Merlin ERP

Merlin ERP is a modular, distribution-focused ERP built for wholesalers, distributors, merchants and retailers. If your operation runs a trade counter, manages complex product catalogues, sells to accounts on negotiated terms, or makes multi-drop deliveries, the system has specific functionality for each of those scenarios. 

• Builders' merchants and building supplies, including plumbing, timber, fixtures and related trades.
• Industrial and electrical supply, including barcoding support and gap-selling tools for broad product ranges
• Food and food service distribution
• Engineering and manufacturing distributors

History and acquisition

Originally founded in 1976 and headquartered in Chesterfield, England, Merlin Business Software was acquired by Aptean in October 2022. It continues to operate from its UK base, with the same team and product.

The system covers the full order-to-delivery cycle including quoting, sales order processing, stock management, purchasing, invoicing and financials.

Core capabilities

• Sales order processing handles order entry through to despatch. The system flags alternative products and suggests gap-selling opportunities at the point of order.
• The stock management module tracks inventory in real time. Purchase order processing links directly to stock levels and triggers replenishment automatically, reducing the manual checking that typically falls to buyers or warehouse managers.
• The CRM module manages account relationships, tracks interactions, and supports proactive account management. It's integrated with sales and order data rather than operating as a separate system, so sales teams can see account history and outstanding orders in context.
• Merlin Analytics provides business intelligence across distribution, wholesale, manufacturing, and merchant operations. Reports can be configured to surface role-specific data.
• For businesses with a physical trade counter, Merlin includes purpose-built counter sales functionality, including the aforementioned barcoding as standard.
• The system supports tiered pricing structures and customer-specific trade agreements arrangements.
• Merlin also includes a full management accounting suite: Sales Ledger, Purchase Ledger, and Nominal Ledger. It handles transaction posting, reconciliation and reporting without requiring a separate accounting package.

Software features

• Billing
• Business Intelligence/Analytics
• CRM
• Financials & Accounting
• Inventory Management
• Order Management
• Purchasing
• Sales
• Shipping & Distribution
• Supply Chain Management
• Warehouse Management

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