Orchestra Connect streamlines retail sales, inventory data between brewers and distributors

ERP software provider Encompass Technologies launched a Distributor Reporting service as part of its new Orchestra Connect family of solutions, with the goal of connecting suppliers to other tiers in the supply chain. Offered free for suppliers, Distributor Reporting collects and aggregates data from all distributors in the three-tier system and offers optional extensions that allow suppliers to integrate their data with virtually any other software platform available today, says Encompass.

“Using the data sharing process with today’s traditional solutions, suppliers and distributors can only share data in batches, which is an old approach that wastes time and money,” said Encompass CEO Jonathan O’Neil.

On top of that, poor quality data contributes to out-of-stocks, distributor dissatisfaction, and misalignment of goals and incentives. Distributor Reporting would free up suppliers waiting for reports to process and the very-real problem of inaccurate data.

“The management and sharing of data between suppliers and distributors is broken; it lacks choice and data interface reciprocity which stifles growth and innovation,” O’Neil added. “With Distributor Reporting, we are facilitating a mutually beneficial flow of communication beyond the transfer of data. We are offering this at no cost because we believe in unlocking innovation which translates to efficiency, agility, and better decision making for suppliers, distributors, and the industry as a whole.”

“For the first time in the beverage industry, we have a choice for aggregated retail sales and inventory data across the entire distribution network,” said Scotty Hunter, Chief of Strategic Development of Urban Artifact Brewing, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Distributor Reporting streamlines the sharing of retail sales and inventory data between suppliers and distributors, while providing:

• Live data with zero-latency delivery for accurate forecasting.
• Easy-to-customize reports for streamlined data visualization.
• Elimination of burdensome data collection requirements.

Manufacturers can sign up here to enroll in Distributor Reporting and initiate the process to activate the data interfaces between Encompass and other Route Accounting System (RAS) providers.