Notes from the floor and the back office.
Practical writing on food distribution operations: traceability, warehouse practice, routing, pricing and the month-end close.
Allergen labeling: the case-break trap
When you split a case or repack product, the allergen statement on the master case does not follow by itself. Here is how to keep it.
Read articleAPI-first ERP: why integrations should be free
Your ERP holds your data. Getting it in and out should take a key and a developer, not a quote for a custom project.
Read articleAR aging 101: how to stop financing your customers' businesses
Every unpaid invoice is a loan to a customer. Here is how to read the AR aging report and bring the old columns down.
Read articleBank reconciliation in food distribution: daily vs month-end
Matching bank activity every day leaves only review at month-end. How a reconciliation works, and how to choose a rhythm.
Read articleBin labeling for fast picking: a low-tech upgrade
A clear location code, a scannable barcode and a label that survives the freezer: the cheap warehouse fix many distributors skip.
Read articleBuilding a tech stack: ERP, accounting and e-commerce
The three core systems a distributor runs, when to combine them, when to keep them apart, and how to keep them in sync.
Read articleThe case-break workflow: what to track, what to skip
Breaking cases is routine in foodservice. Here is what to record at each break, what helps, and what mostly slows the dock down.
Read articleCatch-weight invoicing: getting the math right
Variable-weight product is priced by the pound and handled by the case. The invoice has to bill the weight that actually shipped.
Read articleCatch-weight items: three ways to handle them
Cheese, meat and seafood rarely weigh what the case says. Three sound ways to price, track and invoice them, and when each one fits.
Read articleClosing the books: toward a three-day close
Three business days is a goal you choose, not a standard. Five bottlenecks usually stand between a distributor and a faster close.
Read articleCloud vs on-premise ERP for food distributors
What really changes between cloud and on-premise ERP, what to compare before you choose, and where on-premise still fits.
Read articleCold-chain compliance: temperature logs that hold up to audits
What FDA rules actually ask of a distributor's temperature records, what a good log entry contains, and how to tie readings to lots.
Read articleCold-chain delivery: temperature capture at every stop
When a customer says the product arrived warm, a reading taken at the door is the record that settles the question.
Read articleCountry-of-origin labeling (COOL) for produce distributors
What COOL asks of anyone supplying retailers, which records to keep for a year, and how to carry origin from the dock to the invoice.
Read articleCredit-memo discipline: service recovery vs waste
A credit memo can save a customer relationship or quietly drain margin. Reason codes, approvals and a monthly review tell them apart.
Read articleCustomer-specific delivery windows: how to enforce them
Hospitals, schools and restaurants receive on their own schedules. Record each window properly and plan routes around it.
Read articleCycle counting without shutting down
How to replace the once-a-year warehouse shutdown with small, regular counts that keep your stock records right all year.
Read articleDaily route planning: time vs distance optimization
Shortest distance is the wrong goal for a food delivery route. Plan for windows, time at each stop, driver hours and capacity.
Read articleDriver-assisted returns: capture them at the door
When a customer refuses a case at delivery, the driver can record what happened so the office can settle the credit with the facts.
Read articleDriver mobile apps: what good ones do
The features and small details that decide whether drivers use the app at every stop or quietly go back to paper.
Read articleDSO 101: days sales outstanding for distributors
What DSO measures, how to calculate it so the number means something, and the levers that bring it down.
Read articleEDI integration: what to expect from your ERP
What EDI is, the documents large buyers expect, the ways distributors connect, and what to ask before you commit.
Read articleRecall mock drill: the four-hour exercise every distributor should run
A step-by-step drill that tests whether your team can trace a lot back and forward, and name every customer, before a real recall does.
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