Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
Questions to ask a software vendor as an electronic components distributor
Ask whether the software holds parts by MPN with packing and alternates, and whether it imports a customer’s BOM. Check that it records date code and lot at receipt, follows split reels and costs imports. Then settle data ownership. GullySystem’s page for components distributors covers each point, and a demo should show them.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 3 min read
Does it hold a part the way customers name it
Customers ask by manufacturer part number, by a description or by an old part that has gone end of life. A general retail package stores an item name and a code. That is not enough here.
Ask to see a part with manufacturer, MPN, package, packing type and standard pack quantity on one screen. Then see where approved alternates are linked. Check whether a customer’s own part code can be stored against your MPN.
- Search by full MPN and by partial MPN
- Packing type: reel, cut tape, tray, tube or loose
- Standard pack quantity and minimum order quantity
- Alternates approved by each customer
- The customer’s own part code
How does it handle a BOM in Excel
A BOM from an EMS buyer may run to a few hundred lines. Each line needs a match, a stock check, a lead time and a rate. Matching by hand is where wrong suffixes slip through.
Ask the vendor to import one of your real BOMs during the demo. Watch what happens to lines that do not match exactly. A good answer flags them for the desk to confirm. A weak answer guesses quietly.
Is date code recorded when material arrives
Customers often ask for a recent date code, the lot number and a certificate of conformance. Those can only be supplied if stores records them at receipt. Ask where the receipt screen captures each one.
Then ask how picking works when two date codes of one part sit in stock. Can the desk choose the date code a customer asked for? Can the lot and date code print on the label and invoice?
- Date code and lot number at receipt
- Certificate attached to the lot
- Picking by a chosen date code
- Lot and date code on the dispatch label
What happens to split reels and import orders
A reel opened for a sample or a small order becomes cut tape, and the balance must follow it. Have the vendor record a split and a return to the bin. Then look at the stock figure after three splits.
Import orders raise a different question. Ask whether a supplier order can be linked to the customer requirement it covers. Landed cost should be worked out from freight and charges on the shipment. Selling rates depend on it.
Who owns the data, and how does it move
Ask in writing who owns the part master, customer records and stock history, and how you get a full copy. Find out how parts, stock and open orders are moved across from Excel or your current package before go-live.
Finally, ask how accounts are handled. Some systems carry a built-in link to Tally and some do not. Where it is not built in, ask whether an export is quoted separately. Get the answer on paper.
Vendor demo scorecard
A sheet listing each question above with space for the vendor’s answer and what the demo actually showed. Bring one real BOM and one split reel to the demo. Score each answer as shown, described or missing.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Should we buy an ERP built for large global distributors?
It depends on size. Those systems carry many features a regional distributor never uses, and setting them up takes its own team. Compare them against a smaller system on the questions above, not on the feature list.
Will the software check stock and prices on supplier websites?
Not on its own. Where a supplier offers an API for stock and pricing, a link can be scoped during implementation. Other suppliers are checked by your buyers as they are now.
What should we bring to a software demo?
Bring one real BOM, a list of parts with several date codes in stock, and one recent import shipment with its charges. A vendor who works through these is showing you how the system behaves.