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Distributor Audit Case Study |
Situation
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A manufacturer of equipment is attempting to grow their share of market
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The primary sales channel is through a network of distributors, integrators and engineering firms
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The ability of these distributors to quickly and effectively respond to requests impacts their sales performance as well as that of the companies’ whose products they distribute
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The manufacturer’s equipment is a secondary or tertiary line for most distributors. In some cases, distributors are selling competing products
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A preliminary test of brand specific information requests indicated that over 50% of distributors had inadequate responses
Objectives
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Create a system to measure response time and effectiveness
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Provide additional opportunities for in-depth communication about relevant equipment projects
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Develop evaluation tools to gauge response quality and timeliness
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Create feedback mechanisms to share with distributors, integrators, and engineering firms
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Drive actionable results based upon the feedback
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Develop plans and timing for additional audits
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Share best practices and growth information to encourage friendly competition among distributor network
Approach
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Determine target distributors, integrators and engineering firms for the audit
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Identify potential avenues for placing requests
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Develop consistent messaging for requests
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Develop response shadowing methods
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Determine baseline response requirements
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Create reporting specifications
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Conduct audits and capture data
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Generate reports for manufacturer and their distribution network
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Identify performance improvements, set sales goals and improvement targets
Results
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Equipment sales increased over 200% in the first year following the audits
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Distributor audit scores increased overall at least 1 point for all distributors (on a 5 point scale)
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All distributor revenues rose for target equipment as well as other lines
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Increased collaboration between equipment manufacturer and distributor network
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