Distributor Sales Manager

Job Code: 210/001/199
Industry: FMCG

Job Brief:
The Distributor Sales Manager is responsible for owning and growing sales through the distributor network by driving distribution, availability, visibility, and service levels across assigned territories. This role ensures disciplined execution, compliance, and sustainable profitability while leading distributor teams and strengthening the company’s route-to-market performance. The ideal candidate should have strong FMCG sales experience, hands-on distributor management skills, and the ability to deliver volume, value, and productivity KPIs across multiple channels.

Job Responsibilities:
Distributor Management:

• Appoint, onboard, and manage distributors across assigned territories.
• Set monthly/quarterly targets, KPIs, and review distributor performance regularly.

Sales & Volume Delivery:

• Deliver monthly and quarterly volume, revenue, and margin targets.
• Manage trade spend, schemes, and commercial agreements effectively.

Route-to-Market Execution:

• Improve numeric and weighted distribution across all channels.
• Ensure proper outlet coverage, call plans, journey cycles, and beat productivity.

Stock & Supply Management:

• Monitor stock levels, demand forecasting, reorder cycles, and fill rates.
• Track freshness, expiry, returns, and ensure no out-of-stock situations.

Field Team Leadership:

• Lead and coach DSRs, sales representatives, and merchandisers.
• Improve sales fundamentals, execution discipline, and market compliance.

Trade Marketing & Visibility:

• Execute promotions, POSM deployment, in-store activations, and visibility standards.
• Implement planograms and ensure consistent brand representation.

Market Intelligence:

• Track competitor pricing, schemes, NPDs, channel shifts, and market activities.
• Recommend actions to safeguard business and maximize growth.

Channel Development:

• Grow priority channels such as modern trade, wholesale, HORECA, and e-commerce (where applicable).
• Align with distributors to drive channel-specific business objectives.

Reporting & Governance:

• Maintain accurate sales reporting, reconciliations, claims, credit control, and distributor agreements.
• Ensure disciplined documentation and governance processes.

KPIs (Typical):

• Volume/value achievement
• Numeric & weighted distribution
• Outlet coverage and strike rate
• On-shelf availability / OOS
• ROI on trade spend
• Secondary sales & sell-out growth
• Inventory days, expiry %, returns
• Collections / DSO
• Visibility compliance