Wholesale Field Sales 2026

German wholesale turns over almost €1.3 trillion a year, yet it has barely grown in real terms since 2023. Growth therefore has to come mainly from existing customers. How well sales teams are prepared for that is what this report shows, combining official statistics with our own research: 355 conversations with wholesalers, more than 3,000 sales profiles, a monitor of 4,746 field sales job ads and an internal Acto benchmark on customer churn. The data covers Germany and the DACH region.

Key findings

How many customers does a field sales rep in wholesale cover?

On average 247 customers (106 companies, median 175). At around six visits a day that comes to roughly 1,000 visits a year, or about four contacts per customer. A field rep costs around €98,000 a year fully loaded, so each visit costs just under €100.

How do wholesalers plan field sales visits?

Mostly by gut feeling. In 47% of conversations, wholesalers named gut feeling as the basis for visit planning, while 8% named the CRM. In 49% of conversations, field reps hardly use the CRM or not at all.

How many customers do wholesalers lose each year?

Between 4% and 17% of customers per year, according to the internal Acto benchmark based on ERP order data. Most of them do not cancel, they simply order less. At 10% churn, two thirds of all new business only replaces lost revenue. Only 11% of the wholesalers we spoke to have an early-warning list for customers who are buying less.

How long does it take a new field rep to get up to speed?

Three to five years until a new rep knows the territory as well as an experienced one. That is the estimate of the majority (52%) of sales leaders in our live poll at the VTH annual conference, and another 10% said more than five years.

How hard is it to hire field sales reps in wholesale?

46% of open field sales positions at wholesalers have been advertised for more than 90 days, compared with 37% across all industries. Only 8% of wholesale job ads mention a salary, compared with 19% across all industries.

How old is the sales workforce?

26% of people in sales occupations are 55 or older, up from 17% in 2015. Among managers in purchasing and sales it is 36%, in wholesale overall 26.7%. New apprenticeship contracts for wholesale and foreign trade management have fallen by 33% since 2015.

How is the German wholesale market doing?

128,937 companies turned over around €1.29 trillion in 2024. The real turnover index stood at 98.6 in 2025 (2021 = 100). Insolvency filings rose from 632 (2022) to 1,241 (2025). Wholesale of wood, building materials and sanitary equipment is under the most pressure, more than a quarter below 2021 in real terms. Only IT and communications wholesale grew in real terms since 2021 (+11.1%).

How many wholesalers use AI?

32% of German wholesalers with ten or more employees used AI in 2025, up from 13% in 2023. That is above the EU average (23%) but behind Austria (38%).

What's in the report

• The market in 2026: turnover, insolvencies, sentiment
• Sector comparison: turnover and age structure by wholesale segment
• Open sales positions and experience by role
• One field rep, 247 customers: visits, costs, customer selection
• How visits are planned and the role of ERP and CRM
• What churn costs and how to measure it
• Age structure, succession and the job market in sales
• Five areas for action for wholesalers

Methodology

• Official statistics: Destatis (structural statistics, turnover index, insolvencies), German Federal Employment Agency (employees by occupation and age), Eurostat (AI usage).
• Job ad monitor: all 4,746 field sales positions on the job board of the German Federal Employment Agency, week 44/2026, of which 311 from 162 wholesalers.
• Conversation analysis: 577 sales conversations from 2024 to 2026, of which 355 with wholesalers. Only statements by the wholesalers were analysed.
• Sales profiles: a sample of over 3,000 profiles from wholesale companies in the DACH region.
• Poll: live poll at the 2026 annual conference of the VTH (German association of technical wholesale), n = 52 and 56.
• Acto benchmark: ERP order data from wholesalers, the basis of the churn rate.

Conversations, profiles and the poll are samples and not representative of wholesale as a whole. The full methodology is in the report.

Using these numbers

You are welcome to use all figures and charts with the source “Acto, Wholesale Field Sales 2026” and a link to this page. We are happy to send journalists and authors the full report and individual charts without a form. For questions, quotes and interviews:

Alexander Heinle, Acto GmbH
alexander@heyacto.com