Sales management in FMCGs, in the past, primarily focused on tracking stocked and sold products. However, the dynamics of the sales channel have evolved significantly in today’s business landscape, leading to a corresponding transformation in the management process. Previously, sales management involved considering all factors directly related to sales.
Typically, organizations handle their sales channels in two steps: Primary Sales and Secondary Sales. The manual management of both sales channels is a challenging and complex task, prone to numerous errors. Recognizing the need for a solution to this intricate challenge, companies are increasingly turning to sales automation software.
Sales automation software holds a crucial role for businesses aiming to increase productivity and optimize profitability. Despite its perceived complexity, companies utilize this software to automate and monitor primary and secondary sales activities. These activities include product stock and inventory management, order processing, and facilitating interactions between the field sales force and various sales points. This phase of utilizing sales automation software is essential for companies looking to enhance profitability by ensuring high productivity.
What Are Primary and Secondary Sales:
Primary sales: Primary sales refer to the transaction in which a company sells its products to a distributor. This type of sale significantly contributes to the company’s revenue and profit.
Secondary sales: Secondary sales occur when the distributor sells products to the retailer. During this transaction, the distributor maintains a profit margin and sells the product at the dealer’s price.
Challenges in managing primary sales:
- In the initial stages of the sales process, primary sales automation is initiated, involving the transfer of products from the manufacturer’s warehouse to the dealer’s inventory. Without a systematic approach, the distribution channel faces challenges.
- For companies with an expanding number of distribution channels, managing the distribution process becomes increasingly complex, making it more challenging to monitor primary sales effectively. The absence of established protocols for tracking and measuring primary sales data over an extended period impedes the ability to analyze sales and address weaknesses.
- A notable issue during primary sales is the lack of forecasting for product stock updates. Additionally, the absence of a reporting system for secondary sales from the dealer’s end exacerbates this challenge. Insufficient or inaccurate information about secondary sales contributes to prolonged inventory handling times, posing financial risks for manufacturers struggling to accurately forecast stock levels.
- The absence of records documenting the movement of goods across various levels of the supply chain makes inventory management challenging. Moreover, a lack of control in managing secondary sales negatively impacts the overall management of primary sales.
Challenges in managing secondary sales:
- Effectively managing secondary sales poses significant and costly challenges. As a company’s distribution network expands, the difficulties in determining product availability across channels become increasingly formidable with each new addition to the supply chain.
- Poor visibility in secondary sales, particularly with retailers, is exacerbated during periods of high demand and low supply, such as the holiday season. Consequently, tracking inventory and product stock becomes challenging.
- Issues arise in product stocking management due to potential shortages resulting from insufficient inventory. The growing number of sales representatives in various distribution points further complicates matters, making manual coordination a cumbersome task for any supply chain network.
- The absence of a common or central database and disorganized supply chain operations contribute to revenue loss. Furthermore, a lack of market surveys or inadequate market research data from field representatives hampers direct communication with higher authorities.
- The visibility of secondary sales is also compromised, impacting trade promotional campaigns.
How SalesAssist DMS can help you automate your primary sales:
Effectively oversee your distributor network: This feature enables centralized management of your distributor network, providing a comprehensive view of all orders, inventory, and payments. It serves as a tool for lead generation, sales performance tracking, and offering support to your distributors.
Streamline order processing: This functionality automates the entire order processing workflow, starting from the receipt of orders from distributors to the generation of invoices and the shipment of goods. This automation saves time and minimizes errors.
Monitor inventory in real time: The system keeps real-time track of inventory levels throughout your entire supply chain. This real-time visibility ensures that you are always aware of stock levels, helping to prevent stockouts.
Generate comprehensive reports: The platform offers a variety of reports that assist in tracking sales performance, pinpointing areas for improvement, and making informed business decisions.
How SalesAssist DMS can help you automate your secondary sales:
SalesAssist is designed to empower organizations in automating and optimizing their secondary sales processes. Here’s how the features of SalesAssist contribute to this:
Efficiently streamline and automate the order booking process, ensuring accuracy and speed.
Enable real-time order tracking and status updates, minimizing errors and delays.
Provide comprehensive visibility into stock levels, covering stock cover days and stock norms.
Facilitate dynamic inventory tracking, reducing stockouts and overstock situations.
Market Intelligence:
Offer powerful analytics and reporting tools for in-depth market insights.
Enable data-driven decision-making with real-time data on sales performance and market trends.
Optimize field team efficiency through purpose-built tools.
Assign tasks, track visits, and enhance overall productivity with a dynamic workflow solution.
Sales Promotions and Merchandising:
Facilitate the planning and execution of promotions and merchandising campaigns.
Ensure effective product displays, improving customer engagement and sales.
Provide real-time tracking of assets, ensuring proper allocation and utilization.
Enhance visibility over asset distribution and streamline asset management.
Data Collection and Market Surveys:
Transform data collection processes with dynamic surveys accessible anytime, anywhere.
Gather valuable market insights through surveys, aiding in strategic decision-making.
KPI Monitoring:
Enable the tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) for sales teams.
Monitor and measure sales effectiveness, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
Return and Claims Management:
Streamline the process of handling returns and claims.
Improve accuracy in handling returns, reducing errors and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics:
Provide interactive business intelligence dashboards and reports.
Analyze current and historical performance, empowering organizations to make informed decisions.
By combining these features, SalesAssist offers a comprehensive solution for organizations to automate and optimize their secondary sales operations, enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and overall business performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SalesAssist emerges as a pivotal solution poised to revolutionize the sales and distribution landscape for FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) and CPGs (Consumer Packaged Goods). With its robust features and capabilities, SalesAssist is well-positioned to automate the entirety of sales and distribution activities within these industries. From centralized management of distributor networks and streamlined order processing to real-time inventory monitoring and comprehensive report generation, SalesAssist promises to enhance efficiency, reduce errors, and provide unparalleled visibility throughout the entire supply chain. Embracing SalesAssist marks a significant stride towards optimizing operations, boosting productivity, and ultimately achieving success in the dynamic and competitive FMCG and CPG sectors.
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