You’ve decided to replace your existing business management system. There are many reasons why a company decides its time to update existing systems - perhaps you’re using an introductory accounting solution like QuickBooks and are looking for additional features such as inventory management, or maybe you’re looking to sell through new sales channels such as eCommerce or Amazon and want to integrate solutions. Maybe you’re using a product that is no longer supported and running on outdated technology. Whatever the reason, it is important that you dedicate the time and resources to finding a solution and make it a priority – for risk of letting it fall by the wayside. Theoretically, the process of finding, implementing and training staff on a new solution will be the biggest project your business takes on in any given year. And it should be – the right distribution software is the backbone of your company and will help to run every department from sales to accounting to customer service to warehouse management to eCommerce. So how do you find the right solution? Its no wonder people become overwhelmed when they start the search process - a simple Google search of distribution software yields over 402 million results! To narrow down your search, start by speaking with people in your industry and network to learn what system they are using, try to find unbiased 3rd party websites that offer simple comparisons between vendors, and dedicate the time to sift through some of the Google results until you have a shortlist of about 6-8 vendors to evaluate. To help you narrow down your search, we’ve included a break-down of information about Blue Link, and whether or not our distribution software is the right fit for your business.
Complete the Blue Link Quiz for yourself to determine if the software has the functionality you need to grow your business. Blue Link ERP Quiz
About Blue Link
Blue Link is an owner-managed company, Microsoft Certified Gold Partner and has been in business since 1992. Blue Link provides all-in-one inventory and accounting ERP software for small to medium size businesses and is best suited for those in the wholesale and distribution industry.
As an all-in-one solution, Blue Link ERP helps businesses reduce manual work and automate processes by providing tools for inventory management, accounting, order entry and processing, warehouse management, contact management, eCommerce integration with sites such as Shopify and Amazon, and advanced reporting. In addition, Blue Link includes various optional components that are more industry-specific and can be turned on at any point in time, such as point of sale, lot tracking, wireless barcode scanning, service and repair functionality and more.
Blue Link is available to businesses in North America and the Caribbean and can be customized to meet the specific needs of clients.
Industries Served
With a focus on wholesale and distribution businesses, as well as businesses that sell through eCommerce and retail, Blue Link provides functionality for a variety of sub-industries and niche markets. These include:
- Pharmaceutical
- Medical
- Apparel, Fashion and Sporting Equipment
- Baby and Children’s Products
- Building, Construction and Home Supplies
- Electronics and Technology
- Consumer Packaged Goods
- Garden and Floral
- Food and Beverage
- Foodservice Equipment Supply
- Industrial Products, Machinery and Equipment
- Salon and Cosmetics
- and more!
Right Fit
As a SMB, Blue Link understands the mindset of other SMBs and as such Blue Link customers typically have between 5-200 employees and under 150 users. Blue Link customers choose the software and trust our team as their business partner because…
- They are excited about the opportunity to grow their business and expand into new markets
- They are frustrated with using multiple, standalone solutions that do not interact with one another
- They need a solution to help with regulatory compliance – Health Canada, FDA, DEA, etc.
- They are anxious to start selling through other channels such as EDI, eCommerce and Amazon and need an integrated solution to do so
- They are worried about their existing legacy systems crashing and losing data and productivity with no access to support
Who Are We NOT a Good Fit For?
Blue Link is not a fit for every company, and through our experience over the last 26 years, we've found that there are a few situations where we are unlikely to contribute high value to an organization. It is our job as part of the sales process to identify these unique cases as soon as possible to make sure we don’t waste anyone’s time. We are likely not a good fit for your business if:
- You don't want an all-in-one solution
Blue Link ERP software is designed as an all-in-one solution to manage all aspects of a businesses' operations. We do not offer individual components such as just inventory functionality or just accounting. The nature of the system is to eliminate the need for duplicate entry and for information to easily flow between departments. Blue Link replaces the need for introductory solutions and does not integrate with accounting software (such as QuickBooks). Instead, Blue Link provides more advanced functionality to help you grow your business.
- You’re a manufacturing company
Many distribution companies identify as also a manufacturing business, even if all manufacturing processes are outsourced to 3rd party vendors. Where this is the case, Blue Link is a great fit and we even have functionality for light manufacturing – in terms of managing simple BOM requirements and kitting and assembly processes. However, if your business manages manufacturing and processing in-house in addition to distribution, and requires functionality for scheduling production, MRP and tracking waste/yield, you’re better offer finding a true manufacturing system as opposed to distribution.
- You're looking for catch weight functionality
Although we work with companies in the food and beverage industry, if you deal with produce, meat, poultry and fish, that require specific weight of a specific batch of product which is close to the average or standard weight used for that product (also known as catch weight)- Blue Link is not the right fit. Where Blue Link is a good fit, is for those businesses dealing with canned, frozen and dry packaged goods, in which the weights and sizes will be standard each time. For these types of food businesses, Blue Link offers specific functionality such as lot tracking and landed cost tracking.
