Order management software for distributors: what it should do
19.10.2026
How to choose software that really helps a distributor manage orders, picking and delivery.
Why spreadsheets and chats are not enough
With two or three shops you can track orders in Excel. With dozens, a spreadsheet will not tell you which order is on the road, which is not yet picked, and who received what. Mistakes become daily.
What order management software should do
- A catalog with prices, where the shop picks products itself.
- One list of orders with statuses: received, picked, on the way, delivered.
- A picking list for the warehouse, so orders are not copied by hand.
- Delivery assigned to drivers.
- A list of shops and each shop's order history.
- Reports: what sold, and how often each shop ordered.
What to look at when choosing
- Is it easy for the shop? If ordering is hard, the shop will phone you again.
- Does it work on a phone? Drivers and shop owners are not sitting at a computer.
- Is it in Georgian?
- Is the price fixed, or does it grow with the number of orders?
- Can you start with two or three shops and grow?
How to start
You do not have to move everything at once. Upload your catalog, invite two or three regular shops, and take their orders only in the system for a week. If it works for you, add the other shops step by step.
Try Strelf
More articles
- Common order management mistakes and how to avoid them
- Moving from Excel and chats to order software: a 30-day plan for distributors
- Wholesale distribution costs and profitability: where the money leaks
- The complete shop guide: organising orders with your suppliers
- The complete distributor guide: from order to reports
- The distribution team: owner, manager, warehouse, driver. Who does what
- Promotions and discounts for shops: how to offer them without a loss
- Problems at delivery: damaged or missing items and how to resolve them
- Order changes and cancellations: what to do when a shop changes its mind
- Delivery zones and the shop's pin on the map: why they matter
- A driver's day: loading, delivery, handover
- How to start online orders with your shops: a first-week plan
- Order picking in the warehouse: how to speed it up and make fewer mistakes
- Shop inventory: when and how much to order
- Reports for distributors: which numbers to watch
- How to grow sales with shops: repeat orders and good service
- Delivery management: how to assign orders to drivers
- Cash on delivery: how to keep track of it without the headache
- For shops: how to order from several suppliers with one cart
- Wholesale prices and catalog: how to set them up as a distributor
- How to take orders from shops so that nothing gets lost