10 building blocks of a distribution partnership

Find below some of the key building blocks in a distribution partnership: Contracts – ensure clear partnership contracts Processes – develop standardized processes Policies – implement policies and policy review processes Tracking – ensure tracking and monitoring systems are clear to all parties Benchmarking – develop a KPI dashboard with standardized KPIs Reviews – schedule regular reviews and [...]

Telecommunication – distributor learnings

I am currently in Ghana and evaluating a distributor network for a company in the telecommunication industry. Some key learnings from my trip to date: Be aware of the distributor powerbase – competent distributors are key to most supply chains and collaboration is critical in expanding your footprint. However, distributors should not hold you and [...]

Emerging market partner selection and management

Southern Africa has been consuming our time of late, and I we have been missing in action. We recently conducted a supply assessment and pilot roll-out for a media company in Zambia. Our workstream focused primarily on the Go-to-Market strategy and partner selection. The following key issues were identified during the assessment: Select the right [...]

10 key barriers with partner collaboration

Culture differences. Different organizations have different values and ways of doing things. Poor alignment. Organizational goals and incentive conflicts. Contracts and legal. Poor drawn up contracts or lack of contracts. Accountability issues. Overlapping processes and unclear accountability issues. Competing partners. Conflict of interests with competing organizations. Lack of leadership. Lack of leadership to drive the [...]

Sales data capture challenges

Salesmen traditionally have been criticized for inadequate data capturing in outlets. However, some sales environments provide unique challenges for sales organization. Limited time. Salesmen are likely to struggle in fast paced environments where data capturing will slow down the sales process. Organizations must evaluate simplified processes that require limited time to complete. Aggressive environments. For [...]

Sales data collection

Not all sales systems can be automated right away. However it is important to start with small improvements. These improvements can be standardized forms or simplified forms e.g. checkboxes. The following needs to be analyzed: Data collection process Accuracy of data Potential collaboration with sales partners Data entry simplifications Timeliness of data

10 key steps for developing a distributor evaluation system

Map out requirements- develop evaluation criteria and get agreement from key stakeholders Process and roles- identify each stakeholders’ role in each operational process Benchmarking-determine key KPIs that will form part of the evaluation Create rating systems- develop the system and communicate and train employees and distributor partners. Ensure all parties have a clear understanding of [...]

Learnings from Unilever Indonesia

I recently read an article about the success of Unilever Indonesia, one of Asia’s top consumer goods companies. Please find below a summary of the key learning: Distribution network strength – covering more than 600,000 outlets, their distribution network is a key competitive strength and a barrier for entry. Growth in modern trade- accelerated growth [...]

The basics of supply chain

The four basic components of a supply chain from a distribution perspective are: The flow of product from your factory or warehouse to your distribution partners (distributor and outlets) and to the final consumer. The flow of information along the chain. Information may include product and competitor information, and it can flow back and fourth [...]

10 distributor problems and how to avoid them

Not covering all the outlets- track and monitor outlet distribution on a regular basis. Ensure the customer list and maps are up to date. Service levels drop- work with distributors and get an understanding why service levels are going down. Lack of experience- the distributor does not have the required category experience to do the [...]

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