Automating Van Sales from Order-Cash
Van Sales or Direct Store Delivery are interchangeably used terms that refer to a sales and logistics solution where specified products are delivered to a retail store directly by the manufacturer bypassing a retailer’s distribution center. Van Sales is predominant in the Food and Beverage industry but is also common to other consumer product industries like home and personal care products.
It is not uncommon to see soft drink manufacturers like Pepsi Co. and Coca-Cola deliver soda cans or bottled drinks directly to the point-of-sale at stores or restaurants in their branded trucks.
Besides carbonated beverages, frozen food, dairy, baked products, ice-cream and fresh produce are other commonly delivered products through Van Sales. It is a Sales and Distribution strategy preferred by many organizations to retain customer relationship through personal service, for realizing additional sales opportunities and to also gain first-hand information about market trends and consumption patterns.
Van Sales App – How enterprise mobility is impacting the direct store delivery process:
The Van Sales mobile application simplifies the direct store delivery process to a great extent in improving visibility and control through route optimization, lowering TCO, standardizing processes, integration to CRM and integrated financials.
An overview into the Van Sales App process:
1. Data Download
The mobile device is synced to the Transactional and Master data downloaded from the SAP backend.
2. Start of the Day
Sales representative records driver ID, vehicle ID, and odometer reading at the beginning of the day.
3. Check-out
Sales representative checks material and cash loaded into the truck. If there are any discrepancies it is entered into the app which can then be verified and approved by a supervisor.
4. Tour Processing
Sales representative can view a list of trips for the day and update the visit status, re-arrange order of visits and create an unplanned visit if required. Some of the activities performed during tour processing are:
- Delivery with pre-sold orders
- Delivery without pre-sold orders
- Invoice issuing
- Payment collection
- Order taking for future deliveries
- Recording of inventory adjustments
- Recording driver expenses
5. Check-in
This process validates the materials returned to the warehouse which is then verified by a supervisor. Check-in balance = initial balance – deliveries + returns, is checked during the pre-settlement balancing.
6. End-of-day
This step notes end-of-tour data and all returned cash payments. The end-of-day balance is determined which is calculated accordingly:
End-of-day balance = beginning balance – driver expenses – payments to customers + collections from driver + collections from customers
7. Data Upload
All transactional data is uploaded from the mobile device to the backend system. At Mobolutions, the Van Sales App is also referred to as the DSD (Direct Store Delivery) App and you can check out its features right here: https://www.mobolutions.com/direct-store-delivery-dsd-app/
What a day in Direct Store Delivery will look like:
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- Early morning store arrival
- Unloading the products
- Checking the products against order
- Shelf-stocking
- Writing a new order
- Material and Payment verification at end-of-day
The Direct Store Delivery process includes Sales Representatives, Pre-sellers, Van-sellers, Delivery Drivers or mixed roles of the above. While Pre-sellers are responsible for taking future orders at the store, Van-sellers are authorized to sell directly from the truck should a need arise without pre-sold orders. During many instances, the Delivery Driver will don multiple roles of delivering the pre-sold orders and taking future orders.
Other activities during direct store delivery include visit planning, checking store displays, planograms, credit checks, conducting various audits and surveys for promotions, pricing, and distribution.
Reference:
1. “SAP Mobile Direct Store Delivery – Process Overview.” SAP Help Portal. SAP SE, Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16, 69190 Walldorf, Germany, 07 May 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.
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