SFA BASICS
Retail execution apps: benefits and results
Prerequisites for the existence of Sales Force Automation
In modern conditions of high competition and a dynamically changing market, it is important for a manufacturer not only to produce a product, but also to convey to the client both the product itself and its value. For the product to get to the consumer and to have a proven value, marketing and sales teams use merchandising, run promotions, negotiate additional actions at the trade points and run advertising campaigns. The scale of retail and a big amount of trade points requires a lot of resources to control quality and execution of all the plans.
Prerequisites for the existence of Sales Force Automation (SFA):
Using SFA in trading
You can see from the prerequisites that it is most useful to implement SFA when you have mass personnel and work with a big amount of trade points and SKUs..
The most demanded field force specialists (trade agents) are the following:
The following departments are interested in trade processes automation:
SFA tasks and values in trade agents work:
To understand the role of SFA in trade agents work we need to look into functions of the most common type of employee - merchandiser / sales representative:
In modern conditions of high competition and a dynamically changing market, it is important for a manufacturer not only to produce a product, but also to convey to the client both the product itself and its value. For the product to get to the consumer and to have a proven value, marketing and sales teams use merchandising, run promotions, negotiate additional actions at the trade points and run advertising campaigns. The scale of retail and a big amount of trade points requires a lot of resources to control quality and execution of all the plans.
Prerequisites for the existence of Sales Force Automation (SFA):
- Business scaling (increase of trade points where the brand is represented, increase of SKU quantity)
- Human factor. Employees who have to deal with repeated tasks will soon figure out a way to receive what they need (usually payment for their work) doing fewer actions. It is the source of fraud, data spoofing, photo reports spoofing or shelf work of poor quality, stock balance errors.
- Lack of trust in mass staff. Marketing strategists need to be sure that all the tasks are done according to the standards.
- Exceeding costs of manual reports checks. Also manual checks is still a subject of human errors.
- Process automation and rapid IT development during the last decade.
Using SFA in trading
You can see from the prerequisites that it is most useful to implement SFA when you have mass personnel and work with a big amount of trade points and SKUs..
The most demanded field force specialists (trade agents) are the following:
- Merchandisers
- Trade representatives and supervisors
- Auditors
- Promoters.
The following departments are interested in trade processes automation:
- sales
- trade marketing
- brand marketing
- merchandising and promo.
SFA tasks and values in trade agents work:
To understand the role of SFA in trade agents work we need to look into functions of the most common type of employee - merchandiser / sales representative:
Trade point visit
Function
SFA Role
Value
On shelf availability
(OSA, %)
(OSA, %)
- Save time
- Confirm SKU display
- Upload before and after photos
- SKU image recognition
- Trust in visit data and its usage for management purposes
- Detecting fraud, visit failures and further work with the employee
- Execution report
- Visit validation (Geolocation validation)
- Visit time validation (visit start and visit end, each stage time)
- Sequence validation of store visits (route validation)
- Increase accuracy of comparing the planogram with shelf display
- Check the planogram in SFA using Image Recognition
Compliance with the planogram and agreements with the trade point
Display extension, SOS increase (share of shelf)
Display extension, SOS increase (share of shelf)
Price and promo validation
- Save time
- Price reports and analytics
- Fill in questionnaire
- Upload photos
- Save time
- Stock reports and analytics
- Input data fast using the catalogue or barcode scanning
Control real and virtual stock
Order products
- Save time
- Eliminate errors
- Change logistic schedule according to the real sales rhythm
- Input data fast using the algorithms and catalogue
- Control product stock availability at the warehouse
- Increase data accuracy
- Analytics
- Fill in questionnaire and use image recognition to measure shelf share, assortment and price index
Competitors' audit
Change merchandising conditions
- Quick execution of management decisions
- Minimize human factor errors
- Update address program
- Personnel rotation (layoffs and new hires)
- Catalogue update
Therefore, key SFA value lies in the following results of its implementation:
- Saved time for both management and trade agents.
- Increase in accuracy of data that can later on be used for drawing informed conclusions and making changes to the sales and marketing strategy.
- Analyze current sales and its dynamics.
- Quickly execute uncommon and unplanned tasks (e.g., Audit competitors' promo or change project conditions).
Let it start...
