Beat Plan (or 'Permanent Journey Plan') is a day-level route plan made for field sales/marketing personnel to visit a number of stores at a pre-defined frequency. A Beat Plan defines whom to visit, when to visit, based on the company's priorities.

PJP or Permanent Journey Plan is a beat plan for a set sales cycle ranging anywhere from three days to a month. This gets repeated until there are changes like— addition or removal of outlets, change in frequency of visits, addition or removal of sales and service executives, etc.

Which industries can benefit from FieldPro?

The industries which can benefit from FieldPro include- - FMCG, which encompasses packed food & beverages, soaps, detergents, personal care, etc., Pharmaceuticals Telecom In short, any industry which operates through retailers or push-type marketing strategies can reap benefits using FieldPro.

Is FieldPro similar to SFA (Sales Force Automation)?

FieldPro provides OPTIMIZED beat plans, by taking into account constraints like— rider & outlet working days, holidays, timings, distance travelled by sales executives, outlet type (based on channel, revenue, best selling goods, sales executive skills, experience, rating etc). In short, FieldPro takes into consideration a variety of constraints, which is not the case with traditional SFA software.

Is the Locus dashboard user friendly for operation/warehouse managers?

Locus provides a dashboard which mimics a calendar. Planning your tasks/batches is typically just a four-click process. The Locus dashboard is designed to be simple, while featuring all the logistics solutions in one place, and is very user friendly. We also provide training and support to all the stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition.

If my vehicle/rider needs territory mapping, can Locus take care of same?

Yes, Locus can take care of territory mapping for your sales executives.

Can I incorporate the static zone in route planning, as change management could be an issue for implementing Locus tool?

Locus can implement customer defined zones by using zone-based route optimization techniques. Additionally, based on heuristics around historic demand and ordering patterns, Locus can suggest fixed zones and optimize within these.

If API integration is not feasible, what are the other means through which I can use the Locus tool?

In case of API integration not being feasible, batches can be uploaded manually and dispatch plans can be generated using the Locus dashboard. Locus has its own master file management module that encompasses location and outlet masters, SKU masters, SE/Rider masters and even cost contract masters that can be maintained and used in PJ Planning process.

What are the features available on the Locus delivery app?

Locus' delivery logistics application offers a range of features like order delivery/cancellation, navigation, live tracking, POD, and partial delivery, among others.

Our salesmen use an SFA, can Locus take inputs from there?

Yes, Locus can take inputs from an already installed GPS device.

Can you send ETA-based SMS to our outlets?

Yes. The Locus app captures time stamp information, using which the actual unloading time can be computed.

Does Locus factor in the traffic parameter and route restrictions applicable on vehicle types while planning?

Yes, Locus does consider traffic parameters and route restrictions, at different times, and for different types of vehicles.

Can Locus help us in geocode verification?

While the Locus app can be used to collect the actual geocodes itself, however with machine learning capabilities, we can learn through the geocodes collected over a period of time and do the geocode verification. Additionally, Locus supports manual correction of geocodes on the platform, both at a single entry and bulk correction level.

In sales beat planning, what is the core logic behind the allocation of a beat to a salesman?

The choice of logical configuration depends upon several factors like location, frequency, time of visit, the kind of action being performed at a store and the attributes of a sales/service executive. Definition of effective sales beats are dependent on the business-specific use case and standard functionality like scheduling of beats based on revenue, outlet count, and the roster of sales executives available off the shelf.

Can Locus help us in figuring out the frequency of outlet visits?

Yes. Ideal frequency suggestion is the need of the hour and Locus can help companies in solving this.

How can Locus take care of delivery beats while coming up with sales beats?

Based on a given set of sales beats, Locus can effectively generate delivery beats by taking into account the capacity of the fleet, customer SLAs and order dynamics.

Is territory optimization part of sales beat planning or is it a different exercise?

Territory optimization comes under Locus' consulting practice. However, if it is being undertaken from the perspective of sales beat planning, it comes under sales beat engagement.

Can Locus help in improving our serviceability ratio?

Yes. Serviceability ratio is one of the major KPIs that FieldPro optimizes for.

What is serviceability ratio?

Serviceability ratio helps understand the effectiveness of a sales beat. This is equal to the time spent by an executive performing an activity at all stores in a beat divided by the total time taken to complete the beat.

FieldPro - Sales Beat Planning Software

Schedule a Demo

Increase in Sales Serviceability Ratio with Beat Planning Software

12 %

Increase in Sales Serviceability Ratio

Reduction in Beat length time with Beat Planning Software

20 %

Reduction in Beat length time

Reduction in total number of beats with Beat Planning Software

11 %

Reduction in total number of beats

BLOG

The Curious Case of FMCG Sales Beats

An efficient distribution system, which reduces order to delivery & replenishment time becomes the key arrow in the arsenal of an FMCG company. The key element to this is "Sales Beat Planning".

Report

Locus FMCG Sales Beat Insight Report

An in-depth analysis of the Sales Beat, its importance and the constraints attached to it in the FMCG industry.

DOWNLOAD NOW

CASE STUDY

How India's leading FMCG player increased sales serviceability by 12% using Locus

A leading FMCG conglomerate for consumer products in over twenty categories such as soaps, tea, detergents, and shampoos amongst others with millions of customers consuming their product used Locus.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Key Features

Automated beat plan

Sales beat optimization for mobile workforce leading to increased profitability, resource efficiency, and time savings.

Historical data consideration

Field Force Automation by taking historical salesman data into account, such as experience, total revenue generated, the assortment of goods sold, and familiarity with the stores.

Non-overlapping clusters

The non-overlapping clusters created for each 'defined group' ensures zero mirror beats in the output.

Outlet classification

Locus' permanent journey planner takes into account business rules such as type, category and classification of outlets based on revenue, SKU stream sold and historical performance.

Salesman scores

Field Force Tracking to provide individual-level salesman scores and monitoring performances based on historical data.

Geocoding engine

Simplifies and converts ambiguous addresses into exact geographic coordinates through "EVA" (Engine for Validation of Addresses).

Beats accounting for real-life constraints

FieldPro mimics and improvises factors like fatigue, time of day, seasonality, revenue targets etc.

Automated retail fulfilment

Traffic prediction, road constraints, and factors like outlet timing for unloading are considered for optimal daily dynamic route planning for retail fulfilment.

Our Clients