Apprise® Distribution | Integrated ERP tools for consumer goods distributors

"Through the use of Apprise Distribution, we have been able to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Apprise has been a key factor in helping our company grow and sustain a leadership position."

- Vice President, Bob Barker Company

Apprise^® Distribution

ERP Software That Meets Your Unique Business Challenges

As a consumer goods distributor, you face new challenges every day. Dynamic customer demands. Complex global sourcing. Long product lead times with short product life cycles. Limited resources, from personnel to warehouse space. And a growing list of compliance requirements that put a strain on your bottom line. Apprise® Distribution helps you efficiently manage these challenges to ensure your ongoing success.

Integrated Tools to Help You Grow

Apprise Distribution is an industry tailored ERP solution designed specifically for mid-sized consumer goods designers, importers, and distributors. This beginning-to-end solution helps optimize your enterprise-wide business performance through integrated tools, including:

•	Forecasting, DRP and purchasing	•	Chargeback management
•	Overseas sourcing and import management	•	Compliance management, such as EDI and RFID
•	Manufacturing	•	Complete financials
•	Warehouse and inventory management	•	In-depth, real-time reporting and analytics
•	Sales, customer service and CRM	•	eBusiness solutions

Learn More About Our Capabilities

Move your mouse over the chart below to view more details about our product benefits and functionality.

Demand Planning	Forecasting & DRP Utilize a broad range of industry standard forecasting and planning algorithms alongside point-of-sale (POS) and collaborative customer inputs to optimize purchasing decisions. Time-phased tools improve forecasting accuracy when working with long import lead times. Minimize inventory carrying costs and reduce stock-outs.		Purchasing Flexible rule-based environment provides automatic alerts on inventory status and reorder levels, taking into consideration lead times, supplier performance, on-hand and on-order status, and sales performance. Align inventory receipt with customer demands. Maximize order fulfillment rates and improve customer satisfaction.	Customer Collaboration Integrate point-of-sale (POS) data with historical product sales and performance trends for improved demand forecasting and planning accuracy. Maximize warehouse space efficiency while optimizing inventory availability and revenue opportunities.
Import Management	Vessel, Container and Shipment Tracking Leverage flexible shipment and container building by weight, volume, or value to maximize space and cost efficiencies. Consolidate, track and manage multiple purchase orders and shipments for fewer containers and vessels while sustaining visibility.		Landed Costs Allocate agency fees, shipping expenses, customs fees, duties by harmonization codes, taxes, insurance and other fees by product, unit, volume, supplier or location. Improve purchasing and pricing decisions with insight into all the costs that drive true profitability.	Multi-Currency Support your global operations with flexible multi-currency capabilities. Leverage foreign currency capabilities to do business with a broader range of suppliers and customers.
Manufacturing	Kitting Utilize fixed and/or configuration kits to predefine products for sales efficiency and to process orders to customer requirements.	Work Orders Meet customer demands with build-to-order and build-to-stock work order management. Group and allocate work orders by designated assembly lines to maximize production efficiencies. Allocate backordered materials to work orders based on your business rules to maximize revenue potential. Leverage disassembly work orders to streamline returns and restocking.	BOMs Gain deep visibility into material and component requirements for finished goods and kits with multiple level bill of material management.	Costing Get real-time information to effectively track, manage, and reduce costs utilizing various costing methods, including standard, average, LIFO, FIFO, lot, serial, and landed. Comprehensive labor, overhead, and fixed and variable expense allocation provides maximum cost management insight and control.
Warehouse Management	Receiving, Putaway, Picking Speed receiving and optimize your space with directed putaway capabilities. Maximize picking and packing efficiencies with integrated pre-pack and cartonization rules. Manage and validate returns and reorders with lot and serial tracking.	Physical Inventory Minimize inventory discrepancies with flexible inventory counting options, including cycle and physical inventory counting. Utilize real-time "as of" inventory valuation to gain insight into inventory costs for improved management and control.	Storage / Set Up Optimize space utilization with flexible bin, zone and location management, including cross-docking and lay down areas. Maximize revenue potential by meeting customer specific demands with UCC-128 labeling, flexible units of measure, and multiple UPC codes per SKU.	Paper or Wireless Improve warehouse efficiency and personnel productivity using fully integrated wireless warehouse technologies, EDI, and RFID.
Transportation & Logistics	Route Management Automatically optimize route scheduling and fleet delivery to help manage fuel costs and driver efficiency while providing superior service to your customers.	Dynamic Routing Leverage integrated and automated tools to flexibly meet the routing compliance requirements of your large retail partners.	Shipping Interfaces & Costing Streamline shipment tracking with interfaces to common shipping systems, including UPS, FedEx, Clippership and more. Reduce shipping expenses through integrated shipment costing and selection.	BOLs & Packing Slips Improve shipment tracking and management with VICS compliant bills of lading (BOL) and packing slips. Build efficient truckloads based on dimensional requirements of product through our planned BOLs.
Sales & Service	Sales Order Entry Meet the requirements of large mass merchants and other customers through EDI interfaces for orders, shipment, and payment information. Add customer orders — all with the same business rules for pricing, discounting, credit and more — whether received by phone, online, or EDI. Cover costs and maximize revenues by automatically applying fees for freight, late payments, returns, and more with a broad range of additional charge management tools.	Customer Management Utilize flexible customer maintenance tools to set up customers by location, region, group and more. Establish customer specific pricing, credit and collection terms, and payment options to effectively manage margins and profitability.		CRM Enable sales and support teams to maximize revenue potential through centralized contract management with real-time access to customer terms. Improve efficiencies and customer satisfaction with real-time order status, dynamic proof of delivery, and automated e-mail capabilities. Integrate seamlessly with 3rd party CRM systems, including Microsoft® Dynamics CRM.
Retail Compliance	Chargeback Management Leverage integrated chargeback management tools to measure, track, dispute, and recover retailer chargebacks and improve profitability.		EDI Streamline customer and supplier collaboration for purchasing, sales, shipment, payment, inventory, point-of-sale (POS), and forecasting information through our comprehensive EDI transaction and mapping tools, or your 3rd party EDI application.	RFID Achieve RFID compliance quickly and efficiently. Automate RFID data management and labeling through integrated tools and processes that leverage your underlying system, processes and business rules.
eBusiness	Remote Sales Orders Reduce sale to revenue cycle times by enabling sales teams and/or customers to enter their orders online, from anywhere at any time. Minimize order errors and improve customer satisfaction through seamless online and offline quoting and selling that utilizes integrated customer specific pricing and discounting.		Order Status Improve sales efficiencies and customer satisfaction by providing real-time insight into order status. Reduce support costs and free up limited support resources by enabling online inquiries for order status, delivery options, invoices, account balances, and general help.	Inventory Availability Leverage online inventory capabilities to enhance sales efficiencies and customer communications by providing real-time insight into product availability and allocation.
Financials	Credit & Collections Maximize cash receipts with rule-based credit and collections management based on your defined criteria. Gain efficiencies with system generated credit and collection team tasks and automated collection processes. Apply, manage, and control chargebacks based on your business rules.	A/R Utilize rule-based exception management to mine receivables data and identify performance indicators to take action on. Leverage electronic check application to streamline the posting of customer payments against invoices. Gain in-depth information on outstanding receivables trends and status with on-demand, retroactive aging reports.	A/P Understand and take control of expenses and cash flow. Improve your insights into current cash position and cash obligations through cash requirements and open items aging reports. Rule-based electronic check voiding enables checks to be voided and invoices to be reopened efficiently. Research, dispute, or manage payables with ease.	G/L Gain real-time insight into company performance with complete drill-down capabilities. Establish companies, fiscal periods, accounts, currencies, and budgets aligned with the way you do business for maximum efficiencies and management control.
Analytics & Reporting	Executive Information Systems Real-time drill-down capabilities give easy access to summary and detailed information, including original documents, to get to the root cause of business performance. Manipulate data views and apply data filters to identify trends and quickly take action to maximize business performance.		Business Intelligence Integration with leading tools from Cognos® provides customizable data cubes for the creation of inquiries that are most meaningful to your business. Leverage powerful on-demand information about common business performance metrics, including goals versus results, sales, bookings, inventory, purchasing, warehousing, accounts receivable, and more.	Customer Profitability Gain a real-time view of customer profitability accounting for both above-the-line and below-the-line costs, including freight, allowances, chargebacks, commissions, royalties and more. View customer specific profitability trends over time, or compare different customers to understand customer-level contributions to your bottom line.

One Solution. One Business Partner.

Apprise Distribution's comprehensive industry tailored functionality provides all the tools you need to stay ahead of changing customer, market and industry requirements, so you can stay in control of your business and its ongoing success. Our team of industry knowledgeable professionals partners with you before and after the sale to provide business process reviews and analysis, best practice implementation, application deployment services, ongoing training, and application support. We provide you with one solution to meet your complete supply chain needs, and a single partner-focused relationship to ensure your long term satisfaction.

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