PROBLEMS IN SALES AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AT ITC

Lack of proper training to distributor’s salesmen.

Territory allotted to salesmen doesn’t consider the sales potential of the area.
Salesmen hides offers from retailers in ready stock sales model.
Salesmen forces more on large outlets which purchase in large volume.
Billing of new outlets done on the name of other existing outlets.
All the SKU of a product are not brought in the market at a time.
TPS (sity software) is not uploaded regularly.

Role of Salesmen
Prospecting- searching for new outlets
Targeting- visiting potential outlets
Communicating- informing about products and offers
An order take- as per requirement in retail and convenience outlet
Selling to retailers and convenient outlet
Servicing- Removal of damaged/expired(DND) products
Information gathering- about needs/preferences of customers
Allocating- fixed time to each outlet

SOLUTIONS
Proper training should be provided to salesmen
Salesmen should be regularly informed about the changing offers and schemes on the
products.
An apparel containing detail of offers should be given to salesman for ready stock sales
Apparel should be provided to salesmen to enhance brand awareness
Territory allotted to salesmen should consider the sales potential and concentration of outlets
in that area.
Salesmen should be provided incentive for adding new outlets.
TPS should be updated regularly to show current stock details.
The incentive of the salesmen should be based on number of outlets served by them too than
merely based on sales volume.
IMPORTANT PROBLEMS FACED WHILE STARTING NEW SALESFORCE-
1. Estimating cost-
Cost estimation is a key challenge for many companies. And the cost of implementing
Salesforce can be overwhelming for any organization. In the absence of proper consultation,
business estimated implementation costs, licensing costs and other similar costs can make
things complex.

2. Choosing the right partner

Since Salesforce is a combined platform for sales, marketing and customer service
departments, you would want to carefully plan your implementation process. 

3. Lacking internal experts

Hiring Salesforce experts has become the need of the hour, as they know the platform and
can carry out seamless implementation process. In fact, it would be even difficult to map the
existing business process without their involvement. Therefore, it is recommended to involve
a project manager and an administrator from the time of consultation, as their involvement
will ensure a smooth and successful launch.

4. Dealing with data migration

Migrating data can be tedious and painful, as it requires the mapping of data from one system
to another. And this is where most companies go wrong if they do not have the right
expertise. Be it managing unique IDs, duplicating data, adding custom fields or managing
access control, they are all part of the challenge.

5. Integrating Salesforce
Salesforce does not operate in a silo and the real benefit of Salesforce can only be leveraged
when it is integrated with other business applications of the organization. Propagating bad
data and misunderstanding real-time integration are some of the common challenges faced by
companies.

6. Implementing Salesforce
Salesforce CRM can turn out to be very challenging if it’s features and capabilities aren’t
well understood. The availability of new features does not necessarily mean the company
must incorporate them into the business.

7. Delivering consistent training

User training is an important aspect in order to tap into opportunities provided by the
Salesforce platform. Lack of training will bring the Salesforce implementation to a stagnant
level but understanding the entire platform and utilizing it appropriately will help the
company.

8. Managing centralized records in Salesforce

Maintaining the Salesforce platform after its implementation can be quite a challenge. If the
team continues to use spreadsheet records or phone reminders to achieve targets, then the
company has missed out on utilizing Salesforce as a singular platform. The main purpose of
Salesforce is to empower the company with tracking, moderating and executing capabilities
to manage the organizational processes.

9. Searching for ongoing support

For many organizations, as they look out to maintain the new Salesforce environment, they
would require an experienced Salesforce team for continuous support. Experts can help to
optimize and automate several processes for continuous improvement. They have the right
skillsets for modifications like setting automation rules, customizing particular business
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