The Rise of the Account Manager

Why Merchandising Is Becoming One of the Most Strategic Roles in Last-Mile Distribution

For years, delivery in beverage distribution followed a familiar rhythm.

• Drivers arrived at the store
• They checked in
• They unloaded product
• They stocked shelves or coolers
• They rotated inventory and handled displays.

It worked — but it also meant that every delivery required significant driver time inside the store. In today’s last-mile environment, that model is beginning to change. More distributors are adopting drop-and-go delivery models, where drivers deliver product quickly and merchandisers handle the in-store execution afterward.

At first glance, drop-and-go looks like a logistics change. In reality, it’s a labor strategy — and it’s transforming the role of merchandising teams across distribution.

The Productivity Power of Drop-and-Go

In traditional Direct Store Delivery (DSD), drivers often spend a large portion of their route time inside accounts.

• They stock shelves
• They rotate product
• They build displays

While those activities are valuable, they also create a bottleneck. Drivers are highly skilled employees whose time is expensive and limited. Every extra minute inside a store reduces the number of stops a route can support. Drop-and-go changes that equation.

Instead of managing full in-store execution, drivers focus on:

• Delivering product efficiently
• Confirming order accuracy
• Maintaining delivery windows
• Moving quickly to the next stop

Merchandisers then handle the retail execution work. The result is significant operational leverage. Many distributors see fleet productivity increase dramatically because drivers spend less time in-store and more time completing deliveries.

• Routes gain capacity
• Stop counts increase
• Truck utilization improves

In a market where labor shortages and delivery costs continue to rise, those efficiency gains matter.

Supporting a Changing Driver Workforce

Drop-and-go also solves another challenge facing many distributors: driver sustainability. Delivery work is physically demanding. Drivers lift product, navigate tight stockrooms, build displays, and often work long shifts across dense delivery routes. As the workforce ages — and as driver shortages persist across the transportation industry — distributors are looking for ways to make these roles more sustainable long term. Drop-and-go reduces the physical burden on drivers by shifting the detailed merchandising work to teams specifically focused on in-store execution.

That shift can:

• Extend driver career longevity
• Reduce injury risk
• Improve driver retention
• Make delivery roles more attractive to new hires

In other words, drop-and-go isn’t just about productivity. It’s also about protecting one of the most critical roles in distribution operations.

Why Merchandising Is Becoming Strategic

As drop-and-go expands, another shift begins to happen inside the organization. The role of the merchandiser evolves. Historically, merchandising was often viewed as a tactical function focused on shelf stocking and display maintenance. But as merchandising teams spend more consistent time in stores, they begin to occupy a much more strategic position.

• They see inventory levels daily
• They observe competitor activity
• They notice display opportunities
• They understand store operations.

In many cases, merchandisers are now the most consistent in-store presence a distributor has.That visibility is incredibly valuable. And it’s why many distributors are beginning to rethink the role entirely.

The Rise of the Account Manager

As merchandising becomes more central to retail execution, the role is evolving into something closer to account management. Instead of simply maintaining shelves, merchandisers increasingly help support:

• Display execution
• Planogram compliance
• Inventory visibility
• Competitive intelligence
• Retailer communication

In some organizations, merchandisers are even providing feedback that informs sales strategy and ordering decisions. This evolution makes sense operationally. Sales reps may visit accounts weekly or biweekly. Merchandisers, on the other hand, may be in the store multiple times per week. That proximity to the shelf creates an opportunity for merchandising teams to play a more active role in driving retail performance. And as distributors rethink labor allocation, that role becomes even more valuable.

In-Store Presence Matters More Than Visit Frequency

For years, distributors measured service largely by how often sales reps visited accounts. But in today’s environment, the more important metric may be who is actually present in the store.

Retailers care about:

• Shelves being stocked
• Displays being maintained
• Products being rotated
• Out-of-stocks being resolved quickly

Those outcomes are driven less by sales visit frequency and more by consistent in-store execution. Drop-and-go models make that possible by allowing merchandisers to focus entirely on retail performance while drivers focus on efficient delivery. When done correctly, this approach improves both operational efficiency and retailer satisfaction.

Creating Career Paths in Distribution

There’s another benefit to this evolution that often gets overlooked: career development. As merchandising roles become more strategic, they also become stronger entry points into the distribution industry. Many distributors are beginning to build clearer career ladders:

Merchandiser → Senior Merchandiser → Account Manager → Sales Representative → Territory Manager

This pathway helps organizations:

• Develop internal talent
• Improve workforce retention
• Reduce sales hiring challenges
• Create more upward mobility within operations

In an industry where labor availability continues to be one of the biggest constraints, that matters. Strong career pathways help distributors attract and retain the people who keep their operations running.

The Future of Last-Mile Labor Strategy

As margins tighten and operational complexity increases, distributors are rethinking how labor is deployed across their organizations. Drivers focus on efficient delivery execution. Merchandisers focus on retail performance and account visibility. Sales teams focus on growth and strategic selling. When those roles are aligned properly, the entire distribution network becomes more flexible and productive.

Drop-and-go is one of the clearest examples of how a logistics decision can evolve into a workforce strategy.

Final Thought

Drop-and-go delivery may start as a routing and efficiency decision. But its biggest impact may be cultural. Because as merchandising teams take on greater responsibility inside accounts, their role shifts from shelf stocking to retail execution leadership. And in today’s last-mile environment, that evolution may be one of the most important workforce changes happening in distribution.

The merchandiser of the past maintained the shelf.

The account manager of the future helps drive the store.

Wise Systems now does synchronized sales, delivery, and merchandising territory planning at the same time. Book a Strategic Planner demo today!