Playbook
The morning of follow-up calls: was it dispatched, why not, what was invoiced?
An area sales executive with a dozen distributors can spend hours a day on the phone asking for updates that should have reached them on their own.
The problem
The sales executive calls each distributor every morning: did yesterday’s orders go, why is that outlet pending, what was invoiced, how much stock is left. The answers are from memory and are not written down anywhere the next person can see.
The playbook
- One group per distributor: the distributor, the sales executive and management.
- Post every event automatically, not by hand: dispatch with items, value and invoice; pending reasons; cancellations; dispatches made without an order.
- Send each distributor its own pending list every morning.
- Send a daily summary in the evening.
- Run a late-night check that names outlets still waiting and stock not updated today, and tags the sales executive.
- Call only on exceptions: the outlets and distributors the night check named.
Rules that keep the group useful
- No manual status messages; the system posts, people discuss.
- Every pending item has a reason, so the call is about fixing it, not finding it.
- Same facts for everyone: distributor, sales executive and head office see the same record.
How to measure it
Outlets pending three or more days, distributors with stock not updated today, and the number of follow-up calls the sales executive still needs to make. See secondary sales order tracking.
How the Distributor Management System does it
Distributor Management System is a WhatsApp-first DMS. The order a sales rep books on the visit lands on the distributor’s pending list the same minute. The distributor asks “what is pending?” in WhatsApp, in Hindi or English, and one tap marks an outlet dispatched, raises the GST invoice and posts it to the distributor’s WhatsApp group, where the area sales executive and head office see it. If an order cannot go, the distributor gives a reason; if it is wrong, it is cancelled and the rep is told. Stock in hand is kept as gate-pass quantity minus dispatches, plus corrections with a reason; invoices post to each retailer’s ledger and payments clear the oldest invoice first. A daily PDF summary and a 10 pm alert name what is still pending. Access is by registered mobile number and OTP, each role sees only its slice, and every change is in the audit trail.
Questions
How can a sales executive stop calling distributors for updates?
Give each distributor a group where every dispatch, pending reason and cancellation is posted automatically, plus a daily summary and a night check that names what is still pending.
Should distributors post updates in the group by hand?
No. Manual updates get skipped. The system should post events as they happen; people use the group to discuss exceptions.
See it on your own data. Distributor Management System — Dispatch from WhatsApp. Book a 30-minute working session with an engineer.