The KPIs every HORECA distributor should track (and how to improve them)

In a business like HORECA distribution, what you don’t measure, you can’t improve. And what you measure poorly can lead to the wrong decisions.

What are KPIs?
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are key metrics that help you understand how your business is evolving and allow you to make decisions based on facts — not just intuition.

📊 1. Stock turnover

What it measures: the speed at which you sell your inventory.
Why it matters: the faster your stock moves, the less capital is tied up, and the lower the risk of expiry or deterioration. But be careful: if you discount too aggressively, you might lose more margin than the liquidity you gain.

What matters more? It depends on the product and your financial situation. Holding onto slow-moving stock comes with hidden costs: space, expiry risk, devaluation, and lost opportunities to sell faster-moving items. In most cases, sacrificing some margin is better than letting stock become unsellable.

How to improve it:

  • Set up automated alerts to detect slow-moving items.
  • Anticipate packaging or format changes and cut purchases early to avoid getting stuck with obsolete stock.
  • Run targeted or cross-promotions to clear slow stock before it’s too late.

💶 2. Gross margin per customer

What it measures: the actual profit you make from each customer, after product and service-related costs.
Why it matters: some customers buy a lot but barely leave you any profit.

But be careful: some low-margin customers can bring volume and visibility — especially if they’re key accounts in your area. It’s worth considering their strategic value, not just their numbers. If they help you consolidate routes or attract other clients, they might still be worth it.

How to improve it:

  • Calculate margin per order, not just per product.
  • Factor in discounts, rush orders, returns, and logistics costs.
  • Adjust service conditions or delivery frequency if a customer isn’t profitable — unless their strategic value justifies it.

🚚 3. Logistics cost per delivery and per route

What it measures: the real cost of delivering an order and the overall performance of each delivery route.
Why it matters: an individual delivery may seem profitable, but the entire route could be losing money.

How to improve cost per delivery:

  • Group deliveries by zones and days.
  • Raise the minimum order size for low-margin drops.
  • Use route optimization tools to minimize distance and time.

How to improve cost per route:

  • Treat each route as a unit: total cost, total margin, and order density.
  • Identify consistently unprofitable routes.
  • Increase sales efforts in low-density areas to gain volume.
  • Adjust delivery frequencies or combine routes with insufficient volume.

📞 4. Customer satisfaction (automated and actionable)

What it measures: the customer’s experience right after delivery, focusing on key service moments.
Why it matters: if you don’t catch dissatisfaction early, you risk losing the customer without knowing why.

How to improve it:

  • Send a short survey after each delivery, with just 3 questions:
    1. How do you rate the order handling?
    2. How do you rate the delivery?
    3. Any comments or suggestions?
  • Integrate responses into your CRM for proper follow-up.
  • Act within 24 hours if a customer gives negative feedback.
  • Use positive comments to build loyalty or strengthen relationships.

📆 5. Customer order frequency

What it measures: changes in how regularly a customer places orders within a profitable ticket size.
Why it matters: tracking whether frequency is increasing or decreasing helps you anticipate churn or double down on loyalty-building efforts.

How to improve it:

  • Define a “healthy” frequency range based on customer type and order size.
  • Set alerts for significant changes in buying patterns.
  • Reach out proactively if a customer is ordering less — ideally with a special offer or better terms. If they’re ordering more, reward their loyalty with exclusive perks.

⚠️ BONUS: Don’t track everything

More data doesn’t always mean more insight. What really matters is tracking KPIs that help you make decisions. If a KPI doesn’t lead to action, drop it.

💡 What now?

Ask yourself:

  1. Am I tracking what really matters?
  2. Am I making decisions based on these KPIs?
  3. Is my follow-up automated, or am I relying on Excel and luck?

If you have any questions about what we’ve explained, email us at info@redparalela.eu — we’ll be happy to help.