The client is a CPG company with global operations.
Their operations in Asian markets depended on a legacy go-to-market (GTM) application that presented many challenges, like outdated solutions with complex UI, which is not suitable for expected speed and agility in their operations and hence not optimized to deliver advantaged capabilities.
To achieve competitive advantage in the marketplace and accelerate digital transformation, they partnered with Infosys to implement SAP Direct Store Delivery (DSD) solution and upgrade their GTM capabilities.
Key Challenges
- All DSD sales depended on outdated technology and a complex user interface that could not be integrated with advanced functionality
- Offline order capture led to order fulfillment delays
- Lack of online data sync created challenges when recording sales in case of loss, theft, or malfunctioning of mobile devices after route execution
- As salespeople spent more time in the distribution centers (DC) to complete upload, settlement, and download processes, they had less time to spend in the market, which led to lost sales opportunities
- Complex and time-consuming month-end inventory and financial reconciliations
- Lack of visibility into market activities and tracking performance of sales force through KPIs like call compliance, upselling, etc.
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The Solution
Innovative design, agile build, and focus on high adoption of the SAP Direct Store Delivery solution
Infosys successfully implemented the SAP Direct Store Delivery (DSD) solution for client’s key Asian markets, with solution delivery and end-to-end program management.
Infosys used a semi-agile approach to create a robust SAP DSD template, backed by rigorous online user training and strong change management. DCs were first grouped into clusters based on number of routes and business volume. The template was then deployed systematically across each cluster, simplifying and accelerating cutover and hypercare. Besides streamlining the solution implementation, it was also ensured that the template was smoothly rolled out across all DCs (salesmen, warehouses, etc.) within seven months.
- Used Conference Room Pilot (CRP)-aided blueprint methodology
- Designed an all-purpose single window settlement cockpit in SAP DSD whereby activities like stock check, collections (deposit), settlement, clearing, credit exposure calculation, and new tour creation can be done in a single click
- Designed an automatic clearing program, reducing effort spent on financial clearing, reconciliation, etc.
Benefits
Direct impact on sales productivity driven by new functionalities like geo-fencing, improved user interface, etc.
Reduction in non-productive sell time as well as more robust performance management functionalities, resulting in increased supervision capabilities on salesmen
Reduced time spent by van salesmen in each DC
Topline growth for modern trade driven by new functionalities like suggestive selling, insights about performance and opportunities, digital playbook, and promo compliance
Reduction in IT spend, driven by the reduction in annual maintenance, enhancement, and customization fees
Accelerated finance month-end closure
Elimination of month-end inventory reconciliation as all inventory movements are captured automatically in SAP ECC
Improvement in upselling and route compliance with improvement in the must sell list (MSL) of products
Enabled IT cost productivity improvement by consolidating code bases and reducing the number of instances, thereby achieving additional savings
