Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and one of The Founding Fathers of the United States, is quoted for having said, “As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.”

Within the beverage industry, where brands look to innovation to grow distribution efficiency at scale, direct-store-delivery (DSD) technology can bring significant advantages to operations by providing control over their delivery strategy.

Matt Collins, chief marketing officer for GoSpotCheck by FORM, Denver, explains that DSD technology has evolved to give brands the flexibility and visibility they need to adapt quickly — from inventory tracking to AI-powered image recognition for monitoring retail execution. 

“Of course, the challenge of the market right now is linking many disparate data sources into one comprehensive view of the supply chain — manufacturers, distributors, fleets, retailers, consumers — and creating a seamless system that’s built to scale,” he says. “Brands using a DSD model have a significant advantage because they have total control over their delivery strategy, but this also poses a challenge for them to find technology that seamlessly fits into that workflow.”

Aside from the challenge of linking data into a comprehensive system, SKU proliferation also is having an impact on DSD technology, Collins notes.

“SKU proliferation has accelerated the need for on-site retail execution technology: What SKUs are visible on the shelf? Is the display accurate? Is your product assortment, price, or planogram compliant?” he says. “Equipping your teams with a mobile in-store solution like GoSpotCheck can be a massive game-changer for brands or distributors looking for an easy way to track execution across accounts, trade marketing programs, and SKUs. 

“As DSD brands launch new SKUs to gain share in existing categories or to penetrate new ones, it’s critical to verify the execution of that launch and create a standardized system for measuring success,” Collins continues. “Combining in-store execution technology with a robust business intelligence solution that can grow with you and your portfolio is paramount to success.”

With beverage market trends prompting distributors to streamline operations, Collins highlights other key advantages of employing DSD solutions.

“There has been so much innovation and disruption in the beverage industry, and we’ve all seen it firsthand: category growth and emerging brands,” he says. “One of the biggest advantages of being a DSD brand is having an existing network of experts who know your business inside and out, your field reps. 

“No matter how established you are in the industry, if you don’t have that visibility on the ground into what’s new and what’s resonating with consumers, you’re missing out on one of your greatest differentiators,” he continues. “Adopting technology that’s built for your field reps and allows them to capture that kind of data at the source allows DSD brands to protect shelf share and catch competitive creep.”

Among advancements to the technology, Collins says the “biggest” revolves around the speed-to-insights that AI-powered technology can achieve. 

“This is essential for DSD as flexibility, speed, and usability of technology are critical for field teams,” he explains. “One area that has seen a recent advancement is how image recognition data is captured at the shelf. Typically, users have needed to capture multiple photos or videos of a single-set, which are then sent to the cloud and processed before delivering results. 

“With augmented reality, reps can simply wave their mobile device in front of a shelf, cooler or display to capture SKU-level data and all of it appears in real-time,” Collins continues. “This data can be used for an instant analysis of shelf share, assortment compliance, and in-stock tracking.”

As far as what to consider before selecting a DSD solution, Collins suggests that the success of a solution is only as strong as the data fed into it.

“In other words, the output depends entirely on the input,” he says. “Selecting a proven and trusted technology provider that can deliver fast, structured, and highly accurate data should be a top priority — not delayed or raw spreadsheets that hinder action and slow down speed-to-insights. 

“Additionally, choosing a vendor that’s seasoned in the beverage industry and has a track record of executing programs and meeting standards is incredibly important: they understand their own tech, but do they understand your objectives and the state of your industry?,” he continues.  

Looking ahead, Collins anticipates that advancements in DSD technology will only further help streamline beverage distribution.

“As image recognition AI continues to grow in the DSD space, distributors have been able to quickly build databases of structured and actionable shelf intelligence data,” he explains. “DSD technology is now taking it a step further with the introduction of AI agents, which will allow teams to capture deeper automated analysis on retail execution data.

“AI agents can be trained on large sets of accurate data, and once trained, they can augment teams in the field by comparing data sets, analyzing, and making recommendations to the end user, ultimately minimizing the time field reps spend performing calculations or deciding which steps to take next,” Collins continues. “This agent can act as a coach to guide teams in the field on how to spot opportunities and build relationships more quickly with their partners.”

With an ever-evolving beverage market, going forward it appears that DSD technology will continue to play a crucial role for distributors and retailers alike.