X-ray of the item master
How many part numbers there are, how many are duplicated, which codes each supplier uses and which cross-references live only in the warehouse manager's head. That is what produces the item identification model.
ERP sectorial · spare parts distribution
ERP for spare parts distribution.
We implement ERP systems for spare parts distributors, wholesalers and trade counters in the automotive and machinery aftermarket, with what is specific to this sector settled in the configuration: your own part number, the manufacturer's, the supplier's and cross-references between brands all living on the same item record.
A spare parts distributor shares the delivery note and the stock control with any other wholesaler. That is where the resemblance ends. The same part answers to the internal part number, to the manufacturer's, to the one used by the supplier who ships it, to the barcode and to the equivalents from other brands. Whoever is on the counter searches by whichever number the customer reads out, and that is almost never yours. A generic ERP takes one code plus an alternative field; with that, the search fails at exactly the moment someone is waiting on the phone.
The second trait is the catalogue. Most of these warehouses rely on a technical trade catalogue to know which part fits which model, and that catalogue lives outside the ERP. Our job is to connect the ERP to the technical catalogue the warehouse already uses: how part numbers and cross-references come in, how often they are refreshed and which value wins when they disagree with the internal record. Whether the item master is still trustworthy a year from now depends on that decision.
And then there is the long tail. A spare parts supplier carries thousands of part numbers that turn over once or twice a year and that it cannot afford to drop. Minimum stock and the reorder point are worked out part number by part number, not by family: the average hides precisely what must never run out. On top of that come consignment stock at workshops, returns — a high share of the lines — and in-house delivery with several drops a day. A freshly installed standard module does not fix any of that.
How we implement in a spare parts warehouse.
The process · four stagesFitting the catalogue and the price lists
How the ERP connects to the technical catalogue you already use, how price lists by customer and by family are loaded, and how supplier rebates are settled. All of it checked before the scope is signed.
The full document circuit
Consignment stock, returns with their reason and their credit note, picking by route, priced delivery notes and grouping into a periodic invoice. Migration with a period close that balances against the old system.
Go-live and support from the same team
The counter and the warehouse are trained separately, because they do not work off the same screen. After that, a monthly fee with SLA, enhancements and regulatory changes with the person who did the implementation at the other end of the phone.
Which ERP for which case
Four platforms, and two more ways in.
We do not always implement the same product at a spare parts wholesaler. The choice depends on how many part numbers there are, on how many warehouses, and on whether delivery is run in house.
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Odoo — the most common case
For the distributor that is starting a new project and needs room in the item record and in searching by alternative codes. We are an Odoo partner and a development studio, so custom modules are not subcontracted.
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Distrito K — the distribution vertical
TeamSystem's ERP for distribution and wholesale trade: warehouses, delivery routes and purchasing integrated as standard. We are an Official TeamSystem Partner.
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Sage 200 · X3 — when there is a group behind you
The natural choice if the parent company already runs on Sage and the instance has to be extended to the warehouse. We are a certified Sage partner.
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a3ERP — a solid administrative circuit
For anyone who has outgrown an invoicing program and wants automatic accounting posting and control by warehouse. An a3 · Wolters Kluwer partner.
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The counter and workshop orders
Workshops order outside business hours and want to see their own prices. That is covered with a B2B customer portal on top of the ERP itself, or with the eCommerce-ERP integration.
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Support for implementations done by others
If you already have the ERP put in by another provider, we take over maintenance and enhancements without reimplementing. We start with the item master, which is usually where the problem is.
What gets configured by hand here.
Multiple identification. Your own part number, the manufacturer's, the supplier's, the barcode and the cross-references between brands, all pointing at the same item and searchable from a single box. Without that, the counter opens a separate catalogue and the ERP is left as an invoicing program.
Consignment stock and returns. Material held on consignment at a workshop is still yours and has to show up in valued stock, kept apart from what has been sold. A return needs a reason, a decision — credit note, exchange or back on the shelf — and an accounting trail.
Low turnover and obsolete stock. Minimum stock and reorder point by part number, a review of whatever has not moved and a valuation criterion agreed with whoever keeps the books. With a long tail this size, you have to know how much money is standing still.
In-house delivery. Picking grouped by route, a priced delivery note handed over on delivery and a weekly or monthly invoice depending on what was agreed with each workshop. Two drops in one day cannot end up as two invoices.
Price lists and rebates. A price list by customer, a discount by family with its exceptions, and settlement of supplier rebates against the period's purchases. We set out the cost and the timescales of a project like this in ERP and WMS for distribution and in legacy ERP migration.
Frequently asked questions about ERP for spare parts.
Can the ERP find a part by the manufacturer's part number and by cross-references?
It is the first requirement we put on the table. The item record has to hold your own part number, the manufacturer's, each supplier's, the barcode and the cross-references from other brands, and the counter has to be able to search by any of them. During the analysis we check how far the platform goes as standard and what has to be developed.
I have an old program with twenty years of part numbers. Can it be migrated without losing the history?
Yes, and it is the part that takes the most time. The masters are migrated — items, cross-references, customers, suppliers and price lists — along with as much movement history as has to be kept. Before go-live we run a reference close and balance it against the old system. If the master arrives with duplicates, the clean-up is planned as a task in its own right.
Can you connect the ERP to the technical catalogue we already use?
It depends on which catalogue it is and what access it offers: online lookup, interchange files or periodic import. We look at it case by case and put in writing what goes into the ERP, how often it is updated and which value wins when it does not match your own record.
How is consignment stock at workshops handled?
As one more warehouse location, only outside your own walls: the stock is still yours and shows up valued, kept apart from what has been sold. Every replenishment and every consumption leaves a movement, and invoicing follows consumption. It also shapes the return of whatever the workshop does not fit.
How long does implementation take at a spare parts distributor?
It depends on the state of the item master and on the number of warehouses, not on the number of users. We give the timescale in the diagnostic, with phases and milestones in writing, after seeing how many part numbers and cross-references have to be moved. We do not give a date before looking at the data.
What do I have to do about Verifactu if I issue hundreds of delivery notes a day?
Royal Decree 1007/2023, as it stands after Royal Decree-Law 15/2025, requires corporate income tax payers under article 3.1.a) to have their invoicing software adapted before 1 January 2027, and the remaining parties covered by article 3.1 to have it operational before 1 July 2027. The critical point here is the step from delivery note to periodic invoice: that is the document generating the invoicing record. Everything else, including B2B electronic invoicing and its own timetable, is on the Verifactu and electronic invoicing page.