Most packaging distributors know their biggest accounts by heart. Fewer can say, at a glance, which customers are buying more than last year, which are quietly buying less, and which buy your boxes but get their film, labels or foodservice disposables elsewhere. Those answers drive growth, and the app puts them on one screen.
The exec dashboard
The exec dashboard shows sales, margin, cash, receivables and pace on one screen. Rep pace to goal shows each rep's month against goal, and company goal shows the month, year to date and year at this pace. For an owner or GM, that's a quick daily read on whether the month is on track and whether margin or receivables need attention.
The weekly rep review email goes out each Monday. Every rep gets their own accounts, and the GM desk gets everyone, so the team starts each week looking at the same numbers.
Top accounts up and down, and category gaps
Top accounts up and down shows the top ten accounts buying more than last year and the top ten buying less. In packaging, both lists are signals. A customer buying more may have added a product line, won a big retail account or grown online sales; that's the time to talk about equipment, custom print and stocking programs. A customer buying less may have lost volume, moved corrugated to a box plant, or found another supplier for film. Either way, a conversation is due.
Category gaps shows the categories each customer buys from you and the ones they buy elsewhere. Packaging spend is often split. A typical manufacturer might buy:
- Stock boxes and tape from you,
- Custom printed corrugated from a box plant,
- Stretch film from a film specialist,
- Labels from a label converter,
- Strapping and equipment service from an equipment dealer.
Each one is a chance to grow at an account where you already have the relationship and the delivery. Category gaps tells the rep which conversation to have next.
Reports customers see
Customers get their own spend, usage and category reports in the app. For a shipping or operations manager, these are valuable. They show exactly how many of each box size, roll of film and case of tape are used each month, and how that tracks with shipping volume. Many operations managers have never had that view of their own packaging.
That data is the foundation of a strong account review. Use the usage report to show the customer their top box sizes and suggest consolidating similar ones. Show film use per month and propose a trial of a higher-performance film that uses less material. Point to categories they buy elsewhere and explain how one supplier could simplify their ordering. Show their spend trend alongside their shipping growth so they can see packaging cost per shipment, not just the total.
A good packaging account review covers four things: what they spent and how it's trending, how usage tracks with their volume, which categories they still buy elsewhere, and what you'd recommend to cut their total packaging cost. Every point is backed by the app's reports. Time reviews ahead of peak season or a customer's budget planning. The customer leaves understanding their own packaging better, and you leave with a plan to grow the account.
Want to walk through it with your own accounts? Book a demo.