Drawing on insights from Viraag Dwivedi, Consulting Partner, Aviral Consulting, this article explores how Route-to-Market in India is evolving beyond distribution efficiency into a dynamic growth orchestration system, anchored in customer-centricity, multi-channel clarity, and integrated governance.
Route-to-Market is growth orchestration, not just distribution efficiency
Route-to-Market (RtM) has shifted from being shorthand for channels and physical reach to an operating system that converts availability into customer experience and customer experience into retention. In India, RtM maturity varies widely across regions, shaped by fragmented retail, uneven infrastructure, and accelerating digitalisation. While conventional distributor-centric networks still dominate, metro cities and high-growth channels are advancing faster, powered by technology-supported distribution models and hybrid approaches blending modern trade, e-commerce, B2B platforms, and quick commerce.
Customer-centric design
The best RtM strategies begin with a simple question: what does “good service” mean for each customer segment? For kiranas, it’s dependable replenishment and predictable credit settlement. For modern trade, it’s high fill rates and rapid resolution. For quick commerce, it’s near-real-time inventory visibility. RtM leaders translate these expectations into measurable service promises, OTIF, fill rate, on-shelf availability, and design channels, inventory, and transport choices backward from those promises.
Multi-channel clarity
Brands today operate across general trade, modern trade, marketplaces, D2C, and B2B ecosystems. The challenge is not adding channels but preventing conflict and duplication. Clean multi-channel RtM rests on three guardrails: a clear role for each channel, harmonised price/pack architecture, and shared inventory visibility. Reliance Retail’s JioMart illustrates how offline assets can power online service promises when inventory and operations are synchronised.
Integration as the spine
RtM often breaks at handoffs, orders delayed, invoices mismatched, credit notes lagging. Integration is the antidote. A connected stack of CRM, WMS, ERP, and TMS creates a single, reliable truth. Predictable service reduces churn even when competitors discount.
SOPs for consistency
Technology cannot compensate for fuzzy processes. High-performing RtM programmes codify workflows with clear SOPs: order cut-offs, allocation logic, route planning standards, claims and returns, credit escalation, and service recovery playbooks. SOPs are the backbone of repeatable performance.
Cost-to-serve discipline
Three proven levers keep costs in check: reduce complexity before adding capacity, rebalance inventory buffers to the right nodes, and improve cost-to-serve transparency by modelling profitability across routes, customers, and channels.
Analytics and governance
RtM excellence is not about reporting but proactive correction. Governance rhythms with root-cause analysis ensure accountability: who fixes stock-outs, why returns spike, and how OTIF drops are recovered. This discipline turns RtM into a living system.
Segment, then route
India compresses multiple markets into one map, from impatient metros to rural corridors where margins erode quietly. A single blueprint risks under-delivery or exploding costs. The winning approach is segmentation by demand density, service promise, and cost-to-serve complexity, then choosing the right route, stocking points, and cadence.
Building a Flexible Capability
RtM excellence is not defined by a single design but by the ability to segment effectively, learn continuously, and adapt quickly without escalating costs. Companies that embed RtM as a core capability transform distribution into a resilient, retention-led engine for sustained growth.
