A Leading Wholesale Distributor Streamlines Indirect Spend and Warehouse Expansion
How a national wholesale distributor replaced its lackluster procurement system with Order.co and cut purchasing time by 50% across distribution centers.
At a Glance
time saved on ordering
monthly orders consolidated
users' purchasing streamlined
cash back gained per year
The Challenge
Fragmented purchasing: Warehouse managers placed orders independently, leading to inconsistent spending and product quality.
Unreliable procurement solution: The existing solution offered poor customer service and limited functionalities.
Lack of spend visibility: Without centralized reporting, purchasing patterns were difficult to track across locations.
As a critical member of the wholesale distribution company’s team, the project manager wears multiple hats. In addition to scheduling meetings, coordinating events, and assessing truck driver qualifications, she’s also responsible for overseeing the business’s indirect procurement spend on products such as office supplies, warehouse equipment, and travel costs.
Without a designated procurement department, the project manager and local warehouse managers handled all purchasing tasks. “Every center has two managers in charge of their own P&L,” she explained. “When you’re the manager of a distribution center, you have other responsibilities on you. You worry whether you're getting the best price when you're purchasing from numerous suppliers.” Teams rushing to order products from any available vendor led to missed opportunities for bulk discounts and substantial cost savings, disrupting efforts to maximize cash flow.
Since managers at each location placed orders independently, understanding business-wide purchasing trends and complying with company guidelines was almost impossible. “We had no real handle on what products we were buying as a company or by location,” the project manager expressed. “Did they meet our safety requirements within our warehouses? It was very difficult to get any details on that information.” Without centralized oversight over ordering, maintaining consistency and forecasting future needs would require hours of tedious work.
Spend Analysis Toolkit
The business was growing rapidly, with ten new distribution centers opening in just one year. However, onboarding managers with everything they needed to efficiently launch new locations proved challenging with their existing procurement system, Varis. The project manager shared, “It was just not meeting our expectations.” The team faced a myriad of issues using Varis, including limited reporting capabilities, inaccurate pricing on supplier catalogs, and unreliable customer service.
The Solution
With no plans to build a designated procurement department once they parted ways with Varis, implementing Order.co was critical to support the team. “I needed a team that's going to be working for us, and that's what Order.co became to us,” the project manager shared. “They were able to jump in and work with me at every level from implementation.”
The company’s project manager raved about the implementation process, highlighting her positive interactions with Order.co’s support team. “From the very beginning of evaluation through the implementation process, the thing that stood out to me was great customer service from Order.co,” she expressed. The implementation team worked closely with the company to ensure team members could place orders on the platform as quickly as possible, starting with uploading their suppliers and associated products.
Adding vendors to Order.co was as easy as linking their existing supplier accounts, populating the platform with items from their purchase history. Then, managers customized pre-approved product catalogs for each warehouse and office to eliminate any guesswork during the ordering process. This functionality is especially important in a warehouse setting where product specifications can impact safety or operational efficiency.
With a centralized platform, identifying spending patterns would be a challenge of the past; the team was excited to build in-depth reports in Order.co and track purchasing behaviors at each warehouse. “Spend reporting was very important to us,” the project manager emphasized. “We needed to have that all in one location to run reports and see what we were buying.”
The Outcome
A one-stop shop and AI-powered substitutions
With Order.co, managers don’t have to wonder which vendor website they should purchase products from or spend their valuable time sourcing better prices. They can simply add the items they need to their cart and submit it for approval. “Being able to get on to Order.co and buy everything at once is a huge time saver,” the project manager shared. “Employees don't have to call finance or call me to find things. They can find everything they need on the site, and it's so simple to use.”
The company also leverages Order.co’s AI sourcing capabilities to unlock high-quality, cost-effective product substitutions during the checkout process. The platform’s AI learns from every transaction, return, and support ticket across its customer base to offer relevant product recommendations from reliable vendors. “We know we're always getting the best price on the items that we want substituted vs. items that we didn't want substituted,” the project manager highlighted. In just a few clicks, the team can customize which products can receive substitution recommendations to drive purchasing compliance.
From office supplies to warehouse equipment, the wholesale distributor uses Order.co to buy everything they need. “We've used [Order.co] for a lot of the larger products in the warehouses – shrink-wrap machines, portable truck units, little small portable pan trucks, and all of the equipment they might need in the warehouse,” the project manager explained. With custom approval workflows configured in the platform, the team has complete control over every purchase, ensuring that all requested orders comply with safety rules.
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Eliminated accounting and reporting complexity
Order.co can pay vendors immediately and deliver customers a consolidated, pre-coded invoice that accounts for all purchases. With fewer invoices to reconcile, the AP team saves hours and boosts accuracy during month-end book close. “On the finance side, [Order.co] trimmed down our payables. We don't have to pay as many vendors,” the project manager shared.
Plus, leveraging Order.co to pay her vendors immediately served as a helpful negotiating tool with suppliers. “When we can tell [vendors] they’re gonna be paid immediately by Order.co – net 1 versus net 30 – that means something,” the project manager shared. “You're getting your payment right away, so what can you give us back? What kind of better pricing can you give us? That's been a big advantage.”
One of the most significant benefits for the company’s accounting team is the comprehensive report of all purchases that Order.co generates, providing a clear and organized overview of every transaction. The project manager explained, “They get a report and push that report data right into our GL.” Accessing the data within its accounting system, Infor SX Enterprise, allows the team to quickly match invoices with purchase orders and payments, rather than spending countless hours doing so by hand.
Obtaining a holistic view of spending across distribution centers and tracking budgets in real time helps the project manager and her team plan for the future. “For forecasting, we can see in total how much each location is spending and what the company is spending on expenses,” she described. This newfound visibility empowers the team to make data-driven decisions and allocate resources where they’re needed most.
Boosted operational efficiency and scalability
With manual purchasing, reporting, and reconciliation tasks off the company’s plate, employees have gained at least 50% of their time back. As a result, they now have more time to focus on tasks that directly impact the company’s bottom line. “Our distribution centers should not have to worry about getting the best price on the expense items they need,” the project manager expressed. “Letting them truly focus on selling, customer service, and operations is tremendous.”
Individual warehouse managers no longer have to handle order returns or cancellations, saving them the frustration of back-and-forth communication with vendors. “Reacting to orders that needed to be canceled or returned – we needed someone who could do that for us. Order.co can and does for us every day,” the project manager shared.
With the right procurement platform on its side, the wholesale distribution company can grow, scale, and serve its customers for years to come. “If you are looking to grow your business and focus on what your people do best, you definitely want to sign up for Order.co,” they said. “If you want to save money and time, Order.co is the way to go.”