Wholesale Distributors today continue to conduct a majority of their sales the old-fashioned way: through 1-on-1 service directly with Retail buyers. This process is often grueling, involving heavy time spent on the road going from one customer to another, managing the workload and schedule of visiting customers, taking orders and sending them back to head office swiftly and accurately so they can be fulfilled as soon as possible. It requires the sales rep to be productive, fast and efficient in order to meet difficult sales targets.
But many of these problems are able to be solved today with the help of a mobile ordering app customized for sales reps. Equipped with such a mobile ordering app, the sales rep can now say good-bye to paper order forms, sample products, catalog binders, promotion sheets and fax machines. They no longer need to spend grueling hours in order entry of products to send back to head office each night.
So how does a sales rep mobile ordering app resolve these problems? How does a Wholesale ordering app help sales reps increase cross-selling and up-selling to Retailers more effectively? The following are 4 ways this is possible:
- ACCESS TO A DIGITAL CATALOG ON YOUR PHONE/TABLET
Field sales mobile ordering apps allow reps access to high fidelity, HD images of all your products, easily accessible visually through a host of well-organized categories and sub-categories. Advanced search tools enable you to quickly find any product within the catalog. All product details can easily be accessed at the tip of your fingers, including product benefits, ingredients, country of origin, regulatory approvals, nutrition stats and much more. Multiple images can be stored including the ability to zoom in and out whenever needed. Not only that, but you can also have a completely different catalog to choose from for each Retail customer to ensure you’re not cross-selling products to big box Retailers that you may be restricted from doing so based on your legal offering agreement with them. So, say good-bye to transporting cumbersome product samples, fabric swatches, and catalogs, to each and every store visit.
- REPLACE MANUAL METHODS FOR ORDER WRITING
The Wholesale Distribution industry is still heavily reliant on manual methods for writing orders, including paper order forms, fillable PDF’s and Excel spreadsheets. Reps can now use a sales rep automation app to write orders simultaneously while browsing catalogs and gaining information on products and promotions. This means no more manual order entry forms as all you need is your cell phone or tablet to take fast and efficient orders at the tip of your fingers.
- INSTANT ACCESS TO ACCOUNT, PRICING, INVENTORY, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES/PAYABLES AND MORE
One of the most important things sales reps need while on the road is access to information. Instead of having to call the back office to check or confirm numbers, information like customer-specific pricing and inventory levels for each product are stored in the mobile ordering app and available when online and connected to the internet or offline and disconnected from the internet.
Here are some of the various types of information that sales reps can access using a mobile ordering app or Wholesale ordering app:
- Order History – view any past order and the products bought within that order, including date, shipping details, prices, quantities, promotions and more so you can potentially replicate those orders
- Account Information – get access to any customer a sales rep is assigned to, including their addresses, landline/mobile/fax numbers, accounts receivables and payables and more so you can always be in the know of the status of a customer
- Inventory Levels – know whether a product is in-stock or out-of-stock in real-time anytime you need so you can make meaningful orders that don’t disappoint your buyer in case a high-demand product is out of stock
- Prices – know the real-time price of a product, including promotional pricing and more so you can make the right selling decision as a sales rep
- SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH BACK OFFICE ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS
Sales reps still spend a large chunk of their time each day entering in orders into an ERP or accounting system at the end of each day. This causes errors and is extremely strenuous and a waste of the sales reps time. Time that they could use to strategize on how to increase sales and exceed targets. With the click of a “Submit Orders” button, a mobile ordering app can synch orders instantly into the back-office accounting system where they can be immediately fulfilled, reducing cost of errors, administrative cost of order entry and much more. These costs literally pay for the cost of the mobile ordering or Wholesale ordering app itself.
Increase the strategic value of your sales reps, replace tedious order entry, manual order processes and strenuous paper catalogs with a Wholesale ordering or mobile ordering app today.
OrdrTakr is a B2B mobile ordering app and B2B eCommerce solution for Wholesale distributors that need an affordable, high value solution to allow sales reps and buyers to access high definition product catalogs, take orders seamlessly, automatically synchronize orders through the back-end accounting system and much more. OrdrTakr also offers a modern B2B eCommerce store front to complement your businesses digital needs.
Learn more about OrdrTakr by requesting a demo today and see what we can do to transform your B2B Wholesale sales operations.