The verdict in three sentences
An electrical wholesaler running several Berlin branches and around 30,000 SKUs cannot keep steering stock with spreadsheet cycle counts and discounts agreed at the trade counter. A multi-warehouse stock system with customer-specific pricing costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, 80,000 to 150,000 EUR as a custom build in the German market, against roughly 50,000 EUR plus about 2,000 EUR per month for an industry ERP. The right choice depends on how specific your commercial terms are, and a realistic goal is 35% fewer stock-outs within 7 months of go-live planning.
Why stock-outs and discounts drift in a multi-branch wholesaler
In a typical Berlin electrical wholesaler, each branch orders from Siemens, ABB, Hager or Legrand based on the branch manager's instinct. Installer accounts (Elektroinstallateure) each have a discount per product group, sometimes an extra project discount, and those terms live in three places: the price file, the sales rep's memory and past invoices.
The concrete outcome: a 40 A RCD is out of stock in Spandau while Marzahn holds 60 units, and the same contractor gets 38% off in one branch and 32% in another. Both problems share one root cause: no consolidated view of stock and pricing terms.
| Symptom | Usual cause | Estimated impact (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Stock-outs on the 2,000 A-class SKUs | Reorder points set manually, never reviewed | 4 to 7% of revenue lost |
| Overstock on slow movers | Supplier batch orders without turnover tracking | 15 to 25% of stock with no movement in 12 months |
| Inconsistent discounts | Customer terms not centralised | 0.8 to 1.5 points of gross margin |
| Late inter-branch transfers | No real-time multi-warehouse visibility | 1 to 2 days of customer delay |
| Long stocktakes | No scanning, variances not traced | 3 to 5 days per year per branch |
| Slow project quotes | Manual lookup of net prices | 20 to 40 minutes per quote |
Custom build or industry ERP: the costed comparison
Wholesale ERPs on the German market handle accounting, purchasing and invoicing well. They become rigid once your pricing rules leave the standard: discounts per product group and per project, net prices indexed to the copper surcharge (Kupferzuschlag), key-account terms. A custom build is designed around those rules and connects to your existing accounting, for instance DATEV exports.
| Criterion | Custom software | Industry ERP |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront investment | 80,000 to 150,000 EUR | About 50,000 EUR |
| Recurring cost | Maintenance and hosting, quoted separately | About 2,000 EUR per month, 24,000 EUR per year |
| 5-year cumulative cost | 80,000 to 150,000 EUR plus maintenance | About 170,000 EUR |
| Customer and project pricing | Modelled exactly on your rules | Often workarounds or paid configuration |
| Multi-warehouse auto replenishment | Reorder points from real turnover per branch | Available, generic logic |
| Copper surcharge indexing | Built into net prices | Varies by vendor |
| Code ownership | Yes | No, licence |
| Time to go live | 7 months | 4 to 9 months depending on configuration |
Over five years the gap narrows sharply: an ERP at 50,000 EUR plus 2,000 EUR a month comes to roughly 170,000 EUR, while a 110,000 EUR custom build with reasonable maintenance stays in the same range or below. The deciding factor is the share of your sales that runs on special terms.
The modules that cut stock-outs by 35%
The 35% target rests on four specific building blocks, delivered in phases over 7 months:
- ABC classification per branch: every SKU is ranked by actual turnover in each warehouse, recalculated weekly.
- Automatic replenishment: the system proposes supplier orders based on safety stock, supplier lead time and seasonality (spring projects, heat pump and solar installation peaks).
- Suggested inter-branch transfers: before ordering, the system checks whether another branch holds excess stock of that SKU.
- Customer pricing engine: discount per product group, net price per project, mandatory approval above a discount threshold.
Typical schedule: scoping and data migration in months 1 and 2, multi-warehouse stock in months 3 and 4, pricing engine in month 5, automatic replenishment and scanning app in month 6, stabilisation in month 7. For a custom business web application, this phasing limits risk at each step.
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Jonas, managing director of an electrical wholesaler in Berlin, turns over 26 million EUR across his branches. He estimates sales lost to stock-outs at 5% of revenue, or 1.3 million EUR. At a 27% gross margin, that is 351,000 EUR of unrealised margin.
If the software cuts stock-outs by 35%, he recovers about 122,850 EUR of margin per year. Fixing 1 margin point on the 30% of sales affected by inconsistent discounts adds 78,000 EUR. Annual total: about 200,850 EUR. With a custom project at 120,000 EUR, payback comes in about 7 months after go-live, before counting gains on dead stock.
FAQ
How much does stock software for an electrical wholesaler cost in 2026?
As a 2026 order of magnitude in Germany, budget 80,000 to 150,000 EUR for a custom build covering several branches and around 30,000 SKUs. An industry ERP starts at about 50,000 EUR plus roughly 2,000 EUR per month.
Can we keep our current accounting software?
Yes, the stock system exports invoices and credit notes to your accounting via a connector or a DATEV-format posting file. This integration usually accounts for 5 to 10% of the total budget.
How do we migrate 30,000 SKUs and thousands of customer records?
Migration runs from supplier data files (BMEcat, Datanorm) and your customer base, with deduplication upfront. Plan 4 to 6 weeks and an internal lead available 2 days a week.
Can sales reps check stock on the road?
Yes, a responsive web app shows stock across all branches and the customer's net prices in under 2 seconds. Reps produce a project quote in 5 minutes instead of 30.
How long before stock-outs fall?
First effects show 6 to 8 weeks after automatic replenishment is switched on, while reorder points calibrate. The 35% target is measured over a full quarter.
Let's scope your project. We map your multi-branch stock, your pricing rules and a phased 7-month rollout plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
