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Five documented ROI studies
What B2B order automation returns, by operation size
The B2B order automation ROI for a food distributor runs from $31,668 to $950,248 net a year, a 152% to 195% return, with payback between 4 and 8 months. Those are five documented studies, each one measuring a real operating profile task by task across a full year, from 430 to 21,400 orders a month. Find the profile closest to yours below.
The five operating profiles
Order volume, delivery model and ERP decide the answer. Each study measures one profile, so the figures move with the profile rather than being an average.
| Scenario | Orders / month | ERP | Manual hours / year | Net saving / year | ROI | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small independent distributor | 430 | QuickBooks Online | 1,851 h | $31,668 | 152% | 7.9 mo |
| Regional SMB distributor | 1,190 | QuickBooks Online | 5,043 h | $94,429 | 195% | 6.2 mo |
| Mid-size distributor | 2,975 | Business Central | 12,555 h | $228,299 | 243% | 4.8 mo |
| Large account, no direct store delivery | 10,700 | SAP S/4HANA | 32,100 h | $467,150 | 313% | 4.0 mo |
| Large food processor | 21,400 | SAP S/4HANA | 64,200 h | $950,248 | 337% | 5.2 mo |
Which scenario is closest to your operation?
Match on order volume first, then on whether your drivers deliver to the customer, then on the ERP.
Small independent distributor
430 orders a month, QuickBooks Online. 1,851 h of manual order-to-cash work a year, $31,668 net back, payback at 7.9 months. Read the study.
Regional SMB distributor
1,190 orders a month, QuickBooks Online. 5,043 h of manual order-to-cash work a year, $94,429 net back, payback at 6.2 months. Read the study.
Mid-size distributor
2,975 orders a month, Business Central. 12,555 h of manual order-to-cash work a year, $228,299 net back, payback at 4.8 months. Read the study.
Large account, no direct store delivery
10,700 orders a month, SAP S/4HANA. 32,100 h of manual order-to-cash work a year, $467,150 net back, payback at 4.0 months. Read the study.
Large food processor
21,400 orders a month, SAP S/4HANA. 64,200 h of manual order-to-cash work a year, $950,248 net back, payback at 5.2 months. Read the study.
What changes in every scenario
The spine is the same at every size: the buyer places the order.
Buyers order themselves
Customers order on a platform carrying your own brand, with their own pricing and delivery calendar.
No second entry in the ERP
Real-time ERP sync pushes each order into the accounting system as it lands.
Payment applies itself
WEGOPay applies payments to invoices at a flat fee per transaction rather than a percentage of the sale.
What the five add up to
Across the five documented scenarios the average saving is $354,359 a year and payback runs from 4 to 8 months. Your own volumes decide where you land.
How the studies were built
Each stage was timed per order, multiplied by the real monthly volume, and costed at a reference hourly rate of $35.12, which is a $59,000 fully loaded salary over 1,680 working hours. Nothing is annualised from a sample week.
The full method is in the 2026 ROI playbook.
Questions
What is the ROI of B2B order automation for a food distributor?
Between $31,668 and $950,248 net a year across the five documented scenarios, a 152% to 195% return, with payback between 4 and 8 months.
Which scenario applies to my company?
Match on monthly order volume first. The five run from 430 to 21,400 orders a month, and each study names its ERP and delivery model.
Are these figures modelled or measured?
Measured. Every stage was timed per order against a real operating profile and costed at $35.12 an hour, the same rate in all five.
Run these numbers on your operation
We build the same study on your own volumes, free. You can also see how pricing works or how field teams sell with WEGOSell.