Planning for Sales Points: Formulas for Success

Working with retail points is not just about delivering products — it is a key link that determines the overall efficiency of the sales ecosystem. However, in practice, many companies rely on intuitive decisions, verbal instructions, and unstructured approaches to manage this link. This leads to reduced sales efficiency (supply chain disbalance) and makes it impossible to reach the planned level of profitability.

In many cases, agents independently plan their visits and decide which products to offer to stores. In such a subjective model, key indicators are not strictly monitored, and the sales cycle relies not on data, but on human memory. As a result, the most critical metric in distribution — SKU productivity — is lost.

From a scientific perspective, this situation can be expressed with the following formula:

P_sku = R/V

Where:

• P_sku= Profitability of a single product unit
• R = Revenue generated from the product at the point of sale
• V​ = Number of visits, logistics, and time resources spent on the product

If this coefficient is low, it means the agent offered the wrong product at the wrong time.

The solution is straightforward. Each retail point should be treated as a unique entity, and its plan should be developed based on personalized data. This planning should consider:

• Purchase history of the store
• Customer segmentation
• Seasonal trends
• Agent’s previous KPIs
• Geographic indicators

You cannot do this manually. You need a system that collects all relevant data, processes it, and provides you with detailed reports. For example, SALES DOCTOR is an ERP system that enables data-driven planning and control. Based on the above model, it creates a strategic individual plan for each store and delivers it to the agent through a mobile app. This brings several advantages:

1. Visits become targeted and efficient
2. Orders are based on real demand
3. KPIs are monitored continuously
4. Resources are used optimally

Additionally, the system automatically detects discrepancies between planned and actual results, and provides tailored recommendations.

The formula for results is simple: Planning + Monitoring. In today's market, product quality or pricing alone is not enough. You must analyze past data and make accurate plans for the future. In modern distribution, placing a plan for each retail point is not a luxury — it’s a necessity.

Give serious attention to this core mechanism that drives your business's entire profitability model.