inventiv
A Note From Jim How Technology Adapts to Social Distancing
Safety First Every wholesaler we work with has put in place social distancing steps during the delivery process in order to keep customers and their employees safe. The next level is limiting paper in the delivery process because there are too many touch points for customers and your employees. The good news is that customers are more willing than ever to accept change, if it is for improved safety.
Online Ordering & Payments Social distancing will continue to make online ordering and payments trend up. The question is what role the sales rep plays when their customer is ordering on either a marketplace website or on your own website. We think the answer is simple: sales reps should review and have the chance to upsell every order. We have the technology to make this happen with our own OrderLink and Inventiv eCommerce platforms.
On Premise Re-opening The primary role of your on premise sales team is to fight for market share as states re-open. The smart wholesalers are surveying their customers daily and weekly to check the status of openings. Sales managers are building new routes to adapt to the changes.
PocketDelivery Drivers collect an electronic signature, eliminating the handling of signed receipts
Fewer Touchpoints The end of day check in process is done in minutes as a “standup check in� because all the returns and payments have been recorded for a simple approval process.
Less Paper Your drivers no longer bring back paper at the end of the day because the signed receipts are already stored on your server as PDF files.
No More Credits PocketDelivery creates a clean invoice so not only is there less paper in the office there are also no more credits to mail.
Inventiv eCommerce Online Ordering Made Simple
Inventiv’s eCommerce platform is a reorder and product discovery site. Here is what makes it ideal for wholesalers.
Key Benefits Reorders Customers view recently bought items and quickly see if the item is in stock and can place a reorder. The customer will be promoted to substitute items for new vintages or replacement items if the item requested is no longer going to be stocked.
Discovery Not all items in a category are created equal, therefore, we enable your team to create ranked search results to funnel the customers to your most profitable items.
Rep Discover Notifications Your sales reps are alerted to the search terms used so they can offer to provide pricing and samples to help close the new placement.
Inventiv eCommerce Trends of Online Ordering
Customer have two options for online ordering: a marketplace site like SevenFifty or a wholesaler’s private site. It used to be a choice of one or the other. The trend we see now is wholesalers making both an option. The question is what the role of the sales rep. Here is how Inventiv can help:
Key Benefits Upsell The main reason to have the sales rep in the middle of the process to suggested new placements or larger quantities tied to specific deals. This is why we built OrderLink
Review Requested Orders Edit pricing, quantities, requested ship dates within seconds and alert the customer of all changes
Transfer Orders When a customer is reassigned to a new rep the orders automatically transfer. When reps are on vacation their manager or customer service can manage the orders.
RouteMaps
Reroute within hours.
Build new territories in minutes.
Review data in seconds.
Who Sales managers/reps, chief of operations/sales
Why Maximize customer face time through route optimization
When Utilize our tool weekly or daily as needed Our product includes: Web access to your data for reviewable accounts on a map Reviewable territory sales and commissions by rep and by customer What-if analysis of net changes in sales, commissions, and accounts by rep in real time Backend system integration for approved changes, reflected in PA Alerts to new license applications and accounts in your divisions
Sales Team Optimization
Our multi-faceted visual tool for the territory reassignment process ensures an interactive, transparent, and efficient experience for your team.
Perform What-If Analysis on current rep assignments for Reopening on-premise gradually Adding reps Removing reps Balancing rep territories by geography Reducing rep territory overlap by reps Fine-tuning territory dollar values
On Premise Re-Opening
The next year will be about on premise re-opening and how the role of the sales rep and technology will need to adapt Sales Reps as Consultants On premise locations will need sales reps that can tailor their product line to provide items that will sell at good margins. PocketAdvantage already has the tools to help sales reps with creating suggested listings so we are increasing our training materials to make sure your sales reps know how to use the tools they have.
Managing Contacts The key contacts at many locations and we have added new features in PocketAdvantage to help manage these contacts with 3 taps.
Online Sample Orders Customers can request sample bottles to be delivered via the Inventiv eCommerce platform as a way to adapt to social distancing while keeping the best tool for new placements in play.
On Premise Re-Opening Inventiv Survey Platform
The role of surveys has never been more important.
What is the Status? This simple question has many answers for your on premise customers. What makes the Inventiv survey platform so powerful is our ability to link the answers to the sales history. Using this report wholesalers can see the sales dollar impact going forward on the customers that are open, closed in the short term and those not reopening. Managing Contacts The key contacts at many locations and we have added new features in PocketAdvantage to help manage these contacts with 3 taps. Sales Rep Assignment Changes Customers can request sample bottles to be delivered via the Inventiv eCommerce platform as a way to adapt to social distancing while keeping the best tool for new placements in play.
PA+ Surveys
PocketAdvantage+ connects sales reps with their managers in real time and relays critical information between parties. This app enables managers to monitor sales rep activities, while allowing sales reps to receive order confirmations, product trainings, store surveys and customer presentations.
As a result of being in the efficiency business, we have some stats that we are eager to share from our customer base:
Drivers save 30 minutes per day, 2 hours per week, 100 hour per year.
Less time on the road results in less overtime paid, fewer trucks running, and more opportunity.
Partner Profile Esker For Online Payments
We found Esker last year based on a reference for a mutual customer in Wine Warehouse. Inventiv created a partnership with Esker to enable your customers to view and pay their invoices online. Here are the benefits we have seen so far:
Key Benefits Quicker Payments Reducing Days Sales Outstanding and helping improve cash flow (On average, companies get paid 29% faster within 6 months of using tool)
Time Savings Taking away the need to collect and process checks. Freeing up time for collections and sales to spend on other tasks and making them more efficient
Customer Experience Create a better experience for your customers by giving them the ability to view, communicate and pay their invoices easily online (auto-pay available)
s o fleadership t wa r e DAVE REA President and Founder
HARRISON REA Director of Operations
AMY KIRSON-REA Chief Operating Officer
JIM HARRIS Vice President of Sales
REMINGTON REA Creativ Development