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Today's distribution business is not only about keeping products in a warehouse.
The complete journey is:
WAREHOUSE → DISTRIBUTOR → SALESMAN → ROUTE → RETAILER → ORDER → DELIVERY → SHELF → CUSTOMER
When field sales, distributor operations and retailer execution are handled in disconnected systems, management can struggle to see the complete picture.
Current route-to-market platforms increasingly connect distributor management, field sales and retail execution into a single workflow.
This guide covers:
Route-to-Market (RTM) Software manages the journey of products from the company's supply network through distributors and field sales teams to retail outlets.
A simplified RTM workflow is:
COMPANY
↓
WAREHOUSE
↓
DISTRIBUTOR
↓
SALESMAN
↓
ROUTE
↓
RETAILER
↓
ORDER
↓
DELIVERY
↓
SHELF
↓
CUSTOMER
RTM software attempts to connect these activities so sales, stock, orders and field activity can be viewed together.
Sales Force Automation (SFA) software helps businesses organize and automate sales-team activities.
It can include:
The objective is to move sales operations from:
PAPER + EXCEL + WHATSAPP
to:
MOBILE APP + CENTRALIZED ERP/DMS + DASHBOARD
| System | Main Focus |
|---|---|
| ERP | Complete business operations |
| DMS | Distributor/channel operations |
| SFA | Field sales and salesperson activities |
| RTM | End-to-end route-to-market execution |
| CRM | Customer and relationship management |
For larger distribution operations, these systems may be integrated rather than operated separately.
Modern distribution ERP platforms increasingly combine sales, inventory, route planning, deliveries, returns, trade programs and finance.
For:
For organizations with:
For:
Focused on:
DISTRIBUTOR → RETAILER
sales visibility.
A unified system can connect:
DISTRIBUTION + FIELD SALES + RETAIL EXECUTION + INVENTORY + BILLING + COLLECTIONS
Company creates product catalog.
↓
Products are received into warehouse.
↓
Stock is supplied to distributor.
↓
Distributor network is organized by territory.
↓
Salesperson receives route assignment.
↓
Salesperson receives daily outlet list.
↓
Salesperson visits retailer.
↓
Retailer order is captured.
↓
Applicable price is displayed.
↓
Eligible scheme is applied.
↓
Customer credit status is checked.
↓
Invoice is generated.
↓
Order is picked and dispatched.
↓
Retailer receives products.
↓
Payment is recorded.
↓
Management reviews performance.
A sales organization can divide its market into:
STATE
↓
REGION
↓
CITY
↓
TERRITORY
↓
ROUTE
↓
BEAT
↓
RETAILER
This allows sales managers to assign responsibility clearly.
A beat is a planned group of outlets that a salesperson visits according to a schedule.
MONDAY
BEAT A
50 retailers
↓
TUESDAY
BEAT B
45 retailers
↓
WEDNESDAY
BEAT C
55 retailers
A field-sales application can record:
Beat planning is a common component of modern distribution and field-sales systems.
For businesses that need location-based field monitoring, a sales application may record:
GPS features should be implemented with appropriate privacy, access and employee policies.
Instead of writing an order on paper and entering it later, a salesperson can create the order directly from a mobile device.
LOGIN
↓
CUSTOMER
↓
PRODUCT
↓
STOCK
↓
PRICE
↓
SCHEME
↓
QUANTITY
↓
ORDER
↓
INVOICE
↓
DELIVERY
Mobile order capture is a major component of modern field-sales and DMS workflows.
Retailers can potentially place orders through:
A retailer ordering portal can display:
Some B2B DMS platforms also provide dealer/retailer portals for self-service ordering.
Secondary sales generally refer to movement from the distributor to the next channel level, such as:
DISTRIBUTOR → RETAILER
RTM/SFA systems can help capture:
Secondary-sales visibility depends on accurate field and channel data capture; simply having a DMS does not guarantee complete outlet-level visibility.
Primary sales commonly represent:
COMPANY → DISTRIBUTOR
The system can record:
Management can compare:
| Metric | Primary Sales | Secondary Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | Company → Distributor | Distributor → Retailer |
| Main Purpose | Stock movement into channel | Market movement |
| Data Source | Company sales | Distributor/field sales |
| Example | 10,000 units | 7,500 units |
| Analysis | Distributor demand | Retail demand |
Van sales workflow:
WAREHOUSE
↓
VAN LOADING
↓
OPENING VAN STOCK
↓
ROUTE
↓
RETAILER
↓
SALES
↓
BILLING
↓
COLLECTION
↓
RETURN
↓
CLOSING VAN STOCK
A suitable system can help reconcile stock loaded into the vehicle against sales, returns and closing stock.
Some current Indian SFA/DMS systems explicitly combine van sales, dispatch, field order capture and collections.
Different customers may have different commercial terms.
MRP
₹500
DISTRIBUTOR PRICE
₹420
DEALER PRICE
₹435
RETAILER PRICE
₹450
Actual pricing depends on business rules.
A sales application should show the correct authorized price for the customer or channel.
Trade schemes can include:
A centralized scheme engine can help salespeople see applicable offers while taking orders.
Modern distribution ERP platforms advertise configurable trade schemes and incentives.
Field sales teams need to know whether a customer can place another order.
The system may show:
CREDIT LIMIT
₹5,00,000
OUTSTANDING
₹3,50,000
AVAILABLE
₹1,50,000
A credit workflow can help sales teams avoid accepting orders without knowing the customer's current exposure.
A salesperson may collect payment during the retailer visit.
CUSTOMER
↓
OUTSTANDING
↓
INVOICE
↓
PAYMENT
↓
RECEIPT
↓
LEDGER
The system can track:
Sales order can flow into:
ORDER → BILL → STOCK REDUCTION → ACCOUNTING
Billing workflows may include:
Indian distribution ERP platforms may also provide GST and e-invoicing functionality, but exact compliance capabilities should be verified for the specific implementation.
One common field-sales problem is:
SALESMAN DOES NOT KNOW WHETHER PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE.
An integrated system can provide access to authorized stock information.
“What stock is available?”
↓
Product A — 500 units
Product B — 200 units
Product C — 50 units
↓
Books appropriate order.
This connects sales demand with warehouse availability.
Suppose a company has:
The system can provide location-level stock visibility.
Modern distribution ERP systems commonly support multi-location inventory and stock movement.
A retailer may return:
RETAILER
↓
RETURN REQUEST
↓
VERIFICATION
↓
PICKUP
↓
WAREHOUSE
↓
STOCK UPDATE
↓
CREDIT / ADJUSTMENT
For FMCG, pharma, food and cosmetics businesses, batch and expiry can be important.
System can maintain:
Expiry-sensitive businesses may configure FEFO-style inventory handling where appropriate.
A sales manager can monitor:
Sales targets can be defined by:
Monthly Target:
₹25,00,000
Actual Sales:
₹21,50,000
Achievement:
86%
The exact KPI calculation depends on how the company defines its target period and sales value.
AI can support areas such as:
CUSTOMER A
Previous monthly order:
₹1,00,000
Current order:
₹55,000
↓
AI ANALYSIS
Order value has declined.
↓
MANAGER REVIEW
Check customer activity, stock, competition, pricing or other business factors.
AI should support decision-making rather than replace the manager's business judgment.
A sales dashboard can segment customers into:
Regularly ordering.
Increasing order value.
Order value falling.
No recent order.
Recently added.
This helps sales managers prioritize follow-up.
RTM software can go beyond taking orders.
Depending on the system, field teams may record:
This gives management additional information about what is happening at the retail outlet.
Current RTM guidance specifically describes retail execution as a component connecting distributor, field-sales and outlet-level activity.
Where supported and appropriate, salespeople may capture:
These images can help managers review field execution.
Businesses should establish appropriate privacy and data-retention rules before deploying such functionality.
A route-management system can organize customer visits based on:
Some current field-sales platforms advertise GPS-based route planning and route optimization.
A field-sales application can potentially record:
LOGIN → LOCATION → CUSTOMER VISIT → ORDER → LOGOUT
This can help management compare planned and actual field activity.
GPS tracking should be used transparently and in accordance with applicable workplace and privacy requirements.
| Activity | Manual Method | SFA |
|---|---|---|
| Customer List | Excel | Centralized |
| Route | Paper | Digital |
| Visit | Manual | Recorded |
| Order | Paper/WhatsApp | Mobile |
| Price | PDF/Message | System |
| Scheme | Manual | Configured |
| Stock | Phone call | System |
| Collection | Register | Digital |
| Reporting | Manual | Dashboard |
| Target | Excel | Dashboard |
Salespeople can capture orders digitally.
Customer information stays organized.
Routes can be planned systematically.
Outlet coverage becomes easier to monitor.
Managers can monitor sales activity.
Distributor-to-retailer sales can be captured where integrated.
Orders can move directly into fulfillment.
Sales teams can check available inventory.
Authorized pricing can be shown.
Applicable schemes can be configured.
Payments can be recorded.
Customer exposure can be monitored.
Sales targets can be compared with actual sales.
Managers can see planned and completed activities.
Outlet information remains centralized.
Data can be converted into dashboards.
Digital workflows reduce manual forms.
Territories can be organized across cities.
Sales, warehouse and accounts can work from connected data.
The workflow can expand as the distribution network grows.
SALESPERSON LOGIN
↓
TODAY'S BEAT
↓
CUSTOMER LIST
↓
CUSTOMER VISIT
↓
PREVIOUS SALES
↓
OUTSTANDING
↓
STOCK
↓
PRICE
↓
SCHEME
↓
ORDER
↓
BILL
↓
DELIVERY
↓
COLLECTION
↓
NEXT VISIT
↓
MANAGER DASHBOARD
DISTRIBUTOR STOCK
↓
SALESMAN
↓
ROUTE
↓
BEAT
↓
RETAILER
↓
ORDER
↓
STOCK CHECK
↓
PRICE
↓
SCHEME
↓
CREDIT
↓
INVOICE
↓
DISPATCH
↓
DELIVERY
↓
COLLECTION
↓
SECONDARY SALES REPORT
MANUFACTURER
↓
CENTRAL WAREHOUSE
↓
DISTRIBUTOR
↓
DISTRIBUTOR STOCK
↓
SALESMAN
↓
RETAILER ORDER
↓
SECONDARY SALES
↓
DELIVERY
↓
RETAIL OUTLET
↓
CUSTOMER
RTM software aims to provide visibility across this journey rather than treating each step as a separate system.
Management can monitor:
Before purchasing RTM/SFA software, ask:
☐ Mobile order booking
☐ Customer visits
☐ Beat planning
☐ Route planning
☐ GPS functionality
☐ Sales targets
☐ Distributor management
☐ Dealer management
☐ Retailer management
☐ Primary sales
☐ Secondary sales
☐ Stock visibility
☐ Pricing
☐ Schemes
☐ Discounts
☐ Credit
☐ Collections
☐ Inventory
☐ Warehouse
☐ Dispatch
☐ Delivery
☐ Returns
☐ Mobile app
☐ Cloud
☐ API
☐ ERP integration
☐ Accounting integration
☐ AI/OCR
☐ Sales dashboard
☐ Territory report
☐ Route report
☐ Beat report
☐ Collection report
☐ Inventory report
Can the salesperson create an order from mobile?
Can the salesperson see customer history?
Can the system display customer-specific pricing?
Can schemes be configured?
Can credit status be checked?
Can routes and beats be planned?
Can primary and secondary sales be reported?
Can inventory be viewed by warehouse?
Can collections be recorded?
Can management see field activity in dashboards?
The following is a hypothetical example, not a real customer case study.
Suppose an FMCG company has:
The company currently uses:
EXCEL + WHATSAPP + BILLING SOFTWARE + MANUAL REPORTS
The sales manager cannot easily see:
An integrated RTM/SFA system can connect:
SALESPERSON → ROUTE → RETAILER → ORDER → STOCK → BILL → DELIVERY → COLLECTION
and provide management dashboards from the captured operational data.
ROUTE TO MARKET FLOW
Manufacturer → Warehouse → Distributor → Salesperson → Retailer → Customer
SFA MOBILE APP
Customer → Product → Price → Scheme → Order
BEAT PLAN DASHBOARD
Monday → Beat 1 → 50 outlets
Tuesday → Beat 2 → 45 outlets
GPS SALES TRACKING
Salesperson → Route → Customer → Visit
PRIMARY VS SECONDARY SALES
Company → Distributor
Distributor → Retailer
VAN SALES
Warehouse → Van → Retailer → Billing → Collection
RTM DASHBOARD
Sales + Visits + Orders + Collection + Stock
DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
Distributor → Dealer → Retailer
BANGALORE | MYSORE | MANGALORE | HUBLI | BELGAUM | DAVANGERE | TUMKUR | SHIVAMOGGA | KALABURAGI | BALLARI | UDUPI
CHENNAI | COIMBATORE | MADURAI | SALEM | TIRUPUR | ERODE | TRICHY | HOSUR | THANJAVUR | VELLORE | TUTICORIN | DINDIGUL | TIRUNELVELI | KARUR | NAMAKKAL | PUDUKKOTTAI | CUDDALORE | KANCHIPURAM | TIRUVALLUR
HYDERABAD | WARANGAL
VIJAYAWADA | VISAKHAPATNAM | TIRUPATI | NELLORE | GUNTUR | KAKINADA | RAJAHMUNDRY
KOCHI | KOZHIKODE | THRISSUR | KOLLAM | KANNUR | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM | PALAKKAD | KOTTAYAM | MALAPPURAM
PONDICHERRY
RTM stands for Route to Market. It connects distribution, field sales and retail execution workflows.
SFA means Sales Force Automation software. It automates and organizes sales-team activities.
DMS primarily manages distribution-channel operations, while SFA focuses more heavily on field sales activities.
Yes, when distributor-management functionality is included.
Yes.
Suitable SFA systems support mobile order capture.
Yes.
Yes.
Suitable field-sales systems can record visits.
Some systems provide GPS-based field tracking.
Yes, where secondary sales data is captured through the distributor/field workflow.
Primary sales generally refer to company-to-distributor sales.
Secondary sales generally refer to distributor-to-retailer/channel sales.
Suitable systems can manage configured schemes.
Yes.
Yes, where credit-management functionality is integrated.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Suitable DMS/SFA platforms can support van-sales workflows.
Many platforms provide ERP/API integrations.
Depending on the platform, inventory can be integrated with DMS/ERP.
Yes, when supported by the underlying ERP/DMS.
Yes, with suitable pharma-specific batch, expiry and distribution functionality.
Yes. FMCG is a major use case.
Yes, particularly for route and outlet-based sales.
Yes.
Yes.
Some platforms provide AI-based analysis, automation or recommendations.
Digify ERP can be positioned around connected sales, inventory, customer, warehouse, billing, distribution and reporting workflows, with exact functionality depending on configuration and implementation.
DIGIFY SOFT SOLUTIONS can be positioned for businesses that want to connect:
SALES + INVENTORY + WAREHOUSE + CUSTOMERS + DISTRIBUTION + BILLING + COLLECTIONS + REPORTING
A distribution workflow can be structured as:
PURCHASE
↓
WAREHOUSE
↓
DISTRIBUTOR
↓
SALESPERSON
↓
ROUTE
↓
RETAILER
↓
ORDER
↓
BILLING
↓
DELIVERY
↓
COLLECTION
↓
REPORTING
Depending on configuration, distribution businesses can evaluate functionality such as:
✅ Purchase Management
✅ Supplier Management
✅ Inventory Management
✅ Warehouse Management
✅ Sales Orders
✅ Customer Management
✅ Dealer Management
✅ Retailer Management
✅ GST Billing
✅ Barcode
✅ Batch & Expiry
✅ Stock Transfers
✅ Sales Returns
✅ Purchase Returns
✅ Dispatch
✅ Delivery
✅ Collection
✅ Outstanding
✅ Credit Management
✅ Salesperson Management
✅ Route & Beat Management
✅ Multi-Branch Operations
✅ Dashboards
✅ Reports
✅ AI/OCR-related automation where configured
SFA can be useful for:
FMCG COMPANIES
FMCG DISTRIBUTORS
PHARMA DISTRIBUTORS
FOOD DISTRIBUTORS
BEVERAGE COMPANIES
COSMETICS BRANDS
TEXTILE DISTRIBUTORS
ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTORS
ELECTRONICS DISTRIBUTORS
HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS
AUTO PARTS DISTRIBUTORS
BUILDING MATERIAL DISTRIBUTORS
WHOLESALE BUSINESSES
DEALER NETWORKS
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION BUSINESSES
Before selecting software, test the complete workflow:
☐ Login
☐ Customer search
☐ Customer history
☐ Stock check
☐ Price check
☐ Scheme check
☐ Credit check
☐ Order booking
☐ Invoice
☐ Collection
☐ Visit tracking
☐ Route planning
☐ Beat planning
☐ Target dashboard
☐ Sales report
☐ Secondary-sales report
Do not evaluate an SFA platform only by counting features. Test whether the salesperson can actually complete a real retailer visit and order workflow quickly and accurately. Current industry guidance similarly emphasizes adoption by field representatives and quality of field data as critical evaluation factors.
RTM SOFTWARE | SALES FORCE AUTOMATION | DMS | DISTRIBUTION ERP | WHOLESALE ERP | INVENTORY ERP
📞 +91 7425016636
CONNECT NOW | FREE DEMO | DIGITIZE SALES & DISTRIBUTION
A modern RTM + SFA + DMS + ERP workflow can connect:
WAREHOUSE
↓
DISTRIBUTOR
↓
SALESMAN
↓
ROUTE
↓
BEAT
↓
RETAILER
↓
ORDER
↓
BILL
↓
DELIVERY
↓
COLLECTION
↓
SECONDARY SALES
↓
MANAGEMENT DASHBOARD
For businesses operating across multiple cities, products, distributors, dealers and retailers, the important objective is to create a connected flow of stock + sales + field activity + orders + collections + reporting.
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