Van Sales vs Pre-Sales in Nepal: Which Model Fits Your Distribution Business?

Every distributor reaches the same decision: do we send a vehicle full of stock to sell on the spot, or do we send a salesperson to take orders and deliver later? The first is van sales, the second is pre-sales. Neither is better in general. The right choice depends on your products, your shops and the roads. This guide compares van sales vs pre-sales in practical terms for Nepali routes, and shows how to test the choice before you commit.

The two models in plain words

Van sales. A vehicle is loaded in the morning. The crew visits shops, sells from the vehicle and delivers immediately. The shop pays cash or takes credit. The vehicle returns with unsold stock and cash.

Pre-sales. A salesperson visits with only a phone. He books the order, and the goods are dispatched from the warehouse, usually the next day, by a delivery vehicle. Payment is collected on delivery or on a later visit.

Compare them on six points

1. Stock risk

Van sales puts stock on the road. Breakage, theft and miscounts can happen in the vehicle, so you need a strict load and return count. Pre-sales keeps stock in the warehouse until an order exists. See van sales and cash reconciliation for the daily routine.

2. Cash risk

Van crews handle a lot of cash. Pre-sales salespeople usually handle less, because delivery staff or later visits collect. Either way, every payment should be recorded at the shop, with the method and a reference.

3. Range of products

A van carries what fits in it. A pre-sale order can include the full catalogue, including slow lines and bulky items. If you sell 80 SKUs, pre-sales shows shops more of them.

4. Shop size and order pattern

Small kirana shops that buy a few cartons and want goods now suit a van. Larger shops and wholesalers that plan their purchases suit pre-sales, because they want a full range and a proper invoice.

5. Roads and distance

A van wastes time on long hill roads with few shops. On dense Terai or valley routes, a van can make many stops per hour. Read rural distribution alongside the route guides such as distribution in the Kathmandu Valley.

6. Freshness and shelf life

Short-life goods such as bread, eggs or juice favour a short gap between order and delivery. For example, see daily bread route sales.

An illustrative example

These numbers are made up to show the method. Suppose a distributor covers one route with 40 shops.

• Van model: one vehicle and a two-person crew cost NPR 6,000 a day in fuel, wages and wear. The crew reaches 30 shops and sells NPR 90,000 on the day.
• Pre-sales model: one salesperson costs NPR 1,500 a day and visits 40 shops, booking NPR 120,000. Delivery the next day costs NPR 4,000 for one vehicle and a helper.

Cost per rupee sold: van 6.7 percent, pre-sales 4.6 percent. But in the pre-sales case, 10 percent of orders may be cancelled or reduced by the time delivery arrives. Your own numbers will differ. The exercise is what matters: calculate cost per shop visited and per rupee sold for each model.

A decision checklist

Tick the statements that are true for your route:

• Shops want stock immediately and pay cash: van.
• Shops order a wide range and want an invoice: pre-sales.
• Products spoil quickly: shorten the gap, so van or strict next-morning delivery.
• Many small shops within a short distance: van.
• Long distances between shops: pre-sales with a scheduled delivery day.
• Theft or breakage in transit is a concern: pre-sales.
• You cannot supervise cash well: pre-sales with receipts at delivery.

Why many distributors combine both

A common pattern is pre-sales for the regular beat, plus a van for the "last mile" of small shops and new areas. The danger is two separate systems with two sets of numbers. Whatever the model, you want one stock record, one invoice series and one party ledger. If you use the van for sale on the spot, give each van its own branch so its stock and cash are visible.

Measure and then decide

Run a two-week test on one route for each model. Track:

1. Visits per day and share of visits that end in an order. See retail outlet visit planning.
2. Value sold per day and cost per day.
3. Returns, breakage and shortages. See sales returns and damaged goods.
4. Cash collected versus cash due.

A second example: the hybrid route

Again, these numbers are invented. A distributor in a valley town has 60 shops on a route: 25 larger shops that order a wide range, and 35 small kirana shops near the main road that buy a few cartons at a time.

• Pre-sales for the 25 larger shops: one salesperson visits twice a week, books full-range orders, and a delivery run follows the next morning. Average order NPR 12,000.
• A van for the 35 small shops: a van visits on fixed days with the six fastest-moving SKUs. Average sale NPR 2,500 per stop, mostly cash.

Compared with a pure van model that wastes space on slow lines, or a pure pre-sales model that makes small shops wait a day for three cartons, the hybrid matches each shop to the way it buys. The cost is more complexity, which is why a single stock record and one party ledger matter so much.

Common mistakes

• Choosing by habit. "We always did pre-sales" is not a reason. Run the two-week test.
• Loading the van with everything. A van should carry the fastest-moving SKUs, not the whole catalogue.
• Treating the van as a mobile godown with no record. Without a branch and a transfer, you cannot reconcile.
• Letting pre-sales orders age. If an order is booked on Monday and delivered on Thursday, the shop may already have bought elsewhere.
• Ignoring returns. Both models need a rule for damaged and expired goods.
• Mixing cash and credit without a limit. A van that sells on credit to every shop becomes a collection problem.

Questions owners ask

Which model needs fewer staff?

Pre-sales needs a salesperson and a delivery crew, but one delivery vehicle can serve the orders of several salespeople. Van sales needs a crew per vehicle. Count total heads for the same number of shops before comparing.

Which is better for a brand-new product?

Pre-sales suits a launch where you want the salesperson to explain the product and book a first order, while a van helps get trial packs into small shops fast. See launching a new product through distribution.

How do I handle credit in van sales?

Decide in advance which shops may take credit, and the limit. Everything else is cash on the spot. See collecting payments on time.

Does the monsoon change the choice?

It can. Slow, closed or flooded roads make a loaded van a bigger risk, while pre-sales lets you deliver in bigger, planned runs when the road allows. See monsoon route and delivery planning.

A step-by-step way to run the test

1. Pick one route with a mix of shop sizes.
2. For week one and two, run it as pre-sales. For week three and four, run it as van sales on the same shops.
3. Record visits, orders, value, returns, cash and costs each day.
4. Compare cost per rupee sold, orders lost to delay and cash gaps.
5. Choose, or choose a hybrid, and write the rules for crews.

How GamiTrack supports both

In GamiTrack, a salesperson takes orders in the field app, the office confirms and dispatches them, and the delivery person marks them delivered with proof and can collect payment. For van sales, you create a branch per van, load it with a stock transfer from the warehouse, dispatch from the van branch and reconcile at the end of the day. Both models use the same price lists, invoices and party ledgers. The help articles take an order and record stock movements show the steps. You can try it on one route with a free trial.

Key takeaways

• Van sales suits small shops and immediate cash; pre-sales suits wider ranges and planned buying.
• Compare cost per rupee sold on a real route before committing.
• Hybrid works, as long as stock, invoices and payments stay in one system.