Siebel Consumer Sector Guide > Retail Execution > Retail Execution End-User Procedures >

Performing Retail Activities

During the visit, the retail sales representative performs the activities selected for this visit. These activities may include the following:

• Performing a merchandising audit (an audit of an entire merchandising location based on pre-determined criteria)
• Performing a retail assessment
• Exchanging products between sales representatives
• Performing a retail audit of products from the retail sales representative's organization or a competitor's products
• Reviewing store conditions

Performing a Merchandising Audit

To clearly communicate how an account is displaying the company's products, retail sales representatives perform merchandising audits. Merchandising audits allow representatives to record the status of a specific merchandising location at a point of time. Criteria are set at the company level and then compared and recorded against the merchandising location.

To perform a merchandising audit

1. Navigate to the Visit Execution screen.
2. In the Activities list, create a new record with the Activity Type field = Merchandising Audit.

   NOTE:  For information on adding an activity to an account visit, see Creating Retail Activities.

3. In the Activity Type field, drill down on the Merchandising Audit hyperlink you have just created.
4. In the Merchandising Audit list, select the merchandising location you want to audit.
5. Complete the necessary fields.

   Some fields are described in the following table:

   Field	Comments
   Entry Compliance	Record the Entry Compliance against the criteria agreed upon at the company level.
   Exit Compliance	If you make any changes to the merchandising location that qualify for a status change, record your changes.
   Shelf Space	Record the percentage of the merchandising location given to the company's products.
   Last Relay	Optional: If a full relay of the display is performed, enter the current date. Recording the Last Relay date allows representatives to see over a period of time the level of maintenance required to keep the display compliant.

6. When finished conducting the audit, in the Account Activity form, click the Status field drop-down arrow and select Done.

Performing a Retail Assessment

Retail assessments measure an account against a set of predefined attributes. Typically, the predefined attributes are created as assessment templates. The assessment template can help to determine the possibility of introducing a new product or measure the retail presence of a competitor.

For information about creating assessment templates, see the section on setting up assessment templates in Applications Administration Guide.

To perform a retail assessment

1. Navigate to the Visit Execution screen.
2. In the Activities list, create a new record with the Activity Type field = Retail Assessment.

   NOTE:  For information on adding an activity to an account visit, see Creating Retail Activities.

3. In the Activity Type field, drill down on the Retail Assessment hyperlink you have just created.

   The Account Assessments view appears. The current account is displayed in the Account form.

4. In the Assessments list, select the assessment you want to perform during this visit.
5. In the Assessment Attributes list, fill in the fields for each assessment attribute.

Exchanging Products Between Sales Representatives

If insufficient quantities are loaded on the van in the morning, additional stock can be loaded on the van by undertaking a Stock Transfer. To exchange products between two sales representatives, each representative has to complete the following procedure.

To exchange products with another sales representative

1. Navigate to the Visit Execution screen.
2. Create a new visit record.
3. From the Activities list, In the Activity Type field, drill down on the Stock Transfer hyperlink.
4. The Part Tracker view in the Activities screen appears.
5. Create a new record.
6. Set the values for the Source and Destination fields, as follows:
   • If you are taking product from your van, select Trunk from the Source field and Customer from the Destination field.
   • If you are adding inventory to your van, select Customer from the Source field and Trunk from the Destination field.
7. Click Commit to update the inventory.

Performing a Retail Audit

Sales representatives perform retail audits to check that products are correctly priced, positioned, and stocked at retail outlets. You can conduct retail audits on your own organization's products and a competitor's products.

You must complete the following tasks before performing a retail audit on a competitor's products:

• Create the competitive product and add it to the product-category hierarchy. For information on performing this task, see Creating and Modifying Distribution Lists.
• Set up product distribution lists. A competitor's product must appear on an authorized product distribution list before it can be included in a retail audit. For information on performing this task, see Creating and Modifying Distribution Lists.

To perform a retail audit

1. Navigate to the Visit Execution screen.
2. In the Activities list, create a new record with the Activity Type field = Retail Audit.

   NOTE:  For information on adding an activity to an account visit, see Creating Retail Activities.

3. In the Activity Type field, drill down on the Retail Audit hyperlink you have just created.

   The Retail Audit view appears.

4. In the Retail Audit link bar, click the Retail Audit link.
5. In the Retail Audit list, click List Products.

   A list of all products authorized for distribution to the account and designated for a retail audit appears in the Retail Audit list. The list includes both products from your organization and competitive products.

6. In the Retail Audit list, select a product record for which you want to perform a retail audit.
7. Scroll down to the Product form, and record observations about the conditions of the selected product in the appropriate fields.
8. When finished conducting the audit, scroll back to the Account Activity form, click Status and select Done.

Reviewing Store Conditions

Retail sales representatives periodically review the store conditions of an account. The review measures store conditions over time and is useful for managers who are analyzing an account.

To review store conditions

1. Navigate to the Accounts screen > Accounts List view.
2. Select the account record for which you want to review store conditions.
3. Drill down on the Name field hyperlink, and click the Store Conditions view tab.
4. In the Store Conditions list, select the product record for which you want to check store conditions.

   In the Store Conditions list, a list of previous store condition reviews appears.

5. To view a graphical representation of changes in the Price Point or Facing Number between various store condition reviews, from the Store Conditions drop-down list, select Store Condition Chart.