How Los Angeles Distributors Can Benefit from Managed IT Services

As a Los Angeles distributor, you’re always trying to find ways to improve the service you provide to clients. In an increasingly global climate, this likely means trying to keep up with all of the changes in consumer demands, sales channels, and industry technologies to serve as the best and most efficient bridge between manufacturers and retailers.

However, at a time when many businesses have been “tightening their belts” in terms of budget, it may not seem like using a managed IT services would actually help your business. However, I’m here to shed some light on many of the benefits that result from partnering with a reliable managed IT service provider like FPA.

Some of the benefits of using managed IT services to meet your distributor IT services needs include:

You Don’t Have to Do a Thing

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would come along and take care of your needs for distributor IT services — everything from planning and setting up your infrastructure to actually installing everything? Fortunately, you don’t have to wish for that anymore. FPA is here to do exactly that for your business.

As a busy distributor, we understand that you don’t have the time to worry about the minutiae and need someone who can get jump right in and get the job done. As a certified partner with all major hardware and software vendors (such as Microsoft, VMware, Dell, ESET, HP, Cisco, Citrix, Datto, SonicWALL, and ShoreTel), our team has the experience and knowledge to handle virtually any technology infrastructure-related project. Because we’ll be focused on your IT, that means you can focus on your business.

Our project and implementation services handle just about everything, including:

Planning;
Procurement;
Delivery and set up;
Network operating system installation;
Cable installation;
System installation;
Network customization; and
Documentation.

We Enhance Your IT Support

Another advantage of using distributor IT services from FPA is that we can enhance your IT support. Being able to predict, track, and reorder products with the help of an efficient inventory management system can help you perform those tasks quickly and more efficiently. In an industry where IT support is often neglected, we ensure that your IT and inventory management systems will remain an important area of focus.

Some of these advanced tools we use to help your distribution business include:

Bar Coding
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Material Requirement Planning (MRP)
Inventory Alerts
Picking and Packing
Remote Access
Reporting Tools
Warehouse Automation
Shipping

Additionally, our IT services can migrate your distribution business information to adopt cloud services. This will help you not only reduce costs and increase profits, it also will help you to increase the visibility of your inventory and improve the quality of the service you offer clients.

We Reduce Your Security Vulnerabilities

When it comes to protecting the security of your business and client information, it’s important to consider cybersecurity. With managed IT services, you no longer have to worry about whether your systems are up-to-date with the latest patches and security updates. You also can breathe easy knowing that you have a team of dedicated IT experts monitoring your systems for anything suspicious and swiftly handling any issues that arise.

We Improve Your Organization’s Productivity

Have you ever experienced an issue where a system has gone down or offline and it could take hours (or even days) to get your in-house IT staffer to come fix it due to them having too much work? Or, if they do come out to fix it, they take a while to figure out what is wrong, hampering your productivity? This is the kind of situation in which your business can greatly benefit from having a dedicated managed IT service provider.

Having a dedicated IT support team at your disposal can be a huge boon to your productivity. You have a team of people who can put their heads together to solve even the toughest issue. So, if the adage says that “two heads are better than one,” imagine what a whole team of IT experts could do to help your business.

Additionally, our IT services can help you to automate several of the processes within your warehouse, making your operations more efficient and productive. Some of the functions that can be automated include:

Logistics
Storage
Picking and Packing
Transportation
Warehouse Management

We Increase Your Company’s Profitability

Partnering with FPA as your company’s third-party managed IT service provider has a number of benefits, one of which can be felt in your company’s checkbook. If you’re not having to pay the costs of employing a team of IT staff — including a full complement of salaries, benefits, paid time off, ongoing training, etc. — your company can save significantly on employee overhead costs. Considering that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average annual salary of an Information Security Analyst was $92,600 as of 2016, I’m talking about some serious savings.

If you think it sounds too good to be true, I can assure you that it’s not. We’ve worked with distributors in the Los Angeles area since the early 90s to help them achieve greater efficiency and move their business to the next level by providing best-of-class managed IT services and support.

How has using a managed IT service provider helped your distribution business? What are some of the greatest distributor IT needs that you’d like to see addressed in future articles? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or reach out to me directly to discuss this topic more in-depth.