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Unilever Professional Sales Excellence During Covid-19

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Smollan4836

We were required to:

  • Unilever Professional wanted to generate demand for its cleaning and hygiene products in institutional accounts and expand its distribution network in the Philippines.
  • The client learned that field force services are DKSH Smollan’s area of expertise and asked us to develop a solution to address their requirements.
  • However due to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) orders several Hotel, Restaurants, and Cafe (HoReCa) accounts and sub-distributors had to halt operations temporarily.
  • With the temporary closure of businesses, Unilever Professional products were affected by slowing sales.
APPROACH
  • The team was quick to re-strategize the marketing tactics upon placement of the ECQ; shifting efforts from field operation to engaging more e-commerce platforms, thus creating an omnichannel environment.
  • The Key Account Managers expanded online reach by joining social media groups such as homeowners associations, real estate developers, to tap potential clients.
  • The team joined community markets to reach individuals under the lockdown and provide essential products.
  • The team continued operation through online training of sales representatives.
RESULTS

Regardless of the lockdown measures, the team was able to achieve the following:

  • Sign up new accounts every month
  • Open new distributor accounts outside of Metro Manila
  • Secure regular Purchase Orders for replenishment from existing accounts
  • Grow Unilever Professional’s presence on eCommerce platforms from 2 online stores to 15 stores
  • Continued business and training practices despite lockdown
  • Secured purchase orders from 28 new accounts and sub-distributors in a span of 2 months while on ECQ
  • PHP 30+ million worth of purchase orders secured
“Unilever Professional’s presence on eCommerce platforms grew from 2 online stores to 15 stores”
– Director, Global FMCG manufacturer