ERP software in Jeddah for importers and distributors

You import through Jeddah Islamic Port, hold stock in a warehouse on the edge of the city, and sell to retailers in Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and the rest of the Western Region. Each container's costs sit in one spreadsheet, stock in another, and the accounting package only sees the invoice at the end. When a customer asks what a carton really cost you, somebody opens three files. That is the point where a Jeddah importer starts looking at ERP software.

The container's path through an ERP

1. A purchase order goes to the overseas supplier in their currency, with the exchange rate recorded on the day.
2. The shipment is logged with its vessel, expected arrival and the documents the clearing agent needs.
3. Freight, insurance, customs duty, port handling, clearing fees and local transport are entered as costs against that shipment.
4. The goods are received into the warehouse, and the ERP spreads those costs over the items to give a landed cost per unit.
5. Sales orders, delivery notes and tax invoices are issued from that stock in SAR, with 15% VAT and the FATOORA QR code.
6. Receivables are followed per customer, and the margin report shows selling price against landed cost, not against the supplier's invoice.

Landed cost, the number Excel gets wrong

The supplier's price is the easy part. By the time a carton leaves the port it also carries sea freight, insurance, duty, port and terminal charges, the clearing agent's fee and the truck to the warehouse. In a spreadsheet these are usually spread by hand, often by value, sometimes forgotten until the accountant asks. An ERP records them against the shipment and spreads them by a rule you choose, by value, weight or volume, so every item has a cost you can quote against. When part of a container is sold before the last invoice from the clearing agent arrives, the ERP can adjust the cost later and show the difference. Our guide to inventory management software covers stock valuation in more depth.

Three ways to run an import business

Documents in both languages

A delivery note going to a shop in Al Balad, a quotation for a chain's head office and a tax invoice for the customer's accountant all leave the same ERP. Customer and item names are stored in Arabic and English, the invoice is laid out right to left in Arabic with English alongside, and the VAT number, SAR totals and QR code sit where the reader expects them. Statements and reminders follow the Sunday-to-Thursday week.

VAT, FATOORA and the month end

VAT at 15% is recorded on every sales and purchase invoice, so the return is prepared from the ledger rather than rebuilt from paper. Sales invoices are issued electronically with a QR code under ZATCA's FATOORA rules, and businesses are brought into integration with ZATCA's platform in waves; which wave applies to you, and how VAT on your imports is treated, is something to confirm with your tax adviser. The ERP's job is to have every figure ready when that conversation happens. Our broader guide to ERP software in Saudi Arabia covers the rules.

1. 01

   List what you hold

   Suppliers, products with Arabic and English names, warehouses and customers, cleaned of duplicates.

2. 02

   Trace one real container

   Take the last shipment that arrived and write down every cost it carried and who paid it.

3. 03

   Choose the landed-cost rule

   Decide whether costs spread by value, weight or volume, and who confirms a shipment's cost as final.

4. 04

   Set up VAT and the chart of accounts

   Agree the accounts with your accountant so purchase and sales VAT post correctly from day one.

5. 05

   Load opening stock and balances

   Count the warehouse, enter customer and supplier balances, and reconcile them with the old records.

6. 06

   Run one month alongside the old files

   Enter the month in both, compare the margin report, then close the spreadsheets.

Where Operix stands

Operix Systems builds ERP software for Saudi Arabia from Karachi, two hours ahead of Jeddah. The work is delivered remotely: discovery on a call, every screen approved before it is built, weekly releases on your own stock and suppliers, training on the live system and support on one WhatsApp number. We have no office in Jeddah and no Saudi client yet. The nearest work you can inspect is Sea Keepers, a marine supplier's ERP that runs from the first enquiry email to the final delivery documents, and our distribution page shows how we handle stock and routes. Book a demo with one container's paperwork and we will trace it through the system.