Six calls, one order pad and a voicemail
Your rep sees six customers a day. At each one they walk the shelves with the owner, note what is low, suggest a couple of new lines, and write the order on a pad or in the notes app. Some of it goes by text to the office. Some is phoned through at half past five. A couple of orders sit in the rep's bag until the next morning.
In the office, someone types it all in again. Codes are guessed from descriptions like 'the big blue tubs', quantities are unclear between cases and singles, and a line that is out of stock only shows up when the pickers go to fetch it. Then the office rings the customer, who says the rep told them it would come tomorrow.
Why the order is written twice
The rep has no live view of your system on the road. They cannot see the customer's agreed prices, what the customer normally buys, or whether the warehouse actually has the stock. So the visit captures intent, and the office turns intent into a proper order later, from memory and from handwriting.
- The stock system has no mobile screen, or one that needs a signal the customer's cellar does not have.
- Product codes are long and the rep knows items by name or by the customer's own description.
- Prices on the rep's printed list are out of date.
- Stock levels change during the day and the rep cannot see them.
What keying orders twice costs
Late orders miss the pick for the next van run, so a customer promised tomorrow gets it in two days. Mis-keyed codes and case quantities create returns and credit notes. Office staff spend the first hour of every morning on transcription instead of dealing with customers, and the rep spends evenings on the phone rather than preparing for the next day. Worst of all, the customer loses faith in what the rep tells them.
The rep ordering app we put together
- An app for phone or tablet that downloads each rep's customers, prices and product range at the start of the day, so it works with no signal.
- On opening a customer, the rep sees their usual lines and last order quantities, with their own prices, and can tick through the shelf in the order they walk it.
- Stock levels show where they are known, and lines that are short are marked so the rep can offer an alternative on the spot.
- Units are explicit: case, inner or single, with the pack size shown, so there is no guessing later.
- When the rep has signal, orders sync straight into your stock or order system through its API or import, ready to pick.
- The customer can get an order confirmation by email before the rep leaves the premises.
| Paper pad | Rep app | |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | Printed list, often old | Customer's current agreed prices |
| Product codes | Written or guessed | Picked from the customer's range |
| Stock | Unknown during the visit | Shown, with shortages flagged |
| Getting to the office | Phone call or text | Syncs when there is signal |
| Customer confirmation | Maybe a phone call later | Email while you are still there |
The day afterwards
Rep orders land in the system during the day, so the warehouse can plan the evening pick. The office handles exceptions and customer calls instead of typing. Reps finish when their last call finishes. And sales managers can see what each rep sold, at what price, without waiting for a weekly report.
Is this your sales team?
- Rep orders arrive by text, voicemail or photo of a pad.
- The office rekeys orders every morning.
- Case and single quantities get mixed up.
- Customers are promised stock the warehouse does not have.
- You cannot see today's rep orders until tomorrow.