Wholesale Produce Distribution Accounting Software Expert Says Recession Could Mean Make-or-Break-Time for Some of Nation’s Produce Distributors

HOUSTON, TX – April 1, 2008 – A wholesale produce distribution accounting software expert says the recession that many economists claim is already a reality could prove to be the death knell for produce distributors who use old-fashioned accounting methods.

“When there are fewer sales coming in the front door, it’s more important than ever to control costs at the back door,” said Henri Morris, president and CEO of Edible Software, a company (www.ediblesoftware.com)that designs and markets accounting and inventory software specifically for the wholesale produce industry.

“There’s a saying in this business,” said Morris, a CPA. “Sell it or smell it. When the squash go bad in the warehouse, so goes the profit and many times the business. Produce distributors who’ve gotten by with QuickBooks up until now will find a different playing field in a soft economy" he said. "Without a precise knowledge of costs and revenues associated with each item and customer, the razor-thin profit margins that prevail in the industry can pull a company under fast.”

Morris, a CPA, said there are an estimated 75,000 wholesale food distributors in the U.S., many who specialize in produce. “They measure profits in pennies, not dollars.

“It’s hard to believe the number of produce operations who are still doing business with off-the-shelf accounting software" said Morris. “These are the same accounting programs the gift shop and the hardware store down the street are using. In the case of accounting software,” said Morris, “one size definitely does not fit all.”

“Some of the nation’s top stock pickers have identified the agricultural sector as being the most vulnerable industry during a recession,” said Morris. “Wholesale produce distributors are especially vulnerable because of the rising transportation costs of bringing fresh produce to the end-user.

“The escalating food costs that result could be a bigger problem than soaring oil prices at the pump since the average American family spends three times as much money on food as gasoline.”

What can produce industry-specific accounting software do that off-the-shelf accounting software cannot? Morris says that wholesale produce distributing accounting software can:

• Show which items have too low a selling price and to which customers they are being sold.
• Show which vendor is the most economical to buy an item from by being able to instantly view all associated costs.
• Identify all over-stocked and/or non-selling items.
• Identify items nearing the end of shelf-life before they need to be dumped.
• Reduce gas costs by enabling the user to add an item delivery cost to pre-selected customers or for pre-selected order types.
• Help eliminate overstocking or lost sales by being able to buy and sell each inventory item in multi-units of measure.
• Reduce personnel costs because sales can be received and reviewed through on-line Internet sales.
• Enable management to instantaneously review a company’s up-to-date accounting position at any time -- with no assistance from a CPA.
• Rapidly track inventory to-and-from each customer and the originating vendor thereby complying with the FDA’s new Bio-Terrorism Act.

For more information about wholesale produce distribution accounting software and how it can lessen the economic impact of a recession call Edible Software at (832) 200-8000. The company website is www.ediblesoftware.com.

Focus: Wholesale produce distribution accounting software, wholesale inventory software, food software

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Charles Butler

VP/Sales and Marketing

Edible Software

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