A leading automotive battery manufacturer with a pan-India presence across multiple battery segments — Automotive, Two-Wheeler, Inverter & Home UPS, and Industrial & Solar — faced the challenge of managing a large, dispersed field sales force and a complex multi-tier distribution network with no unified digital platform. With thousands of dealers, auto workshops, and retail outlets spread across urban and deep rural geographies, the company relied on manual processes for beat planning, order booking, scheme tracking, and secondary sales reporting — leading to distributor inefficiencies, field force underperformance, and limited real-time visibility for leadership. By partnering with CRM Landing, they implemented a unified Salesforce-powered SFA and DMS platform — transforming field execution, distributor operations, and sales leadership visibility across every battery segment and channel.
A leading automotive battery manufacturer with a pan-India presence across multiple battery segments — Automotive, Two-Wheeler, Inverter & Home UPS, and Industrial & Solar — faced the challenge of managing a large, dispersed field sales force and a complex multi-tier distribution network with no unified digital platform. With thousands of dealers, auto workshops, and retail outlets spread across urban and deep rural geographies, the company relied on manual processes for beat planning, order booking, scheme tracking, and secondary sales reporting — leading to distributor inefficiencies, field force underperformance, and limited real-time visibility for leadership. By partnering with CRM Landing, they implemented a unified Salesforce-powered SFA and DMS platform — transforming field execution, distributor operations, and sales leadership visibility across every battery segment and channel.
With a large field sales team covering battery dealers, auto workshops, and retail outlets across urban and Tier 2 & Tier 3 geographies, there was no standardised system for beat planning or visit tracking. Sales reps planned their daily routes informally, manager visibility into field activity was absent, and high-potential outlets in smaller towns were visited inconsistently — resulting in uneven market coverage and missed revenue opportunities.
Visibility Field sales representatives collected orders from dealers and retailers through phone calls, WhatsApp messages, and paper order forms — with no visibility into current stock levels, active schemes, or credit limits at the point of visit. Orders were punched manually at the end of the day, leading to delays, entry errors, and frequent mismatches between what was promised at the outlet and what was actually available at the distributor.
Was Entirely Manual Battery sales are heavily scheme-driven — with seasonal promotions, volume-based incentives, and battery exchange offers running simultaneously across segments and geographies. Tracking scheme eligibility, communicating active offers to field reps and dealers in real time, and settling claims at month-end was a largely manual exercise — leading to scheme leakage, delayed claim settlements, and dealer dissatisfaction across the network.
The company had reasonable visibility into primary sales — stock moving from the company to distributors — but almost no reliable data on secondary sales from distributors to dealers and retailers. Without accurate secondary sales data, demand forecasting was unreliable, slow-moving stock went undetected, and the company had limited ability to identify which geographies or outlet types were underperforming.
Each distributor managed their own inventory, orders, ledger, and claims through a mix of legacy software, spreadsheets, and manual records — with no standardised data feeding back to the company. Reconciling distributor data with company records was a monthly ordeal, and credit management across the distributor network lacked real-time controls — creating financial exposure that was only visible after the fact.
Were Weak Field sales representatives submitted expense claims through manual forms at the end of each month — with no linkage to actual visits made, routes covered, or outlets visited. Managers had no way to validate field activity against expenses claimed, creating accountability gaps and inflated field cost structures across territories.
Sales managers and senior leadership depended on manually compiled weekly and monthly MIS reports for visibility into field force activity, distributor stock positions, scheme utilisation, and secondary sales performance. By the time data reached leadership, it was already stale — making course correction slow, reactive, and largely based on gut feel rather than ground reality.
A structured beat planning module was implemented for the entire field sales force — enabling reps to plan outlet visits in advance with manager approvals, optimised route sequencing, and visit frequency targets by outlet tier. Every rep starts their day with a clear plan, and managers have real-time visibility into who is visiting which outlet, in which sequence, and at what time — across every territory and battery segment.
the field rep accesses a complete Outlet 360 profile — visit history, last order placed, active schemes applicable, pending claims, credit status, and stock levels — all in one screen. AI-powered nudges recommend the right products to push, the right scheme to highlight, and the right upsell opportunity to lead with — so every visit is productive from the moment the rep walks in.
Order booking was moved fully onto the SFA platform — with field reps capturing orders digitally at the outlet, with real-time visibility into distributor stock levels, current pricing, active schemes, and dealer credit limits at the point of sale. Orders flow directly into the DMS without manual re-entry — eliminating delays, entry errors, and the disconnect between field promises and actual stock availability.
Every outlet visit is geo-tagged and time-stamped at check-in and check-out — providing managers with location-verified field activity data without phone calls or manual reporting. Proxy visits are eliminated, actual time spent at each outlet is recorded against the visit log, and daily call completion rates are visible on manager dashboards in real time.
Active schemes — volume incentives, seasonal battery exchange offers, and segment-specific promotions — are configured and pushed directly to field reps and dealers through the platform. Scheme eligibility is calculated automatically based on order volumes and outlet classification, claim submissions are digitised at the point of visit, and settlement timelines are tracked centrally — eliminating manual scheme communication, leakage, and delayed claim resolution.
A full Distributor Management System was implemented across the distributor network — capturing secondary sales from distributors to dealers and retailers in real time. Inventory levels, stock aging, order-to-cash cycles, and credit utilisation are visible at the distributor level without manual reconciliation. Auto-replenishment triggers ensure fast-moving SKUs are restocked before stockouts occur, and slow-moving inventory is flagged for action before it becomes a write-off.
Distributor credit limits, outstanding balances, and ledger positions are managed within the DMS and synced in real time with the company's ERP — giving finance and sales teams a live view of credit exposure across the distributor network. Credit blocks are enforced automatically at the order level, preventing order placement beyond sanctioned limits without manual intervention from the finance team.
Expense submissions are captured directly within the SFA app — linked to actual visits made, routes covered, and outlets served on each day. Claims are routed automatically for manager approval, validated against geo-tagged visit records, and settled through a structured workflow — eliminating manual forms, reducing processing time, and providing finance teams with a clean, auditable expense record.
The platform analyses outlet purchase history, seasonal demand patterns, and scheme eligibility in real time — surfacing AI-powered nudges to field reps at the point of visit. Reps are prompted when an outlet is overdue for a reorder, when a higher-value SKU is a natural upsell based on purchase behaviour, or when a scheme is about to expire — turning every outlet visit into a higher-value interaction without relying on rep memory or intuition.
A unified leadership dashboard provides sales managers and senior leadership with live visibility into field force activity, outlet coverage rates, order volumes by segment and geography, distributor stock positions, scheme utilisation, secondary sales performance, and rep-level KPIs — updated in real time from field activity. Weekly MIS reports are replaced by always-on visibility, enabling faster decisions and early intervention wherever performance dips.
With structured beat planning and geo-verified visits in place, the company achieved consistent, measurable coverage across its entire dealer and retail network — including Tier 2 and Tier 3 geographies that were previously visited irregularly. High-potential outlets now receive the right visit frequency, and coverage gaps are visible and actionable before they cost revenue.
By moving order capture onto the SFA platform with real-time stock and scheme visibility, the time from outlet visit to confirmed order dropped significantly. Field reps no longer make promises they cannot keep — every order placed at the outlet reflects actual distributor stock, current pricing, and live scheme eligibility — improving dealer trust and order fulfilment accuracy across the network.
Automating scheme eligibility tracking and claim submission eliminated the manual errors, communication gaps, and delays that previously defined trade promotion management. Dealers receive accurate scheme communication at the point of visit, claims are submitted digitally, and settlement timelines are tracked centrally — improving dealer satisfaction and reducing the financial leakage associated with manual scheme management.
For the first time, the company has reliable, real-time data on secondary sales across its distributor network — by outlet, geography, battery segment, and SKU. Demand forecasting improved, slow-moving stock is identified and actioned early, and the sales team can focus growth efforts on the geographies and channels with the highest untapped potential.
With the DMS capturing distributor inventory, orders, credit, and ledger data in real time and syncing directly with the ERP, monthly reconciliation exercises became a thing of the past. Finance and sales teams now operate from a single, accurate view of distributor performance and financial exposure — enabling faster decisions and reducing the credit risk that previously built up undetected between reporting cycles.
Geo-tagged visits, structured beat plans, digitised expense claims, and real-time performance dashboards created a culture of accountability across the field force. Reps spend more time at high-value outlets and less time on admin, managers can identify and support underperforming reps early, and the overall productivity of the field sales operation improved measurably across every territory.
AI-powered nudges and predictive order intelligence transformed routine outlet visits into higher-value sales interactions. Reps consistently identify upsell opportunities, highlight relevant schemes, and prompt timely reorders — driving average order values and outlet-level revenue growth without requiring additional headcount or training investment.
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