Distributor Manager (Ipoh)

The purpose of this role is to lead, manage, and motivate the General Trade and Modern Trade distribution teams to drive sales and distribution activities, with the objective of achieving targeted sales volume and market share growth. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring effective execution of sales strategies across both channels while fostering a high-performance and results-oriented culture within the distribution teams.

Job Responsibilities

1. Business Planning & Performance Management

• Develop and grow General Trade (GT) and Modern Trade (MT) business by category and segment.
• Lead monthly business performance reviews with distributors and develop corrective action plans.
• Proactively review and adjust sales and trade spend strategies when targets are not achieved.
• Implement company strategies for both direct and indirect market coverage.
• Review distribution footprints and route coverage quarterly to improve cost-effectiveness.
• Monitor and report distributor KPIs and business performance to the Regional Sales Manager.

2. Distributor Management

• Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with distributor management teams.
• Evaluate distributor performance and implement improvement plans.
• Monitor distributors' credit standing and ensure compliance with company credit policies.
• Conduct distributor assessments with the Regional Sales Manager and drive agreed improvement actions.

3. Channel Management & Customer Development

• Execute national and regional trade activation and promotional activities.
• Develop and implement customized trade promotions for key retailers.
• Monitor promotional effectiveness and provide post-activity analysis.
• Review sales incentive programme results and communicate performance outcomes to distributor sales teams.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with wholesalers, retailers, and key trade partners.

4. Budget & Resource Management

• Develop and manage area trade spending plans and budgets.
• Monitor trade investment effectiveness and optimize return on investment.
• Collaborate with the Regional Sales Manager on short-term and long-term trade spend strategies.
• Support the recruitment, development, and retention of high-performing distributor sales teams.

5. Sales Force Leadership & Capability Building

• Optimize sales route planning to maximize coverage and return on investment.
• Coach and develop distributor and internal sales teams on selling skills, product knowledge, negotiation, and issue resolution.
• Provide coaching to Distributor Operations Managers on area management and sales strategy.
• Lead talent development initiatives and build a capable sales organization to support future growth.

Job Requirements:

• Secondary education qualification or equivalent.
• Proficient in English and Bahasa Malaysia; Chinese dialects would be an advantage.
• 3-5 years of experience in FMCG sales, preferably within a General Trade environment.
• Proven experience managing distributors and driving sales growth.
• Demonstrated success in leading, coaching, and motivating sales teams.
• Strong business acumen with experience managing trade investments and budgets.
• Good analytical, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.
• Knowledge of distributor management and sales performance management practices.

For thousands of people every day, we are more than just a dairy company. To our farmers, our employees, the communities we serve, the businesses we work with and the people to whom we bring happiness, FrieslandCampina means something more. For them it's not just about what we do, but who we are. We value talented people from any background who want to contribute to something bigger than themselves. We encourage all of our employees to make decisions that benefit our entire company. At FrieslandCampina we own our own career and act accordingly. We trust you to make a difference in your job and influence the bigger picture. Working at FrieslandCampina means you are contributing to a better world.