Van Sales Expiry Tracking: The Mobile Inventory Challenge

The Van That Returns With More Than Fuel Receipts

Your van leaves the depot at 6 AM with ₹3 lakhs of inventory. It covers 40-60 retail points. It returns at 7 PM with unsold stock, cash, and—too often—products that have mysteriously "aged" faster than the calendar would suggest.

Van sales is the backbone of FMCG distribution in India. It's also where expiry tracking goes to die.

The Van Sales Visibility Black Hole

In depot-based distribution, you have systems. Purchase entries, GRNs, bin locations, FEFO enforcement. The moment stock loads onto a van, all of that disappears.

What happens on the van:

• Stock mixes across batches (oldest and newest in the same crate)
• No system enforces which batch to sell first
• Van salesman picks what's convenient, not what expires first
• Returned stock goes back to depot with questionable batch records
• Depot receives "returns" that may include products that never should have gone out

The data gap:

• Loading slip says 100 units loaded
• EOD report says 70 units sold
• Physical count shows 28 units returned
• 2 units? Nobody knows

That 2% "shrinkage" across 10 vans, 300 working days, adds up to lakhs.

The FEFO Problem on Wheels

FEFO (First Expiry, First Out) is theoretically simple: sell older stock first. On a van, it's practically impossible without systems.

Why van FEFO fails:

• **Crate loading:** Stock loaded in reverse order of loading convenience, not expiry
• **No visual cues:** Cartons look identical regardless of batch date
• **Time pressure:** Van salesman serving 50+ outlets doesn't have time to check dates
• **Incentive misalignment:** Salesman paid for volume sold, not batch rotation
• **Retailer indifference:** Retailer wants fresh stock, salesman gives fresh stock, older stock returns

The rotation death spiral:

Day 1: Load 50 units Batch A (expires in 60 days) + 50 units Batch B (expires in 90 days)

Day 1 sales: 30 units from Batch B (easier to reach, salesman's habit)

Day 1 return: 50 Batch A + 20 Batch B

Day 2: Load returned Batch A + new Batch C (expires in 90 days)

Day 2 sales: Batch C

Day 2 return: Batch A (now 58 days to expiry)

After 2 weeks: Batch A has circled through 10 van trips, getting older each time.

The End-of-Day Reconciliation Fiction

How it should work:

• Van returns with stock
• Physical count matches system
• Batch-wise returns logged
• Discrepancies investigated
• Stock properly reintegrated to depot inventory

How it actually works:

• Van returns at 7 PM
• Everyone wants to go home
• Quick count of cartons (not units, not batches)
• "Looks about right"
• Stock dumped in returns area
• Tomorrow's loading picks from mixed pile

The reconciliation is fiction. The shrinkage is real.

Temperature: The Silent Killer

Van sales in India means products spend 10-12 hours in ambient conditions. During summer, that's 35-45°C. For temperature-sensitive products:

Chocolate and confectionery:

• Melting, blooming, shape distortion
• Returned as "damaged" (actually heat-damaged on van)
• Loss attributed to manufacturer when it's handling loss

Biscuits and snacks:

• Accelerated staling
• Texture degradation
• "Quality complaints" that are actually temperature exposure

Personal care:

• Cream separation
• Fragrance degradation
• Packaging warping

Beverages:

• Flavor changes
• Carbonation loss (for soft drinks)
• Label damage from condensation

The van's ambient temperature is shortening shelf life even for products with months remaining.

The Loading Discipline Problem

Ideal loading process:

• System generates load list based on route requirements
• Load list prioritizes oldest batches (within acceptable dates)
• Physical loading follows load list sequence
• Van salesman receives batch-wise manifest
• Sales recorded against specific batches

Actual loading process:

• Load whatever's in the staging area
• Fill crates to make best use of space
• Van salesman gets a total quantity count
• Sales recorded against... something
• Returns are "whatever comes back"

The gap between ideal and actual is where expiry losses accumulate.

The Route Optimization Trap

Van sales routes are optimized for coverage and fuel efficiency. Nobody optimizes for expiry management.

Geography-optimized route:

• Visit outlets in geographic sequence
• Minimize travel time
• Maximize outlets per trip

Expiry-optimized route:

• Visit high-velocity outlets early (move short-dated stock)
• Visit low-velocity outlets with longer-dated stock
• Skip low-velocity outlets for products near expiry

These two optimization goals conflict. Most companies choose geography and accept expiry losses.

Handheld Integration: The Partial Solution

Many van sales operations now use handheld devices for:

• Order capture
• Invoice generation
• Payment recording
• Route tracking

What's still missing:

• Batch-level inventory on van
• FEFO prompts for salesman
• Real-time batch-wise stock position
• Return batch identification
• Temperature logging

The handheld solved the order problem. It didn't solve the expiry problem.

The Returns Loop

How returns are supposed to work:

• Van salesman identifies damaged/expiring stock at retailer
• Logs return with reason code
• Returns specific batch to depot
• Depot quarantines and processes
• Appropriate channel (destroy, discount, return to brand)

How returns actually work:

• Van salesman accepts whatever retailer wants to return
• Logs as "return" with generic reason
• Mixes with other returns in van
• Depot receives pile of returns
• Returns either sold again or written off

The "sold again" part is particularly problematic. Near-expiry stock returns from one route, gets loaded on another van, returns again. Circle continues until it expires.

Technology Requirements for Van Expiry Management

Pre-loading:

• System suggests batch allocation based on expiry dates
• Load list shows batch-wise requirements
• Automatic prioritization of oldest acceptable stock
• Alerts for batches approaching expiry threshold

On-van:

• Handheld shows batch-wise inventory
• FEFO prompts during sale recording
• Warning when selling newer batch before older
• Real-time stock position visible to depot

At retailer:

• Scan-based batch identification
• Return capture with batch details
• Photo documentation for disputed returns
• Automatic reason code suggestions

End-of-day:

• Batch-wise reconciliation mandatory
• Discrepancy alerts before closure
• Automatic quarantine flagging for returning stock
• Integration with depot inventory system

Analytics:

• Route-wise expiry loss analysis
• Salesman-wise FEFO compliance scores
• Batch journey tracking (how many trips, how long)
• Prediction of expiry risk by route/salesman

The Van Salesman Incentive Redesign

Current incentives:

• Volume sold
• Coverage (outlets visited)
• Collection (payment recovered)

Missing incentives:

• FEFO compliance
• Return reduction
• Batch rotation efficiency
• Zero-shrinkage trips

Proposed incentive structure:

Base salary + Volume bonus + Coverage bonus + Rotation bonus + Return penalty offset

Where:

• Rotation bonus = Reward for selling oldest batches first
• Return penalty offset = Share of reduced return costs

When van salesman earns from good rotation and loses from bad rotation, behavior changes.

Physical Controls

Technology alone won't solve the van problem. Physical processes matter:

Crate design:

• Separate crates by expiry window
• Color coding by date range
• Physical barrier between batches

Loading sequence:

• Oldest stock loaded last (first to come off)
• New stock at bottom of stack
• Route-specific crates pre-packed

Return handling:

• Separate container for returns
• No mixing with saleable stock
• Immediate tagging at retailer

Temperature:

• Insulated containers for sensitive products
• Temperature indicators (at minimum)
• Route timing to minimize heat exposure

The Depot-Van Handoff

The transition points are where controls fail:

Morning loading:

• Rushed process (vans leave early)
• Multiple vans loading simultaneously
• Supervisors outnumbered

Evening return:

• Even more rushed (everyone going home)
• Dark loading bays
• Minimal verification

Solutions:

• Staggered loading times
• Dedicated receiving bay for returns
• Mandatory batch scanning at both transitions
• Supervisor sign-off with accountability

Measuring Van Sales Expiry Performance

Van-level metrics:

• Return rate as % of loading
• FEFO compliance score
• Batch rotation efficiency
• Shrinkage rate

Route-level metrics:

• Average days-to-sale by batch
• Return concentration by outlet
• Temperature exposure hours
• Dead stock creation rate

Salesman-level metrics:

• Personal FEFO compliance
• Return rate vs. team average
• Shrinkage incidents
• Batch accuracy

Review cadence:

• Daily: Reconciliation verification
• Weekly: Return analysis by route
• Monthly: Salesman performance review
• Quarterly: Route/system optimization

The Bottom Line

Van sales is where visibility ends and hope begins. The van leaves with inventory, spends a day in the market, and returns with a story that may or may not match reality.

Every batch that circles through multiple van trips, every unit of shrinkage that never gets explained, every return that gets re-sold and returned again—that's margin loss hiding in operational complexity.

The fix isn't to eliminate van sales. It's to bring the same visibility you have at depot to the van. Track batches, enforce FEFO, verify returns, measure compliance.

The van that returns with good batch records returns with your margins intact.

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