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Mincron SmartDistributor

Mincron SmartDistributor at a glance
VendorKlipboard (Kerridge Commercial Systems Ltd, trading as Klipboard); product line Mincron
HeadquartersHouston, TX (Mincron origin); group HQ in the United Kingdom
OwnershipKlipboard group (Mincron acquired by Kerridge Commercial Systems in 2016; group rebranded as Klipboard in 2025)
DeploymentSaaS, hosted cloud, or on-premises (IBM i heritage)
Target marketUS hard-goods wholesale distributors, single-location to multi-branch
IndustriesPlumbing, PVF, HVAC/R, waterworks, irrigation, industrial distribution
PricingNot published; quote-based
Websiteklipboard.com/en-us/products/smartdistributor

The short version

A distribution ERP built for hard-goods wholesalers in the United States: plumbing supplies, pipe, valves and fittings (PVF), HVAC/R products, waterworks materials, irrigation equipment. That is the whole target. Mincron SmartDistributor originated with Mincron Software Systems of Houston, Texas, and is sold and supported today by Klipboard, the UK-based software group formerly known as Kerridge Commercial Systems. Among US PVF and plumbing distributors the name still carries weight, with an installed base that goes back decades.

Where SmartDistributor comes from

Mincron began writing software for durable-goods distributors in Houston in 1983. SmartDistributor grew out of that hard-goods lineage on the IBM midrange platform (IBM i, the successor to the AS/400), and the architecture still shows it. Kerridge Commercial Systems bought Mincron in 2016 and ran it as a US distribution brand alongside its other products. After the group rebrand announced in early 2025, the product is marketed on klipboard.com as part of the Klipboard wholesale distribution portfolio, and the former kerridgecs.com product pages redirect there.

What it covers

The functional core is what a branch-based wholesaler actually runs on. Sales order processing across counter, phone and remote entry, plus EDI and spreadsheet upload. Inventory and warehouse management across multiple branches. Purchasing and vendor management. Financials with general ledger, multi-company processing and receivables including aging. Reporting is real-time inside the system, and the vendor pairs it with Phocas for analytics. What buyers get is depth accumulated from decades of plumbing, PVF and waterworks feedback rather than a horizontal feature checklist.

Who buys it

US wholesale distributors of plumbing, PVF, HVAC/R, waterworks, irrigation and industrial hard goods, from single-location businesses up to multi-branch regional and national operations. Fortiline, a large US waterworks distributor, is among the reference customers. Companies outside those verticals are not the intended audience.

How it is sold

SaaS, hosted cloud and traditional on-premises have all been on the menu; current Klipboard marketing emphasizes cloud operation. No price list exists. Quotes are assembled from branch count, user numbers, module selection and deployment model.

Where it wins, where it loses

Buy SmartDistributor if you run a PVF, plumbing or waterworks operation where trade-specific workflow matters more than interface fashion. The vertical depth is the reason customers stay for decades, and it is not something a horizontal suite matches out of the box. Do not buy it if your team expects a browser-native modern stack or has no appetite for the IBM i world, because the platform heritage that delivers the proven stability also dates the experience and shrinks the pool of administrators who know it. The second trade-off is portfolio risk: since the Klipboard rebrand the group also sells newer cloud ERP lines, so ask in writing about the SmartDistributor roadmap, upgrade commitments and data migration paths within the group. A disciplined selection process here means weighing platform age against vertical fit and getting the support answer on paper, not in a sales call.

What the Mincron SmartDistributor website looks like

Current view of the vendor homepage, captured by our editorial team.

Screenshot of the Mincron SmartDistributor vendor homepage

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Frequently asked questions

Is SmartDistributor still actively sold, and who owns it now?

Yes. SmartDistributor is marketed as an active product on the Klipboard website, with a current product page and named US reference customers. Mincron Software Systems of Houston, Texas was acquired by UK-based Kerridge Commercial Systems in 2016, and the group announced a global rebrand to Klipboard in early 2025; the legal entity behind the brand remains Kerridge Commercial Systems Ltd, trading as Klipboard. Klipboard states that it maintains and supports the SmartDistributor suite while giving customers access to the wider group portfolio. Since the group also promotes newer cloud ERP lines, ask for written roadmap and support commitments before signing.

Which distributors is SmartDistributor built for?

Hard-goods wholesale distribution, specifically plumbing, pipe, valves and fittings, HVAC/R, waterworks and irrigation. It scales from single-location businesses to multi-branch regional and national distributors, and the feature set reflects decades of input from those trades. Outside these verticals, a horizontal distribution ERP is usually the better fit.

What does SmartDistributor cost?

Klipboard publishes no list prices for SmartDistributor licenses or subscriptions. Quotes are built individually from branch count, user numbers, the modules selected and the deployment model. Implementation services, data migration and ongoing support fees belong in the same budget conversation, because they typically make up a large share of total cost of ownership.

Does the IBM i platform behind SmartDistributor create risk?

IBM i is known for reliability and long support lifecycles, and several US distribution ERPs still run on it successfully. The cost is an older technology stack, a smaller pool of administrators familiar with it, and a user experience unlike modern browser-native suites. Weigh those factors against the functional depth, and ask Klipboard specifically how cloud hosting, interface modernization and migration options to newer group products are handled.