Case Study: How a Distributor Saved 20% of Daily Reporting Time with Sales Watch

Marketing Solusi Sistem
Dec 3
3 min read

For many FMCG distributors in Indonesia, daily reporting still depends on WhatsApp, Excel files, and scattered photos. While this method may work for a small team, it quickly becomes a burden once the sales force grows.

One national distributor proved that by switching to Sales Watch, they were able to cut 20% of their daily reporting time within the first 30 days. This case study explains how it happened — supported by global research from McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, and leading academic journals.

1. Challenges Before Using Sales Watch

a. Inconsistent Manual Reporting

Each sales rep submitted different report formats, photos were stored in random folders, and Excel files were difficult to consolidate. Supervisors often had to merge everything manually.

b. Hours Lost on Administrative Recaps

Before adopting Sales Watch, their admin team spent 3–4 hours every day just to:

transcribe WhatsApp reports
reorganize photos
merge Excel files from various regions
fix broken formulas or overwritten cells

This aligns with findings from McKinsey Global Institute, which states that automation in sales operations can improve time efficiency by 20–30% — a figure that mirrors this very case.

c. No Location Validation

Supervisors received reports “as is,” with no ability to verify whether reps truly visited the outlet.

2. The Solution: Sales Watch as a Unified Reporting System

The distributor onboarded all sales reps and supervisors to Sales Watch.

The platform replaced all manual tasks with:

Automatic check-in (GPS + photo + timestamp)
Unified dashboard
Standardized reporting
Offline mode for unstable network areas
Real-time route visualization

Within one week, 90% of the team had fully adopted the new workflow.

3. The Impact: 20% Reduction in Daily Reporting Time

After 30 days, measurable results emerged.

a. Daily Recaps Dropped from 4 Hours to 15 Minutes

Admins now simply review final reports instead of cleaning up messy files.

This result is consistent with Harvard Business Review, which highlights that digital workflows eliminate repetitive admin tasks and free up strategic time for managers.

b. Human Error Almost Completely Eliminated

A well-known study by Raymond R. Panko of the University of Hawaii shows that 88% of spreadsheets contain errors — from typos to broken formulas.

After switching to Sales Watch:

reps selected items from a validated SKU catalog
no more manual re-entry by admins
no overwritten formulas
no corrupted Excel sheets

Data accuracy finally became consistent across all regions.

c. Timely, Complete Reporting from Every Sales Rep

Using Offline Mode, reps could still check in, take photos, and record orders even in low-signal areas. Everything syncs automatically once the connection returns.

d. Full Visibility for Supervisors

Sales Watch provided:

live GPS updates
visit validation
route history
suspicious activity flagging
voice logs for training and fraud prevention

Supervisors no longer had to guess what happened in the field.

4. 30-Day Results Summary

Before vs. After Using Sales Watch

Indicator	Before	After
Daily reporting time	3–4 hours	10–15 minutes
Report accuracy	60–70%	95–100%
Human error	High	Low
Standardization	Not consistent	Fully standardized
Supervisor efficiency	Low	High – can focus on coaching