parties.
For a business to run smoothly, every party, from the manufacturer to the consumer, plays a vital role. An efficient distribution management system gives out the required space to collaborate mutually with the partners. The system’s ability to real-time data sharing, be able to share responses coordinately, and it’s the ability to involved in communication through messaging, alerts, and notifications have been pre-dominantly influencing a positive and better collaboration with the business parties.
12. Ability to integrate with third-party system.
A distribution management system gives access to be easily integrated with other 3rd party systems making it more beneficial for the business. To mention a few, a distribution management system could be integrated with CRM (Customer Relations Management systems), Order Management system, Outrage management system and so on. This will help to coordinate more precisely and efficiently and ultimately aid in the upbringing of the business.
13. Improved reliability and safety.
Last but not least, since the facilities in a distribution management system provide a high level of data accuracy, it ensures to improve the reliability of information within the company. Additionally, the safety measures in the system will always make sure that the needed information is organised and contained appropriately within a database by ensuring its safety without risking information theft and much more.
Informative fact.
Currently, the global advanced distribution management system market has grown from $1.78 billion in 2002 to $2.13 billion in 2023, which is at a Compound Annual Growth rate of 20.2%.
Something to think for yourself…
Now, the matter of concern for you and your business is,
- How far the distribution management system sector has uplifted your company over the years?
- Do you see growth in your business due to the integration of DMS?
- If you do not have a DMS system, what are you supposed to do?
- What measures will you have to take to improve distribution for your company?
If you do not have the right answers, we, Simplr, are obliged to help you out! One step at a time, reach out to us!
Wrap up.
Finally, we hope that you got the essence of the advantages of the distribution management system and hope it enhanced your knowledge widely!
