Van sales or ready stock distribution as it is interchangeably called, is possibly one of the earliest distribution model adopted and improvised by Indian FMCG companies. Think about it, in terms of food and beverages, India has been dependent on wheat, rice, pulses, fresh locally sourced milk and eggs till the opening up of the Indian economy to foreign investments in early to mid 90’s when brands like Coca-Cola came into the picture. This went hand-in-hand with the rapid urbanisation that shot up the need for packaged products.
The logical distribution model for FMCG manufacturers was to load their own vehicles every morning and head for key markets or retail clusters within say 50 kms from the manufacturing unit and be back by the evening. Since the demand was limited and predictable, this model worked nicely for both retailer and the manufacturer.
As the markets matured, the number of retailers that sprung up in a city multiplied exponentially creating newer and more scattered retail clusters. Also, the bouquet of FMCG products expanded with better packaging and longer shelf life. As a result the van sales model gave way to order taking the supply-chain model with entities like stockists, distributors, sub distributors coming into the picture. However, for certain product types like milk (and milk-based products), bread, poultry and non-frozen meat still rely on the age-old ready stock model.
Peri provides a compressive van sales module to FMCG companies in ready-stock distribution model. Our consultants shadowed van drivers, sales representatives and supervisors working in bread and egg distribution from factory or farm to the retailer points, and have automated the following workflows in an easy-to-use, agile and efficient manner:
1. Inventory management
2. Vehicle Queue management
3. Vehicle GPS integration
4. Route plan
5. Order taking (same as GT workflow)
6. Auto Fulfilment of Order
7. Payment Outstanding and Collection
7.1 Types (FIFO or Manual)
7.2 Payment modes (Cash or cheque or bank or wallets)
7.3 Verification using Signature, photograph or voice recording
7.4 Collection receipt using WhatsApp and Bluetooth Printer.
