Field Force Automation software is a revolutionary technological advancement that allows field representatives to view, edit and update the information of their fieldwork and sync them with the primary data system at headquarter through their mobile. Field Force Automation helps organizations with distributed field teams to achieve their field sales goals via efficient management of their sales operations, sales hygiene and SOP adherence, digital training of field sales teams, sales behavior improvement through gamification and smart analytics on the go for field mangers.
A competent field force automation is an excellent way to overcome the challenge of communication gap between the employer and the field representatives. Traditionally, it serves as a vital tracker of the real-time activities essential to various field sales and marketing operations. FMCG & Consumer Goods sector has pioneered the use of field force automation software for keeping a track on scheduling, dispatching, tracking expiry and several other operation executions. Moreover in 2021, advanced field force automation software like BeatRoute go beyond just workflow automation, instead they focus on enabling a company to achieve their field sales goals on day to day basis.
Benefits of Field Force Automation Software
Field Force Automation Software is an effective tool, especially in the FMCG & Consumer Goods Industry, where tracking the activity of sales force is difficult without field force automation. Therefore, let us look into the advantages and benefits of field force automation.
Real-time Data Aids Decision Making
The most important feature of field force automation software is that it gathers and syncs real-time data. Analysis of field teams performance in real-time with Business Intelligence can effectively harness insights about the improvement of the consumer focus brand in the market.
Additionally, automation of data analysis can assure immediate solutions when familiar data is collected in real-time. For instance, if there is a stock outage in a modern trade store, an automated notification can be immediately sent to the distributor and sales rep through the SFA software to replenish the same.
Moreover, the performance tracker in force field automation software helps employers get an unbiased appraisal of the employees. This may serve as a basis of important decisions for the organization such as employee promotion, incentives, leave management etc. Data-driven informed decisions could impact the growth and development of the organization and help to execute business goals on the field efficiently.
Drive Productivity and Efficiency
Field Force Automation eliminates error and efforts of backend data entry, increasing the efficiency of the organization. It is an effective way to remove some repetitive manual work from the cycle such as assigning leads, micromanaging the members of the field sales team etc. Additionally, the integration of reported data to the main system keeps the team in sync, enhancing their productivity of the organization.
Field Force Automation Software undertakes imperative business operations that would otherwise require a separate human resource and tedious manual hours. The automation of management for tasks such as sales panel management, employee performance tracking, order taking process, lead assignment etc. have evidently taken some burden off field force teams improving the quantity and quality of their output.
Eliminates Geographical Barrier for better Order Execution
When an organization is working over a vast region, it becomes difficult and complex to communicate every activity in every region. To eliminate the hassle of communication due to the geographical barrier, field force automation software serves as the best solution.
If we look into the FMCG industry, there are several salesmen operating in different regions. Field force automation makes it easier to track down the routes, travel cost, and other activities of the sales force in just a few clicks.
Instead of waiting for the sales reps to come back to the office and report about the prospect, they can directly report through the field force automation software for easier and quicker order execution. Bridging communication through Field Force Automation enhances the speed of order execution and compliance.
Improve Employee Retention Rate
Engagement of employees in the organization affects their productivity. Field Force Automation software aids in transparency and communication between employer and field representatives, it provides an interactive platform with sales panel management, employee performance tracking, behavioral output measurement, etc. for an unbiased appraisal of the sales representatives. Moreover, the employer can use Field Force Automation software to create a game-like scoreboard for field team members and rank them automatically by performance KPIs & KBIs (Key Behavioral Indicators such as Interactions norms, range selling, average order size, scheme application merchandising execution) to reduce field force attrition rate through incentivization.
Field Force Automation software may serve as an excellent model of reward and punishment theory to motivate and boost the morale of employees. In fact, offering a game perspective improves the engagement of field executives. Incorporating Field Force Automation software helps in sharing learnings about common problems and solutions, making it a knowledge hub for other employees. Additionally, it helps to reduce onboarding time for new employees.
Increases Retailer/Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is the primary goal of any retail focused business. Therefore, businesses must not overlook customer satisfaction rate while incorporating technology for facilitating business operations. It has been observed that Field Force Automation software helps in completing tasks on time, enhancing customer satisfaction for the brand in the market.
Field Force Automation helps technicians to be prepared for the specific job and be present at the appropriate place at the right time. Additionally, it ensures prompt billing and delivery alerts to enhance the customer experience.
Conclusion
Field Force Automation software is indeed an amazing technological adaptation that has evidently increased sales, productivity and efficiency of field sales representatives in different retail focused industries. FMCG & Consumer Goods Industry deals with vast geographical areas and a large number of the sales force on ground. Therefore, Field Force Automation has been a boon to this industry to manage and control the field sales operations. Moreover, it is undeniable that Field Force Automation software has actually minimized wastage of manpower through its real-time automation of data collection. Furthermore, it also provides data analysis to help in business decision making. Field Force Automation software is an excellent tool to make onboarding easier and solve problems in the field effectively and quickly.
BeatRoute’s Field Force Automation software is industry’s only Goal Driven CRM SFA platform, i.e. a platform that puts your business goals first, and ensures those goals are met month after month. Besides giving you complete process automation across GT, MT and B2B, it perfectly aligns with the company sales goals and helps sales teams achieve the same by converting them into bite size targets for them. BeatRoute’s Field Force Automation software is easily configurable without any coding requirements and is available on Android and iOS mobile platforms.
