Salesforce Certified Consumer Goods Cloud Accredited Professional – Complete Winter '26 Guide

Visit Planning & Route Optimization

Consumer Goods Cloud supports field sales and merchandising teams that visit retail stores. Visit Plans define which stores to visit, visit frequency, and visit activities. Route Optimization calculates the most efficient travel sequence for a sales rep's daily visits. Visit Templates specify which tasks (surveys, order taking, shelf audits) are required at each store type. Priority scoring ranks stores for visit scheduling based on sales volume or compliance risk. The AP exam tests how to configure visit plans, assign them to field teams, and set up route optimization rules — know the difference between manual route assignment and automated optimization.

In-Store Execution & Retail Audits

During a store visit, the field rep uses the Salesforce mobile app to complete Activities: shelf audits (planogram compliance), order capture, promotions execution, and competitive data collection. Surveys capture structured data — product availability, shelf position, facing count. Photos attached to visit records document compliance issues. Einstein Vision can analyze shelf images for planogram compliance. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure execution quality per store and rep. The exam tests how to configure survey questions, how photos are attached and surfaced in reports, and how to set up KPI targets for field team performance management.

Order Management & Direct Store Delivery

Van Sales (Direct Store Delivery) orders are captured in the field and fulfilled from a delivery vehicle. The order workflow: create cart → confirm order → generate invoice → collect payment → update inventory. Price Books and Price Rules support store-specific and account-specific pricing. Promotions and trade deals apply discounts at the line item level. Inventory management tracks on-hand stock in the delivery vehicle. Returns are processed on-site with inventory adjustments. The exam tests the end-to-end DSD order flow, how pricing rules stack, and how inventory is tracked at the vehicle location level.

Account & Store Management

Retail accounts (stores, chains, distributors) are managed as Account records with consumer goods-specific fields (store type, chain affiliation, territory). Store Clusters group similar accounts for targeted promotional strategies. Assortment Plans define which products should be available at each store or cluster. Planogram compliance measures whether the right products are shelved in the right positions. Account plans and joint business plans track collaborative goals with key retail partners. The exam tests how to configure assortment plans, how to link planograms to store accounts, and how to set up account plan templates for key account management.

Analytics & Field Performance Reporting

Consumer Goods Cloud reports and dashboards measure field execution quality, sell-in vs. sell-out performance, and promotional effectiveness. Visit Completion Rate, OSA (On-Shelf Availability), and planogram compliance are key metrics. Einstein Analytics (CRM Analytics) apps for Consumer Goods provide pre-built dashboards for territory managers. Scorecards aggregate KPIs at the rep, territory, and national levels. Alerts notify managers when execution falls below threshold. The exam tests which standard reports are available, how to configure custom KPI scorecards, and how CRM Analytics datasets are populated from visit activity data.

Consumer Goods Data Model

Know the CG Cloud objects: Retail Store, Account (retailer), Product, Planogram, Assessment, and Visit. Understand how these objects relate and how the data model supports field rep execution.

Visit Planning & Scheduling

Know how to configure visit plans: route planning, call cycle rules, visit frequency by store tier, and how the route management optimization engine assigns visits to reps efficiently.

In-Store Execution & Audits

Know how to configure Assessment Tasks (shelf audits, compliance checks) within visits. Understand how tasks are assigned, how survey responses are captured, and how photos are attached via the mobile app.

Einstein Vision for Shelf Recognition

Know how Einstein Vision (image recognition) is used in Consumer Goods Cloud for shelf compliance: training the model with planogram data, capturing shelf photos, and how compliance scores are calculated.

Analytics & Reporting

Know the standard CG Cloud reports and dashboards: visit compliance rates, distribution KPIs, survey response trends, and how CRM Analytics is used for advanced territory and account performance analysis.