Automotive Aftermarket
Stabilizing Dealer Engagement in a Multi-Brand, High-Competition Environment
Automotive Aftermarket · 9 min read
View Case StudyHow a building materials company addressed Channel Loyalty and Traceability challenges to achieve measurable results in channel engagement and secondary sales visibility.
The business operated through a wide distributor network, with products reaching the market through multiple layers before hitting retailers and contractors.
Primary sales were well tracked. Distributor dispatches, billing, and inventory movement were visible. Beyond that, visibility dropped.
The company relied on a mix of distributor feedback and field reports to understand secondary sales. Both had limitations. Distributor feedback reflected what moved out of their warehouses, not what sold further. Field reports were selective and often delayed.
Actual product movement was difficult to attribute. Certain regions appeared strong, but it was not clear which dealers were driving that performance. Some products moved faster without a clear reason.
The company had previously attempted incentive programs, but these were linked to reported sales rather than verified activity. Over time, this created two issues: the incentive programs became expensive without delivering proportional uplift, and trust in the program started weakening because there was no clear link between effort and reward.
The objective was to improve secondary sales visibility while strengthening dealer engagement through a more structured system. The approach combined a channel loyalty program with a traceability layer.
Each product unit was mapped at the SKU level and tagged with a unique identifier. Dealers and retailers were required to scan products through a mobile application to earn rewards. This created a verified layer of data.
Points were linked to scans. Higher-value products carried higher rewards. There were periodic schemes to push specific SKUs.
Dealer engagement improved initially, but adoption was not uniform. Field sales teams were focused on enrolment, but not on sustained usage. Dealers signed up, but did not consistently scan. Training was reworked to focus on usage rather than enrolment.
Some dealers faced issues with scanning due to packaging inconsistencies. In certain cases, product labels were not clearly visible or damaged during handling. The packaging layer had to be corrected alongside the system.
Early delays in reward fulfilment created hesitation among dealers. Once redemption timelines were stabilized and communication improved, participation became more consistent.
Over time, the system began stabilizing. The company started seeing clearer patterns in product movement. Certain dealers emerged as consistent high performers. Specific SKUs showed stronger traction in particular regions. Seasonal demand patterns became more visible.
The program moved from estimation to visibility. Instead of relying on periodic reports, teams had access to ongoing data. Scheme effectiveness could be evaluated in shorter cycles. Interventions became more targeted.
In regions with highly fragmented distribution, adoption was slower. Smaller dealers with low volumes participated less consistently. But the overall system changed the level of control the business had over its channel.
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