Area Sales Manager - FMCG

Customer Infrastructure :

- The ASM is responsible for ensuring a robust Customer Infrastructure is in place in the territory.

- Distributors are appointed by the ASM wherever necessary and it is his responsibility to track their overall performance on key metrices.

- He monitors the financial health and profitability of all Customers and also negotiates TTS discussions with GTM Customers.

- The ASM also needs to step in from time to time to resolve customer issues which cannot be handled at a field-force level.

- Along with his team (FF) the ASM is also responsible for primary & secondary customer complaint resolution.

Growth & Execution :

- The ASM drives Top-line growth in the area and ensures all execution matrices are also in place. He is responsible for QGP splitting between sales officers and tracking them on a continuous basis.

- He will also need to monitor channel-wise and category-wise growths in the territory.

- It is also the ASM's responsibility to ensure all new launches are landed in the area and to ensure all merchandising activities are run well.

- Execution metrics are the input metrics for delivering share gaining growth and are hence very important

Drive a team of 10-20 WL 1s :

- Team handling & team building are the most important aspects of an ASM's role. The ASM role is a key leadership role with 10-25 direct WL1 reportees.

- The ASM is responsible for managing the team, motivating them and getting them to deliver their matrices.

- He needs to understand the working style and strengths and weaknesses of each person to get them to reach their potential and also needs to provide developmental inputs on a continuous basis.

- How an ASM binds a team together is often a make or break factor in performance of a team

Ensuring right trade support as per category - channel construct and competitive context :

- The ASM works closely with the BOM Team to ensure the right kind of trade support is provided to help deliver matrices.

- He also feeds back competition activities/ops etc to the BOM Team to ensure we are competitive in the market.

- The ASM will need to meet with trade several times in a month to pick up inputs on these.

- The ASM needs to ensure higher focus on categories of future & channels of future so as to ensure a balanced category-channel construct, sustainable from growth point of view.

Liaising with key Partner Functions :

- The ASM liaises with the Supply Chain Team to ensure pack wise estimates are built correctly for the area.

- He also ensures norms build up at an RS level are hygienic and supplies from depots are in order.

- He also ensures that the stock build up at Customer points are at the acceptable level.

- The ASM works with the Commercial Team to ensure customers are healthy and that payments to company are in order.

Ensuring controls & financial hygiene :

- Along with Commercial and Supply chain team & Supply Chain team, ASM is supposed to have check on system hygiene at customers on aspects like extent of sales return, extent of damage/ shortage claims, mismatch between primary & secondary, physical vs. book stock mismatch, trade discount hygiene etc.

- ASM needs to play an active role in probing cases of deviation from norms on the above mentioned aspects.