Dealers and retailers by area and beat
Every dealer and retailer sits in your own map of the market: region, area and beat, each with its manager. A retailer is linked to the dealer that serves it, and each dealer carries its group, salesman, status and credit days.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The dealer list lives in a spreadsheet, and nobody can say which dealers belong to which area manager.
- Retailers are known only to the dealer and the salesman, so the brand cannot see who serves whom.
- Areas are renamed or split and old reports no longer add up.
- A new salesman takes over a beat and has to ask around to find his dealers.
How it works
- Your administrator builds the tree once in Configuration > Places and Field Work > Areas and Beats: regions, areas and beats, such as North / City West / Market Street.
- Each area or beat gets a manager and, with several entities, its entity. Left empty, it is shared by every entity.
- Open Market > Dealers > Dealers and add a dealer, or let onboarding create it. On the contact's Sales and Purchase tab you set its area or beat, dealer group, salesman, credit days and status.
- Add retailers under Market > Retailers > Retailers and pick the dealer each one is Served By.
- Search dealers by area or salesman, or group them by area or by dealer status, to see your network as it stands.
Everything it does
Areas and beats
- Three kinds: Region, Area and Beat; each one is Part Of the level above
- The full name is built from the tree, such as North / City West / Market Street
- Manager, Entity (empty: every entity) and Notes on each
- The Parts tab lists what sits inside an area
- Filter Beats; group by Kind or Manager
- Archive instead of delete; every change is kept in the record's history
Dealers
- A dealer is a contact with Dealer switched on, marked as a business and a customer
- Fields: Area / Beat, Dealer Group, Salesman, Dealer Credit Days and Dealer Status
- The dealer list shows name, GSTIN, city, area, group, salesman, phone (hidden to start with) and a status badge
- Dealer status: Prospect, Active, On Hold or Closed (Prospect to start with)
- Choosing a group copies its credit days, and its price list and credit limit when the group has them
Retailers
- A retailer is a contact with Retailer switched on
- Served By: the dealer the retailer buys from
- Area / Beat and Salesman, as for a dealer
Added on Growth
- Visited On (the weekdays) and Beat Salesman on each beat, and a visit order for each shop on the beat
- Districts and pin codes covered by an area, for the market map and white space
Who uses it
Distribution AdministratorBuilds regions, areas and beats, and keeps the tree current.
Distribution ManagerAdds dealers and retailers, and sees the whole network by area, group and status.
Area ManagerIs named as the manager of an area and looks after its dealers.
SalesmanIs named on the dealers and retailers he serves.
Where you use it
- Web: Distribution > Market > Dealers > Dealers and Market > Retailers > Retailers; Distribution > Configuration > Places and Field Work > Areas and Beats
- The SmartMy Distribution app (Growth): the salesman sees his own parties and today's beats (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not on the dealer portal: dealers do not see or change your areas
What you control
Settings
- Your own regions, areas and beats, with a manager each
- Areas shared by every entity, or kept to one
- Dealer status on each dealer (Prospect to start with)
Questions
How many levels can the tree have?
Three kinds are named: Region, Area and Beat. Each record is Part Of another, so you can nest areas inside areas if your structure needs it.Does the area manager see only their own area?
Not yet. The manager is recorded on the area and used in reports and alerts, but the back office does not hide other areas from them. In the app, a salesman sees only his own parties.Can a retailer buy from two dealers?
A retailer has one Served By dealer. If a shop buys from two dealers, choose the one that serves it most.Can we set visiting days for a beat?
Yes, from Growth: each beat gets its weekdays and its salesman, and the app shows the salesman today's beats.What happens when we rename or move an area?
The full names below it update by themselves, and the change is kept in the area's history. Dealers stay linked to the same record.Related features
DEALERSDealer groups with price lists and credit termsPut dealers in groups such as Distributors and Dealers, each with its price list, credit limit and credit days. A new dealer takes its group's terms, and every order, portal page and app screen shows that dealer's own prices.DEALERSDealer onboarding with approvalA new dealer starts as a request with its GSTIN or PAN, the signed agreement and the proposed group, area, salesman and credit. A distribution manager approves it; the dealer then becomes active with those terms and gets its portal login by email.RETAILERS AND FIELD SALESBeats, visits and the salesman's day with km claimEach salesman gets his beats and their days. He starts the day in the app with a photo, checks in at shops against their pin, and ends the day. With SmartMy HRMS the kilometres can be claimed.MARKET INTELLIGENCEMarket map and white space by pin codeEvery retailer on a map, coloured by sales or by days since the last bill, with sales shaded by pin code, district or town. The places where you do not sell yet are ranked by households or population. A few clicks turn the best of them into a new beat.DEALERSDealer status and ageingEvery dealer is Prospect, Active, On Hold or Closed, and the status decides whether its orders flow and whether its portal is open. Dealer Ageing shows what each dealer owes by how long it is overdue, by area, dealer and salesman.
See your market on it.
Tell us how many dealers and salesmen you have, and how orders and claims reach you today. We will set up your dealers, price lists and beats with you.