A unique way to track sales

Kjetil Fennefoss is Telenor Group’s Head of Distribution. He and his team are the brains behind Telenor’s distribution strategies worldwide and the force behind the next generation Sales Tracking System (STS) designed to provide local market insight.

“Distribution is one of the key differentiators in many markets, and it was pointed out as one of three key pillars in India. In Asia, where we have these mass distribution models, with hundreds of thousands of points of sale, distribution can be the key to our success,” said Fennefoss. “That’s why we have implemented the Sales Tracking System.”

The Sales Tracking model that’s unique to Telenor

Fennefoss attributes much of Telenor’s success in Asia to the Sales Tracking model, a working methodology that’s unique to Telenor and has been implemented by all of the company’s Asian operations.

“Our competitors in Asia typically distribute thousands of SIM start-up packs to wholesalers, pay them a commission and then turn their backs. They are largely unaware where the points of sales are, what the volumes are and what kind of customers they are accruing,” said Fennefoss. In his opinion, this is a waste of valuable knowledge.

Tracking the SIM journey

The STS uses SIM barcodes to track each step of the SIMs journey, from wholesaler to retailer to customer, and helps Telenor monitor sales in even the smallest markets. Based on this micro approach to tracking distribution, Telenor operating companies in Asia can take measures to increase user bases in very particular areas.

“Grameenphone in Bangladesh has taken the Sales Tracking System even further and combined it with their local marketing campaigns,” said Fennefoss. “In addition to TV or billboard advertisements, Grameenphone goes into small market segments where they have very low market share and conducts a campaign dedicated to that population. So it’s not only about monitoring sales and activations geographically; it’s also about conducting these dedicated marketing campaigns in troubled areas.”

Creating value for the retailers

The STS is also used for commission payments, which is an attractive value proposition for the retailers.

“In many of our Asian markets, retailers can choose to sell for several operators,” explained Fennefoss. “If we, through our wholesalers, are able to deliver our commissions on time, deliver the stock, prevent sold out situations, then we are in a good position as a preferred retail partner.”

Combining sales tracking with network utilization

In addition to knowing where the products are being sold, what the stock situation is, what the local market share is and what the competitors are doing, the STS goes a step further and can be combined with network utilization.

“For example, in an area where we have low market share but network utilization is high, we know that adding more customers would cause the network quality to suffer. On the other hand, in areas where they have free capacity and the market share is low, we can go in and conduct dedicated campaigns to increase market share.”

A competitive edge

The Sales Tracking System helps Telenor stay involved in the entire distribution process, from wholesaler, to retailer, to customers. It’s a methodology that provides great insight and gives Telenor a competitive edge.

“It’s a unique tool that has proved to work well by helping us to create value for both end users and the retailers,” said Fennefoss.