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Article · CRMs
A CRM for distributors: dealers, orders, credit and dispatch.
A distributor's customers are dealers, and dealers order again and again on terms you have agreed with each of them. A CRM built for one-off sales misses most of that. Here is what one built for distribution needs to hold.
Why distribution is different
Most CRM products are designed around a pipeline: a new lead, a quotation, a win. A distributor's day looks different. Most orders come from dealers you already have. The work is in taking orders accurately, charging the right price, keeping an eye on how much each dealer owes, and getting goods out of the godown on time. New dealers matter too, but they are a small part of the daily load.
So a CRM for a distributor is closer to an order and account system with a sales side attached. It is worth being clear about that before you choose or build one.
Dealers as accounts
Each dealer is an account with its own rules. At the least, the record should hold:
- Contact people, GST details, delivery addresses and the area or route they sit on.
- The salesperson responsible for them.
- Which price list and which schemes apply to them.
- Their credit limit, credit days and current outstanding.
- Their order history, so anyone can see what they usually buy and when they last ordered.
The last point is quietly useful. A dealer who used to order every fortnight and has not ordered in six weeks is a phone call worth making today.
Orders from every channel
Dealers order however suits them: a salesperson's visit, a phone call, a WhatsApp message with a photo of a handwritten list, or a portal if you offer one. The system should accept all of these and turn them into the same kind of order, with the same checks. Whoever enters it picks the dealer and the items, and the right prices, schemes and tax are applied without anyone typing them.
Before the order is confirmed, it should be checked against stock and against the dealer's credit. Orders that fail either check go to the person who can decide, with the reason shown.
Price lists and schemes
Many distributors keep several price lists: by dealer category, by region, or by volume. Then there are schemes, which run for a period and apply to certain items or dealers. When these live in Excel files and in salespeople's heads, wrong prices go out and get argued about later.
In the system, each price list and scheme has its own dates and its own list of dealers. When the price changes on the first of the month, it changes for everyone at once, and old orders keep the price they were placed at.
Credit and outstanding
Credit is where money can slip away quietly. The system should show, on the dealer's screen and on every order, the credit limit, the amount outstanding and how overdue it is. You decide the rule: warn the salesperson, hold the order for approval, or block it.
The outstanding figure has to be the real one, which usually means it comes from your accounts. If invoices and receipts are kept in Tally, the CRM should read balances from there instead of keeping a second, different number. Our article on linking a CRM to Tally covers how that is done.
Dispatch
Once an order is confirmed, the godown needs a clear list of what to pack and send. The system tracks what has been dispatched, what is pending, and part dispatches when not everything is in stock. Each dispatch can carry the invoice, vehicle and transporter details, so when a dealer calls to ask where their goods are, anyone in the office can answer.
A short WhatsApp message to the dealer when the goods leave saves a lot of those calls in the first place.
A dealer portal
A dealer portal is a login for your dealers. Through it, a dealer can see their own price list and schemes, place an order, see the status of past orders, check their outstanding and download invoices. It takes repetitive calls off your office and gives dealers answers outside office hours.
Be realistic about adoption. Some dealers will use a portal from the first week. Others will keep sending WhatsApp messages for years. The system should accept both, so the portal is an option for dealers and never a condition.
Salespeople in the field
Salespeople need a phone screen that shows their dealers, their route for the day, each dealer's outstanding and recent orders, and a quick way to book an order or note a visit. Keep it short. A salesperson standing at a counter will not fill in ten fields.
Get the lists right first
Whatever you choose, most of the early work is cleaning up the lists: one dealer list without duplicates, one item list with consistent names and units, and the current price lists. If the item names in your CRM and in Tally match, almost everything after that becomes easier.
Karyo Studio builds distributor CRMs and dealer portals around how your dealers already order. If you would like one scoped, you will have a written proposal with a fixed scope, a fixed price and a delivery date within three working days of the first conversation.
Questions
Asked about this.
Will our dealers actually use a portal?
Some will, some will not. Build the system so orders from a portal, a salesperson, a phone call and WhatsApp all end up as the same kind of order. Then the portal helps the dealers who want it without forcing anyone.
Can different dealers see different prices?
Yes. Each dealer is linked to a price list and to the schemes that apply to them, and they see only their own prices on the portal.
Can it show the outstanding from Tally?
Yes. Outstanding balances can be read from Tally so the CRM shows the same figure your accountant sees, instead of keeping a separate one.
Does it work on salespeople's phones?
It should. A distributor CRM needs a phone screen for booking orders and noting visits, kept short enough to use at a dealer's counter.
Your build
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A written proposal with a fixed scope, a fixed price and a delivery date, within three working days of the first conversation.