New retailers and the outlet census
A salesman pins a new shop at its door, or a dealer names one on its portal or in its sales. Each is checked for duplicates and waits for an area manager.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Salesmen add shops in a notebook or a WhatsApp group, and half of them never reach the system.
- The same shop is entered twice under two spellings, so its sales and visits are split.
- Dealers sell to retailers you have never heard of, and their names are dropped when the sales sheet is loaded.
- Nobody checks a new shop before it is added, so fake or closed outlets swell your numbers.
How it works
- A salesman standing at a new shop opens Parties in the app and taps New retailer. He fills in the shop, owner, phone, GSTIN, address and the dealer who serves it.
- The app pins the place where he stands and takes a photo of the shop, then sends the request for approval.
- Dealers can also name a retailer on their portal. Names in a dealer's Excel upload or Tally data that are not your retailers yet are proposed by themselves.
- A shop whose phone or GSTIN matches a retailer you have is refused at once. One pinned within 15 metres of a retailer is marked as a possible duplicate.
- The area manager opens Market > Retailers > New Retailers, checks the request and presses Add Retailer, or Reject with a reason.
- Once added, the shop becomes a retailer of that dealer with its pin and photo. The dealer's earlier sales lines with that name are given the new retailer.
Everything it does
Where new retailers come from
- Salesman: the app's New retailer form, with the place pinned at the shop and a photo
- Dealer Portal: the dealer's Retailers page (shop name, owner, phone, GSTIN, city)
- Excel Upload: a retailer name in the dealer's secondary sales sheet that is not your retailer yet
- Dealer's Tally: the same, from sales read through the Tally Connector
- Office: a request typed on the web
- Each request records where it came from (Named On) and who asked
Checks
- Same phone or GSTIN as an existing retailer: refused with the shop's name
- Pinned within 15 metres of a retailer: shown as Possible Duplicate for the approver to check
- A name the dealer already serves is not proposed again
- A name once rejected is not offered again; the dealer sees why on its portal
Request and approval
- States: Draft, To Approve, Added, Rejected
- Fields: shop name, owner, phone, GSTIN, address, city, served by, area or beat, pin, shop photo, notes
- Send for Approval, Add Retailer, Reject (a reason is needed), Reset to Draft
- Only an area manager adds a retailer, or the levels of the New retailer approval chain
- The pin can be checked and moved on a map on the request
What the salesman and dealer see
- The app lists the requests a salesman sent, with their state, the reason for a rejection and any possible duplicate
- The dealer's Retailers page lists its retailers and the names it sent that wait or were not added
- The area manager's dashboard counts New retailers waiting
Who uses it
SalesmanAdds new shops from the app at the shop, with the pin and a photo.
DealerNames retailers it serves on the portal and sees whether they were added.
Area ManagerChecks each request for duplicates and adds or rejects it.
Where you use it
- Web: Distribution > Market > Retailers > New Retailers (opens on To Approve)
- Dealer portal: the Retailers page
- The SmartMy Distribution app: Parties > New retailer for salesmen (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not on WhatsApp: a new retailer cannot be named through WhatsApp ordering
What you control
Settings
- The New retailer approval chain: area managers to start with; add levels or set Approved at Once
- Duplicate distance: 15 metres, fixed (not a setting)
Approvals
- New retailer: one chain per entity; area managers approve to start with, with levels you add
Notifications
- Approvers get a to-do for each new retailer waiting
- No message goes to the salesman or dealer when a request is decided; they see the state in the app or on the portal
Questions
Can a salesman add a retailer without approval?
No. Every new shop waits for an area manager, or the levels of your New retailer chain. This keeps fake and duplicate outlets out of your numbers.What stops the same shop being added twice?
A request with the phone or GSTIN of an existing retailer is refused. One pinned within 15 metres of a retailer is flagged as a possible duplicate for the approver to check.Can dealers add their own retailers?
They name them on the Retailers page of their portal. The area manager still approves each one before it becomes your retailer.What happens to retailer names in a dealer's sales sheet that we do not know?
They are proposed as new retailers of that dealer instead of being dropped. Once one is added, the dealer's sales lines with that name are given the retailer.Does the census work without signal?
On Scale, the offline app keeps a new retailer on the phone and sends it with the signal. The duplicate check runs then.Related features
RETAILERS AND FIELD SALESOutlet classes and outlet reachEvery month your retailers are ranked by 90 days of sales into classes A, B and C, each with its own visits a month. Outlet Reach shows which retailers are active, lapsed, never bought or new.MARKET INTELLIGENCERetailer names matched in dealer uploadsWhen a dealer's sheet, Tally or BUSY names a retailer, SmartMy finds your retailer by GSTIN, phone, the dealer's own spelling or a close name. Clear matches are taken; doubtful ones wait on a short review list, and every answer is learnt.LARGE NETWORKSDuplicate outlets caught by photoA salesman adds a shop that is already there under another name. The AI compares its shop photo with the photos of the outlets nearby and lists the likely pair. An area manager merges them, and the shop's history ends up on one outlet.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.DEALERSDealers and retailers by area and beatEvery 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.
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.