Why is the Indian FMCG distributor disgruntled today?

On top of that, the company was asking him to adopt a new DMS system, something he knew nothing about! But Harpal was a smart man. He knew that to grow his business and keep control of his profitability, he would eventually need to look at a solution that was easy to use yet solved all his problems. 

So he grudgingly decided to attend the training session of the FieldAssist DMS system, and at the end of the session, his mind was blown! He could have never imagined that he could get so much out of a single software. It looked like the technology partner had listed all his pain points and developed a feature around each one of them!

How FieldAssist DMS transformed Harpal Singh from a Disgruntled to a Delighted Distributor!

When Harpal implemented the FieldAssist DMS, he realized that all his fears were unfounded. His accounts manager could operate it easily, and even he himself could navigate the app comfortably.  From generating POs to claims management to auto-calculations of his GST and all other compliances, Harpal had visibility on his entire inventory, retailer orders, as well as his fulfilment numbers etc. Eurika Foods too had a happy distributor who got regular communication and updates from them. All because it deployed FieldAssist DMS to create transparency and accountability in the system.

Here are some of the features of FieldAssist’s SaaS-based distribution management system which helped Eurika Foods and Harpal pivot their operations towards greater efficiency and profitability :

Inventory Management

Eurika Foods got a ‘binocular vision’ on their inventory movement across their entire distributor network. They could track and monitor the batch-wise ageing of stock to minimize their losses and improve sales in a well-aligned manner with the dates of expiry.

Further, they were able to ensure the right inventory at the right distributor to achieve maximum fulfilment vs demand from all the retailers.

Read – 5 Ways Your Distributors can Manage their Inventory Better

Claims Management 

Be it delayed claim settlement or a poorly monitored claims process – both are harmful to your business as well as to your distributors. With efficient distributor management systems (DMS) in place, Eurika Foods could authenticate the claims on secondary schemes and ensure that claim settlements were efficient and swift.

Unified Demand Capture and Execution

Right from demand to delivery, the DMS helped Eurika Foods integrate the purchase orders from different sources, even the ones that weren’t captured via the SFA, that too with applicable prices and schemes.

Harpal too was able to unlock more value as now, he could track and monitor every single order, and view total orders and their status on a single dashboard. 

Rural DMS 

Harpal found out from a fellow distributor that FieldAssist was also able to help distributors sitting in remote areas and villages by giving them a simple solution that they could operate on a smartphone itself! Harpal’s friend sitting in Nabha had the rural DMS installed on his phone which had key modules like Goods Receipt, Inventory Management, Van Booking, Billing & Purchase Order request. 

Read More: Why Rural Sales Is The Gold Dust That Mesmerizes The CPG Industry?

From a company’s perspective, Eurika foods were able to get visibility on the long tail of the distribution and make it more efficient. 

Conclusion

Growth in the FMCG industry is a two-way street. So if distributors are unhappy or disgruntled, like Harpal, they will never become loyal brand ambassadors.

Hence, it is important to invest in solutions that come with little or no learning curve and allow distributors the opportunity to match the pace of FMCG’s growth in India. 

When CPG brands prioritize the growth of their distribution partners and invest in their transformation, there is nothing that can stop them from going from good to great. Because it is this network of channel partners that will be their biggest voice of support. 

Your Distributors can be your biggest brand ambassadors. Reach us to know-how.