Is Your Team Selling or Searching? How to Reduce the Administrative Burden on Your Food Distribution Network

Your sales partners are your engine for growth, but what percentage of their day is actually spent selling? The answer is likely much lower than you think. Across industries, field sales reps spend a staggering 62% of their time on non-selling activities, with the bulk of that consumed by administrative tasks and searching for content.

For the food industry, where product catalogs are notoriously complex, this administrative burden is a silent killer of growth.

The good news is that CPG companies with innovative sales and marketing teams are growing 4.1 percentage points faster than their competitors. Their secret? They equip their food distribution network with the tools needed to cut administrative time and refocus on selling.

The True Cost of a Disorganized Catalog

Think about the vast amount of data tied to a single food product: nutritional panels, ingredient lists, allergen warnings, storage instructions, certifications, case dimensions, and high-resolution photos. Now multiply that by your entire product line. When this information is scattered across spreadsheets, shared drives, and email chains, your food distribution network is forced to spend an enormous amount of time simply trying to find what it needs.

This is a direct drain on your revenue. Every hour a broker spends hunting for a spec sheet is an hour they aren’t building relationships or closing deals. This administrative drag is a key reason why so many sales reps spend only 38% of their time selling. The rest of their day is a frustrating cycle of searching, verifying, and chasing down information, all of which pulls them away from revenue-generating activities.

Free Up 30% of Your Team’s Time

What would it mean for your business if you could give your sales partners back 30% of their time? Studies show that companies with effective sales enablement tools achieve at least that much in administrative time savings. Imagine your brokers having an extra 12 hours a week to dedicate to selling. The impact on your bottom line would be immediate and substantial.

This is not a fantasy; it’s the direct result of implementing a centralized and structured product management system. When all product data lives in a predictable, logical, and easily accessible location, the administrative burden plummets. No more digging through emails for the latest certification or calling the office to confirm packaging details. Your entire food distribution network can access a single source of truth, empowering them to work faster and smarter.
Product Information Structure is the Key to Speed and Sanity
The solution to catalog chaos is not more folders or a new spreadsheet template. The solution is a purpose-built system designed to handle the unique complexities of food product information. By organizing your products with built-in categorization tools, you create a structured environment where every piece of data has a logical home.

This means you can organize products by families, by categories (frozen, refrigerated, shelf-stable), or even by private label relationships, with granular access controls to protect sensitive information. When a broker needs to find the nutritional information for a specific line of private label products, they don’t have to guess where to look. The system guides them directly to the correct, up-to-date information in seconds.

From Administrative Burden to Selling Power

When you remove the administrative friction from your food distribution network, you do more than just save time. You create a more motivated, confident, and effective sales force. Your brokers can spend less time searching and more time selling, armed with the accurate and professional materials they need to win over buyers.

The most innovative companies in the CPG space are already making this shift. They recognize that investing in the efficiency of their sales partners is one of the most powerful levers for growth. By providing a structured, centralized system for product information, you can reduce administrative tasks, empower your brokers, and position your company to outpace the competition.