Claims:We Claim:
1. A method for estimating the sales and presence of a SKU/ brand in the market, comprising:
(a) registration of retail sales outlets and access to download the mobile software application, where the said retail outlets become part of a network, who participates in the survey;
(b) setting-up the survey by the client/user with specifications to determine the sales and presence of a specific brand-SKU in a defined location/PIN code;
(c) sending the survey intimation to the registered network retail outlets based on the location specifications set by the client during setting up the survey;
(d) participating in the survey by the registered retail outlets, where the said retail outlets check the sales and availability of the product, quantity and batch number of the brand-SKU received by the said retail outlet; receiving the survey notification by more than one retail outlets who can choose to participate in the survey; and
(e) generating a survey report by the said software application based on the information provided by all the retail outlets who participate in the survey which contains the analytics related to brand-SKU sales, availability, stocking of the product and the batch dispersion.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the survey can be conducted based on more than one specification which can be name of the brand, description of SKU, pharmacy channel, name of city/town, PIN code and start date and end date of the survey.
3. The method claimed in claim 1 wherein the survey data contains information on the sales and presence of the brand-SKU, quantity of the product, location of the retail outlet which generates the survey data and batch number of the brand-SKU.
4. The method claimed in claim 1 wherein the said retail outlets are geo-tagged which enables the said client to visualize the geographical spread of pharmacies who have participated in the survey on a map representing a territory or market which are located in the said PIN code which is specified by the said client.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said survey can be conducted at a specific time interval where the survey data collected at those time intervals factors high and low inventory cycles and can be aggregated at the level of PIN codes to build market profiles related to the sales of the brand-SKU, stock quantity and batch number.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said survey can be conducted for specific retail channels which may include independent retail outlets, chain retail outlets and institutional retail outlets so that sales, stocking and batch availability can be determined for each individual channel type so that salient characteristics, inventory and movement of stock and trends can be tracked for better business management and customer relationship engagement by brand owners.
, Description:Technical Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to survey and more particularly to a system and method for estimating sales as well as quantitative and qualitative presence of a brand-SKU based on data received from the ready to use data generator platform that is made up of a network of registered retail sales outlets connected by a mobile software application that detects and measures - sales, availability, stocking and batch number of brands-SKUs that are to be surveyed in a specific location defined by a PIN code.
Background of the Invention:
The process of collecting brand-SKU based sales information may be limited by the manner in which data is collected by existing survey platforms/products/processes or services. For better understanding, the established distribution process and limitations of data collection models are explained as follows –
Manufacturers, Importers and/or Marketing organisations sell their products through a distribution chain to reach the final customer. The chain starts with manufacturer, followed by large distributors, who are closer to the manufacturer; small distributors, who are closer to Retail Point of Sale; retail sales outlets who are the PoS - point of sale; and the final customer/consumer. Financial strength/resources differentiate large and small distributors. Large distributors are financially sound and have capacity to purchase large quantity of stock from manufacturers without any credit support. On the other hand, smaller distributors have better retail penetration and catering/servicing capabilities but need financial credit support. The Retail Sales Outlet is the final point of sale where the customer can see, touch and feel the product as well as purchase products based on prescription/recommendation, brand appeal, requirement or availability of alternatives/services. Being the customer interface, retail sales outlets determine the success/failure of brands/SKUs in the market. Starting with the manufacturer, there is a sales transaction between each link in the distribution chain. Given the size and fragmentation of large markets, each link in the distribution chain is an independent business entity, coming together to form formal/semi-formal/informal distribution chains. In this business model there is a change in title/ownership of products as they are sold through the distribution chain. So, the seller is not able to demand information and data of sales and inventory from the buyer.
Following are some limitations of data collection from distributors in the pharmaceutical industry in India:
1. For established brands/product categories, more middle-men and intermediaries including wholesalers and stockists get added overtime, further inflating and fragmenting the distribution pipeline and making data generation and management less efficient and coherent.
2. Although the manufacturer remains responsible for the quality, performance and commercial success of the product, fragmented distribution chains reduce visibility, accountability and control on the products.
3. Commercial considerations take precedence and distributors/retailers often bypass authorized distribution chains and purchase products from wholesalers/ stockists in different locations further complicating data trail & reconciliation.
4. Retailers are averse to sharing sales & stock information with the manufacturers or company sales-men. Communication is transactional and limited to commercial matters.
5. Distributor purchase and inventory may be influenced by extra margins, discounts and sales offers offered by manufacturers to boost sales off-take. These offers/discounts rarely flows proportionately to the retailer.
6. GST and other tax systems compel retail sales outlets to use inventory and sales accounting softwares. But multiple software platforms/products prevent seamless data exchange. Multitude of manufacturers, brands and SKUs makes manual data entry error prone and unsustainable.
7. Data collection is usually once a month. Retail outlets may have stock-out situations due to supply constraints which may impact consumer sales. Monthly data collection may not highlight weekly stock variations and may not be an effective indicator for distribution weakness or sales loss.
8. Since competition activity is usually at the retail point of sale, it is difficult for distributor dependent data collection to help monitor competitive intelligence or marketing activities
9. Unless bulk manufacturing is a core strength, manufacturers avoid supply to large customers at lower prices due to payment delay and protracted account receivables. Large distributors play a critical role in this situation. They buy bulk stock from manufacturers, at low prices, for supply to large customers like hospitals/institutions. Despite assurances to the contrary, products are also sold to smaller distributors who may supply to multiple customer segments in different locations and geographies, including retail. As a result, low price institutional stock infiltrates into high price retail channel creating unintentional value loss for the manufacturer. Therefore, data collected from distributors does not provide proper understanding of retail sales, or quantitative and qualitative survey/sales audit or product control/recall.
Advantages of data collection from retail point of sales:
1. Being closer to the customer, retail availability and stocking is a better indicator of consumer behavior and brand demand.
2. Being the final point of sale in the distribution chain, retailers are the final link where any regulatory/legal or consumer protection action can be exercised.
3. For prescription products, retail availability can also be a good indicator for influencer’s (including doctor) brand preference and territorial/geographical variations.
4. Due to FDA guidelines, retail sales outlets (pharmacies) maintain inventory, and sales accounting data of healthcare products including medicines, devices and other related products, with batch numbers. Therefore, manufacturers can predictably (a) trace movement of products between customer channels (b) monitor ageing of products based on batch number (c) identify specific retail outlets to recall products if so ever required
5. Retailers prefer purchasing products from any distributor/stockist who offers better purchase credit, replenishment & service including expiry claims/returns. Therefore, established distributor channels become redundant making distributor-based data collection less meaningful
6. Monitoring retail data at frequent intervals is a sensitive indicator of changes in consumer interest/doctor prescriptions which can help analyze success/failure of marketing and sales programs. Distributor based data may not detect such changes quickly because of the width and depth of the distribution pipeline.
7. Retailers are usually independent and significantly large in number and market spread compared to distributors. Once a network of data generators is built, digital collection and aggregation of data at the retail point of sale is a superior and closer indicator of sales and presence of brand-SKU data
8. Retail data can indicate inconsistency and gaps in distribution reach as well as market coverage of the sales team
The following are service providers which have been active in surveying.
IMS Health (IQVIA) – is a leader in healthcare market intelligence and collects a vast array of healthcare data and facts and transforms them into actionable intelligence for their clients. IQVIA offers its view of market dynamics at various market levels measuring product and prescription trends. Their mobile app. IQVIA Sales View offers data on therapeutic areas, molecules and brands. Data is collected from a panel of data generators who form a representative group of distributors/retailers which does not represent the larger universe of pharmacies or all PIN codes representing all markets including Tier-2&3 markets
AIOCD Pharmasofttech AWACS Pvt. Ltd. - AIOCD AWACS is a pharmaceutical market research company formed by All Indian Origin Chemists & Distributors Ltd. (representing 550,000 distributors and retailers) in a joint venture with Trikaal Mediinfotech Pvt. Ltd, to provide sound market intelligence. Their list of products includes (1) Pharmatrac: Monthly sales data audit which provides data related to stock levels, bonus quantity, pricing. The data collection model is similar to IMS-Health but as AIOCD is a trade association they claim to have a better representation of the market. Data is generated from a focus group of distributors/retailers which does not represent PIN codes representing all markets including Tier-2&3; (2) DataExchange: Provides data for replenishment, production planning & stock allocation; (3) DrugInfo: Drug database with pricing info for use by Drs & Retailers; (4) RetailReach: Marketing medium for pharmaceutical companies to connect with retailers; (5) ZeroBounce: Flagging of retailers searching for new brands (6) Supply Chain Finance: Provides working capital for distributors; (7) Pharmarack: An independent B2B platform focusing on analytics, logistics, supply chain and financing. Its website claims pan India presence with more than 200,000 retailers, 5000 distributors, 200 hospitals and top 20 pharma companies as clients in 70 towns/cities representing 1000 PIN Codes.
Pharmasoftech has been recently acquired by Digihealth Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABCD Technologies/IndoHealth Services which is a consortium of leading Indian pharmaceutical companies.
Existing data service providers collect data from large distributors on a pre-decided frequency (usually monthly) to generate analytics for market size, market share & growth between SKU/brands and competitors and categories in the market. However, the absence of data from retail point of sale is a handicap for manufacturers, marketeers and brand managers. Retail data can highlight availability of products which is the primary driver for brand success. Digitization and mobile phone penetration have transformed data capture, transmission and analysis. Ability to capture retail data rapidly and efficiently and present them to the user who can use it for business, commercial and regulatory management can be a valuable tool for the industry.
There are several other prior arts which provides various systems for collecting the survey of the pharmaceutical product sales.
WO2003001428A2 by Stefan Ziegele and Andreas Gieshoff discloses the system and methods for estimating product sales in highly fragmented geographical segments of service provider location. The system provides a technique of combining census data on related, but not identical, variables in order to enhance the value of sampled data, and reliable estimates of selected fields of data relating to very small sampling segments even without having sample data generators (such as pharmacies) in every sampling segment. The system produces detailed reports on selected fields of data in regions where those fields of data are usually not captured via computer, where computer systems are not yet widespread in data generating environments (such as pharmacies) thus resulting in a limited sample size, and to keep data collection and production at reasonable costs at the same time
US8983972B2 by SAP SE discloses Collection and reporting of customer survey data, provides a system for managing survey data including a survey metadata handler configured to receive survey metadata for a survey type, and a survey result handler configured to receive one or more completed or partially completed surveys providing one or more answers to questions corresponding to the survey type, a calculating unit configured to calculate one or more weighted answers based on the question weights and the one or more answers, and a satisfaction score for each completed or partially completed survey based on the one or more weighted answers, a category determining unit configured to determine a satisfaction category for the survey type based on the satisfaction scores and satisfaction category information mapping satisfaction categories to satisfaction scores for the survey type, and a database configured to store the survey metadata, the survey results, and the satisfaction category information, as a layered data model.
US20120084120A1 by SayHired Inc discloses Survey assessment where a reply of a survey responder is evaluated. A verbal response to a survey is received and a corresponding audio file is encoded. One or more evaluators are given access to both the audio file and a questionnaire including a question regarding a disposition of a survey responder. The evaluators select from a plurality of predefined answers to the question. A report is created based on the selected answers of the evaluators.
Many manufacturers/brand owners run in-house market surveys through their sales and distribution teams. However, these exercises don’t work effectively as data collection is done by the sales team whose core job is not data collection. Moreover, in-house data can be prone to conflict of interest as survey results impact individual performance assessment. Instead of generating brand-pull many brand owners achieve sales goals by driving ‘Push’ strategies including discounts and quantity purchase schemes which inflates pipe-line inventory and becomes unsustainable in the long run. ‘Sales Push’ is usually implemented intermittently as pushed stock requires time to flow into the market. Some products from existing service providers may provide quarterly surveys/sales audits to complement quarterly ‘Sales Push’ cycles. Though consumer led marketing programs may require weekly monitoring, distributor sales are usually once a month making it difficult for existing providers to offer weekly audit/tracking tools.
Most retail sales outlets use computerized inventory and invoicing management systems. However, multiple softwares with firewalls are used making it difficult to share data seamlessly between distributors and retailers. Bar coding of SKUs and computerized billing allows quick access of quantity and batch number data. However, outlets do not want to link their computer software to any external data collection systems as they fear unauthorized access, data pilferage and poaching of customer database. This makes data collection and consolidation difficult for existing software providers and denies manufacturers any visibility of availability, stocking or ageing of products at the retail point of sales. It should also be noted that several online pharmacies like Medplus, 1mg, Pharmeasy, Netmeds, etc are also leveraging their customer sales data and selling them to pharmaceutical companies, which the pharmaceutical companies can use for marketing. Though online pharmacies are steadily growing, the data provided by online pharmacies does not reflect the predominant market represented by independent pharmacies.
In order to overcome all the drawbacks of existing systems, there is a need for a ready to use survey tool which can estimate sales and presence of any brand or any product which is being sold in the market at the retail point of sale. The platform consists of a network of retail sales outlets and a mobile application through which the network retailers can submit survey data.
Objects of the Invention
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a system which can be used as a survey tool to estimate sales of any brand-SKU which is being sold in the market at the retail point of sale.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which can be used as a survey tool to estimate availability of any brand-SKU which is being sold in the market at the retail point of sale.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for conducting the survey where the survey can be conducted using more than one specification including quantity of stock of a specific brand-SKU being sold in the market at the retail point of sale
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for conducting the survey using more another specification including batch number of brand-SKU that can be used to determine and track specific manufacturing identity that can help estimate of product ageing, monitor product movement or facilitate market recall.
Another object of the present invention is to collect data from generators such as pharmacies and other retail point of sales based on pre-selected location(s) defined by a PIN Code, or a collection of PIN Codes embodying a complete city or a state or even the country.
A further object of the present invention is to produce survey reports from data recorded and maintained in computer software systems installed in the business premises of the retail data generators to monitor and manage their inventory and sales details.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which can show the number of retail sales outlets that are willing to join the network and participate in ongoing surveys thereby providing the user an opportunity to understand the size of the network as well as the number of retail sales outlets participating in a specific survey
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system where the user/client can visually see the identity & location of participating retail sales outlets on a digital map so that the user/client can map the availability of brand-SKU with the market coverage of their sales organization, plan marketing and sales activities as well perform performance assessment exercises
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system where the user can monitor the growth in number of retail sales outlets where brand-SKU is available as well as growth in stock quantity of specific brand-SKU over a period of time and analyse the performance and impact of marketing and promotional programs
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which can survey a network of retail sales outlets which can be accessed via a mobile application through which the network retail sales outlets can participate in the survey and submit survey data.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system where the survey data can be collected at regular frequency of time including weekly, fortnightly or monthly intervals that can be pre-selected by the user/client.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system where the duration of the survey can be customized by selecting Start and End date so that the user/client can choose to have short-term or long-term surveys.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible system where the survey can be run exclusively on independent pharmacies or chain pharmacies or hospital pharmacies or a combination of all the three pharmacy channels
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system where the availability, stocking and ageing of brand-SKU can be measured and monitored from institutions including hospitals and nursing homes
Summary of the Invention
The present invention discloses a system and method for estimating sales plus quantitative and qualitative presence of a brand-SKU based on data received from the ready to use data generator platform that is made up of a network of registered retail sales outlets in one or more channels connected by a mobile software application that estimates, detects and measures - sales, availability, stocking and batch number of brands/SKUs that are to be surveyed in a specific location defined by a PIN code. The said system can be customized by the client/user to notify or remind specific types or all retail sales outlets in all or specified location(s) of the platform network to submit survey data at predetermined frequency for use by the client/user which may include manufacturers/marketing agencies/brand managers and others for supporting management of marketing, sales, research and regulatory control at the retail point of sales.
The present invention comprises of a software application through which the client/user can request for a survey in which plurality of parties can participate and based on the results of the survey the users can interpret the sales and/or presence of any brand-SKU in the market. The parties which participate in the surveys can be the retail sales outlets where the brands-SKUs of the users are marketed and sold to the customers. The software application is downloaded and accessed by the plurality of parties, who receives plurality of questions which are specified by the users. The users register with the software application, which provides them the facility to set-up a survey based on multiple specifications and the survey with plurality of questions related to a particular brand-SKU is sent to the plurality of parties who participate in the survey by providing answers to all the questions.
According to the present invention, the retail sales outlets who participate in the survey get notifications from the software application related to the pending surveys. Retail sales outlets who do not respond or submit data to the survey questions are sent reminders through multiple communication channels. When the parties participate in the survey, they have to provide information related to brand-SKU which are available or not available in their inventory, which also requires the specific information of the details such as batch number, quantity available, quantity sold and so forth, through which presence and sales data of the brand-SKU can be determined. The report of every survey is generated with analytic dashboards and customization options which include option to visualize retails sales outlets for any location defined by a PIN Code as specified by the user. With the help of the software application, the users can see the analytics related to sales, availability, stocking and batch no. The analytics can be compared with competitors for specified locations.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference designators are used to designate like elements, and in which:
FIG 1 discloses the platform that represents the present invention to conduct the survey to determine the sales and presence of the brand-SKU in the market.
FIG 2 discloses the system and process employed in conducting the survey to determine the sales and presence of the brand-SKU in the market.
FIG 3 discloses the process involved in network creation, survey set-up and survey process.
Detailed Description of the Invention
Embodiments are described in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. It is noted that, as used in this description, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, the term “a query” is intended to mean a single query or a combination of queries.
The described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are recited to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
The present invention provides a platform and a related system and process for estimating sales and the quantitative and qualitative presence of a brand-SKU in the retail market which reaches numerous customers. The estimation of the sales and presence of the brand can be surveyed based on the defined location, or a particular SKU etc., where the sales of the said brand-SKU in a geographical location or a pin code can be estimated. The method is applicable to data collection where the retail parties which are located at the said geographical location provides the data related to the said brand-SKU which enables the users or clients, who can be pharmaceutical companies, or any other companies who requires to estimate the presence of the brand-SKU in the market. The data required to be collected in each survey can contain information on the sales of the brand-SKU, inventory of the brand-SKU, location of the retail outlet which generates the survey data, batch number of the brand-SKU, etc.,
FIG 1 discloses the platform used in conducting the survey to determine the sales and presence of the brand-SKU in the market. With reference to FIG 1, the said platform comprises of parties including the clients/user 101 who request for the survey to be done; survey platform 102 through which the survey set-up can be made; retail outlets which are registered with the platform 103; and generation of the survey reports 104. The retail outlets register with the platform to form a network who agree to participate in the survey, where the client/user 101 can request for a survey to estimate the brand presence of any brand-SKU. The client/user 101 can set up the survey based on various criteria and the registered retail outlets 103 in the network can participate in the said survey, whose results are used to generate the survey report 104.
Retail outlet registration: According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the retail outlet registration requires the retail outlets 103 who are interested to join the survey platform to connect with the survey platform to create a network. The retail outlet network and database are created by collecting information related to business type, name of the retail outlet 103, contact information, address, PIN code and geo-location from each retail outlet 103. The size of the network and market representation (conversion) is visible on a real-time basis and is available for conducting surveys after registration is completed.
According to the present invention, the said retail outlets 103 who consent to joining the network are registered and can download a software application. The registered retail outlets 103 are geo-tagged to ensure that a spatial identification is created to locate each registered retail outlet 013 as well as differentiate the said retail outlets with similar names. Geo-tagging also allows client/user to compare the sales/availability/stocking/batch of brand-SKU with the coverage of the sales and distribution network
Client registration and Survey set-up: according to the present invention, the clients/users 101 can gain access to the survey platform after registration and providing login credentials. The said clients 101 are users or parties who order the surveys to be conducted for at least one brand-SKU. The client/user 101 can be from the industry, manufacturers, or a company or a research entity who would want to conduct a survey for their own products or competition or any other product category for better understanding of the market, trends, compare sales, or monitor impact of marketing programs or measure the reach, coverage or performance of sales and distribution organization. The said client/user 101 can set-up surveys though the platform by specifying brands-SKUs, class of retail outlet, geographical location on the basis of PIN code(s) as well as survey start date and survey duration.
Survey notification, Data Access and Data Submission: When client/user 101 submits a request for a survey in a specific location through the survey platform, the registered retail outlets 103 in that specific location, are intimated on their electronic device specifically smartphones to participate in the survey as per frequency and duration specified in the survey set-up 102. The software application sends intimation in the form of push notification, SMS as well as telecall about all new and pending surveys which the retail outlets have not attended.
On receiving survey notification, the registered retail outlet 103 can access the survey platform through their electronic device to see the names of brand-SKU available for the survey with data fields that have to be filled up to complete the survey for each survey. According to the present invention, the retail outlets 103 who participate in the survey would have to look at the information available in their records including computer ERP software related to sales, inventory and batch number of the brand-SKU specified in the survey.
The data required in the survey has to be entered in the software application, in the electronic device. The data required relates to sales of a specific brand-SKU, the amount of stock of the specified brand-SKU in inventory, the batch number of the stock. After the said retail outlet 103 submits data for a specific brand-SKU, the next brand-SKU available for survey is notified to the said retail outlet 103. The retail outlet 103 can choose any time to participate and complete the survey. The retail outlet 103 can also visit their exclusive account page of the survey platform where the number of surveys submitted or pending can be viewed along with an update of completed and pending payments. The retail outlet 103 can also choose to select a bank account with necessary details required for electronic bank transfer of payments.
The present invention generates data on sales, stock, etc., for the clients/users. The data is average data generated by the software by deducting average weekly stock from average weekly purchases. This is done to reduce impact of data variation and also to overcome reluctance of retail outlets to submit the actual sales figures.
Survey Report generation/Analytics: Based on the details submitted by participating registered retail outlets 103 located at a specified location defined by a PIN code as the survey criteria, a report 104 is generated with analytics with customization options including trend analysis as well as competitive market share for the benefit of the client/user.
According to the present invention, the user or the client can also customize the survey for
1. Brands and specific SKUs representing different packaging/composition variants
2. Outlet Channel type including independent, chain or institution including hospitals, nursing homes, etc.,
3. Sales, stock and batch number exclusively or all included
4. Duration of survey including start and end date
The data is collected at weekly time intervals to factor-in high and low inventory cycles and can be aggregated at the level of PIN codes to build market profiles related to the sale, availability of the brand-SKU, stock quantity and batch number. When the survey 102 is conducted over a certain period of time, the survey data analytics 104 generated by the software application can assist the brand managers in analysing the market trends and the competitive presence of the said product in a specific location which can be determined by conducting the survey based on the PIN code.
FIG 2 discloses the process of conducting the survey and the generation of the survey report for any brand-SKU. With reference to FIG 2, the said process comprises of the steps including:
201 - registration of the retail outlets with the survey mobile application to form a ready to use survey generator network;
202 - registration of the client/user with the survey web application portal;
203 - setting-up the survey by the client/user for a specific brand-SKU based on specific criterion of PIN code, location, retail channel, start and end dates, etc;
204 - notifying the registered retail outlets in the network as per location specifications of client/user regarding participating in the survey;
205 - participation in the survey by the registered retail outlets providing requested information related for the said brand-SKU;
206 - generation of the survey report by the survey platform along with analytic dashboards.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the survey process starts by building a software system that will connect all retail outlets on a platform referred to as a network of data generators. The system has two interfaces with a central administration hub for management i.e., retail interface and client/user interface.
Retail interface: in this, the software application is available to retail outlets after they register and join the network. The retail outlets of the network are notified through the said survey platform, if their location PIN code and retail channel is a match to the specifications preferred by the client/user in the survey set-up. The retail interface also allows the said retailer to see his survey history, accumulated earnings and set-up/edit banking and tax details for seamless accounting and transfer of payments.
Client/User interface: in this, the web application is available to registered clients/users on registration. Subsequent to registration, client/user can access the web portal using a login-ID and password issued to each client/user. With the login credentials, client/user can then set-up a survey by specifying brand name, SKU (stock keeping unit) & MRP (maximum retail price) of the product that needs to be studied. Client has to then choose cities/towns represented by a set of PIN codes or a specific PIN code in different towns/cities. The number and channel type of survey generators in the network are available and visible on the web-portal. The client also can choose the data types that is required from the survey including sales, quantity and/or batch no. of the product. Client/user also has to choose the duration of the survey in terms of months and has to select a specific date for the survey to start. Client/user has to choose the kind of retail outlet channel that needs to be surveyed in the selected town/city or specific PIN code. These channels can include independent retail outlets, chain outlets or institutional outlets. On submitting all the specifications, the web-portal generates an estimate for the survey cost and on acceptance/payment, the survey mandate is complete. The client interface can also be used by the client/user to view the progress of survey at any point of time in form of dashboards. Analytics are generated at weekly intervals. The client/user has options to see monthly dashboard or trends of sales, availability, stocking and batch numbers in different retail channels.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the administrative hub allows the visibility of status of the network of the retail outlets and growth in any specific city/town. The administrative hub also allows visibility of sales team performance along with individual performance metrics. The administrative hub also displays the summary of ongoing surveys as well as status of any specific survey in terms of network participation and completion status.
FIG 3 discloses the system and process used in conducting the survey to determine the sales and presence of the brand-SKU in the market. With reference to FIG 3, the network creation 301 leads to a large network of retail outlets across multiple channels. The survey portal is built first followed by the retail network creation 301 where retail outlets use the software application to register and join the network. Once the network reaches a meaningful size and spread across a given market, clients/users are invited to start surveys in that specific market. Retail outlets are therefore registered and added to the network before clients create survey mandates. This allows the survey tool to be a ready to use platform available for any survey in a given geographical location. As the network consists of existing retail outlets, the platform is available virtually on demand with customization options for SKU-brands, channels and geographic locations. The network also continues to remain active after a survey is completed.
The other component of the present invention is the survey set-up 302. Clients/users can initiate surveys for multiple brands-SKUs at any time and repeat the surveys as many times as per requirement. Multiple clients can initiate surveys at the same time in the same geographical location or PIN code as per their requirement.
According to the present invention, the survey system operates by integrating three separate processes including network creation 301, survey set-up 302 and the survey operations 303.
Network creation 301: The network creation process 301 comprises of steps including: meeting retail outlets and encouraging registration for the platform including explanation regarding purpose of the platform, role played by the retail outlet, description of the operations and benefits for the retail outlet. The interested retail outlets have to provide their business name, mobile number, address, PIN code. The geo-location of the outlet is also captured and on submission of registration details a SMS containing login credentials and link is provided. The said retailer has to click on the link and enter the login ID and password and on completing login credentials the mobile application is downloaded in the mobile phone of the retail outlet. After downloading the mobile app, retailer has to complete a trial survey that confirms if trial survey data is being received by the platform, on getting a confirmation from the platform the retail outlet completes the process of joining the network
Survey Set-up 302: The survey set-up process comprises of steps including: Prospective manufacturers/Importers/Marketing Agencies/Brand Owners who are keen to understand the retail behaviour, distribution and acceptance of their brand will have to first register themselves/their organisation with the survey portal and become a Client/User. For the registration, entity name, address, GST No. with name, mobile no. and email of SPOC (contact person) has to be submitted. The Client ID is generated and sent along with login ID and password to the SPOC by SMS. SPOC enters the portal using the login credentials to set-up the survey. For Survey set-up, the specific details including brand name; SKU description; short name of the company; MRP (label/sticker price); name of town/city where survey has to be conducted; PIN codes where survey has to be conducted; data type including sales, stock and batch number; survey duration and survey start date; pharmacy channel including independent, chain, institution, has to be submitted. The survey set-up also provides a link to view the size and spread of the existing retail outlet network across multiple channels which is available for the survey. Based on the specifications submitted the algorithm generates an online financial estimate for the survey and a formal quotation is sent to the email ID of the SPOC for payment. On receiving the payment, the administration hub confirms that all survey formalities are over and survey is ready for launch. The survey is launched with all retail sales outlets in the location(s) and PIN codes specified for the survey are intimated by a push notification through the application installed in the retail outlet mobile phone. The survey launch system also tracks the survey response and retailers with pending surveys are automatically sent SMS as well as recorded telecalls.
Mobile App Operations 303: The operation of the survey process through the mobile software application comprises the steps including; The mobile application receives survey intimations in the form of push notifications as well in in-app notifications. This is also supported by SMS and pre-recorded calls to sensitize the registered retail outlet to open the survey mobile application installed in the retailer’s mobile phone. On opening the software application, the retail outlets can see the specific brand name and SKU name available for survey. SKU MRP is also visible to ensure that there is additional clarity of the brand-SKU being surveyed. The retail outlet can also see the data fields that have to be filled up by the retailer including (a) Monthly sales (b) Stock Quantity (c) Batch Number. Additional fields are also provided to enter details in case the retailer is carrying stock and multiple batch numbers of the same SKU. The retailer has to check his inventory for the required details that have to be entered to participate in the survey. These details are readily available in the computer software used by the retailer outlet to conduct his regular business operations. The software maintains a complete history as well current inventory of all brand-SKUs available in the retail outlet. The retail outlets enter the data from his software and clicks the submit button to complete the survey. After the survey for a specific brand-SKU is submitted, the panel of the specific brand-SKU is closed and the next brand-survey is visible and available for survey data. The software application shows guidelines for the retailer to follow as well as the number of pending surveys.
An additional embodiment of the present invention discloses data collection date and time which determines the accuracy of the survey platform. Data is only considered as per the occurrence frequency and survey start-end dates as specified by the client in survey set-up. As the platform generates and collects data in real time, accuracy is assured by keeping the survey visible and pending on the retail outlet’s mobile application within the data collection window as per dates specified. All reminder survey notifications are sent out during the collection window for specific retail outlets whose data generation is pending. Data collected by each individual retail outlet is tagged with date and time to provide clarity and validation for this purpose.
There are several applications of the present invention.
1. Sales Management:
a. Sales planning – The present invention can generate data related to retail sales, retail availability and product quantity with batch number, it adds data and visibility to help effective sales planning. The sales plans of any organization are built on the basis of market size which comprises of customer demand, number of customers, consumption per customer and frequency of repurchase. Sales history and existing inventory/quantity of stock can also determine the likely sales as well as provide an estimation of pipeline stock. Competitive product sales and presence also provides an additional dimension of understanding the market and sales planning. The present invention provides data and specific location of the data source so that brand managers as well as sales managers can plan sales as well as deploy marketing and sales resources for better sales management and outcome.
b. Performance monitoring – The present invention can generate survey data that can quantify the number of retail outlets located in a specific PIN Code where brand-SKU is available, thereby helping assess individual distributor/salesman performance. The retail brand presence is a critical success factor for demand fulfilment with brand-SKU where retail sales are critical. Since retail brand presence is a clear reflection of performance, assessing availability over a territory represented by a distributor/salesman can be a good criterion to measure performance. Absence of accurate and specific quantitative and qualitative retail sales & stock data can handicap performance measurement. In the absence of accurate and specific retail sales & stock data, performance management is conducted on the basis of pooled territories. The present invention provides data and specific location of the data source so that sales managers can conduct accurate performance assessment of distribution and sales team and achieve higher return on investment and utilization of resources.
2. Research:
a. Availability – The present invention allows the brand managers at the organization to estimate the number of retail outlets where brands are available thereby assessing the impact of marketing programs as well as pre-post campaign management. The retail availability of brands/SKUs determines consumer sales and demand fulfilment, which is also critical for brand visibility and point of sales activation programs, and marketing strategies.
b. Stocking – The present invention allows brand managers at an organization to estimate the quantity of product stock at retail outlets which is available for customer demand fulfilment & sales including repeat purchase. The quantity of stock available in retail outlets can be a significant data point for estimating the amount of pipeline stock as well as effectiveness of distribution channels including concentration/dispersion of stock which is also an indicator of consumer demand.
c. Competition – The present invention can measure availability and stocking effectively for competition brands as well, where a survey can be conducted simultaneously with the reference client brand, the survey tool can help estimate relative competitive strengths and weaknesses. All brands including competitive brands are sold in retail outlets. Availability and stock are a good index of assessing competitive advantage and retailer preference.
d. Ageing – The present invention measures retail stock with batch numbers which can be an accurate assessment of retail stock ageing and the brand managers who manage the brand can predict the percentage of stock approaching expiry as well locations of the retail pharmacies where such stock maybe present. However, the availability of data of stock details in existing system at the retailer level is very poor and there is a need to get retail stock details. Wherever such data is available the data is limited to quantitative stock only without any data on batch number.
e. Channel leakage – the present invention measures retail stock with batch numbers, and the brand managers can easily detect and estimate channel leakage as well as identify markets where this is occurring. Usually when the same brand is sold in multiple channels including institution and retail, the bulk customers and institutional pricing is lower than retail pricing which results in products supplied to institutions leaking into the retail market where prices are relatively higher. Even though specific batch number can be earmarked for institutional sales, lack of retail data, makes it difficult for brand managers to assess the occurrence and extent of channel leakage. The present invention can assist in the tracking of specific batches intended to be supplied in exclusive distribution channels and any ex-filtration of stock into other channels due to price differential can be identified and tracked.
f. Channel Dynamics – Product sales can vary between different sales channels. While Retail Chains are steadily increasing their presence across multiple geographies and growing their impact on Sales, Availability and Stocking of brands. Growth of institutional retail outlets including hospital pharmacies have a significant impact on products consumed in hospitals/institutions. Independent retail outlets are by far the predominant channel in any geography. The purchase, sales, availability and inventory in all the three channels have their unique saliencies. The present invention can monitor the sales, availability and inventory in all three channels thereby offering manufacturers/brand owners visibility and data for better business management and brand management.
3. Marketing:
a. Campaign Monitoring: As retail availability and stocking reflects campaign performance, the present invention can be used to measure retail presence before and after a marketing campaign which can be used as an effective KRA (key result area) for measuring ROI (return on investment). As the brand managers are responsible to increase sales through a variety of strategies, they can use the survey tool to make their marketing activities efficient as significant time, effort and money and management are involved in such marketing activities/programs.
4. Regulatory: As the present invention generates retail data with stock quantity and batch number, it can be an effective data source for managing any such activity. Brand Managers require retail market data in the event of any product recall due to quality or ADR/regulatory requirements, and the products can be tracked and controlled on the basis of batch numbers.

The present invention can be understood in detail with the help of examples:
Example 1: Pharmaceutical Product- Single location survey
A pharmaceutical company “A” manufactures a product ‘X’ which is sold in more than one retail outlets where the product ‘X’ reaches the customers. The brand manager ‘Y’ wants to estimate the presence of the product ‘X’ in the market, which can be accomplished by the present invention, where the software application is set up by the manager ‘Y’ who wants to conduct a survey every month in the location ‘Z’. A network of retail outlets who participate in the survey download the software application in the electronic device and when the manager ‘Y’ sends a request for survey through the software application for the product ‘X’, a notification is sent to all the retail outlets in the network who are located in the location ‘Z’. The interested retail outlets participate in the survey where they have to provide the details about sales, stock, quantity and batch number of the product ‘X’. Based on the information provided by the plurality of retail outlets located in the location ‘Z’ about the product ‘X’, the software application generates survey report with analytics related to sales, product availability, stocking and batch number of the product and the batch dispersion, which is sent to the manager ‘Y’. To compensate for high/low inventory, the survey process for of product ‘X’ is repeated every week so that the data and presence in the market of product ‘X’ can be estimated accurately.

Example 2: Pharmaceutical Product- Multi-location survey
A pharmaceutical company “A” manufactures a product ‘X’ which is sold in more than one retail outlets where the product ‘X’ reaches the customers. The brand manager ‘Y’ wants to estimate the presence of the product ‘X’ in the market, which can be accomplished by the present invention, where the software application is set up by the manager ‘Y’ who wants to conduct a survey for one month in 10 different locations. Since the network of retail outlets in all 10 locations have already downloaded the software application in their electronic devices when the manager ‘Y’ sends a request for survey through the software application for the product ‘X’, a notification is sent to all the retail outlets in the network who are located specifically in those 10 different locations. The interested retail outlets participate in the survey where they have to provide the details about sales, stock, quantity and batch number of the product ‘X’. Based on the information provided by the plurality of retail outlets located in those 10 different locations, the software application generates survey report with analytics related to sales, product availability, stocking of the product and the batch dispersion, which is sent to the manager ‘Y’, who can now estimate the presence of product ‘X’ individually as well as collectively in all 10 different locations or compare the presence/stocking/batch dispersion of product ‘X’ exclusively or between the 10 different locations in the market.