For years, growth in distribution often meant adding people. More orders required more customer service representatives. Increased inventory required additional warehouse staff. Expanding operations meant growing teams across the business.
Today, many distributors are facing a different reality.
Workforce challenges continue to impact the industry, while customer expectations, competitive pressures, and operational complexity continue to increase. At the same time, organizations are being asked to improve service levels, protect margins, and support growth without significantly increasing costs.
As a result, many distributors are asking a new question:
How can we help the team we already have accomplish more?
The answer often starts with process efficiency.
The Productivity Challenge Facing Distributors
Productivity is no longer just a labor issue. It has become a business-wide challenge.
Many distributors have invested heavily in technology over the years, yet employees still spend valuable time performing manual tasks, navigating disconnected systems, and managing processes that have evolved organically over time.
Common examples include:
- Manual order entry
- Duplicate data entry across multiple systems
- Spreadsheet-based reporting
- Approval bottlenecks
- Inventory reconciliation processes
- Customer service teams searching for information across multiple platforms
Individually, these tasks may seem manageable. Collectively, they can consume hundreds of hours each month and create unnecessary friction throughout the organization.
Why Hiring Alone Isn’t the Solution
When productivity challenges emerge, the natural response is often to add staff.
While hiring remains important, workforce growth does not always address the underlying issue.
If inefficient processes remain in place, additional employees often inherit the same challenges that existing teams face. The result is higher labor costs without a proportional improvement in efficiency.
Many distributors are discovering that the greatest opportunities for improvement already exist within their current operations.
The key is identifying where time is being lost and understanding why.
Visibility Is the First Step
One of the biggest obstacles to improving productivity is the lack of visibility into how work actually moves throughout the organization.
Most leaders know there are inefficiencies somewhere within the business. The challenge is pinpointing exactly where they occur and understanding their impact.
This is why process visibility has become such an important focus area.
When organizations can clearly see how workflows operate, where delays occur, and which activities create the most friction, they are better positioned to make informed decisions about improvement opportunities.
Rather than relying on assumptions, leaders can focus their efforts where they will generate the greatest return.
The Growing Role of Automation and AI
As distributors evaluate productivity initiatives, automation and artificial intelligence are increasingly becoming part of the conversation.
However, successful organizations are approaching these technologies with a practical mindset.
The goal is not to automate everything.
The goal is to eliminate repetitive, low-value tasks that consume employee time and prevent teams from focusing on higher-value activities.
Whether it is automating approvals, streamlining workflows, improving reporting, or identifying process bottlenecks, technology can help organizations improve productivity while enhancing the employee experience.
This is one reason solutions such as Infor Velocity Suite are generating significant interest throughout the distribution industry. By helping organizations identify inefficiencies, automate workflows, and leverage AI-driven insights, distributors can focus on continuous operational improvement rather than simply adding resources to existing challenges.
Creating a More Efficient Operation
Improving productivity is not about asking employees to work harder.
It is about creating an environment where work flows more efficiently.
Organizations that successfully improve productivity often focus on:
- Eliminating unnecessary manual tasks
- Improving access to business data
- Increasing visibility into operational processes
- Automating repetitive workflows
- Reducing bottlenecks that slow decision-making
- Empowering employees with better tools and information
These improvements help teams spend less time managing processes and more time serving customers, solving problems, and driving business growth.
How NSA Helps Distributors Improve Productivity
At NSA Professional Services, we help distributors evaluate business processes, optimize ERP performance, improve operational visibility, and identify opportunities for automation and continuous improvement.
Whether you’re looking to streamline workflows, improve user adoption, leverage Infor Velocity Suite, or maximize the value of your Infor CloudSuite Distribution investment, our team helps align technology with business objectives.
As distributors move through the second half of 2026, productivity will remain a critical focus area. The organizations that succeed will be those that find ways to work smarter, improve efficiency, and empower their teams to accomplish more.
To learn more about how NSA can help your organization improve productivity and operational performance, contact our team at solutions@nsacom.com