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Customer project

From Customer Visit to Correct
Order in Real Time

The Sales App digitalises the field sales process from customer visit to order. Product search, sales channel logic, real-time pricing, CRM job cards and visit documentation work together in a single mobile application – delivering correct orders, less follow-up effort and better data quality in field sales.

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Business Activity

The company is an established Swiss manufacturer of branded products in the food and sports nutrition sector. The product range encompasses well-known consumer goods brands, functional products for sport and nutrition, and items sold through retail and direct B2B channels. Products are marketed via different sales channels: through retail and wholesale trade on one hand, and directly to professional customers such as canteens, large kitchens, gyms, care homes and other commercial buyers on the other. The field sales team plays a central role, as customer visits, product range consultations, order capture, promotions and sample distribution are closely intertwined.

"With the field sales app we were able to significantly professionalise our order process during customer visits. Particularly valuable for us is that our staff can find products quickly, see prices and totals immediately, and that the correct delivery logic per customer and item is handled directly in the app. At the same time, appointments, job cards and visit reports are cleanly connected to the CRM system. This makes the field sales team and back office work more efficiently and with significantly better data quality."

Head of Sales & Field Sales Operations

The Project in Detail

Application

A digital Sales App was implemented for the consumer goods manufacturer, combining appointment management, visit documentation, order capture and CRM tasks in a single mobile process. The solution serves around 30 field sales staff who together carry out approximately 1,000 customer visits per week.

The aim was to stop treating order capture in the field as an isolated, manually post-processed step and instead to map it directly during the customer visit – structured, channel-correct and with up-to-date product and pricing information. The specific requirements of the Swiss sales model also had to be taken into account: depending on the product, customer and stored delivery route, orders can be processed either directly or via assigned wholesalers.

The Sales App is built on a rapidly configurable platform solution and is connected to the CRM. New products, accounts, product groups and customer-specific assignments are synchronised automatically. Field sales staff can therefore work on-site with current data, without orders, visit information or tasks later having to be manually consolidated from different sources.

At its core is a powerful order capture function covering more than 3,000 products, product images, brand and product group filters, real-time pricing, an EAN scanner, free-item logic, boot/trunk stock and automated delivery route logic. In addition, appointments, job cards and visit reports are handled directly in the app and connected to the CRM process.

The solution is used primarily on iOS devices in a mobile setting, but is also available in the browser. Different user groups see the product ranges relevant to them – for example, dedicated views for specific sales areas. The application supports German and French, making it suited to day-to-day use across the Swiss market.

Starting point

Before the app was introduced, order capture in the field was associated with high complexity. During every customer visit, field sales staff had not only to select products but also to verify through which sales channel individual items could be delivered. Some products can only be ordered directly, others exclusively through wholesalers, and others still depend on customer- or product range-specific rules.

The assignment of wholesalers was particularly demanding. Each customer has specific wholesalers assigned to them. During a visit it therefore had to be clear which wholesalers were relevant for a given account and which products could be ordered through which channel. Without digital support, clarification effort accumulates quickly: Is the item available for this customer? Can it be delivered directly? Does it have to go through a specific wholesaler? What is the total per shipping route?

Additionally, the field sales team works with a broad product range. More than 3,000 products, 18 brands, various product groups, images, prices, sample items and promotions all need to be found quickly during a customer conversation. A conventional list-based, paper-based or manual CRM approach would be too slow, too error-prone and insufficiently consultative for customer visits of this nature.

Integration with the CRM was also decisive. Appointments, accounts, product data, product groups and tasks from the CRM were not supposed to run separately from order capture. Field sales staff need an up-to-date view of upcoming appointments, open job cards, customer information and visit documentation when they are on-site. At the same time, outcomes from the visit need to feed back cleanly into the central process.

A bespoke development that was originally discussed would have run into six figures and was therefore not economically viable. The challenge was therefore to implement a highly specific field sales process quickly, reliably and cost-efficiently, without simplifying the sales-specific special logic or pushing it into manual post-processing.

Solution

A field sales app based on a flexible platform solution was implemented for the consumer goods manufacturer. The application maps the entire customer visit – from appointment scheduling through ordering to task completion and visit documentation – in a seamless workflow.

The solution comprises the following key components:

Appointment Management with CRM Synchronisation

Field sales staff can create and edit appointments directly in the app. Synchronisation with the CRM takes place within a defined window of plus/minus two days. This makes relevant visit appointments available on mobile without overloading the app with unnecessarily large data volumes.

Customer-Specific Sales Channel Logic

The assigned wholesalers are loaded for each account. During order capture, the app identifies which delivery routes are available for the respective customer and item. Field sales staff can select the appropriate shipping route while the application enforces the permitted logic in the background.

Item-Level Order Capture

Orders can be captured directly during the customer visit. The app distinguishes between standard orders, free items and boot/trunk stock. This ensures that sales items, complimentary additions, samples and carried stock are not mixed together but are documented separately for downstream processes.

Product Search for Large Product Ranges

More than 3,000 products are displayed with images, brand filters and product groups. Users can filter by 18 brands, product groups and additional criteria. This transforms an extensive item list into a consultative product catalogue that remains easy to navigate even during a customer conversation.

Real-Time Pricing and Total Calculation

During order capture, the app calculates prices and overall totals in real time. Direct delivery and delivery via wholesalers are shown separately. Field sales staff can therefore immediately see the financial impact of an order and how the total breaks down by delivery route.

EAN Scanner for Fast Item Capture

The integrated scanner allows items to be captured directly via EAN code. This speeds up the capture of familiar products, reduces input errors and is particularly useful in situations where items, samples or boot/trunk stock need to be recorded quickly.

CRM Job Cards in the Visit Process

Tasks from the CRM – such as promotions, customer notes or sales to-dos – are displayed in the app and worked through during the visit. Completion can be confirmed directly. This means CRM tasks are not managed separately from customer contact but become an integral part of the visit workflow.

Digital Visit Report

In addition to orders and job cards, general information about the customer visit can be documented. Conversation outcomes, notes and observations are captured in a structured way and made available for further processing.

Automatic Data Updates

New products, accounts, updated product groups and relevant master data are synchronised automatically. Field sales staff therefore work with current information without having to manually download, maintain or reconcile product lists.

User Groups and Product Range Views

Different user groups receive different product views. For example, specialist sales areas can be configured to see only the product groups relevant to them. This keeps the app focused and prevents unnecessary complexity in day-to-day use.

Multilingual Use and Flexible Device Support

The solution supports German and French. It is used primarily on iOS devices but is also available in the browser. Field sales staff can therefore work on mobile, while supplementary usage scenarios in the office or on other devices remain possible.

The result is an end-to-end field sales process that brings together appointment, customer, product, sales channel, order, task and visit report in a single application. The app does not replace an individual list – it maps the operational logic of the sales organisation digitally.

Benefits

With the Sales App, the consumer goods manufacturer has been able to significantly simplify a complex ordering and visit process. Field sales staff have a current, mobile and sales-logically correct working interface during customer conversations. Orders are not reconstructed after the fact – they are captured directly during the visit on the basis of current customer data, product data and delivery route rules.

Particularly valuable is the combination of product search, channel-correct order logic and CRM integration. Field sales staff need to retain less information, resolve fewer queries and can focus more strongly on consultation, product range development and customer relationships.

The concrete benefits for the company:

  • Structured digital order capture directly during the customer visit
  • Clear separation of standard orders, free items and boot/trunk stock
  • Automatic consideration of customer-specific wholesalers and delivery routes
  • Fewer incorrect orders through item- and customer-specific sales channel logic
  • Fast access to more than 3,000 products including images
  • Easier product search via brand and product group filters
  • Faster item capture through the EAN scanner
  • Real-time pricing including separate totals by delivery route
  • Better consultation during customer conversations through an up-to-date digital product catalogue
  • Direct processing of CRM job cards during the visit
  • Structured documentation of visit information
  • Current master data through automatic synchronisation of products, accounts and product groups
  • Better data quality in Salesforce through integrated processes
  • Reduced dependency on manual lists, post-hoc capture or clarifications with the back office
  • Role- and sales-group-specific product views
  • Multilingual use for the Swiss market
  • Mobile use on iOS as well as flexible supplementary access via the browser

For field sales, day-to-day work improves noticeably: appointments, products, orders, tasks and visit reports all exist within a consistent workflow. For back office, sales management and the wider organisation, a better data foundation is created at the same time, because visit outcomes and orders are available in a more structured and timely manner.

Business Impact

The field sales app delivers operational and economic improvements across the entire customer visit:

0-0%Less manual effort in order capture and post-processing
0-0%Less clarification effort regarding delivery routes, wholesalers and customer-specific order rules
0-0%Less error potential in item, shipping route and total assignment
0-0%Faster product search across large product ranges through brand, group and search filters
Further benefits
Significantly faster item capture for familiar products through the EAN scanner
Higher data quality through automatic synchronisation of accounts, products and product groups
Fewer system breaks between field sales, CRM, order process and visit documentation
Better analysis of customer visits, promotions and orders
Higher process reliability across approximately 1,000 customer visits per week
Better scalability for growing product ranges, additional brands and different sales groups

The economic effect arises primarily from the combination of saved rework and higher process quality. With a field sales team of around 30 staff and approximately 1,000 visits per week, every minute saved during a visit or in post-processing has a direct impact on available selling time.

At the same time, the automated sales channel logic reduces errors and queries. Orders are captured with the correct channel assignment from the outset, totals are immediately visible and downstream processing can be built on structured data. This relieves pressure on field sales, back office and CRM processes alike.

A further ROI lever lies in the speed of implementation via the platform solution. Instead of an extensive bespoke development running into six figures, a specific, critical field sales process could be realised more economically. The solution demonstrates that even complex sales logic can be digitalised quickly when master data, app interface and process rules are brought together cleanly.

Strategic Value

With the Sales App, the consumer goods manufacturer creates a scalable foundation for digital field sales. The customer visit is no longer treated as an individual appointment with post-hoc data entry but as a central data and process point connecting customer, product range, order, promotion and CRM.

The particular strategic value lies in the digitalisation of a complexity that is typical for the industry. Consumer goods manufacturers with broad product ranges, multiple brands, different customer groups and multi-tier sales channels frequently face similar challenges: products need to be found quickly, delivery routes must be mapped correctly, field sales visits need to be documented and promotions reliably executed.

The app brings these requirements together in a reusable pattern:

  • From CRM appointment to prepared customer visit
  • From a broad product range to fast, visual item selection
  • From complex sales channels to automated order logic
  • From manual task lists to digital job cards
  • From visit report to actionable CRM documentation
  • From post-hoc clarification to channel-correct order in real time

This makes the solution more than a mobile ordering app. It is an operational sales tool that brings together field sales, CRM, product data and order logic. For comparable consumer goods companies, it creates a transferable approach to organising field sales more efficiently, more data-driven and more customer-oriented.

Business Impact

The field sales app delivers operational and economic improvements across the entire customer visit:

0-0%Less manual effort in order capture and post-processing
0-0%Less clarification effort regarding delivery routes, wholesalers and customer-specific order rules
0-0%Less error potential in item, shipping route and total assignment
0-0%Faster product search across large product ranges through brand, group and search filters
Further benefits
Significantly faster item capture for familiar products through the EAN scanner
Higher data quality through automatic synchronisation of accounts, products and product groups
Fewer system breaks between field sales, CRM, order process and visit documentation
Better analysis of customer visits, promotions and orders
Higher process reliability across approximately 1,000 customer visits per week
Better scalability for growing product ranges, additional brands and different sales groups

The economic effect arises primarily from the combination of saved rework and higher process quality. With a field sales team of around 30 staff and approximately 1,000 visits per week, every minute saved during a visit or in post-processing has a direct impact on available selling time.

At the same time, the automated sales channel logic reduces errors and queries. Orders are captured with the correct channel assignment from the outset, totals are immediately visible and downstream processing can be built on structured data. This relieves pressure on field sales, back office and CRM processes alike.

A further ROI lever lies in the speed of implementation via the platform solution. Instead of an extensive bespoke development running into six figures, a specific, critical field sales process could be realised more economically. The solution demonstrates that even complex sales logic can be digitalised quickly when master data, app interface and process rules are brought together cleanly.

Strategic Value

With the Sales App, the consumer goods manufacturer creates a scalable foundation for digital field sales. The customer visit is no longer treated as an individual appointment with post-hoc data entry but as a central data and process point connecting customer, product range, order, promotion and CRM.

The particular strategic value lies in the digitalisation of a complexity that is typical for the industry. Consumer goods manufacturers with broad product ranges, multiple brands, different customer groups and multi-tier sales channels frequently face similar challenges: products need to be found quickly, delivery routes must be mapped correctly, field sales visits need to be documented and promotions reliably executed.

The app brings these requirements together in a reusable pattern:

  • From CRM appointment to prepared customer visit
  • From a broad product range to fast, visual item selection
  • From complex sales channels to automated order logic
  • From manual task lists to digital job cards
  • From visit report to actionable CRM documentation
  • From post-hoc clarification to channel-correct order in real time

This makes the solution more than a mobile ordering app. It is an operational sales tool that brings together field sales, CRM, product data and order logic. For comparable consumer goods companies, it creates a transferable approach to organising field sales more efficiently, more data-driven and more customer-oriented.