Warehouse management software for FMCG distribution

Each product needs a pack hierarchy: each, case and pallet, with a barcode for every pack level and a fixed number of base units inside. Stock is held in base units, and the system converts when a case or pallet is received, picked or ordered. That's what lets a warehouse receive by pallet, pick by case and still reconcile to the unit. The unit of measure entry explains the concept.

Sales multiples add a rule on top: a SKU packed in cases of 12 can be set to sell only in twelves, with an explicit, named override when a key customer is allowed broken cases. Customer item codes map a retailer's own code to your SKU, so their orders import without manual translation.

• Barcode every pack level, so receivers and pickers scan the pack they are holding.
• Store in base units; order and pick in packs.
• Enforce sales multiples, with named exceptions instead of silent rounding.
• Map customer item codes to your SKUs once, then import orders as sent.

Allocation should take the earliest-expiring stock that still meets the customer's shelf-life expectation, and it should prefer whole pallets for full-pallet order lines. Picking a full pallet as one license plate is faster and more accurate than rebuilding it case by case.

After picking comes the part that defines distribution: loads. Orders are grouped onto a truck, mixed pallets are built and labeled with SSCC codes, and the driver leaves with delivery notes and a bill of lading. After dispatch, proof of delivery is recorded per stop, with shortages or refusals noted, so the office invoices and handles claims from facts.

Replenishment keeps the operation moving between those steps. Case picks come from pick faces sized for a day or two of demand, topped up from reserve pallets when they fall below a minimum. If replenishment runs behind, pickers wait at empty faces and loads close late, so trigger it by stock level rather than by the clock, and send full-pallet lines to reserve while case picks go to the face.

Illustrative example: a distributor of drinks and snacks serving supermarkets and small shops. Orders from supermarket chains arrive overnight with the chains' own item codes. They're mapped to SKUs such as JCE-012 and allocated by expiry. Two full-pallet lines are allocated as whole pallets; the rest become case picks from the pick faces.

By midday, the pick faces for the fastest drinks are below their minimum, and replenishment brings pallets down from reserve. In the afternoon, loads for tomorrow's routes are built, mixed pallets are wrapped and labeled, and the paperwork is printed. Orders received after the 2 p.m. cut-off wait for the next day's loads, while an urgent top-up order for a key account is moved to the front.

Walk a full day's volume through a trial, from order import to proof of delivery. Distribution problems appear at the load, not at the pick.

• Load your pack hierarchy and confirm case and pallet barcodes scan to the right quantity.
• Test a sales multiple with an order that breaks it, and see how the exception is approved.
• Build a real load with mixed pallets and print the full paperwork set.
• Check that proof of delivery, including a short delivery, flows back to the office.
• Confirm how orders will arrive. If retailers require EDI, plan that integration separately, because not every WMS offers it.

NextStock was built with B2B distribution in scope. Products carry an each, case and pallet hierarchy with a barcode per pack, sales multiples with named overrides, and customer item codes. Allocation supports FEFO, whole-LPN and pick-face-first rules and backorders, and cut-off times and urgency set the order of work. B2B freight and loads covers delivery notes, bills of lading, load packing lists, GS1 SSCC pallet labels and proof of delivery per stop. Replenishment suggestions propose purchases and transfers based on demand and cover.

What NextStock doesn't do: EDI is not offered, so retailer orders arrive via CSV, the API or the office UI. There's no route optimization or transportation management; loads are built in the warehouse and routes are planned elsewhere. Wave planning is on the roadmap, not available yet. The distributors solution page has the full picture.