IT for technical wholesalers, from warehouse to trade counter
Early in the morning the first tradespeople are already at your counter, and from that moment everything has to work: the ERP, the scanners, the till and the web shop. Infodatek Group manages and protects the IT of technical wholesalers proactively, with one contact person who knows your branches, your systems and your busy moments.
Every item, every order and every branch in one chain
A technical wholesaler supplies installers, contractors and industry, and they all count on speed. An order comes in through the web shop, as an EDI message from the customer's own software, by phone or at the counter. The ERP reserves the stock, the warehouse picks the order with a handheld scanner and the driver delivers it to site. Meanwhile your sales reps prepare quotes at the customer's premises and want to know exactly what is in stock, including at the other branches. We look after that whole environment as one: office, counter, warehouse, field sales and the lines between your branches. You keep your mind on selling and delivering.
Counter, warehouse, field sales and branches under one management
Scanners, label printers and a network that keeps pace with your warehouse
Links between ERP, web shop and EDI, agreed with the maker of your software
Security you can demonstrate to customers and suppliers
What you get
Dedicated contact
Someone who knows how your orders flow and when things get busy.
Fixed price
Digital Care Managed Operations in the edition that suits you, charged per employee.
Who it is for
Technical wholesalers with a warehouse, a trade counter and often several branches, with or without an IT department.
What matters
What a technical wholesaler needs from its IT
In technical wholesale, speed is the promise. A fitter collecting materials first thing wants to be back in the van quickly. An installer ordering today counts on delivery tomorrow. That only works if stock, prices and orders are right at every moment, at the counter, in the web shop and with your sales reps.
At the same time the chain is becoming more and more digital. Manufacturers supply product data and prices, often based on ETIM or through a data pool, and customers order straight from their own software. Every link saves manual work and makes you faster. The better those systems work together, the easier it is for customers to order from you.
An ERP that tracks stock, prices and orders for every branch
Orders through the counter, phone, web shop and EDI at the same time
Sales reps who prepare quotes on the road and want to see stock
Your own deliveries, with drivers signing off drops on their phones
Warehouse, counter and branches
Network and equipment for warehouse, counter and branches
In the warehouse everything revolves around scanning: at goods in, at put-away, during order picking and at loading. Handhelds, label printers and forklift terminals need a connection everywhere, including between racks full of cable drums and copper pipe. A coverage survey shows exactly where the signal falls short, and we position the access points accordingly.
At the counter you want your staff's computers, the receipt printers and the connection for till and card terminal to simply do their job. If you have several branches, they all get the same setup, and we link them to each other and to your central systems over secure connections. If a new branch opens or the showroom is refurbished, it fits into the same design.
Wifi in the warehouse and dispatch area, surveyed and matched to your racking
Handhelds, label printers and counter computers in one overview
Separate networks for office, warehouse, tills and showroom customers
Branches linked over secure lines and monitored centrally
ERP, web shop and integrations
ERP, web shop and EDI that keep running
The ERP is the heart of your wholesale business. We provide the foundation: the server or cloud it runs on, the backup, who has access and keeping updates current, always in consultation with the software supplier. If the ERP still sits on a server in your own building, it can move to ANYBASE. That is our own private cloud, housed in the European Union in a Tier 3 designed data centre, and it can be extended with failover to Microsoft Azure. Every night we back up servers and databases. You can go back 30 days, and the archive reaches back 12 months.
Integrations are built by our own developers, such as a link between web shop and ERP or the processing of EDI orders from customers. We never build such a link on a hunch. First we look with you and your software supplier at what the package allows and what it will deliver, and only then do we agree what we build. Want your sales reps to search product information, datasheets and installation manuals faster? Then there is Managed Cowork, our AI workplace, which takes its answers from your own files and names the source.
At a wholesaler, lots of invoices, payments and orders go back and forth every day. You want to be able to trust that a payment request is genuine and that your systems stay stable. That is why security is part of our management itself, not an extra: we keep updates current, signing in requires a second step and everyone only reaches the parts that belong to their task. Want someone watching day and night? Add detection and response (MDR): a security centre on watch around the clock. In the Elite edition of Digital Care it is already included.
Whether NIS2 applies to you depends on your range and your size. Customers who do fall under it, such as energy and water companies, are also asking their suppliers more and more often about security. With Smart Compliance our compliance team keeps track of what you have arranged, and security awareness training helps your counter staff and buyers spot a fake invoice or phishing email sooner. We ourselves are certified to ISO 27001.
For wholesalers in installation technology, electrical, plumbing, tools and industrial supplies, from a single branch to a network of outlets. A few examples.
Electrical wholesale
Cable, switchgear, lighting and increasingly charging points, solar panels and home automation. The range changes quickly, and the product data changes with it. We keep the ERP, the web shop and the links with manufacturers stable, so new items and prices find their way to your customers smoothly.
Plumbing, heating and climate
Installers collect their materials in the morning and order from the job during the day. A quick counter, a web shop that works and delivery to site make the difference here. We keep the counter, warehouse and ordering channels running, especially at the busiest hours.
Tools and fixings
Ironmongery, fixings, tools and machines for tradespeople, with lots of small items that turn over fast. Reliable scanners, label printers and a well designed warehouse network help get orders out of the door quickly and complete.
Industrial supplies and PPE
Bearings, drive technology, compressed air, personal protective equipment and maintenance supplies for industry. Large customers often order from their own procurement system. We make sure the environment underneath those links stays stable, and build new ones in consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Questions from technical wholesale
Our ERP is the heart of everything. Do you manage that too?
The ERP package remains the domain of your supplier, who configures it and develops it further. We do the rest: server or cloud, backup, access, workstations and security. We discuss updates and changes with the supplier, and carry them out at a time when counter and warehouse are not disturbed. If we see opportunities, such as an ageing server that would be better off in ANYBASE, we discuss them with you in the strategy meeting.
Can you link our web shop, EDI and ERP?
Often we can, but we promise nothing until we have looked into it. Every package has its own options and conditions, and some suppliers prefer to build integrations themselves. So first we look with you and your software supplier at what is possible, what it delivers and who does what. Once that is clear, we put down in writing what our software team builds and how we manage it afterwards.
Our counter opens early. When do you carry out maintenance?
We agree that with you: outside the counter's opening hours and outside the hours when the warehouse processes orders. You hear about a larger change well in advance. For faults outside office hours we set up an emergency procedure, tailored to your opening hours and delivery rounds.
We have several branches. How do you deal with that?
Every branch gets the same setup: the same network, the same settings and the same security. Secure connections link them to each other and to your central systems, and we monitor those connections centrally. You see on one screen how everything is doing, and a colleague from one branch can easily help out at another. A lot of the work happens remotely, and where that is not possible, one of us comes on site.
Does NIS2 apply to a technical wholesaler?
Not automatically. The law does not name wholesale as a separate sector, but a business that distributes chemicals, for example, can fall under it, usually from medium size upwards. On top of that, customers with NIS2 obligations look at how well their suppliers are secured. We work out with you how it applies to your business, and Smart Compliance helps you keep measures and evidence in good order.
How does working together start?
With a conversation, at one of your branches or at our office. Next we list what is in place: branches, systems, suppliers and contracts. That leads to a proposal you can read without technical knowledge. We plan the switch around your busy moments, so counter and warehouse simply keep running. Our people are based in Terneuzen (Zeeland) and Vianen (Utrecht), and together we work for more than 500 clients across the Benelux.
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