Evidence before blame
Maps, shipment windows, and incentive clauses bundled so account teams argue with files, not folklore.
9
Years building distributor governance packs
140+
Rulebooks, ladders, and briefs shipped
9.1/10
Average debrief score — internal client surveys
18
Metro pilots hosted with dual-route brands
22
Median days from kickoff to first workshop
Inclusions that hold in distributor forums
Escalations with brakes
Ladders that pause discounts until data arrives — fewer midnight approvals, clearer audit trails.
Partner language that fits KR routes
Templates admit imperfect POS, name timeboxes, and point to the escalation ladder — tone matters when exclusivity clauses disagree across modern trade and traditional wholesale.
140+
Governance artifacts since 2016
Channel collision programs built for overlapping distributor routes
Connectlinker sits with governance, field, and finance teams to turn messy overlap into operable rules — without pretending your POS is perfect.
The flow — five beats
- 01 — Intake routes, incentives, and bruised relationships.
- 02 — Evidence pack: maps, SKU overlap, calendars.
- 03 — Governance workshop with distributors invited.
- 04 — Draft rules + escalation ladder in your voice.
- 05 — Retro after 60 days — adjust, don’t mythologize.
Programs on the bench
Full catalog →
Territory Maps
Distributor overlap diagnostic
Structured interviews, route maps, and sell-out patterns to locate where two partners collide without blaming individuals.
Governance Rules
Territory rulebook rewrite
Plain-language territory clauses, guardrails for promos, and retail-format addenda so partners stop improvising.
Escalation Paths
Escalation ladder design sprint
Four facilitated sessions to define who decides what when overlap sparks a price war or stock-out.
Voices from the trade desk
“The escalation ladder design sprint gave us language for pausing discounts — finance actually used it Monday.”
“Territory rulebook rewrite is dense — worked examples saved us.”
“Overlap diagnostic matched hallway rumors. Still wish we had cleaner POS — they flagged it upfront.”
Teams who borrowed our templates
HanRiver Foods
SteelArc Components
Lotus HoReCa
BluePine Retail
Kori Logistics
Field notes
2025-02-14
When two distributors share the same modern trade key
Listing overlap is rarely malicious — more often it is a data and incentive problem. Here is how we open the conversation without torching relationships.
2024-11-03
Drawing territory maps that reps will actually use
Beautiful maps fail when they ignore visit frequency and SKU reality. Practical maps borrow from logistics and anthropology, not just polygons.
Quarterly governance memo
One email with templates we are retiring, new escalation snippets, and KR regulatory nudges worth reading — not a sales blast.
No checkout — we route you to a human if volume spikes.