What Good Looks Like
- A written service brief that both sides can test: which stores, which work, what evidence, and by when.
- One agreed definition of a completed call, so “95% done” means the same thing to everyone.
- A short, shared list of exception reasons, each with an owner who acts on it.
- Weekly and monthly reviews that use the same FieldKo reports, not parallel spreadsheets.
- An agency judged on what it controls: coverage, work quality, honest exception reporting, and timely data.
When to Use It and Common Failure Patterns
Use this page when store work is planned by one organization and carried out by another, or when brand partners need to see results from your FieldKo org. Common failure patterns:- “Completed” means checked in. A visit can be Completed without the required work or evidence.
- Each side keeps its own store list. The brand’s list and the agency’s list drift apart, and nobody knows which stores are in scope.
- Exceptions with no owner. A rep reports “stock not delivered”, and the report goes nowhere.
- Agencies blamed for what they can’t control. Replenishment and listing decisions belong to the brand or the retailer.
- Access granted in a hurry. Partners get more access than they need, or less than the work requires.
Operating Procedure
1
Write a Testable Service Brief
Agree the eligible stores, the visit window and expected duration, the mandatory tasks, the evidence required, the escalation contacts, and the reporting deadline. Also agree what happens when a visit can’t be done, such as a closed store or stock that wasn’t delivered.
2
Define a Completed Call
Write down the conditions, not only “checked in”. For example: the rep checked in at the store, completed every mandatory task with its required photo, or recorded a reason for each task they couldn’t do. Measure coverage and work quality as separate numbers.
3
Agree a Shared Exception List
Keep it short and specific, such as no store access, stock not delivered, stock in the stockroom but not on shelf, product not authorized, display material missing, incorrect price, and system or data issue. Give each reason an owner: the retailer, the brand’s supply team, the agency supervisor, or the brand’s account manager.
4
Agree the Evidence Standard
Use the same rules for check-in, task status, photos, and notes. Don’t require photos where the retailer’s policy or privacy rules forbid them. Review a sample of evidence together and train both teams on what’s acceptable.
5
Review Together on a Fixed Rhythm
Hold a short operational review each week and a strategic review each month. Use the same reports and definitions, and look at aging exceptions and scope changes.
6
Manage Changes Fairly
Agree how to cancel visits to stores that are no longer eligible, change campaign windows, record retailer restrictions, and dispute an observation. Write each change down before it takes effect.
How to Implement It in FieldKo
FieldKo has no separate agency or partner object. Agency reps work as FieldKo users, and what they see and sync follows Salesforce sharing, permission sets, and FieldKo’s account assignment rules.Portals and Partner Logins
FieldKo’s standard portal setup shares orders, price books, and products with retailers, through an Experience Cloud site that you build. It uses the FieldKo community permission sets, such as Community View FieldKo Orders, and the Share Records with Community custom setting. See Customer Portal (Optional). Partner-licensed reps use the FieldKo Community Permission Set; to give community-licensed reps the FieldKo Atlas app, contact FieldKo support at support@fieldko.com.A portal where brand partners see their own visits, photos, and results is customer-specific configuration, not part of the standard FieldKo packages. If you need one, ask your FieldKo contact.
Fictional Example
A fictional snack brand, Bramble Snacks, uses a fictional agency, Shelfwise Merchandising, to check a display in 120 stores in a month. They agree that a completed call means the rep checked in and either completed the display task with its required photo or chose a Can’t Do reason. At the end of the month:
Of the 108 completed visits, 99 had the display task done with a photo, and 9 had Can’t Do with the reason “Stock not delivered”.
- Coverage: 108 of 120 planned visits completed, or 90%.
- Work quality: 99 of 108 completed visits with the task done and evidenced, or about 92%. All 108 meet the completed-call definition.
- Agency’s own gap: 5 visits with no record and no reason. This is the number the agency fixes.
- Brand’s gap: 9 stores without stock. This goes to the brand’s supply team, not the agency.
What to Measure
Exception aging, owners, and closure need your own process or configuration, because FieldKo has no standard owner, due date, or closure status for an exception. See Close the Loop on Store Exceptions.
When It Goes Wrong
- An agency rep doesn’t see their stores. Check the account owner, the account team, or, in public group mode, the account sharing to the rep’s group. If you use brands, check Brand Team Members. Then ask the rep to sync.
- Brand users can’t see the reports. Check the report folder’s sharing and the brand users’ access to the underlying records.
- The two sides disagree on a number. Go back to the written definition and the shared account set. If either is missing, agree it before the next review.
- Exceptions pile up with no action. Check that every reason has a named owner, and review aging exceptions in the weekly meeting.
Checklist
- A service brief with stores, window, tasks, evidence, escalation, and deadline.
- A written definition of a completed call.
- An exception list in Possible Reasons for incompletion, with an owner for each reason.
- One account set for the in-scope stores.
- Agency reps with licenses, permission sets, and the right accounts.
- Partner access agreed and limited to what the brief needs.
- Weekly and monthly reviews on the same reports.