Pick up a packet of biscuits at a kirana store. Behind it sits a long supply chain process. The wheat came from one state. Sugar and palm oil came from others. The biscuits were baked in a plant and s
Pick up a packet of biscuits at a kirana store. Behind it sits a long supply chain process.
The wheat came from one state. Sugar and palm oil came from others. The biscuits were baked in a plant and stored at a depot. A distributor billed them, and a delivery van dropped them at the shop.
That journey touches a dozen hands. If one of them slips, the shopper finds an empty shelf.
This guide breaks the supply chain process into eight clear stages. You will see who owns each stage and where things go wrong. You will also see how the process changes for ambient, chilled and frozen foods.
A supply chain process is the set of steps that turns raw material into a product in a customer’s hands. It covers planning, buying, making, storing, moving, selling and handling returns.
Most frameworks group these steps into a few core processes. The classic SCOR model uses five: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return. The eight stages in this guide follow the same logic. They are simply broken down further for packaged food.
Food is tougher to move than most goods. Four things make it so.
It helps to think of the chain in two halves.
The factory half covers planning, sourcing and production. It runs on forecasts, capacity and contracts. Most brands manage this half well, usually inside an ERP.
The market half covers depots, distributors and outlets. It runs on people and daily decisions. This is where visibility gets lost.
Here is why. A brand records a primary sale when it bills a distributor or super stockist. Stock sent to a carrying and forwarding agent (CFA) is not a sale. The CFA only holds and dispatches stock for the brand. Real demand shows up later, when the distributor sells to retailers. That is the secondary sale.
Understanding primary, secondary and tertiary sales is the first step to seeing this gap. The difference between sell-in and sell-through then tells you whether stock is moving or just sitting.
Every supply chain process starts with a plan. How much will sell, where and when? Planners use past sales, seasonality, upcoming schemes and new launches to set targets.
Many brands review this monthly through sales and operations planning (S&OP). The quality of the plan depends on the data behind it. Forecasts built only on primary dispatches tend to overshoot. Secondary sales give a truer picture of demand.
Brands buy grains, edible oils, sugar, dairy, spices and packaging film. Prices move with crops and weather. So good buyers qualify more than one supplier for each key input.
Contracts fix price, volume and delivery windows. Every incoming lot is tested and coded before it is accepted. Storage matters here too. Moisture ruins flour, and heat spoils oil. Traceability starts at the plant gate.
Plants mix, cook, bake or fill in batches. Some brands use contract manufacturers for part of the range.
Quality teams follow HACCP, short for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It finds food safety hazards and controls them at key steps. Each batch gets a number that links it back to its raw material lots. If something goes wrong, the brand can isolate that batch fast.
Packaging protects taste and extends shelf life. The label carries the batch number, dates, ingredients, allergen details and FSSAI licence number. A barcode makes scanning and tracking easier.
Pack size also shapes the route to market. A ₹5 sachet needs frequent delivery to small outlets. A family pack suits supermarkets and modern trade.
Finished goods move from the factory warehouse to regional depots. Many brands use CFAs to run these depots.
Good teams follow FEFO, or first expiry, first out. FIFO ships the oldest received stock first. The two differ when batches carry different shelf lives. That is why FEFO is the safer rule for food.
Stock also ages quietly at distributor godowns. Newer stock often gets billed first because it sits near the front. Older stock waits at the back. This stagnant secondary inventory locks up distributor cash and ends in returns. Splitting stock into saleable, near-expiry and expired buckets helps teams act early.
From the depot, goods move to super stockists, distributors and wholesalers. Each tier adds a margin, a credit term and some delay. Distributors then serve retailers on fixed beats.
Compliance travels with the stock. Invoices must be GST-compliant. Goods worth more than ₹50,000 per consignment generally need an e-way bill. Larger businesses above the notified turnover limit must also issue e-invoices. Chilled products like dairy need a cold chain, with temperature checks at every handoff.
Most brands see the primary invoice. Few see what the distributor sells onward. That blind spot hides overstock, stockouts and scheme leakage until month end.
The shelf is where the whole supply chain process pays off. The right SKU must be in stock, correctly priced and easy to see.
Each channel needs a different approach. General trade, modern trade and quick commerce work very differently. General trade means frequent visits to many small outlets. Modern trade means planogram compliance. Quick commerce means tight stock sync with dark stores.
The last stage feeds the first. Expiry returns, damaged goods and credit notes flow back up the chain. Each one carries useful information.
Secondary sales, returns and shelf data should shape the next plan. Without this loop, planners lean on dispatch numbers. Those can look strong even when consumer demand is flat.
The eight stages apply to every packaged food. But storage temperature changes how each stage runs. Most products fall into one of three groups.
| Food Type | Typical Products | Storage Need | Biggest Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambient | Biscuits, noodles, snacks, edible oil, spices | Cool, dry place at room temperature | Near-expiry stock ageing in distributor godowns |
| Chilled | Milk, curd, paneer, butter | Usually below 5°C | Short shelf life and temperature breaks during delivery |
| Frozen | Ice cream, frozen snacks, frozen vegetables | Around −18°C or colder | Thawing and refreezing, which damages quality |
Ambient foods are the most forgiving. Here, the main risk is slow-moving stock. FEFO and secondary sales visibility do most of the work.
Chilled foods move fast. Shelf life is often a few days to a few weeks. Distributors need refrigerated storage, and deliveries run daily or close to it. Accurate daily orders matter more than big monthly plans.
Frozen foods need an unbroken cold chain. That means freezers at the depot, distributor and outlet, plus refrigerated vans. Many brands place their own freezers at retail outlets. Tracking where those freezers are, and whether they are stocked, becomes part of retail execution.
Here is a simple, illustrative case. A brand ships 1,000 cases of a snack to a distributor in a month. The distributor sells 600 cases to retailers. The other 400 stay in the godown.
Primary sales show 1,000. Secondary sales show 600. The 400-case gap is stock sitting in the pipeline.
Now repeat that for three months. If the gap keeps growing, the distributor is overstocked. Orders will likely fall next quarter, and expiry risk rises. Caught early, the brand can slow dispatch, run a targeted scheme or move stock to a faster territory. Caught late, it becomes a return.
The factory half usually has good systems. The market half often runs on calls, WhatsApp and spreadsheets. That is the gap MAssist is built to close.
MAssist’s distribution management system runs distributor billing, stock, schemes and claims in one place. Secondary sales are captured as each invoice is raised, not at month end. Scheme rules apply at billing, which cuts claim disputes.
MAssist’s sales force automation app covers the field. Reps log visits, take orders and capture shelf data at the outlet. Because the DMS and SFA share data, reps can check distributor stock before they book an order.
Together, they give brands one view of primary sales, secondary sales and outlet activity. Planners can finally plan on real demand.
Most of this is about timing. The data already exists somewhere in the chain. The goal is to see it while there is still time to act.
A supply chain process is the set of steps that turns raw material into a product in a customer’s hands. It covers planning, sourcing, making, storing, moving, selling and handling returns. The classic SCOR model groups these into Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return.
There are eight stages: demand planning, sourcing and procurement, manufacturing, packaging and labelling, warehousing, distribution, retail execution, and returns and feedback. Each stage hands the product to a new owner. So visibility and traceability must travel with the stock.
FEFO stands for first expiry, first out. It ships the stock that expires soonest, even if it arrived later. Two batches of the same SKU can have different shelf lives, so FEFO is safer than FIFO for food. It cuts expiry write-offs and keeps fresher stock on the shelf.
Primary sales are what the brand bills to its distributors or super stockists. Secondary sales are what distributors sell to retailers. Primary shows what was shipped. Secondary shows what the market absorbed. A widening gap usually signals overstock or weak demand.
No. A carrying and forwarding agent (CFA) stores and dispatches stock on the brand’s behalf. The stock still belongs to the brand. The primary sale happens when the brand bills a distributor or super stockist.
A distribution management system (DMS) records distributor stock, billing, schemes and claims. Sales force automation (SFA) records outlet visits, orders and shelf data. Together they give brands near real-time secondary sales and stock data. Planners can then act on demand, not dispatch numbers.
The supply chain process for packaged foods does not end at the factory gate. It ends when a shopper picks the pack off the shelf.
The brands that do well look past primary sales. They watch distributor stock, expiry, schemes and outlet availability together.
Start with one simple question. Can you see what your distributors sold last week? If not, that is your first fix. Talk to the MAssist team to see how it works in practice.
Get notified about the next update
Salesforce Automation
CRM & Lead Management