Point of Sale compliance with brand strategy - The Importance of Fulfilment and Distribution in the Supply Chain

The importance of Fulfilment and Distribution in the supply chain is essential in helping to ensure Point of Sale and Marketing Collateral is effectively used at the point of purchase in order to achieve compliance. Quite simply put, if it does not arrive at its pre-determined destination whether that is a wholesaler, retailer, a merchandiser, a field sales representative or a national distribution centre it means that compliance will be zero, money will be wasted and ultimately sales are lost.

Thank goodness, long gone are the days of treating POS as a commodity with no commercial value when there were no measurements in place to track critical data from its whereabouts and value - to effectiveness and efficiency. Any credible company in this essential service sector will provide the client with a raft of bespoke Key Performance Indicators(KPI's) to provide detailed understanding allowing essential decisions to be made to help promote a brand - all accessible on-line in real time.

The primary objective of Fulfilment and Distribution is to get Point of Sale to its specific destination, on time, in perfect condition and with all contents picked and packed to 100% accuracy.

Helping to achieve this objective is the key role that Information Technology plays including Web integration (On-line stock and ordering database management (customer profiling, stock and order control) which enables the Fulfilment and Distribution of Point of Sale to be managed in a controlled and logical sequence to ensure specific results. Thereafter, using IT to provide on-line real time information to remote users anywhere in the world with internet access allows greater understanding and can be used as part of the overall brand marketing strategy.

If we look at the logical task loop that encompasses Fulfilment and Distribution of Point of Sale we get; Brand Marketing Campaign - Client Instruction/Brief - Account Management/Order Processing - Fulfilment (collation, pick, pack) - Distribution - Customer help/hotline - Management Information - Analysis/Measurement - Key Performance Indicators and back to the beginning of the task loop.

fulfilment flow

To gain an understanding of how Fulfilment and Distribution helps compliance we need to briefly look at each task in turn:

Campaign and Client brief - this needs to be clearly presented and understood by the service provider with specific measurable objectives to include timings and co-ordination deadlines and must be provided with sufficient lead-time in relation to the size of the campaign.

Account Management/Order Processing - There needs to be a realistic lead-time to schedule, process and administer the brief, which may include 1000's of orders to generate and potentially millions of stock items to manage. Careful scheduling, planning and potential problems need identifying and solving before the collation, pick, packing and distribution takes place.

Fulfilment - in this case means stock management, collation, pick pack and preparation for despatch. Essential to this process are effective quality control systems that check and double check accuracy of collation to minimise picking errors. Point of Sale comes in every shape and size and therefore be-spoke packaging should be used where appropriate to ensure the contents remain in perfect condition during transit. Unique and brightly coloured packaging such as fluorescent tape and branded packaging helps enormously in identifying POS consignments once delivered.

Distribution - accountability is all-important and the ability to provide detailed tracking analysis is absolutely crucial. The benefit of this ensures that problems that may occur in non-delivery can be identified at a very early stage of the process by analysing the appropriate delivery reports and where necessary rectifying the problem(s) the in-store deadline. This should mean a distribution performance of 100% on launch day. However due to lead times being shortened and the fact that distribution is almost the last part of the supply chain problems do occur. Therefore a Customer help/hot line is essential for those relying on POS deliveries, with a contingency plan in place to ensure problems are solved and deadlines are achieved.

KPI's and Management Information - is driven by clients individual needs and their overall objectives. It is derived from tailor made databases including stock, order and distribution profiles that are developed, maintained and merged to provide the ultimate resource for the effective management of Fulfilment and Distribution. The reporting capability should provide virtually any information on tracking, stock and costs by region, sector, customer or a combination of these. Customer profiles should be developed with an in-exhaustive list of different fields to provide detailed information, allowing targeting and measuring of the POS despatched. All this should be available on-line and in real time accessible from anywhere in the world with internet availability.

Analysis/Measurement - by analysing the KPI's and Management Information, the effectiveness of the Fulfilment and Distribution of the campaign can be monitored, and more informed decisions for future campaigns can be made in conjunction with the overall brand strategy.

In conclusion, the Fulfilment and Distribution of POS is a complex logistics exercise and has to be executed using proven systems that ensure POS reaches the end user according to exact instruction to dovetail with the overall brand strategy. If this is achieved then this process has clearly helped compliance by allowing the next process to take place in the supply chain, which is Installation, Merchandising or both.

Fulfilment and Distribution of POS - 8 drivers to quality

  1. Provide clear instruction with specific measurable objectives
  2. Use proven data base management systems and utilise on-line web based technology to manage all the processes involved with complete visibilty
  3. Give realistic lead times for Order Processing and Administration to ensure quality procedures are adhered to
  4. Give realistic lead times for Stock Management, Fulfilment and Distribution to ensure quality procedures are adhered to
  5. Ensure suitable packaging is used that protects and clearly identifies POS for the end user
  6. Identify non delivery issues early and rectify before the POS and Consumer Purchase opportunity is missed
  7. Set up a Customer help/hotline line that deals with and solves problems for the end user
  8. Use KPI's and management information to monitor, measure and improve Fulfilment and Distribution as part of your overall brand strategy