Order, stock and shipping software for small wholesale distributors
For wholesale distributors and supply houses with about 5 to 100 people who still run orders, stock and shipping from a spreadsheet. We build a web system around the way your team already works: orders entered once, stock that's current to the minute, a shipping list the warehouse works from, and emailed purchase orders drafted by AI for someone to check. A typical build costs $8,000 to $25,000 at a fixed price, and hosting and support start at $350 a month.
Last reviewed: November 4, 2026
What distributors need that a spreadsheet handles badly
A distributor's spreadsheet usually fails in the same five places, and each one costs a sale or an afternoon.
- One person at a time. While someone has the order file open, everyone else waits, or writes the order on a sticky note and types it in later.
- The same order typed twice. Once into the order sheet, again into the shipping tab or the invoice, and every retyping is a chance for a wrong quantity.
- Stock that's a week old. The count from last Friday is the only number anyone trusts, so an order gets promised for stock that already left.
- Short at the shelf. The warehouse finds out an item is short when they're standing at the empty bin, after the customer was given a date.
- Customers' own part numbers. Purchase orders arrive as PDFs in each customer's own codes and descriptions, and someone translates every line into yours.
You're not alone in this. In a March 2026 survey of 400 inventory and warehouse professionals, 74% said spreadsheets were their only or primary inventory system (Distribution Strategy).
What we build for a distributor
The system follows your own order flow, from the email that brings the order to the shelf it ships from. The demo shows each piece working for a fictional fittings distributor, Brightwater Fittings Co.
- Order entry with live stock on every line: what's on the shelf, what's already promised, what's free, the bin, the next restock, and the ship date before the order is confirmed.
- Emailed purchase orders, drafted by AI: the AI reads the customer's PDF, matches the customer and each line to your item codes (even when the customer writes only their own part numbers), and lists what it's unsure about first. A person checks the draft beside the PDF and confirms it. Nothing is ordered on the AI's word alone.
- A shipping list for the warehouse, laid out for a tablet: late orders first, bins and quantities in large type, and one Shipped button that takes the stock off the shelf at once.
- Counts only where they're needed: the system asks for the shelves worth counting, and a count that doesn't match becomes a problem for the office to answer, not a surprise at month end.
- The owner's view: late orders and why, items at their reorder point, orders by month with the on-time rate, and a plain-English summary every Monday morning written by AI from your own figures.
- History and Excel everywhere: every change records who made it and when, and every list exports to Excel in one click.
- Your old spreadsheet comes with you: its years of orders are imported, cleaned and kept, so nothing starts from zero. The demo's two years of history came in this way, from a stand-in workbook of 5,202 orders.
You own all of it: the code, the data and the address. QuickBooks stays your accounting system.
What it costs, and how long it takes
A distribution system is a fixed-price build, typically $8,000 to $25,000, then hosting and support from $350 a month. The price depends on how many of the pieces above you need and how messy the old workbook is, and you see it in writing before anything starts.
| Blueprint | From $1,500: the written plan and the fixed price for the build, credited in full to it |
|---|---|
| Build | Fixed price per phase; most projects $8,000 to $25,000 |
| Included | The first 3 months of Standard support |
| After that | Support plans from $350 a month, hosting included, month to month |
For scale: the sample proposal behind the demo is a fixed $18,500, with logins for up to 8 people and the switch-over ten weeks after the start (a fictional company, with prices as illustrations). Your spreadsheet keeps running beside the new system until the day you switch.
How it compares with off-the-shelf software
Off-the-shelf software is the right answer for many distributors, and we'll say so when it is. A built system makes sense when your process doesn't fit the package, or when the package's price grows with your users and your volume.
| Option | Cost | Fits best when |
|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet | Time | One person keeps orders and stock |
| Fishbowl | $229 to $729 a month | Your process fits the package |
| NetSuite | About $2,000 to $4,000 a month | You need a full ERP, accounting included |
| Rowhouse Systems | $8,000 to $25,000 once, then from $350 a month | Your team works its own way and wants to own the system |
Fishbowl is packaged inventory software; its prices are as listed by PricingSaaS in November 2026. NetSuite is a full ERP; its figure is one consultancy's estimate for inventory capability (Concentrus). Both change, so check the vendor's own quote.
See it working
The demo is Brightwater Fittings Co., a fictional distributor with 201 items, 60 customers and two years of orders. Sign in with one click as Dana in sales, Luis in the warehouse, Maria in the office or Tom, the owner, and try the AI reading an emailed purchase order. The data resets every night, so you can't break anything.
Questions
Can a small distributor replace spreadsheets without buying an ERP like NetSuite?
Yes. A web system built around your orders, stock and shipping replaces the spreadsheet without the cost or the change of a full ERP. QuickBooks stays your accounting system, and the build is typically $8,000 to $25,000 at a fixed price, then from $350 a month for hosting and support.
Does it work with QuickBooks?
QuickBooks stays your accounting system. Sending invoices to QuickBooks automatically can be added as a fixed-price option, quoted in your proposal.
Can we keep our item codes, and our customers' part numbers?
Yes. The system keeps your item codes as they are. When a purchase order uses a customer's own part numbers or plain descriptions, the AI suggests the matching item and says how sure it is, and a person confirms each line.
What happens to the data in our old spreadsheet?
It comes with you. We import its orders, items and customers, clean up what needs cleaning, and keep the history, so the new system starts with years of orders, not an empty screen.
Does the warehouse need special hardware?
No. The system opens in the web browser on any computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install; it needs an internet connection. The shipping list is laid out for a tablet.
How long does it take to switch over?
The sample proposal behind the demo plans ten weeks from the start to the switch-over. Your spreadsheet keeps running beside the new system until that day, so orders never stop.
What if we want to leave later?
Support is month to month after the first three months, with 30 days' notice. You choose how it ends: a full copy of the code, data and documentation, or everything exported to Excel (both included), or we set it up on your own hosting for a fixed $400. Your data is never held back.
Is the demo real?
The system is real and runs the same code a client receives. The company, its people and its data are fictional, made up for the demo, and reset every night.