Van sales: stock travels with the sale
The salesman carries stock and sells it down the route. It closes business immediately and suits small shops that order little and often, but it puts a lot of inventory on the road and makes reconciliation a daily job.
Pre-selling: the order comes first
Orders are taken on one visit and delivered on another. Vehicles carry exactly what was sold, stock risk drops sharply, and delivery routes get shorter - at the cost of two touches per customer.
The deciding factor is usually route density
Dense urban routes with many small orders favour van sales. Spread-out routes with larger, planned orders favour pre-selling. Distributors serving both often split by territory rather than choosing one model outright.
Both need the same discipline
Whichever model you run, the day has to close: stock loaded, stock sold, returns, and cash collected must reconcile per salesman. That daily settlement is what keeps either model honest.
FAQ
- Can I run van sales and pre-selling at the same time?
- Yes, and many distributors do - typically van sales for dense retail routes and pre-selling for larger accounts.
- Which model has less stock loss?
- Pre-selling, because vehicles carry only what has been sold. Van sales can match it, but only with a strict daily settlement.