NTT DATA | AB-INBEV | MICROSOFT
— without upsetting their well-established beer drinking culture . This is all thanks to a new technology called BEES Force .
“ BEES is a B2B platform we have created to help our sales staff interact in the most efficient way possible with our small and medium sized retailers ,” says Padula .
But as Padula explains , once BEES got past the proof of concept for a new Image Recognition solution , it was clear it had the potential to totally change the way his company interacted with its retailers . This was not just a technological rethink . The potential of the technology meant Ab-InBev — through the BEES Force system — was able to completely overhaul the way it treated and incentivized its sales teams and its retailers .
“ BEES Force was designed to help our retailers buy beer from us , get it delivered and then sell it efficiently and effectively from the coolers in their premises ,” he says . “ But it also gave us an opportunity to re-purpose the sales model .
“ This technology has enabled us to turn our sales staff from order taking reps to consultants with a mine of data at their disposal to improve , streamline and enhance the sales process and maximize returns for the retailer . We now call our former salespeople Business development Representatives ( BDRs ).’
So , how is this concept groundbreaking and technologically advanced ? Padua explains : “ We had to ask what technology we needed to address the specific challenges we faced with retailers in these regions . We needed to re-invent the supply chain and the way we monitored it from a retailer and consumer ( beer drinker ) angle .
“ We wanted to give our BDR ’ s the tools to help our retailers ’ businesses grow ; to sell more products , to sell more beer and effectively thrive . Once we decided to do
“ It may sound simple , but no one ever did this in the past …. We even thought we ’ d have to employ the CIA or the FBI to achieve this ”
RICARDO PADULA PRODUCT LEAD , BEES FORCE
that it started a whole change management process . It was a huge transformation for the company and the future of the sales .”
BEES had to ask itself what technology was needed to allow the new BDR to effectively run their own teams . BEES Force was born and would be with them all the way through the sales process . Padua is a Star Wars fan ; in case you hadn ’ t guessed .
36 April 2022