Every sales rep wants a new product—here’s how to filter noise from necessity in your product planning cycle.
If you’ve worked in product management or procurement at a glass, ceramics, or refractories distributor, you’ve likely heard this phrase more times than you can count: “We need to carry this new product—my customer is asking for it.” Sales teams are often the frontline feelers of the market, bringing in real-time insights. But turning every product request into a stocked item is a recipe for SKU overload, wasted spend, and operational chaos.
Prioritizing expansion requests means developing a disciplined intake, evaluation, and ranking process that treats product additions like capital investments.
Here’s how high-performing distributors do it:
1. Set a Formal Intake System
No more ad-hoc emails or hallway conversations. Create a standardized intake form that every sales rep must complete to request a new product. It should include:
Target customer(s)
Estimated order volume/frequency
Competitive comparison
Product specs (with supplier info)
Urgency and timing
This alone filters out 30–40% of vague or emotion-driven asks.
2. Apply a Weighted Scoring Model
Use a simple scorecard to evaluate each request across multiple criteria:
Revenue potential (high-margin + recurring = score)
Cross-industry applicability (can this serve multiple segments?)
Sourcing reliability (are raw materials and lead times viable?)
Warehouse compatibility (hazmat? climate control? size constraints?)
Strategic alignment (does this fit within your Tier 1/2/3 product architecture?)
Assign scores and rank requests quarterly.
3. Define a Product Committee
Include reps from sales, operations, procurement, and finance. The committee meets monthly or quarterly to review incoming requests and approve only those that meet thresholds. This depoliticizes decision-making and adds cross-functional alignment.
4. Use Pilots and Test Buys
Rather than onboarding a full SKU immediately, consider a pilot launch. Buy limited stock or offer it via dropship to test actual demand. Sales teams gain a chance to validate interest without the company taking on long-term liability.
5. Make the “No” Transparent
Sales reps get frustrated when their requests vanish into a black hole. Even if a product isn’t approved, communicate why—and what could make it viable later (e.g., more confirmed demand, lower MOQ, better margin). This builds trust and reduces end-arounds.
Prioritizing doesn’t mean saying “no” to sales. It means saying “yes” to the right things, at the right time, with the right support. When your product catalog is curated—not crowdsourced—you create room for high-performing SKUs that actually move.
:
Product expansion is vital to staying relevant, but not every good idea is good for business. For distributors, putting a framework behind product decisions keeps growth aligned with strategy—not gut feel. Give sales a voice, but don’t give every request a shelf slot. Discipline here pays dividends everywhere else.
