How do you know what work you have left to do?

Understanding the gap between the negotiated mandatory assortment and the references present in the point of sale allows the sales forces to quickly measure the compliance of each store and guide actions. This is what we call "remaining tasks" (or "gaps to cover"). This indicator, often underestimated, is nevertheless a direct lever for improving numeric distribution and sales revenue.

This article provides a clear definition of the remaining tasks, its operational value, and the method to track it.

What is the "remaining tasks"?

The remaining tasks indicator helps to understand which products from a mandatory assortment are not yet present in the point of sale.

In other words, the remaining tasks is the difference between the number of references that should be present on the shelf (according to agreements negotiated at the headquarters level or directly in-store) and the number of references actually recorded during the sales rep's visit.

Its formula is therefore: Remaining Tasks = Mandatory Assortment – Present Products

For example, if six references from your range are planned as a mandatory assortment in a hypermarket and you only find four on the shelf, two products are missing. These two references constitute the "remaining tasks," in other words, the ordering or restocking actions to be carried out.

Why track the remaining tasks?

The remaining tasks is a useful indicator to effectively manage your ND (Numeric Distribution) objectives and your visit priorities. It helps to evaluate point-of-sale compliance and adherence to commercial agreements.

Above all, it is a KPI that allows you to prioritize the field actions of your sales reps based on the missing potential, identifying opportunities for restocking or ordering during the visit (and therefore, additional business).

How to track it?

To do this, you need to be equipped with a sales CRM for mobile sales forces.

The calculation of the remaining tasks is simple in principle, as it compares the products planned in the mandatory assortment with the references actually present in the store. However, when you have hundreds or thousands of points of sale to track, management quickly becomes complex.

To calculate the remaining tasks, you must first define the size of your mandatory assortment by banner and/or point of sale in your CRM, and then record the number of products present in-store.

Then, you simply need to create a custom field in your reports to subtract the expected value (mandatory assortment) from the observed value (present products).

All that's left is to create your report. You can choose a report dedicated exclusively to the remaining tasks or integrate it into a more comprehensive view of sales activity, comparing it, for example, to geographic distribution, the number of visits, or orders placed. Another effective approach is to analyze the remaining tasks by store to view discrepancies at a glance and associate them with each sales rep. This allows you to fine-tune individual objectives and focus efforts on priority points of sale.

All of this, in just a few seconds if your CRM is correctly configured.