Pipes and Sanitaryware Distribution in Nepal: Breakage, Size Control and Plumber Networks

A plumbing and sanitary distributor ships an awkward mix. On one side are lengths of pipe, bags of elbows and tees, and tanks: bulky, cheap per unit and sold in dozens of sizes. On the other are commodes, basins, cisterns and mixer taps: fragile, expensive and broken by a single careless drop. The person choosing the brand is often the plumber or the mistri, not the house owner who pays. And a building buys in phases over many months. This guide is organised around those realities: size control, breakage, plumbers and site supply, with how each runs in gamitrack.

Two logistics problems in one order

	Pipes, fittings, tanks	Sanitaryware and CP fittings
Value per unit	Low	High
Problem	Volume, many sizes, space	Breakage, scratches, missing parts
Stock risk	Wrong size mix at dealers	Costly pieces sitting unsold
Loading rule	Bundle by size, heavy below	Separate, upright, padded, never under pipes
Count	By category, monthly	By piece, more often

Keeping the two apart in your head, your catalogue and your truck is half the battle. Create SKUs for each type, material and size, and group them into categories so a count of "CPVC fittings" or "wall-hung commodes" takes minutes. Every receipt, dispatch, return and adjustment is recorded as a stock movement that cannot be edited later. Each warehouse and showroom is a branch with its own low-stock view.

Naming hundreds of sizes

Duplicate SKUs are the main reason stock reports lie in this trade. Agree one pattern before importing anything:

• Pipes: material, class or pressure rating, diameter, length. For example "uPVC pipe, 6 kg, 1 inch, 3 m".
• Fittings: material, type, size, for example "CPVC elbow 90°, ¾ inch".
• Tanks: brand, capacity in litres, layers.
• Sanitaryware: brand, type, model, colour.
• Taps and CP fittings: brand, series, type.

Set kg weights on bulky products so order weights help you plan truckloads. Mark your fastest sizes and set low-stock levels on them. In most dealer counters a small set of sizes makes up most of the orders, and running out of those costs more than holding extra of the rest.

Where breakage happens, and who pays

Breakage arguments go in circles because nobody recorded the condition at each hand-off. Map the chain and decide what evidence each step produces.

Hand-off	Typical cause	Evidence to record	Who usually bears it
Supplier to your godown	Transport, packing	Photo at receipt, recorded on the day	Supplier or transporter, per your agreement
Godown to dealer truck	Poor loading	Loading check before dispatch	Your company
Delivery to dealer or site	Road, unloading	Proof of delivery with GPS, photo, receiver name	Depends on condition recorded at delivery
After delivery	Handling at shop or site	Return request with photo	Usually the buyer, unless a defect

In gamitrack, the delivery person records proof of delivery with GPS, a photo and the receiver's name. That photo is the end of most arguments about whether a basin arrived cracked. Damage reported later is recorded as a return with a reason and photos; company returns are reviewed and approved into a branch with a credit note, and a return photo can be used only once. Review breakage by product and route each month. If one route keeps breaking cisterns, look at the loading or the transporter before blaming dealers.

Plumbers and mistris decide the brand

A house owner picks a colour. The plumber picks the pipe brand, the fittings and often the tap series. Distributors that only visit dealer counters miss the person who actually specifies the product.

• Add active plumbers and contractors as parties with their own type and location.
• Route them with their dealers. A route might run: dealer counter, two plumbers nearby, a building site, the next dealer.
• Record what you learn. Visits are checked against the geofence with a photo, and outcomes capture orders, no-order reasons and notes, such as which brand they currently use and why.
• Keep incentives documented. Dealer schemes run in gamitrack with tiers on fulfilled secondary sales. Plumber programmes are your own; note the terms on the party record. Internal party notes are not visible to dealers.

Flagged visits, such as those outside the geofence, very short ones or ones without a photo, show the manager where to look, which matters for plumber visits that are otherwise impossible to check.

A site supplied in phases (hypothetical)

Suppose a contractor is building a three-storey house in Pokhara and has chosen your brand through his plumber.

Phase 1, rough plumbing. The project is added as a party with its own price override, and the agreed terms go in the notes. The first order is pipes and fittings for concealed lines. The delivery person sees the amount due, the site location and directions, delivers, and records GPS, a photo and the receiver's name.

Phase 2, tanks and risers. A second order a month later. Dispatch is all-or-nothing, so the site never gets a half-recorded load.

Phase 3, sanitaryware and CP fittings. The fragile order. It is loaded separately and photographed at delivery. One basin is found chipped after unpacking; the contractor sends a photo and the return is recorded, approved and a credit note issued against the project.

Close-out. The manager reviews the party: three orders, one return, payment against due days counted from each dispatch. That history makes the next quote faster and more accurate.

The project and its details are invented to illustrate the routine.

Showroom customers

Sanitaryware is often chosen in a showroom, by a family looking at basins and tap finishes with the plumber beside them. Record the order against the customer and, where relevant, the dealer who brought them, so that a later replacement or return can be traced to the original sale. Keep display pieces as their own stock in the showroom branch, so a sold display model does not quietly disappear from the count.

A monthly range review

• Sort the catalogue by movement and confirm no dealer is thin on the fast sizes.
• Find slow items and decide: scheme, transfer to another branch, or stop reordering.
• Compare dealer monthly stock reports, expected against actual closing stock, and follow up on large variances.
• Check aging. Payments are allocated to the oldest invoice first, and weekly collection plans give each officer a list for contractors and dealers who are behind.
• Review targets: monthly for officers with a daily pace, quarterly or annual for dealers.

Your first 30 days

• Week 1. Agree the naming pattern, then load your fastest sizes and all sanitaryware models with stock by branch and kg weights on bulky items.
• Week 2. Add your largest dealers and the plumbers who buy from them. Build two routes and train officers on day start, visits, photos and orders.
• Week 3. Assign delivery staff and start recording proof of delivery on every drop, especially fragile ones. Enter opening balances so aging starts from the truth.
• Week 4. Review flagged visits, the first month of breakage and returns, and the low-stock list. Then add your active projects as parties with their own prices.

Mistakes to avoid

• Duplicate SKUs. One naming pattern from day one.
• Unrecorded breakage. No photo on the day, no claim later.
• Visiting only dealers. Plumbers specify the product.
• Loading fragile goods with pipes. Keep them apart in the truck as well as in the catalogue.

Related reading and next step

Related reading: electrical wires and fittings distribution, cement dealer management, proof of delivery and dispatch, and the building materials page.

Start with one warehouse, your ten largest dealers and the plumbers around them. Plans and the free trial are on the pricing page.