If all the brand's products are placed in a huge warehouse, then each sales channel is equivalent to a pipeline to consumers. With the development of the Internet, these channels have changed from the previous offline sales model to the online and offline "two-legged" sales model, such as offline chain stores, experience stores, online e-commerce channels Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and even the live short video with goods that have emerged in recent years.
It can be seen that with the rapid development of online technology, more and more diversified channels have dispersed the concentration of consumers. As a brand owner, in order to manage such diverse channels well, digital channel management has become a must. .
Only by making channel management more systematic and digital can all channels be centralized on the same platform for system management, which facilitates the establishment of channel rules, and facilitates the unified arrangement of production and procurement by factories, so as to meet the needs of various channel providers to the greatest extent.
1. What is a channel management system?
After the above description, we already have a general concept of the channel management system. Therefore, in short, the so-called channel management system is a comprehensive system software platform, which generally has channel data management, inventory management, order tracking, distribution partner management, promotion support, and channel performance evaluation and analysis, etc. A variety of functions.
Making good use of the channel management system can help enterprises comprehensively grasp the situation of each sales and distribution channel , control the first-hand sales information of the distribution channel, adjust the strategy of the channel dealer in time, and solve existing problems, so as to give full play to the role of each sales channel and continuously improve sales. Performance, optimize inventory structure and supply chain management level. It can be seen that a high-quality channel management system is very important for enterprises.
In the following text , starting from the importance of the channel management system , we will take stock of 5 popular, conscientious, easy-to-use, and down-to-earth distribution channel management systems for everyone. In addition, it conducts an in-depth analysis of 5 common problems in channel management of enterprises, and analyzes why channel management is worthy of our layout, and what important role it plays in the entire customer life cycle.
2. Why is the channel management system important?
In the FMCG industry, DMS channel distributor distribution management and key account management support the company's performance.
1. Channel information integration, platform unified management
The channel management system can integrate the information of various sales channels and put them on the same platform for unified management; thus helping enterprises to better maintain information flow, coordinate resources of various channels, and maximize the role of channels.
2. Data collection and in-depth analysis
Comprehensively evaluate and analyze the collection of the entire channel management data, such as sales data, inventory, logistics status, etc., in order to adjust channel strategies in time and optimize resource allocation.
3. Accurately control channel suppliers and optimize supply chain
It can accurately grasp the current situation of each channel provider, grasp the sales, inventory, and logistics status of each channel, so as to better grasp the product circulation situation, improve the response speed and efficiency of the supply chain, prevent logistics delays, reduce inventory backlogs, and then help enterprises Continuously optimize the supply chain and scientifically manage the entire process from production to distribution.
4. Manage partners scientifically and systematically
Through the channel management system, it is possible to more systematically manage and track distribution partners, such as dealers and agents, so as to communicate and collaborate with partners more smoothly and promote performance improvement.
3. What are the main functions of the channel management system?
Specifically, the functional modules of the channel management system mainly include:
1. Channel data management
Collect data from various channels such as sales, inventory, orders, etc., conduct integration and in-depth analysis, and provide rich real-time data analysis results to facilitate corporate decision-making.
2. Inventory management
Monitor the real-time inventory status of each channel, predict inventory demand, and avoid problems such as inventory backlog and out-of-stock. At the same time, it can automatically generate reports and automatically send out alarms when encountering problems to prompt users to take corresponding actions in a timely manner.
3. Order Tracking
From order generation to settlement, delivery, and after-sales, the channel management system can track and manage the entire life cycle of the order, record and track the progress of each stage of each order, ensure that customers obtain real-time information about the order, and improve customer satisfaction.
4. Distribution partner management
Centralized management and tracking of distribution partners, including basic information, cooperation records, agreements, performance, etc., to strengthen contact with partners and jointly improve sales performance.
5. Promotion support
Provide corresponding support for marketing and promotional activities, record promotion and sales activities of various channels, evaluate, adjust and optimize marketing strategies, and continuously improve the effect of activities.
6. Channel performance evaluation and analysis
By collecting and analyzing channel sales data, we can gain insights into the performance of each channel, evaluate and analyze them, so as to optimize channel resource allocation and continuously adjust channel strategies.
4. Inventory channel management system providers
After gaining a deep understanding of the channel management models of many brands, we have integrated the evaluations of major application markets and recommend 5 popular, easy-to-use and down-to-earth channel management systems. They are: 1 . 2. Kingdee ; 3. Qince; 4. Shushangyun; 5. Bajun.
1. Enjoy sales
① Manufacturer strength
In recent years, Fenxiang has developed rapidly in China's domestic CRM industry, with outstanding product highlights and strong technical strength. It is a well-known old CRM high-quality service provider in the domestic market and is also the most popular CRM supplier. It ranks first among the top 10 CRM customer management systems in the domestic market in 2022, and also ranks first in the domestic CRM market share. It is also the fastest growing manufacturer in China in recent years. In addition, the price is lower than similar competing products, and the cost performance is very high, which can be called the conscience of the industry.
② Product function
The channel management system of Fenxiang Sales mainly relies on the powerful connection capability of its CRM, which can connect the business of upstream enterprises with downstream dealers and agents, and carry out unified and refined digital management to achieve a win-win situation. Specifically, there are the following key functions:
- Partner Portal Customization: The personalized homepage can be customized according to the specific needs of downstream partners to achieve multi-terminal accessibility.
- Customer reporting: With a complete reporting mechanism, customers are reported in the system in advance to effectively avoid collisions, duplicate orders, customer grabbing, and damage to the interests of manufacturers and other partners.
- Joint promotion of business opportunities: Configure exclusive sales process for partners, promote business opportunities in stages, and follow up the completion of stage tasks in real time, so as to "know what you know".
- Data report analysis: You can view various reports such as sales briefings, lead conversions, and sales funnels on the home page of the system, gain real-time insights into various business progress data, and make timely strategic adjustments based on actual conditions.
- Ordering in the ordering mall: products can be placed on the shelves in the ordering mall, with flexible pricing, refined product classification and search, and the corresponding channel policies will directly reach customers in each channel, which is convenient for unified management.
- Diversified promotions : Through the system, various promotional modes can be carried out, such as store celebrations, holiday activities, clearance promotions, etc. You can freely and flexibly match products, customize promotional forms, and increase sales.
- Order management : The system supports various online and offline support methods such as WeChat, Alipay, pre-deposit, rebate, etc. Orders can also be submitted online for approval, delivery, and delivery, automatically calculating discounts or discounts, and tracking logistics status in real time.
③ Advantages
FenShare’s CRM-based channel management system connects upstream and midstream partners, enabling efficient and collaborative operation of various channel businesses. At the same time, it has in-depth insight into channel data, real-time perception of market changes, helps enterprises make scientific and accurate decisions, and empowers channel partners to be efficient Its digital management capabilities can promote the common growth of partners and improve sales performance.
④ Applicability: mainly for TOB users, not for ToC, suitable for large, medium and small enterprises, especially large and medium enterprises.
⑤ Official website : https://fs80.cn/q69d74
2. Kingdee
① Manufacturer strength
Kingdee is the world's leading and China's No. 1 enterprise management cloud SaaS company, which has been listed. Kingdee is well-known in the SaaS circle and has a wide range of products. It is the only Chinese enterprise-level SaaS vendor ranked among the top ten global high-production aPaaS platforms by Gartner in 2021, ranking first in China.
② Product function
Kingdee provides an omni-channel cloud solution, linking all business scenarios such as e-commerce, retail, channels, and distribution. It not only supports traditional distribution, chain retail and other multi-channel business management, but also supports online and offline integrated operations, providing personalized customization functions. In addition, data and business can be integrated. On the Kingdee cloud platform, data unification, business and financial integration and coordination can be realized.
③Advantages: The products produced by major manufacturers are very strong and can help enterprises build global marketing channels, provide integrated services such as e-commerce transactions, retail transactions, channel transactions, etc., and solve the full link demand from "marketing" to "sales". .
④ Applicability: For large enterprises, high-growth enterprises and small enterprises. However, compared with professional CRM vendors, the functions are not complete enough to support the diverse needs of customers.
⑤ Official Website: Kingdee Software Official Website-Kingdee Cloud-Kingdee Group Official Website
3. Diligence
① Manufacturer strength
Qince is a flagship product that controls the network. It is a SaaS-based sales business platform that mainly helps companies improve their digitalization. At present, the number of customers has reached tens of thousands, covering a wide range of industries, and has branches in more than ten core cities across the country.
② Product function
- In terms of dealer procurement, it is possible to carry out closed-loop management of the whole process, track order information and logistics status at any time, and greatly improve the efficiency of the supply chain.
- The channel digital operation system is flexible, for example, flexible rebate strategies can be pre-set, and targeted distribution of coupons is supported.
- The channel distribution model is diversified, and in-depth distribution can be carried out, and brand owners can manage dealers and terminals in a unified manner; in addition, brand owners and dealers can also be separated and operate independently in each subsystem.
③ Advantages: The functional details can be done well, helping enterprises build a multi-level digital distribution system for channels, improving channel sales, and enhancing control over channels.
④ Applicability: Large, medium and small can be used, but the stability of the system is not good, and the functions are simple, so it is not suitable for users who require depth.
⑤ Official website: Qince
4. Digital Business Cloud
① Manufacturer strength: Shushangyun has been established for 10 years. Its main goal is to help enterprises achieve digital transformation. Currently, it has served hundreds of domestic and foreign brand customers.
② Product function
The core capabilities of the digital business cloud channel management system mainly include the following points:
- One item, one code, trace the source of the product, monitor cross-selling goods, prevent agents from cross-selling goods, and product anti-counterfeiting
- Distribution rebates, preset rebate rules in advance, and automatically generate rebate ratios.
- Different authorization rules can be set for each level of agent for flexible authorization.
- Intelligently generate enterprise reports, scientifically analyze and present them, and provide data support for enterprise decision-making.
- Promotion management, which can formulate unified promotion rules, review the released promotion activities, and control the effect of promotion activities at any time.
③ Advantages: Data Business Cloud is a small but complete series of products, which can make the internal and external communication of channel merchants smooth, minimize communication costs, and increase sales conversion rate. In addition, the data of the whole business system is collected to provide support for enterprise decision-making.
④ Applicability: Applicable to small and medium-sized enterprises, the functions are relatively simple, the interface is not beautiful enough, and the training provided is relatively small .
⑤ Official website: Digital Business Cloud
5. Eight Horses
① Manufacturer strength:
Eight Jun CRM has been established for nearly 10 years. Users can customize CRM and have independent development capabilities. The main products include CRM, OA, and BPM.
② Product function
The main functions of the eight-jun channel management system involve dealers, projects, order management, and BI big data center. Among them, dealer management is an important way to expand sales channels, which can maintain dealer information and carry out authorization management.
Distributors can also report projects online, manage project progress, and obtain authorization and support from brand owners through the system. In addition, it can also manage orders, online management of delivery, logistics information, after-sales, returns and exchanges, etc.
In the BI big data center, it is possible to view the analysis results of various business data, such as market activity effect analysis, dealer analysis, sales behavior analysis, end customer analysis, etc., to provide data support for enterprise decision-making.
③ Advantages: It can be deployed independently, and can be flexibly customized according to customer needs.
④ Applicability: Applicable to small, medium and micro enterprises, the custom settings are not flexible enough, and the built-in templates cannot be edited by themselves .
⑤ Official website: Eight Jun
Five, several problems often exist in channel management
Enterprises often have many problems in the process of channel management. Only by clarifying these problems can they deeply understand the importance of channel management system.
1. The channels are scattered and the channel policies are not unified, causing conflicts between brand owners and distributors.
In order to quickly open up the market, brand owners often choose multiple sales channels at first, but due to the diversity and complexity of the channels, the policies given are different, which leads to conflicts between brand owners and sales agents. Uneven sales prices, vicious competition and other issues.
2. The channels are long and complicated, and the management is very difficult
The complexity of each channel leads to their different order progress, logistics, inventory status, daily loss, etc., and decentralized management is very difficult.
3. Unable to accurately control channel providers and scientifically manage terminals
In today's "channel is king", how to use the advantages of channel resources has become the key for brand owners to win in the market. However, each channel dealer is the main body scattered in various places. They have their own distribution strategies and models, and may be selling products of multiple brands at the same time. Therefore, the sales situation and inventory of each channel are not always under control. The scientific management of terminals is even more empty talk.
4. The follow-up management of channels is unscientific
Many companies think that the channel management system can be done once and for all, ignoring the development and subsequent extension of the system, and also ignoring the multiple factors of continuous change, such as the market, products, competitors, industry development, etc., and finally the system becomes A "dead" system that cannot adapt to evolving business needs.
5. Blindly self-built channel management system
Many enterprises lack IT foundation and are not clear about channel business sorting. Without knowing their own actual situation, they blindly build their own channel management system. Low management efficiency, high management cost, low utilization rate, etc., have caused great losses to the enterprise.