As a product manufacturer or supplier, it is your job to make the end-users want your products. Fortunately, you can control this business aspect. You can strategize a marketing campaign that you think will work. However, it is not the only aspect of managing your business. If you are a manufacturer who employs external distributors or market intermediaries, you have no control over how they will manage their business. Thus, however they will distribute the goods that you allow them to resell, you are already out of it, leaving you helpless in particular issues revolving around the product that you manufacture. To maintain the quality of the products that the end-users receive, you should conduct a distributor assessment, which is, most likely, the reason that you are here. If you are here to look for distributor assessment form samples and templates, you are in the right place. Just read further to get what you came here for.
What is a Distributor Assessment Form
A distributor assessment is a strategic method that allows a manufacturer to evaluate the quality and ability of its products’ distributors to deliver the goods to the end-users. The goal of this evaluation is to improve the point of sales performance since the performance of retailer-to-consumer sales creates a significant impact on the overall performance of the manufacturer’s sales. To accomplish it, you will need a distributor assessment form.
Factors to Consider in Creating a Distributor Assessment Form
There is no fixed framework for assessing a distributor’s performance. However, just like an outpatient assessment, outpatient physical therapy evaluation or any patient assessment and college student evaluation, there are certain factors that you can include in your assessment to ensure that you are getting the necessary information to accomplish your goal.
1. Profitability
One of the crucial matters that you need to know is if the distributor is creating a profit from your products. You will also have to know its standing in terms of profitability against other products the distributor sells. Lastly, you will determine if the person spends more of their time asking for rebates, discounts, and any other similar topics or if they spend it more by discussing their market strategy and marketing plan about your product.
2. End-Users Planning
This factor focuses on customer management. You will determine if there are issues between the retailer and the customers. You will also determine if the list of the most critical customers matches the distributor’s record.
3. Relationship Process
Judging the relationship status between you and the distributors is one of the essential things that you have to include in your assessment. Did you have relationship problems? Are they still on-going? If you didn’t, is there a chance that you will have one in the future?
4. Price Administration
Pricing issues may influence the number of sales of a distributor, which in the long run, will affect yours. Thus, it will be a big help if you consider this factor in creating a distributor assessment form. Through this factor, you will find out if there are existing issues with the pricing of your products. It will also help if you find out if the distributor views you to implement a better price administration or the other way round.
5. Implementation
In your assessment process, questionnaires about the operation, which starts with the distributor ordering supplies from you and ends with the post-sales support. Determine if you can answer all the queries and solve the problems that the distributor experiences without depleting your resources. Lastly, you should find out where your business lies in the distributor’s spectrum of collaboration.
6. Roles and Responsibilities
With this factor, you will determine if both parties have a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities, or if there are necessary changes, believing that it’s better that way. Ultimately, you will know how both of you deal with the situations that you haven’t previously experienced.
7. Competencies
With this factor, you will discover if your distributor looks up and rely on you. For example, when problems arise, would the distributor ask your expertise or support on the situation they experience, or they see many opportunities that affect their trust.
8+ Distributor Assessment Form Samples in PDF | DOC
Now that you know what a distributor assessment form is and what factors you need to consider when creating one, let’s take a look at the following assessment form samples, which you can download in PDF and MS Word format. You can use these evaluation form examples as your reference if you are planning to develop a quality evaluation.
1. Distributor Assessment Form Sample
2. Distributor Assessment Form Template
3. Distributor Assessment Form in PDF
4. Distributor Assessment Form Example
5. Basic Distributor Assessment Form Template
6. Distributor Assessment Form in DOC
7. Formal Distributor Assessment Form
8. Distributor Assessment Application Form Sample
Tips on Assessing Your Distributors
According to the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, the wholesale distribution industry generates a total of $5.6 trillion annual sales. However, the sector consists of 83% small businesses, which holds only $10 million. With that said, level up your business management by assessing your distributors, which will help to enhance your business performance. Below are the tips that we have gathered, which you can use as a guide in materializing your goal.
1. Set a Performance Benchmark
When assessing your distributors, it is essential to create a benchmark to measure its results effectively. Create a list of criteria based on the affecting factors that we discussed earlier. We recommend that you set an indicator that will allow you to determine if you would still want to work with a particular distributor.
2. Classify Each Distributor
If you are handling several distributors, it will be a big help if you will group them according to their effect on your business. In this way, you can assess all of them effectively.
3. Maintain Good Relationships
Doing business with distributors is a win-win situation. The more the distributors create more sales to the customers, the more they buy items from you to resell. Thus, both parties need to maintain a healthy relationship. Avoid conflicts with the distributors my doing your responsibilities promptly.
4. Let Go of the Distributors that are Not Performing
It is empirical to maintain good relationships with your distributors, but if they are not performing, it can negatively affect your company. Thus, with the performance benchmark that you set, you should execute necessary action plans and consequences.
Interfering the business management of your distributors is not part of your job, however, by conducting a distributor assessment, you can drive them to perform accordingly. With the information that we have discussed in this article, you now know how to do this evaluation. Nonetheless, aside from conducting an assessment, you can also obtain a distributor agreement, which will compel the distributors to abide by the conditions that you want to set in reselling your products.
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