This episode discusses a very important metric in the consumer goods industry: 'distribution rate'. Every manager in the industry has heard of this term and uses it frequently in daily work, because only when products are distributed can they be sold. Today, we will analyze this 'distribution rate' in detail and see how top consumer goods companies statistically analyze it. First, can a company obtain specific distribution rate data? Some well-funded companies hire market research firms to conduct irregular market research projects. Some even hire multiple firms simultaneously to compare results. However, this approach has several problems: it is costly, not accurate enough, and most importantly, these are scattered data points rather than trend data that can be observed daily. It must be said that having sales personnel collect data themselves to monitor distribution rates in real time is the most effective and reliable method, and top consumer goods companies are gradually adopting this approach. Here are several common reporting methods:

  1. Have sales personnel perform a fixed distribution reporting action when visiting stores. Field 365 has a dedicated distribution reporting feature that can also be added to visit steps.
  2. Have sales personnel report store inventory when visiting stores. Compared to the previous point, reporting customer store inventory requires entering the quantity for each SKU, increasing the workload for sales personnel. However, the benefit of inventory reporting is that it allows the company to understand the dynamic inventory of each store and can provide sales suggestions on how much to order based on current inventory and historical sales, which is very useful.
  3. Calculate distribution rate based on each customer store's orders (delivery notes). This is easy to understand: when a store orders a certain SKU, it means that store has distributed that SKU. Many companies store all store orders in their own ERP or inventory management systems, but outdated inventory systems cannot perform deeper data analysis, which is actually quite backward. A more advanced approach is for salespeople to place orders directly in the store using an SFA system, with orders entering the ERP for production and delivery, while the SFA system also comes with many business analysis features. With three sources for distribution rate data, how should the data be analyzed after collection? This is actually very complex. Field 365 provides reports across five dimensions for companies to analyze: By product dimension: The distribution rate is actually the most basic distribution rate report, showing the distribution status of each SKU. Customers can filter by product type, label, etc. By personnel dimension: Distribution rate statistics can show the distribution status of each salesperson, filterable by position and role, roughly reflecting each person's work performance. By customer type: Calculating distribution rate by customer type is very useful, but this dimension requires first classifying customers, which helps analyze business data across different terminal formats and reflects more refined management. With proper customer classification, distribution rate reports can provide better reference for the company. By department: Distribution rate statistics can show distribution status across different sales regions and business units. Companies can also use distribution rate by customer region. A good sales director must be very sensitive to the distribution rate metric. Data must be accurate and real-time, and able to monitor changes in every dimension, to be able to strategize and win decisively. Even more advanced consumer goods companies can break this metric down to every middle manager and even every salesperson. As the saying goes, "Those who share the same goal will prevail." A metric visible to everyone at all levels brings tremendous help to the entire sales effort. -END-