A new order booker in a stockist's office was handed a beat list on Monday and sent out on Tuesday. By Thursday three retailers had been billed at last month's scheme rate. The booker had never seen the scheme circular, and nobody could say he had been told. The week-one sheet below exists to settle that kind of argument before it starts.
The sheet, line by line
Name: Role: Godown / branch: ____.
Joined on: Senior hand: Reporting to: ____.
DAY 1 PLACE AND PAPERS.
[ ] Appointment letter and role note handed over, copy signed.
[ ] Godown walk: racks, staging bay, returns cage, fire exit, weighbridge or dock.
[ ] Attendance method and break timings explained.
[ ] Safety shoes, gloves or uniform issued against a slip.
DAY 2 STOCK AND DOCUMENTS.
[ ] Seen one inward truck: LR copy, GRN, shortage and breakage note.
[ ] Seen one outward load: picking list, challan, invoice, vehicle slip.
[ ] FEFO or FIFO rule shown on the rack, with batch and expiry where relevant.
[ ] Damaged and expired stock bin explained.
DAY 3 SYSTEM AND SCHEMES.
[ ] Login created with limited rights in the billing or DMS screen.
[ ] Current scheme circular read; one worked bill with a discount slab.
[ ] Credit note, return and replacement routine shown.
DAY 4 BEAT OR BENCH.
[ ] Order booker: walked one beat with the senior, outlet types named.
[ ] Picker or loader: picked ten lines, checked by senior.
[ ] Driver: route sheet, delivery acknowledgement, cash-on-delivery rule.
DAY 5 MONEY AND REVIEW.
[ ] Cheque, UPI and cash collection entries shown; outstanding ledger explained.
[ ] Pay date, incentive basis and expense claim route explained in writing.
[ ] Saturday talk held: confusions, fears, next week's focus.
Senior hand: Branch head: Joiner: ____.Who ticks and when
The senior hand ticks a line once the joiner has done the task, or watched it with commentary. The branch head or proprietor reads the sheet at closing each day, not just on Saturday. Godown lines carry the most physical risk. Billing lines carry the most money risk. Both are cheaper to correct on Tuesday than at month end.
Reading the lines for each role
- Picker and loader. Day two matters most. A hamal who has never seen a short-supply note will load a wrong case count and learn only from the retailer's complaint.
- Order booker. Hand over the outlet list with the previous month's average order, so the first visit is not blind. Give him the scheme circular in print, not a forwarded phone message.
- Billing clerk. Limit rights at first. A new clerk should not alter rates, raise credit notes or cancel invoices alone in week one.
- Van salesman and driver. Walk the route by daylight with the senior. Note the narrow lanes and the weekly bazaar closures. Say who holds cash at day end.
- Collection executive. Show the ageing report and the retailers who pay only against a visit. He should not chase the wrong shop first.
Distributor type changes the lines
A pharmaceutical stockist adds batch, expiry and the schedule-drug register to day two, and keeps the pharmacist's role apart. A food distributor adds the chiller bay and a damaged-goods photo habit. An auto parts wholesaler adds part-number reading, the catalogue and fitment cross-references. A textile wholesaler adds bale and than handling, shade matching and the invoice series per godown. The pages on FMCG distributors and pharmaceutical distributors show two of these variations.
Words the joiner will hear in the first hour
- Bilty and LR. The lorry receipt from the transporter. Show where it is pinned and who checks the case count against it.
- Primary and secondary. Primary is the stock the distributor buys from the company. Secondary is what goes on to the kirana, chemist or dealer.
- Scheme and claim. A slab discount from the company, claimed back by the distributor on proof of sale. Missing proof means a lost claim.
- Ageing and PDC. How old a retailer's dues are, and the post-dated cheques held against them.
- Short, breakage and expiry. The three words on every inward note. Each has its own bin and its own form.
- Beat and outlet. The fixed route and the shops on it, visited on set weekdays.
- SKU and case lot. One product code, and the carton count it ships in. Loose-piece picks need a separate tray.
Roles that get missed in the first week
- Dispatch clerk. Reads the vehicle slip, the route code and the cash-on-delivery sheet before the tempo leaves the gate.
- Scheme accountant. Keeps the claim files for each company, with sale proof, credit notes and stock statements.
- Cold-chain helper. Reads the chiller log for dairy, ice cream and frozen snacks, and keeps the door shut.
- Counter salesman at the trade counter. Common in auto parts and building material shops, where walk-in mechanics and mistris buy by part number or by bag.
- Bale handler. In textile wholesale, lifts and stacks bales and than, and marks the shade and the lot.
Peak weeks and half-trained hands
Month end, scheme closing dates and pre-festival stocking bring urgent loads. Joiners arriving then are tempted to skip the sheet. Do the opposite. Keep the first two days intact. Then place the joiner on the returns cage, the label table or the staging bay, where slips are cheap. Send nobody on a beat alone until the Saturday sign-off.
What to do with finished sheets
File each in the staff folder behind the appointment letter. Each quarter, spread a dozen sheets on the table and look for the line that nobody ticks. If every branch skips the credit note routine, the routine is unclear. If one branch skips it, that branch needs a talk. Joining routines in general are covered under employee onboarding. Distributors as a group are on the wholesale and distribution page.
