The Super-Stockist and Dealer Model in Nepal: How to Manage It

In the super-stockist and dealer model, a manufacturer sells in bulk to a stockist or dealer, who holds stock and supplies shops in a defined territory. For the manufacturer it reduces delivery cost and extends reach. For the dealer it is a business built on stock, credit and local relationships. The model works when both sides can see the same numbers, and breaks when the company knows only what it sold to the dealer, not what the dealer sold on.

Primary and secondary sales

• Primary sales: company to dealer.
• Secondary sales: dealer to shop.
• Sell-out: what shops actually sell to consumers, usually visible only through shelf checks and reorder patterns.

If you track only primary sales, a dealer who is overstocked looks like a star. If you track secondary sales and dealer stock, you see the truth.

Roles in the model

Role	Responsibility
Company	Brand, pricing, schemes, support, targets
Dealer	Stock holding, delivery to shops, collection from shops
Sales officer	Visits shops, books secondary orders, checks stock and display
Manager	Reviews reconciliation, collections and targets

Selecting and structuring dealers

1. Define territories on a map so overlap is minimal.
2. Evaluate a dealer's storage, vehicle, cash position and relationships with local shops.
3. Agree credit limits and due days in writing.
4. Share targets and schemes openly.
5. Plan an exit or review path for dealers who consistently miss expectations.

The reconciliation loop

The heart of the model is a monthly loop:

1. Opening stock at dealer.
2. Add primary purchases from the company.
3. Subtract secondary sales.
4. Expected closing stock.
5. Count actual stock.
6. Explain the difference.

A pattern of unexplained variance is the signal to look closer. See how to reconcile dealer stock with secondary sales.

Supporting dealers

Dealers are partners; give them tools. A dealer app that shows orders to supply, status and balances reduces phone calls. Pay attention to payment cycles: dealers are more reliable when terms are consistent and disputes are resolved quickly. Read dealer and distributor management for primary and secondary sales.

Schemes

Schemes motivate, but they also complicate. Define:

• What counts toward the scheme (for example, fulfilled secondary sales).
• Tiers and rewards.
• How rewards are credited.
• Who approves.

How to run it in gamitrack

1. Set supply mode to via-dealers so officers book secondary orders for shops and dealers fulfil them.
2. Link shops to dealers to attribute sell-out and prevent territory confusion.
3. Use the dealer app. Dealers see orders with a progress timeline, reminders and shop orders to supply; they accept or reject shop returns.
4. Record primary sales. Orders to dealers are priced from price lists, invoiced with IRD-style invoices and tracked in the ledger.
5. Count dealer stock monthly. Each count shows expected closing and variance.
6. Set dealer targets by Nepali fiscal quarter and officer monthly targets with daily pace.
7. Run schemes on fulfilled secondary sales with tiered rewards credited to the dealer ledger after approval.
8. Plan collections weekly and review aging per dealer.

Beverages and FMCG companies commonly use this model; see beverages and FMCG and packaged food.

A hypothetical example

Imagine Example Drinks (an invented name) with a dealer in a mid-sized town. The dealer bought a large primary order before a busy period. At month-end, the count shows more closing stock than expected from secondary sales. The manager visits the dealer's linked shops through the officer's data and finds two shops that stopped reordering after a competitor offered a scheme. The company responds with a targeted scheme for those shops and a smaller next fill to the dealer, instead of discovering the problem three months later when old stock is near expiry.

Dealer review checklist

• Primary purchases this quarter versus target.
• Secondary sales this quarter versus target.
• Latest stock count and variance.
• Overdue balance and collection plan.
• Territory coverage: shops visited, shops ordered.
• Returns accepted and rejected.

Common mistakes

• Celebrating primary sales while ignoring sell-out.
• No written credit terms.
• Overlapping territories.
• Annual targets with no quarterly check-in.
• Skipping dealer stock counts.

Choosing between direct and via-dealer by area

Few companies use one model everywhere. A practical way to decide is to compare areas on four questions:

Question	Points toward direct	Points toward dealers
Outlet density	Many outlets close together	Few outlets far apart
Order size	Large enough to justify a visit	Small
Delivery cost	Low	High
Local relationships	You have them	A dealer has them

Decide area by area and revisit once a year. An area can start with dealers and move to direct as density and volume grow, or the reverse if a direct beat stops paying.

Fair terms make the model last

Dealers stay loyal when the arrangement is fair and predictable. Publish your margin structure, scheme rules and payment terms. Respond to disputes quickly. Share territory maps so a dealer knows where they are expected to sell and where they are not. Review targets with the dealer each quarter, not only at year end. When both sides see the same records, reviews become cooperative instead of defensive.

Warning signs to watch

• Primary purchases rising while shop reorders fall.
• Payments drifting later each month.
• Stock counts with repeated unexplained variance.
• Complaints from shops about availability even though the dealer has bought plenty.
• A dealer selling heavily outside the territory.

Dealer onboarding checklist

• Territory defined and shared.
• Credit limit and due days agreed in writing.
• Opening stock counted and recorded.
• Shops linked to the dealer.
• Dealer app access given and explained.
• First count date set.

Next step

Choose one dealer, set up the reconciliation loop for a month and look at the first variance together. When you want to extend it across the network, see the pricing page.