A distributor's office at seven in the evening tells you everything. Salesmen are reading orders off paper pads, an operator is typing them, the storekeeper is waiting for a load sheet, and the owner is on the phone asking a shopkeeper about a payment promised last Thursday. The principal decides the margin. What the distributor controls is how accurately this evening runs.
The daily loop distribution software follows
| Step | Who does it | What the system records |
|---|---|---|
| Order booking | Salesman at the shop | Items, quantities, the scheme applied and the shop's balance at that moment |
| Load and invoicing | Office and storekeeper | One load sheet per van and an invoice per shop |
| Delivery | Driver and delivery man | Quantity delivered, goods refused, market returns |
| Van settlement | Cashier | Cash received, credit given, stock returned to the godown |
| Recovery | Salesman on the next visit | Payment against particular invoices and the balance left |
Each step feeds the next. Done on paper, each step is also a place where a figure is copied, and copied wrongly.
Order booking on the route
A salesman works a fixed route each day, with its shops in visiting order. With an order-booking app he opens the shop, sees its balance and its last order, and books. The order reaches the office at once, not at night, so loading can begin before he is back. Visits where nothing was ordered are recorded too, which tells you whether a quiet route is a market problem or an attendance problem. Our guide to the salesman order booking app covers the phone side in detail.
Routes and loads
The office groups the day's orders by route and van. The load sheet tells the storekeeper what goes on each vehicle in total; the invoices tell the delivery man what each shop receives. If stock is short, the system should say so at this point and let the office decide which shops are cut. Otherwise the decision is made by whoever is unloading at the last shop on the route.
Schemes and discounts
Principals run trade schemes all the time: free pieces on a quantity, a discount on a slab, a special rate for one class of shop. When each salesman carries the scheme in his head, shops on different routes get different deals, and the claim you send to the principal does not match what you gave away. Enter the scheme once, with its start and end dates. The system applies it to every eligible order and produces the claim from the same data.
Keep the principal's schemes and your own discounts apart in the system. The first is claimed back. The second comes out of your margin, and you should see how much of it each salesman gives.
Credit, udhaar and recoveries
Few shops pay in full on delivery. A distributor's capital sits in a great many small balances, and the business lives on getting them back. Good distribution software treats credit as seriously as stock:
- A credit limit for each shop, in rupees or in days, with orders above it held for approval.
- Payments matched to invoices, so a disputed bill can be picked out.
- Ageing, which shows how much of each balance is this week's and how much is old.
- A recovery list for each salesman every morning, in route order.
- A stop on further supply to shops past a point you set, which only a manager can lift.
Settling the van each evening
The settlement is one sum. Goods loaded, minus goods returned, should equal goods invoiced. Invoices delivered should equal cash handed over plus credit given. When the system prints that sum for each van, a shortage is found the same evening, while the driver is standing there, and not at the month-end stock count.
Putting it in place
Clean the shop list
One record per shop, with its route, visiting day and an agreed opening balance. Settle disputed balances before entering them.
Start in the office
Type the paper orders into the system for a short period, so load sheets, invoices and stock are right before anything changes in the market.
Give salesmen the app
One route at a time, with the supervisor travelling along for the first days.
Switch on credit limits
Begin with generous limits and tighten them once the balances are trusted.
Review recoveries every week
Go through the ageing with each salesman, shop by shop.
A distributor with one van and an owner who knows every shop may not need all of this; invoicing with customer ledgers will do. Past that point, Operix builds ERP software for distribution companies, with booking, loads and recoveries in one database. For Siratim, a bottled water company, we built a CRM and ERP for its customers, orders and deliveries. Read how inventory control fits behind the vans, or book a demo and we will run your own routes through it.
Questions people ask
What is distribution software?
Software that handles a distributor's daily cycle: order booking, load sheets, invoices, delivery, van settlement and recoveries. It also keeps stock, schemes and each shop's credit balance.
Can salesmen book orders without internet in the market?
A well-built app saves the order on the phone and sends it when the signal returns. Ask to see this in the demo, because coverage on many routes is patchy.
How does the software handle company schemes?
Schemes are entered once in the office with their dates and conditions. The system applies them to qualifying orders and totals what was given, which becomes your claim to the principal.
Can it stop supply to shops that have not paid?
Yes. You set a credit limit or a number of days for each shop, and orders beyond it wait for a manager's approval.
How much does distribution software cost in Pakistan?
It depends on the number of salesmen, vans, godowns and principals, and on whether you need the mobile app. Operix does not publish prices; ask for a written quote.
