Field Technology: Play the Field
Column
By Harris Fogel   
Friday, 28 March 2008
smc Mobile field operation solutions support field reps, sales managers and corporate executives through a handheld PDA or tablet device.
Mobile field operation solutions support field reps, sales managers and corporate executives through a handheld PDA or tablet device.
It is not unusual for consumer packaged goods (CPGs) manufacturers to spend several months and millions of dollars planning and creating trade promotion and retail marketing campaigns, from surveying the market and profiling consumers to developing and producing point-of-sale advertising and promotions – and coordinating these efforts with retailers. Yet, the success of even the best go-to-market plan depends upon effective implementation at the retail or store level, including any fine-tuning that may be necessary to meet the demands of different geographic or demographic markets and specific store environments.
    
When it comes to developing a go-to-market strategy, the best way to guarantee that product and promotional materials are at the right place at the right time is to ensure that your field reps are there with the information and tools necessary to proactively assess the situation, execute the required activities, report back to their managers and receive a timely response.  

Same Goal, Different Paths
The food and beverage industries have the same goal – increasing sales – but each industry achieves this goal with its own business model.  For instance, CPGs in the food industry generally sell through the retailer’s warehouse and rely on either their direct sales force or third-party sales and marketing agencies (SMAs) to make sure the retail strategy is being executed properly.

In contrast, beverage manufacturers may have their own direct store delivery (DSD) organization or depend on distributors to ensure that their products and promotional materials are in the right place at the right time.  In all instances, if the direct sales force, third-party SMAs or distributors, for any reason, are not on the same page as the CPG or beverage manufacturer head office, the actual retail strategy risks not being implemented as planned. To alleviate this risk, food and beverage manufacturers, as well as their SMAs and distributors, are turning to mobile software solutions to strengthen the supply chain’s relationship by streamlining communications between organizations – and ultimately increasing sales for all.

Capturing the Moment
Cutting-edge mobile field operation solutions that can be found on the market today go a long way toward supporting field reps, sales managers and corporate executives. These solutions provide real-time information such as store profiles, product availability, competitive data, merchandising objectives, programs and tasks. And, they do it all on a handheld PDA or tablet device. These systems offer excitement in the field because they  enable the reporting of store conditions and  merchandising results to provide a snapshot of what is happening right now at the retail level, eliminating the need to wait for weekly or monthly sales reports and analyses.

Developed specifically to link the field sales force with the corporate office, mobile systems can run standalone as a complete field operations system for a merchandising or sales organization.
    
For larger corporations, mobile systems can be integrated on a modular basis with existing IT systems, such as Siebel, Oracle, SAP or proprietary in-house applications. The result is a comprehensive, end-to-end technology solution for mobile field organizations and their management.

Many Benefits
Portable, smart and easy-to-use, mobile field solutions close the loop for planning, execution and actual results. Field personnel can operate more efficiently and effectively, and management has a complete, day-to-day picture of field activity and retail conditions. They can streamline routine activities such as scheduling retail calls and processing orders to improve productivity.

Additionally, all parties involved – manufacturers and distributions alike – can cost-effectively capture information to help make business-critical decisions regarding distribution, pricing, product placement, compliance and out-of-stocks.

More advanced systems integrate retailer POS data and modeling applications that indicate at the store and SKU-level where out-of-stocks are occurring, or are about to occur, thus enabling a proactive deployment of the field organization.     

Overall, the entire supply chain has access to real-time, business-critical information and insights, such as:
•    Where my field staff is deployed most effectively
•    Which promotions are working and are which are not
•    How store conditions compare to office assumptions
•    Where the competition is winning and losing
    By implementing next-generation mobile field solutions, food and beverage manufacturers alike can ensure their field organizations – whether direct or third party – are focused on the top priorities and that retail strategies are being executed as planned.

Field Capabilities
When choosing a mobile solution, there are certain capabilities companies should look to ensure their sales teams can take advantage of all that the technology has to offer when it comes to improving efficiencies in the field. The most robust solution should allow reps to select menu options to check product availability and delivery dates, order more stock or promotional materials, or even plan an itinerary built on POS-based alerts to potential out-of-stocks or lost distribution.

Field managers should be able to track the immediate impact of a promotion or new item introduction based on reported data to direct their efforts appropriately to meet program objectives and goals. Additionally, the system should effectively monitor field rep activities and results, thus measuring productivity.  

As important as the above capabilities are, one of the keys to a successful system is its inherent ability to be user-friendly.

Ease of use will increase the probability that it will be embraced by the field, and will ensure that reps fully use all its features to be more effective at their jobs: increasing the number of calls made, orders taken and speeding information to and from the field.

Be aware, however, that the notion of a one-size-fits-all system is a myth. The right field sales system should be adaptable to each customer’s unique business processes and to different, global go-to-market approaches ranging from merchandising to DSD/van sales to high frequency store ordering and on-premise sales – all on one platform.  

Beyond the Field
In today’s competitive retail world, each and every part of the supply chain plays an integral role in how products are brought to market, as well as maximize sales.

Mobile field operations solutions enable lightning-quick responsiveness, giving manufacturers, distributors, merchandisers and retailers a measurable new advantage. It’s an advantage that results in improved communications, more efficient workflow processes and most importantly, profits that flow to the bottom line.

Harris Fogel is president of O4 Corp.’s North America organization, a leading provider of mobile solutions for field sales and merchandising operations. Fogel has helped leading consumer products companies improve their sales effectiveness through enabling technologies for more than 20 years. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
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