FMCG is all about getting your products delivered to your
retailers when they need it the most. This may sound easy but it's not.
The distribution cycle is one of the most important and arguably the
most complex process that needs to be understood comprehensively, if you
want to stay ahead of your competitors. The CRM or ERP softwares
available in the market today fail to do that. Let's find out why.
How the distribution cycle functions usually?
It starts with an agency or an internal logistics department
responsible for transporting your manufactured products to your stockist
who would then stock up your products in bulk as and when they get
manufactured. The stockist would then supply your products to your
distributors. Once your product reaches your distributors who would
target selling them to retailers in their respective areas, your primary
and secondary sale is closed. The next challenging step would be to
reach out to your existing and potential retailers and understand their
requirements. This is usually termed as tertiary sales. Distributors
have their own sales teams or the brand would have their own sales teams
as well to generate a good base of retailers. The sales teams would be
assigned targets to close an X number of orders every day.
Current scenario
Currently there are different CRM and ERP softwares in the
market which can help you automate and manage different aspects of your
distribution cycle. Order management and stock management systems focus
on taking care of the primary and secondary sales. But keeping track of
your tertiary sales is something that is lacking. Maintaining tertiary
data is extremely crucial as it gives you an insight about the exact
requirements of your retailers. With this data you can also analyze
which product of yours is more popular and in a way understand the
buying patterns of your end consumers. When you know what your retailers
want, you can assign your sales teams to target them and close orders
with them. Also delays in closing orders on time lead to losses. There
are no effective ways of keeping track of "return of goods" or defective
pieces. Also, there is no way in which you can maintain loyalty
programs or offers for your retailers depending upon the number of
orders they place.
What's required?
What's required is an intelligent CRM/ERP system that
handles, automates and maintains your primary, secondary and tertiary
sales. There needs to be a mechanism in place using which you can audit
your marketing campaigns, manage payments, return of goods and special
offers for your retailers. Hold your breath, you are at the right place,
our cloud based technology has got all that's required!
