Distributor Management System (DMS) has become an integral part of manufacturing organisations – having a large distributor & retailer network. Visibility of Primary & Secondary Sales has enabled companies to devise strategies for timely delivery of goods to Distributors, Dealers and Retailers. However, it is also becoming increasingly important for manufacturers to build a trusting relationship with their distributors & retailers. This is where a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can prove to be useful. A CRM system can be set up to streamline and automate communication with retailers & distributors to ensure consistency and ongoing engagement.
However, to handle high sales volume and manage different stakeholder in the sales process, FMCG/ FMCD companies want to rely on a single platform that manages both their distributor network and serves as a relationship management for their retailers and distributors. Both DMS & CRM systems perform unique functions, but when converted to a single platform it can become a powerful solution.
What to expect from an ideal CRM - DMS integration?
There are some specific features that you need to look out for in a CRM integrated DMS software, namely;
1. Auto Sync of Distributor & Retailer Master Data: Distributors, Stockists, Super Stockists & Retailers are essentially manufacturer’s customers. Their master data should be easily & automatically synced from the DMS (Distributor Management System) into the CRM. Also data in terms of contact details, beat planning, zone , city etc. also needs to be mapped to ensure smoother workflow between CRE (Customer Relationship Executive) and their particular zone’s distributors and retailers.
2. Complete Feedback System: With all of retailers and distributors data synced in the CRM, your CRE can make calls to your supply chain partners for general onboarding, feedback on products/orders, field sales executives etc. Beats and zones can be assigned to individual CREs for a regular follow-up with the distributors and retailers. This helps in building a stronger trust with your supply chain partners which becomes more robust with an inbuilt dialer that automates the calling process and also maintains a complete record of all the conversations.
3. Ticket/Complaint Management: An ideal CRM that has been integrated with the DMS would also require a complaint management system for easier and quicker addressal of distributors & retailers problems. The Customer relationship executive should be able to raise a ticket within the system that gets escalated immediately to the concerned area manager. Not only does this build a strong relationship of trust with your partners but also helps in retention.
4. Call Logs & Analytics: All conversations details like previous meetings logs, interactions, complaints, etc stored in a single system can give visibility of the effectiveness of customer relationship management team along with powerful insights on calls made per day, time spent per call, average grievance redressal time etc.
5. Email Marketing: An additional advantage of CRM integrated DMS is the possibility to contact retailers & distributors by sending emails directly from the CRM. This significantly saves the Sales managers’ time, enabling them to quickly progress through the sales cycle. The CRE can also send emails & text to distributors & retailers about ongoing promotions, exclusive offers and schemes etc and make calls within the system with advanced features such as call recording.
Your Turn to Move Forward
Interoperability of a customer relationship management software and a distributor management system can definitely give you more than their separate exploitation. Eazy Business Solutions is a qualified leader in DMS to CRM data integration. We have proven strategies from many distribution and supply chain implementations to deliver a great CRM solution that will not only unify your sales and marketing force, but also accelerate your company's growth and greatly extend its outreach. Our experience in implementation, configuration, training and support of Customer Relationship Management spans 20 years as a company.
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