2020 has been a year of unprecedented challenges for many industries in the wake of the current global health crisis. Food distribution companies have had to deal with rapid changes in focus, particularly in light of the restrictions put on restaurants. With most restaurants across the United States either closing down entirely or shifting focus to carry out only, drastically reducing business, distributors have faced an ever fluctuating reality, one that does not seem to be growing any more stable as the second half of the year begins. This is primarily due to the fact that several states have been forced to walk-back reopening plans, once again putting the status of restaurants in doubt.
States such as California, New York, Texas, and Arizona have all had orders amending or halting restaurant reopening plans, once again putting a strain on the food distribution companies that service them. This is a perfect illustration of why it is vital for food distributors to be flexible and able to respond quickly, especially in these trying times. The easiest way to achieve this level of flexibility is by powering your company with a modern, agile, complete ERP system such as Prime FoodService software, which is built on the award winning Acumatica cloud ERP platform.
Prime FoodService gives businesses the ability to adapt to changes on the fly with the ability to edit key information in real-time, as well as several features designed to head off potential problems before they arise.
With such tight margins in these trying times, any tool that can give companies the ability to have greater control over their profits can be a huge leg-up on the competition, and Prime FoodService provides one such tool in its intuitive, in depth pricing controls. Prime FoodService gives users the ability to set pricing in multiple ways, allowing users to set pricing for a specific dollar amount, adjust it for cost, which can also be determined in software, or even set pricing to maintain a particular profit margin. Prices can be set for families of items, while exceptions can also be set up for particular items within those families. These prices can be set differently for different customers, meaning that distributors can set up specific rules for restaurants until full reopening is possible.
Prime FoodService also arms its users with an intuitive and versatile order guides system, which lets its users set up customer-specific lists of products that each of their customers typically order, allowing for quick order entry. Items can also be added specifically to these guides, allowing for easy cross and up-sell opportunities. This feature also allows users to keep on top of things their customers usually order but have fallen off on.
This works hand-in-hand with another feature which allows alerts to be set up automatically to let users know when their customers have stopped ordering specific items that they usually buy. This allows providers to proactively reach out to customers, potentially preventing sales loss, as well as keeping them top-of-mind with their customers. With many restaurants currently experiencing a “will we open or won’t we” scenario, this touch-base potential can be vital, bolstering the relationship between provider and client.
As 2020 rolls on with no end to the global health crisis in sight, restaurants will continue to face previously unimaginable challenges, as will the food distribution companies supplying them. By choosing to operate with a complete ERP solution such as Prime FoodService, food distribution companies arm themselves with all the tools needed to navigate these trying times.