Landed cost accuracy
System-aggregated cost vs. actual cost variance
Variance <1%
Solutions · Industry Solutions · Trade & Distribution
SAP Business One for Trade and Distribution:
Landed Cost, Inventory Turnover and Credit Management
A distributor with thousands of SKUs, multiple warehouses, multiple price lists and credit controls should assess a move from inventory software to ERP. SAP Business One provides consistent inventory, pricing, order, margin and finance management; the decision should be based primarily on operating complexity.
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 · Delivering since 2009 · 760 clients served
Landed cost, inventory turnover and credit management
Complex multi-currency import costing
Payment (USD/EUR) + duties + VAT + freight + warehousing = true landed cost of one shipment; manual calculation is error-proneManagement impact: Quote margin miscalculation of 5–10 %
Multi-price system maintenance is hard
Different customers / channels / regions have different prices, discounts and credit limitsManagement impact: Price leaks / wrong prices / over-credit shipments
Inventory turnover pressure
Wide product range; slow movers tie up cash while fast movers go out of stockManagement impact: 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 mistakesManagement impact: Delayed clearance, demurrage charges
Business Process and Controls
Procurement, import, warehousing, sales and settlement
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
Stock −↓ Exchange differences auto-processed
Financial Close
A/R · A/P
Exchange Differences
Exchange Diff.
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 in trading and distribution operationsLanded 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)
Project Measures
Trade and distribution project outcomes and acceptance measures
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
| 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 |
Project Outcomes & Acceptance Measures
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)
Implementation Priorities for Trading and Distribution
Landed Cost, Inventory Turnover and Credit Management
Implementation priorities include landed-cost and multi-currency accounting, inventory turnover and customer-credit control, followed by demand forecasting and pricing analysis once transaction data is stable.
1
Landed-cost and multi-currency accounting
Implementation scope: 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.
SAP Business One and extensions:
SAP Business One Landed CostsMulti-currency ManagementExchange DifferencesMulti-price Lists
Outcome: Landed cost variance <1 % · Quotes data-backed · Exchange auto-processed
2
Inventory-turnover and credit control
Implementation scope: Aging analysis + ABC classification + credit-limit control + multi-warehouse transfers—inventory turns faster; bad-debt risk drops.
SAP Business One and extensions:
Inventory Aging AnalysisCredit Limit ControlMulti-warehouse TransferIn-transit Inventory Mgmt
Outcome: Turnover ↓ 30 % · Bad debt ↓ 40 % · Inventory visible
3
Demand forecasting and pricing analysis
Implementation scope: AI demand forecasting + intelligent replenishment suggestions + dynamic pricing—from experience-based buying to data-driven procurement and sales.
SAP Business One and extensions:
MRP RunSafety Stock OptimizationAI Demand ForecastingAI Dynamic Pricing
Further improvement: Stockouts reduced · Excess stock lowered · Margin optimized
SAP Business One Core1+N SuiteAI Applications
Related Cases
Trade and distribution implementation outcomes
Tantivy Auto Parts
Built a modern automotive parts supply-chain service platform with SAP ERP, delivering multi-category, high-efficiency parts distribution.
View case
Xinjiang Fenghua ShenzhouEstablished a finance-business integrated real-time analytics and control platform with SAP ERP and SAP HANA.
View case
Beijing DiandiUsed SAP ERP to consolidate data resources, enhancing digital analysis, management and forecasting capabilities.
View case
FAQ
Implementation and system requirements for trade and distribution
With thousands of SKUs, multiple warehouses and price lists, when should we move from inventory software to ERP?
A formal ERP assessment is appropriate when cross-warehouse stock is unreliable; the same SKU carries customer-, channel- or region-specific prices; credit limits are not linked to shipment control; orders, inventory and finance are re-keyed; or margin is calculated manually at month-end. SAP Business One manages multi-warehouse inventory, price lists, orders, credit, costing and finance within one document model. MTC’s published Tantivy case covers 10,000+ auto-parts SKUs on an integrated ERP, CRM and WMS platform.
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 and the landed-cost module; domestic flows use standard RMB procurement. Both are managed in one system under defined accounting and logistics processes.
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.
Assess landed cost, inventory turnover and customer-credit requirements
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