FMCG stands tall as the pioneers who took the initiative of developing mobile-based Field Force Solution whereas other sectors have tried following them. It is proven that some market leaders have been stuck to the same solution that was conceptualized 10 years back keeping in mind the present business scenario and technological capabilities prevailing at that time. These solutions however were not able to evolve much to keep pace with business priorities and technological evolution. FMCG industries should not blindly follow their respective market leaders and plan out a more holistic and futuristic approach towards rolling out Pharma SalesForce Automation for its employees.
The ideal way to list down the ‘must have’ features of the SFA software is to first figure out what will be the final objectives of such an initiative. There can be five goals to be followed which are:
- Managing availability
- Managing visibility
- Minimizing expiries
- Effective control on distributors
- Enabling deeper penetration across geography
After the final objectives are met, the FMCG company should come up with solutions that will help meet these goals. Based on the expertise of serving multiple FMCG brands across the globe, here are the important features which should be there in the SFA solution for FMCG companies.
1. Order Capture: It is the most important feature to have when your sales team uses a mobile solution. It should be capable of integrating the distributor billing system (DMS or ERP) with readily available APIs. This will help you maintain timely replenishment towards the retailers and do predictive analytics in terms of region-wise demand.
2. Order Fulfilment: Many FMCG companies face a major issue that is not having much clarity about distributors being able to fulfill the orders on the stipulated time or not. Enhanced and clear visibility of order fulfillment can help improve retailer confidence in the brand and will help find indicators to capture inefficiencies in the network of distribution.
3. Retailer Stock: In FMCG companies, it is definitely important to maintain adequate availability at all the outlets. As this will not affect the retailer’s point of view but will also affect the end customer when he/she gets to know that their favorite brand is out of stock more often than not. So there needs to be complete visibility of the critical and concerning stock levels so that the data is correlated to initiate required actions in order fulfillment
4. Product Expiry: If the company maintains high availability to boost your sales, an excess of it could result in significant loss, especially for perishable products. That’s why in such products, freshness is the most important for customers. So, the solution should capture the details of SKUs that will be expiring in near future. It will not only save you from near losses but will enable predictive analytics for regional demand planning.
5. Promotions & Offers: You should be aware that promotional activities play a major role in FMCG sales and companies usually spend a lot of money on them. That’s why it’s particularly important to track those promotions and offers that are visible to the customers when they visit the outlets. Examples of these can be POSMs, sampling, or store-in-store activity. Tracking will also enable in taking quick and immediate actions in case of any urgency or default.
Make sure your FMCG software has all the above-mentioned features to fulfill the retailer’s and customer’s expectations. SANeForce SalesForce Automation is equipped with all the major features that can amplify the organization’s growth and productivity enabling the sales team to drive in more sales.