Today’s era of fast distribution, however, makes competitiveness more than simply about filling orders. Wholesale distributors must provide a unified customer experience across all sales channels online, offline, B2B portals, marketplaces, and even direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. Enter Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central: a powerful ERP solution that is enabling distributors to thrive in the omnichannel era.
The Omnichannel Imperative for Distributors
It is becoming standard for customers to expect that all touchpoints they have with the company are consistently, as well as personally, tailored experiences. It could be a B2B buyer placing the reorder via a portal or consumer retail buying from an eCommerce store of a distributor, but the expectation remains the same: real-time access to inventory, accurate price, quick filling, and clear communication.
To deliver these expectations, distributors must integrate their operations, systems, and data. That’s where Business Central shines.
Why Business Central Is a Game-Changer for Omnichannel Sales
This is how Business Central is enabling wholesale distributors to enable and expand their omnichannel strategy:
1. Integrated Data for Integrated Operations
Distributors achieve a single source of truth for inventory, customers, price, and money with Business Central. Whether they sell EDI, online stores, or sales reps, everyone is working off the same real-time information, shattering silos and providing consistency across channels.
Example: A distributor sees real-time inventory levels in one location across Shopify and in-store sales.
2. Integrated eCommerce and POS Systems
Business Central natively integrates with regular eCommerce platforms (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento) and POS applications. These offer smooth order integration into Business Central, reducing manual entry and speeding fulfillment.
Bonus: Customers see only available stock with real-time sync, and sales reps see multi-channel orders.
3. Automated Discount and Pricing Rules
Price and channel discounting must be done manually and are subject to human error. You can assign price rules by customer group, quantity, or promotion campaign across all your channels in Business Central.
Example: Automatic tiered discount to a B2B buyer regardless of whether they buy on the web or from a salesperson.
4. Efficient Order Management and Fulfillment
Omnichannel selling will create order management fragmentation. Business Central makes things simpler with order-to-cash processes, smart stock allocation, and warehouse automation features.
Outcome: Faster, error-free deliveries with real-time visibility into the status of an order.
5. Actionable Insights Across Channels
Power BI and dynamic dashboards combined in Business Central provide visibility into channel sales performance, customer activity, and inventory turn. These insights help distributors to make better decisions and react quickly.
Example: Identify a sales drop-off in the marketplace and change prices or offers in real-time.
6. Cloud Flexibility and Scalability
Business Central grows with distributors when they scale up and add new sales channels or geographic regions. Cloud-based means your employees can view key data anywhere and support remote business easily.
A growing distributor can expand globally without affecting core systems.
Conclusion: Future-Proofing Distribution with Business Central
Wholesale distribution is no longer just about filling in bulk; it’s now about delivering a single, customer-centric experience across all channels. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, distributors are not only streamlining processes but are laying the groundwork for successful omnichannel strategies in the long term.
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