Best Distributor Management (DMS) Software [2024]

After exploring numerous options this year, I've narrowed down the best distributor management software that has significantly improved my distribution channels' efficiency and collaboration.

Best Distributor Management Software:

Don't have time? Here’s our shortlist of the 5 best distributor management software we're ranking through our extensive research and use:

Company Name	Best fit for:	Base Price:	Free Trial?	Demo
Kademi	Best Fit For: Global Channel Partner Management	$1350/mo	30 days	Demo
Kiflo	Best Fit For: Multi-Channel Partnership Automation	$399/mo	14 days	Demo
Channeltivity	Best Fit For: Channel Partner Relationship Hub	$1599/mo	No Trial	Demo
‎Impartner PRM	Best Fit For: Enterprise Partner Management	Custom	No Trial	Demo
Allbound	Best Fit For: Channel Sales Acceleration Tool	Custom	No Trial	Demo

Compare Distributor Management Software Features:

We've researched the 5 most important software features and compared our shortlist:

Software Feature
Partner Onboarding & Training	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Lead Distribution & Deal Registration	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Partner Performance Tracking	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Marketing Development Funds (MDF) Management	✓	×	✓	✓	✓
Collaborative Planning & Goal Setting	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Our Reviews of the Best Distributor Management (DMS) Software:

Nick Cotter

February 27, 2024

min read

Our analysts assess software with impartiality. Clicks may generate a commission that funds our evaluations. Discover our commitment to transparency and our review approach.

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Kademi is a platform for partner relationship management (PRM) that provides tools for managing sales channels, fostering partner engagement, and tracking performance metrics.

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Kademi

4.5

out of 5

$ Base Price: $1350/mo

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Our opinion on Kademi

Kademi distinguishes itself as an all-encompassing and formidable partner relationship management (PRM) solution, seamlessly combining a channel incentive management (CIM) capability.

Kademi will certainly meet the expectations of any B2B organization wanting a customizable solution that addresses their requirements for a partner channel program. Recognizing the diversity of businesses with a partner ecosystem, Kademi supports tech and software companies selling through resellers, and manufacturers and distributors selling through retailers.

What sets Kademi apart is its flexibility. In contrast to turnkey solutions constrained by what can be changed and customized, Kademi offers unparalleled adaptability. This is achieved through its modular design and code-free portal builder, helping its customers create a standout partner program that differentiates them in a competitive market.

Kademi has what you’d expect from a PRM, but goes the extra mile offering a suite of additional features designed to enhance the partner experience and drive growth. This includes a sales incentive feature-set that encourages partners to increase their sales or purchasing volumes, as well as a powerful learning management system (LMS) for training and certifying partners. Furthermore, Kademi's support for personalization also stands out for us, allowing for the dynamic delivery of different languages, content, and features tailored to specific roles within a partner's organization.

We also liked that Kademi started its journey selling through partners, giving them the experience and a deep understanding of the challenges many of their customers face.

Kademi is not just a tool, but a strategic asset for businesses looking to streamline their partner management processes, enhance partner engagement, and drive profitable growth through their channel programs.

What type of company would benefit from Kademi the most?

Their breadth of experience supporting manufacturers, distributors, and tech companies, has positioned Kademi as a truly agnostic PRM.

Companies that are in their growth stage, or who have an established partner ecosystem, would benefit the most from Kademi.

What we like:

Journey designer: Allows customers to build workflows that automatically nurtures partners to achieve program goals, and manage real-time communications. Their flow builder is visually appealing, making it easy to set up flows to help partners, admins, and sales reps with daily tasks and quickly move them along their partnership journeys. Easily one of our favorite features.
Deal Registration: With Kademi’s deal registration feature, you can onboard new partners and enable them to register deals easily. The dealer dashboard is highly customizable, showing metrics including; active deals, deals won, pending payouts, and so much more.
Sales Incentives: Build incentive programs for your channel partners to access within a secure partner portal. Add dynamic components showing progress towards targets, and leaderboards to stack-rank partner organizations or individuals. Kademi also goes the extra mile and not only calculates commission, they also offer tools to award points, set up rewards stores, and drop in games to ‘gamify’ the partner experience.
Reporting hierarchies: Often companies have complex sales hierarchies spanning sales rep regions down to a partner organization. We were impressed with how Kademi handles this requirement, ensuring a user only sees data in a report relating to where they sit in a hierarchy.

What we don't like:

You will need to research and recruit your own partners outside of their platform to join your program as they do not support a database of partners.
If you’re a new startup or small business with a tight budget, their solution likely won’t be the best fit for you. Their PRM solution is best suited to organizations that are wanting to scale or have an established partner ecosystem.
If you want to launch an affiliate program, or a simple referral program, you’d do better to use a point solution. Kademi is best suited for companies who want to support a much broader partner experience.

Unique product features:

Highly modular and configurable
Code-free portal builder with support for branding and themes
Supports customizable partner workflows
Powerful B2B incentives and loyalty features
Robust channel partner training (LMS) features

Free Trial: 30 days

Ideal For: SMEs

Best Fit For: Global Channel Partner Management

Product features we found most useful:

✓

Partner Onboarding & Training

✓

Lead Distribution & Deal Registration

✓

Partner Performance Tracking

✓

Marketing Development Funds (MDF) Management

✓

Collaborative Planning & Goal Setting

Full Kademi software review

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Kiflo

4.4

out of 5

$ Base Price: $399/mo

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Free Trial: 14 days

Ideal For: SMBs

Best Fit For: Multi-Channel Partnership Automation

Product features we found most useful:

✓

Partner Onboarding & Training

✓

Lead Distribution & Deal Registration

✓

Partner Performance Tracking

✓

Marketing Development Funds (MDF) Management

✓

Collaborative Planning & Goal Setting

Full Kiflo software review

Free Trial →

Channeltivity

4.5

out of 5

$ Base Price: $1599/mo

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Our opinion on Channeltivity

Channeltivity stands out in the partner relationship management (PRM) sector, offering a robust partner portal that excels in engaging partners through a comprehensive resource library, personalized email notifications, and advanced training and certification modules. The platform’s strengths lie in its seamless integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot, open API accessibility for customized integrations, and a commitment to security validated by regular third-party audits and a SOC 2 certification. Additionally, its highly customizable nature caters to businesses with specific needs for features, integrations, and workflows. However, Channeltivity might not be suitable for smaller businesses or those with tight budgets due to its pricing structure aimed at mid-market to enterprise-level companies. The need to purchase additional third-party software for affiliate program management and incur extra costs for certain features like email marketing might be considered drawbacks. Unique features such as deal registration, referral and commission management, lead distribution, and co-branded collateral emphasize Channeltivity's broad utility in managing diverse partnership dynamics.