The wholesale sector is growing again, but the market is by no means relaxed. Margins are under pressure, customers expect more digital service, and price increases remain a theme. Precisely then, you need control over customer data, commercial opportunities, and processes. Which CRM solution helps wholesalers to practically organize that overview?
On paper, the news seems positive. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) In 2025, the turnover of Dutch wholesale and trade intermediation was 0.9 percent higher than a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 2025, turnover was even 2.5 percent higher than in the same quarter of 2024.
However, revenue growth does not automatically mean that wholesalers experience more leeway. For instance, costs for personnel, energy, and logistics had already been increasing for a longer time, but the situation has become even more severe due to, among other things, the war in Iran. Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have a direct impact on the prices of oil, diesel, bunker fuel, and air freight. Business association evofenedex warns that higher fuel prices are putting extra pressure on the logistics chain.
More than revenue needed
Meanwhile, wholesalers are factoring in further price increases. In the Netherlands Business Cycle Survey For the second quarter of 2026, the CBS reports that on balance, almost 46 percent of entrepreneurs in wholesale expect an increase in selling prices or rates.
In short: the wholesale sector is under pressure. Revenue growth is good, but it's no guarantee of healthy margins or loyal customers. Those who don't keenly focus on customer value, commercial opportunities, and margin development now risk being too late to see where revenue is dwindling. That's precisely why you need insight: which customers are truly profitable, where is margin leaking away, and which relationships require action today?
The good news is: with the right technology, you can stay on top of things.
The wholesaler does not need a standard CRM.
A wholesaler works differently than a consulting firm, online shop, or production company. You are dealing with repeat orders, customer-specific pricing agreements, stock availability, delivery times, seasonal peaks, and often multiple sales channels.
That's why a CRM system that only records contacts and sales opportunities is of little use to you. You don't just want to know who the customer is. You want to know what that customer orders, how often, through which channel, at what margin, and with what agreements.
And that is the reason that we SpiceCRM advise to wholesalers. Not because it's ‘just another CRM system’, but because it's flexible enough to adapt to the way a wholesaler truly operates.
Digitalization is changing the rules of the game
A second development makes this even more urgent: wholesale is becoming increasingly digital. Retail expert Dirk Mulder of ING rightly states that digitalization and platformization are changing the playing field. “Ordering by phone or email is increasingly being replaced by digital platforms,” writes Mulder. “Think of customer portals, digital ordering environments, EDI connections, and APIs that connect systems. Ordering, invoicing, and checking inventory are increasingly done automatically.”
This calls for a different way of working. No longer just reacting to orders, but actively steering customer behavior. Which customers are ordering online more and more often? Which customers are dropping off? Where are the cross-selling opportunities? Which product groups are performing well with which customer segments?
Without a good CRM, that information remains fragmented. Some is in the ERP, some in mailboxes, some in Excel, and some in the account manager's head. This works as long as everything remains manageable. But as soon as customers, product ranges, margins, and sales channels become more complex, noise emerges.
CRM as a customer-centric layer around your ERP
In many wholesale companies, the ERP system is the core of the organization. That makes sense. It holds articles, orders, inventory, invoices, and deliveries. However, an ERP system is usually not built to work in a customer-centric way.
It tells you what was ordered. Not always why a customer orders less. It shows what was delivered. Not the commercial opportunity behind it. It stores prices and order history. Not necessarily the context of the customer conversation.
SpiceCRM can function as a customer-centric layer around your ERP. This allows you to connect customer data, order information, contact moments, and sales opportunities. Sales, internal services, marketing, and management will then be looking at the same reality. And that is precisely what a wholesaler needs: one place where commercial information comes together.
Implementing SpiceCRM? Start with the core
SpiceCRM is suitable for wholesalers because it is flexible, scalable, and process-oriented. However, the software is never the starting point. It begins with the question of how your organization works and where customer focus is still being hindered today.
That's why, at Bluecore, we don't start with buttons and fields, but with the core of your processes. Only then do we configure SpiceCRM to fit your customers, teams, ERP environment, and growth goals.
Would you like to discover where your wholesale business is missing commercial opportunities? We'd be happy to take a look with you. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
