Notes from the wholesale trade.
Practical writing for distributors — order management, EDI, lot control, and running a modern distribution business.
Replacing a legacy RMS: a practical guide for distributors
August 18, 2026 — What to look for when you retire a green-screen route management or distribution system — data migration, EDI, pricing rules, and how to cut over without stopping the trucks.
EDI 850, 855, 856, 810 — the four documents that run wholesale
August 19, 2026 — A plain-English explanation of the EDI documents distributors actually use — what each one says, who sends it, and what breaks when they are missing.
FEFO, lot tracking, and being ready for the recall call
August 20, 2026 — Why first-expiring-first-out picking and lot capture at receiving are the cheapest insurance a food or candy distributor can buy — and what recall readiness actually requires.
Contract pricing without spreadsheets: per-customer price lists that enforce themselves
August 27, 2026 — Why distributor pricing lives in spreadsheets, what it costs when the spreadsheet and the invoice disagree, and what self-enforcing per-customer pricing looks like.
The customer ordering portal: why distributors lose accounts to whoever makes reordering easiest
September 3, 2026 — Store buying habits changed before distributor tooling did. Why a reorder-first customer portal defends accounts — and what separates a portal stores use from one they ignore.
Route accounting basics: from pick ticket to proof of delivery
September 10, 2026 — The paper trail of a delivery route — pick ticket, load check, stop-level delivery, POD, returns, and settlement — and where the money leaks when the links are manual.