A distributor earns a few points on every strip. A batch that expires or a chemist who never pays can erase a month of them.

1. 01Stock

   Stock expires in the godown

   What it looks like

   A slow scheme item bought in bulk sits in a rack. Nobody checks expiry until a quarterly physical count, when a lot has three weeks left and the manufacturer's return window has closed.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: ₹6 lakh of short-dated stock written off at 1.5 percent margin takes the margin on about ₹4 crore of sales to recover.

   How Verity fixes it

   Every receipt records batch and expiry. Verity lists stock by months to expiry and value, shows which items can still be returned to the manufacturer, pushed on a scheme to chemists or moved between godowns.

   See the screen
2. 02Stock

   Wrong batch is picked, and FEFO is only a hope

   What it looks like

   The picker takes the nearest box, not the earliest-expiring batch. The chemist's copy of the invoice shows one batch, the carton holds another.

   What it costs you

   The older batch expires on your shelf, and a chemist's batch query turns into an argument you cannot settle.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each sale line is linked to the batch and the pick list shows the earliest-expiring batch first. A batch mismatch at dispatch is flagged before the van leaves.

   See the screen
3. 03Compliance

   A quality alert, and you cannot say who holds the batch

   What it looks like

   The regulator's monthly alert names a batch as not of standard quality. You need to know within hours how much remains, which chemists were sold it and what has already been consumed.

   What it costs you

   Selling or leaving a flagged batch in circulation is a compliance and reputation risk. Tracing by hand through invoices takes days.

   How Verity fixes it

   Because every sale line carries a batch, Verity answers who holds the batch, how much is in the godown and which invoices carried it, and creates a task per salesman to recover it. The source of the alert is checked by a person.

   See the screen
4. 04Credit

   Chemists pay late and nobody sees the pattern

   What it looks like

   Sixty chemists owe money. Some pay in a week, some in sixty days. A salesman keeps taking new orders from one who has two invoices overdue. The owner learns the total at month end.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: ₹1.2 crore of dues running 20 days late on a distributor with a 1.5 percent margin costs more in interest than the margin on those sales.

   How Verity fixes it

   Every chemist has a credit limit, terms and an ageing view. Verity shows outstanding by age and by salesman, and holds a new order for approval when dues are over limit or days.

   See the screen
5. 05Credit

   Collections depend on the salesman's memory

   What it looks like

   The collection round is whoever remembers. A cheque is received and posted late. A post-dated cheque bounces and the entry is not reversed.

   What it costs you

   Unrecorded or late cheques hide the real dues and delay follow-up.

   How Verity fixes it

   Collections and cheques are recorded against invoices with dates, including post-dated cheques and returned cheques. Daily collection targets by salesman come from the ageing list.

   See the screen
6. 06Returns

   Returns and expiry claims lapse

   What it looks like

   A chemist returns expired and damaged strips. They sit in a bag for weeks. By the time the claim goes to the manufacturer the window has closed, or the debit note does not match.

   What it costs you

   Unclaimed expiry is money you refund to the chemist and never recover from the principal.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each return is a record with chemist, batch, quantity, reason and the manufacturer's claim window. Verity tracks claim status through raised, accepted, credited or rejected, and flags claims close to their cut-off date.

   See the screen
7. 07Suppliers

   Credit notes and scheme claims are not reconciled

   What it looks like

   The manufacturer's scheme promised a free box on ten. The credit note arrives short. Nobody compared it to the sales that earned the scheme.

   What it costs you

   Scheme benefits you earned and did not receive are quiet loss.

   How Verity fixes it

   Scheme terms are recorded per manufacturer, sales earning them are tallied, and the credit due is compared with the credit note received.

   See the screen
8. 08Cold chain

   Cold chain items have no temperature trail

   What it looks like

   Insulin and vaccines go into a van in the afternoon. The ice pack was changed or not. A chemist's fridge reading is never asked for. The godown fridge alarm goes off at night.

   What it costs you

   A study of vaccine transport in India found 9 to 35 percent of some transfers exposed to sub-zero temperatures. A spoiled lot is a total loss and a patient-safety concern.

   How Verity fixes it

   Cold-chain stock is flagged. Fridge checks and van packing are tasks signed off with temperature readings. An excursion is recorded against the batches affected, with the decision taken by a named person.

   See the screen
9. 09Dispatch

   Wrong or short deliveries come back as disputes

   What it looks like

   The chemist says eight strips of one item were missing. The driver says he delivered all. The invoice was signed on a phone photo.

   What it costs you

   Disputes mean credit notes, re-delivery trips and strained relationships.

   How Verity fixes it

   Orders are picked, packed and loaded against the invoice, and delivery is confirmed with quantities received. Differences are recorded at the door, with the reason.

   See the screen
10. 10Dispatch

    Vans, drivers and routes are planned by habit

    What it looks like

    Three vans cover overlapping areas. A driver waits for an invoice that is not printed. A chemist who ordered at noon gets goods the next day.

    What it costs you

    Fuel, driver time and late deliveries cost more than the margin on small orders.

    How Verity fixes it

    Orders are grouped by route and day, each van has its load and sequence, and late orders appear on the dispatch screen. Staff plan the route; Verity shows what is waiting.

    See the screen
11. 11Buying

    Purchases are bought on instinct

    What it looks like

    A scheme tempts a bulk buy. Another item sold out last week and its purchase order was missed. Salesmen's orders and the godown's counts do not meet.

    What it costs you

    Bulk buying slow items ties up cash. Missing a fast item loses a chemist's loyalty.

    How Verity fixes it

    Sales by item and chemist, current stock and incoming orders are shown together with reorder points. A purchase draft is created for review, and a scheme purchase shows how many months of sales it represents.

    See the screen
12. 12People

    Salesmen's targets and chemist coverage

    What it looks like

    Salesmen visit the same easy chemists. A chemist who used to order weekly has gone quiet. Targets are given on paper and reviewed at month end.

    What it costs you

    A lost chemist is a recurring order that quietly goes to a competitor.

    How Verity fixes it

    Each chemist has a usual order pattern. Verity lists chemists who have gone quiet, with last order and value, and assigns a visit task to the salesman covering them.

    See the screen
13. 13Compliance

    Licences, registers and inspections

    What it looks like

    The wholesale licence retention fee date is in a drawer. The competent person's records are on a certificate nobody has scanned. An inspector asks for purchase records and the Schedule H1 register is incomplete.

    What it costs you

    A notice, penalty or licence action. Licences are generally valid indefinitely if the retention fee is paid within each five-year period, with a late fee that rises monthly.

    How Verity fixes it

    Licences, retention-fee dates, competent person details and registers are records with owners and dates. Sales line records give the purchase and sale trail by batch when asked.

    See the screen
14. 14Owner

    The owner sees the day after

    What it looks like

    With two godowns and several salesmen, the owner asks for sales, dues and stock and gets three different sheets.

    What it costs you

    Decisions about credit, buying and routes wait on whoever builds the sheet.

    How Verity fixes it

    Godowns are locations in one system, with stock, dues, returns and routes side by side. Each morning Verity lists what needs a decision, with an owner.

    See the screen

Illustrative screens with sample data. Layouts, fields, names and terms are set up around how your medical distributor works.

1. Week 1

   Discovery and mapping

   What we do

   Spend a morning in the godown and a day on a delivery round with the accounts team. Follow a purchase from receipt to a chemist's invoice to a return. Note where batches, dues and claims leak.

   What we need from you

   Three hours of yours and your accountant's. A salesman and the godown in-charge for an hour each. Access to stock reports, outstanding lists and a month of invoices.

   What you have at the end

   A written map of your business: godowns, routes, salesmen, chemists, manufacturers, return rules and the first gaps we will close.

2. Weeks 2 to 3

   Configuration

   What we do

   Set up godowns, items with batches and expiry, chemist credit terms, manufacturer return windows and schemes, routes, vans, cold-chain units and the six screens in your own terms.

   What we need from you

   Check the setup with the godown in-charge and accounts. Tell us where a rule or a term is wrong.

   What you have at the end

   A working Verity with your real items, chemists and rules, ready for your data.

3. Weeks 3 to 4

   Migration and training

   What we do

   Bring in your item list with batches and expiry, chemist list with dues, open returns and manufacturer terms from your billing exports and sheets. Train godown, accounts, dispatch and salesmen at their stations.

   What we need from you

   Exports from your billing software and a physical count of one godown. An hour with each role.

   What you have at the end

   Your stock, dues and returns inside Verity, and a team that has used it through a day of dispatch.

4. After go-live

   Operations partnership

   What we do

   Stay on after launch. Review the first weeks of dues, expiry and return numbers with you, tune the limits and handle changes when you add a manufacturer, a route or a godown.

   What we need from you

   A short monthly review of what the numbers say.

   What you have at the end

   A system that keeps matching how the business runs, with someone responsible for it.

• Owner

  Where is margin leaking and who owes me?

  Sales, dues by age, expiry and return claims, and every godown side by side.

• Accounts

  What is due, what is paid, what is claimed?

  Outstanding by chemist, cheques, credit notes and scheme credits.

• Godown in-charge

  What is expiring and what must be picked?

  Batch and expiry, pick lists by earliest expiry, cold-chain checks and returns received.

• Salesman

  Which of my chemists need a visit or a call?

  My chemists, their usual orders, dues, quiet accounts and visit tasks.

• Dispatch and drivers

  What is on my van and what has been delivered?

  Route, load, delivery confirmations and differences to record.