Solutions · Industry Solutions · Trade & Distribution
Multi-currency, multi-warehouse, multi-channel— SAP Business One Trade & Distribution Solution
The landed costs function in SAP Business One automatically allocates freight and customs duties to each item line by weight, volume or value, producing true landed cost; multi-currency accounts with automatic exchange-rate-difference handling free trade finance teams from manual work.
Inventory turnover days↓
↓ 30%
From 90 days to 60 days
Multi-currency accounting efficiency↑
Automated
Real-time exchange gains/losses
Order processing speed↑
3×
From Excel to system
SAP Business One Gold Partner MTC · 17 years of delivery · 300+ Growing SMBs served
Daily life of a trading company—import costs unclear, inventory tied up, channels uncontrolled
Complex multi-currency import costing
Payment (USD/EUR) + duties + VAT + freight + warehousing = true landed cost of one shipment; manual calculation is error-proneCost:Quote margin miscalculation of 5–10 %
Multi-price system maintenance is hard
Different customers / channels / regions have different prices, discounts and credit limitsCost:Price leaks / wrong prices / over-credit shipments
Inventory turnover pressure
Wide product range; slow movers tie up cash while fast movers go out of stockCost:Inventory as % of revenue > 25 %; cash is tight
Import/export documentation is tedious
Customs declarations, B/L, L/C, certificates of origin—long process, easy to make mistakesCost:Delayed clearance, demurrage charges
Core Module · End-to-end Business Flow
Procure → Import → Store → Distribute: full-chain synergy
SAP Business One natively supports multi-currency, multi-warehouse and multi-price lists. Combined with MTC’s trade edition for import landed-cost aggregation and documentation management, it covers the full trading chain.
Procurement & Import
Supplier Sourcing
Sourcing
→
Purchase Contract (Foreign Currency)
PO (Foreign Curr.)
→
Import Clearance (Duties / VAT)
Import + Duties
↓ Landed cost auto-aggregated
Warehousing & Allocation
Goods Receipt (Landed Cost)
GR + Landed Cost
Stock +→
Inventory Aging Analysis
Aging Analysis
→
Warehouse Allocation
Allocation
Sales & Settlement
Quotation (incl. target margin)
Quotation
→
Sales Order (multi-price list)
SO + Price List
→
Delivery + Invoice
Delivery + Invoice
Stock −↓ Exchange differences auto-processed
Financial Close
A/R · A/P
A/R · A/P
→
Exchange Differences
Exchange Diff.
→
Profit Analysis
Profit Analysis
SAP Business One’s "Landed Costs" feature automatically allocates freight, duties and insurance to each item line by weight / volume / value ratio, forming the true landed cost. Multi-currency accounts + automatic exchange-difference processing eliminate manual foreign-trade accounting. Credit-limit control ensures no over-credit shipments.
Key control points (where the trade chain most often goes wrong)Landed cost auto-aggregation (duties / freight / misc.)Credit limit controlInventory aging analysisExchange differences
Stakeholders: Procurement, Order Follow-up, Warehouse, Sales, Finance · Modules used:Purchasing–A/P (Multi-currency)Inventory (Multi-warehouse / Aging)Sales–A/R (Multi-price List / Credit)Financials (Foreign Currency / Exchange)
Core Module · Metrics × Formula × Target
When trade is managed well, these numbers move
| Core Metric | Formula | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Landed cost accuracy | System-aggregated cost vs. actual cost variance | Variance <1% |
| Inventory turnover days | Average inventory ÷ Daily COGS | ↓ Down 30% |
| Order processing time | Average time from order receipt to shipment | ↓ Reduced 50% |
| Credit overrun rate | Over-credit shipments ÷ Total shipments | ↓ → 0 |
Before → After (typical outcome comparison)
Auto-aggregated
Import landed cost moves from 3-day manual calculation to automatic system aggregation
90 days → 60 days
Inventory turnover days drop from 90 to 60 (aging alerts + ABC analysis)
↓ 40%Industry benchmark
Bad-debt rate drops 40 % after credit-limit control goes live
3×
Order processing efficiency improves 3× (from Excel to system automation)
Figures above are drawn from typical results of MTC SAP Business One implementations and industry benchmarks (anonymized). Actual results depend on company size and process complexity. Items marked "Industry benchmark" are not single-client measurements.
Our approach · Trade digitalization ladder
From costs nailed down, to inventory turning and channels controlled
Trade digitalization in three stages: first lock down landed cost and multi-currency, then get inventory and credit flowing, and finally let demand forecasting and intelligent pricing run.
↑ Higher = more efficient trading
1
Cost & multi-currency under control (Foundation)
Doing:Landed cost auto-aggregation, multi-currency accounts, automatic exchange-difference processing—true import cost per shipment is system-calculated instantly; quotes have a data basis.
Powered by:
SAP Business One Landed CostsMulti-currency ManagementExchange DifferencesMulti-price Lists
Outcome: Landed cost variance <1 % · Quotes data-backed · Exchange auto-processed
2
Inventory & credit flowing (Control)
Doing:Aging analysis + ABC classification + credit-limit control + multi-warehouse transfers—inventory turns faster; bad-debt risk drops.
Powered by:
Inventory Aging AnalysisCredit Limit ControlMulti-warehouse TransferIn-transit Inventory Mgmt
Outcome: Turnover ↓ 30 % · Bad debt ↓ 40 % · Inventory visible
3
Forecasting & intelligent pricing (Intelligence)
Doing:AI demand forecasting + intelligent replenishment suggestions + dynamic pricing—from experience-based buying to data-driven procurement and sales.
Powered by:
MRP RunSafety Stock OptimizationAI Demand ForecastingAI Dynamic Pricing
Direction: Stockouts reduced · Excess stock lowered · Margin optimized
SAP Business One Core1+N SuiteAI Applications
Related Cases
Trading companies that nailed costing and inventory—what happened next?
Selected cases related to landed cost / inventory turnover / credit control. Client names and detailed figures are in the case library.
Tiande Qin (Auto Parts)
Built a modern automotive parts supply-chain service platform with SAP ERP, delivering multi-category, high-efficiency parts distribution.
View case →
Fenghua Xinjia (Trading)Established a finance-business integrated real-time analytics and control platform with SAP ERP and SAP HANA.
View case →
Diandicross (Cross-border)Used SAP ERP to consolidate data resources, enhancing digital analysis, management and forecasting capabilities.
View case →
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FAQ
Common questions from trade & distribution company owners
We do both imports and domestic trade—can one system handle both?
SAP Business One natively supports multi-currency and multiple exchange-rate types. Import flows use foreign-currency procurement + landed-cost module; domestic flows use standard RMB procurement. One system handles both seamlessly.
How does landed cost get automatically allocated to each item?
SAP Business One’s "Landed Costs" feature allocates freight, duties and insurance to each item line by weight / volume / value ratio, forming true landed cost per item.
How do you manage inter-warehouse transfers and shared inventory?
SAP Business One supports multi-warehouse + inventory transfer documents. MTC’s trade edition also supports "virtual bins" for in-transit inventory, so you always know available stock across all warehouses plus in-transit.
Get import costs accurate and inventory turning
Book a trade & distribution industry diagnostic starting with landed-cost and inventory-turnover optimization.
- ✓Multi-currency landed cost auto-aggregation
- ✓Multi-warehouse multi-channel real-time inventory visibility
- ✓Credit control + inventory aging analysis