Distribution Software: Knowing What Your Sales Reps Sold Today

A distributor's money sits in three places: the warehouse, the delivery van and the shops that bought on credit. Most owners know the first roughly, the second by guess, and the third only when the SR says so.

What the system tracks

• Routes, shops and which SR visits them on which day
• Orders taken in the shop, on a phone
• Loading the van, delivery and returns
• Collection against each shop's dues
• Company offers, free goods and trade discounts
• Damaged and expired stock, and claims to the company

The SR's phone is the centre of it

The SR opens today's route, sees each shop's previous order and outstanding due, and takes the new order there. The warehouse gets a loading list before the SR returns. The app has to work without signal and be simple enough to use while standing at a shop counter.

Market credit is where money disappears

Set a credit limit per shop. Let the system warn or block when a shop crosses it, and show dues by age: this week, this month, older. A due that is three months old in a notebook looks the same as one from yesterday. On a screen it does not.

Reports worth opening every evening

• Sales and collection by SR and by route
• Shops not visited this week
• Products that are not moving
• Stock in the warehouse against stock on the vans

Start with order-taking and dues. Those two alone usually show the owner things about the market that the notebook was hiding.