Orders confirmed, delivered and collected without the chase

• Take orders the way they arrive

  Customers order on WhatsApp, by voice note, with a photo of a handwritten list or through the salesman who visited them. The agent reads each one, in Arabic or English, and turns it into order lines.

• Match their words to your item codes

  “The usual rice” and “oil, the big tins” become the right items and pack sizes,, taken from what that customer has bought before and the names your salesmen use.

• Check stock and credit before confirming

  Each line is checked against stock on hand and the customer's account in your ERP. A line that cannot ship is offered as a substitute or a later date before the order is confirmed.

• Enter the chains' purchase orders

  Supermarket and hypermarket chains send purchase orders through their supplier portals or by email. The agent picks them up, checks the prices against your agreed list and enters them, so a mismatch is caught before the truck leaves.

See orders and confirmations→

A grocery in Sohar sends a voice note in Arabic before opening; the agent transcribes it, matches each line to your items and checks stock and credit in your ERP; one item is short, so it offers the larger pack and the customer agrees; the order is entered and confirmed in Arabic with the delivery day.

Voice note on WhatsApp

A grocery in Sohar, in Arabic, before opening

Agent

Order

• Writes down what was asked
• Matches each line to your items
• Checks stock and credit in your ERP

Larger pack offered

One item short, the customer agrees

AcceptedOrder entered

Order confirmed

In Arabic, with the delivery day

• Say where the order is

  From the order, the pick list and the van's route, on WhatsApp or email, in the customer's language, without anyone calling the warehouse.

• Say what is in stock, and when more arrives

  Stock on hand at the branch that serves the customer and, when an item is out, the date the next delivery from the supplier is due.

• Send the papers they ask for

  A copy of an invoice, the statement of account or the delivery note signed at the door, found on the record and sent.

• Put a complaint where it gets settled

  A short delivery, a damaged carton or a wrong price reaches the person who can settle it, with the order and the photos, and the customer is told who has it.

See customer inquiries→

A pharmacy in Muscat asks on WhatsApp whether an item is back in stock; the agent checks stock at the branch, finds the date of the supplier's next delivery and offers the nearest substitute; the customer reserves the item instead and a reminder is set; the order is placed for the arrival date.

Is it back in stock?

A pharmacy in Muscat, on WhatsApp

Agent

Stock question

• Checks stock at the branch
• Finds the supplier's next delivery
• Offers the nearest substitute

Customer reserves it

For the day it arrives

ReservedReminder set

Order placed

For the arrival date, on the record

• Book the slot at the store

  Distribution centres and large stores receive at set hours, often by appointment. The agent books the slot, sends what the appointment asks for and moves the delivery when a slot is lost.

• Turn orders into pick lists and drops

  Confirmed orders become pick lists in the warehouse and drops on the right van, in the order of the route, with each customer's receiving hours.

• Close each delivery with its proof

  The signed delivery note or the driver's photo is read and matched to the order, and a short or refused line is recorded the same day.

• Collect returns and near-expiry stock

  Damaged, expired and near-expiry goods agreed with the customer are put on the next run, counted on collection and passed to finance for the credit note.

A hypermarket's distribution centre needs an appointment for tomorrow's delivery; the agent books the receiving slot, sends the delivery details and puts the drop on the route; the warehouse picks the order against the store's shelf-life rule and loads it; the delivery is made inside the window and the signed note is on the order.

Appointment needed

A hypermarket's distribution centre

Agent

Delivery

• Books the receiving slot
• Sends the delivery details
• Puts the drop on the route

Warehouse picks

Shelf life checked against the store's rule

PickedLoaded

Delivered in the window

The signed note on the order

• Invoice what was accepted

  The invoice follows the signed delivery note, and returns, short lines and agreed price corrections get a credit note against the original, so the customer's statement matches what they received.

• Remind before the due date and after it

  Statements and reminders go out on the customer's channel and in their language. Each promise to pay is recorded and checked on the day it was due.

• Keep track of post-dated cheques

  Cheques handed to salesmen and drivers are logged with their dates and banks, deposited on the day they fall due and matched when they clear. A returned cheque reaches credit control and the salesman the same day.

• Release held orders on a decision

  An order held for credit goes to the credit controller with the balance, what is overdue and the last payment, and it is released the moment it is approved or paid.

See collections→

A supermarket in Muscat promises payment on WhatsApp; the agent records the promise and its date, checks the bank on that date and finds it unpaid, then reminds the customer in Arabic; the credit controller holds new orders until it clears and the salesman is told; when the payment arrives it is matched in your ERP and the orders are released.

Payment promised

A supermarket in Muscat, on WhatsApp

Agent

Collection

• Records the promise and its date
• Checks the bank on that date
• Reminds the customer in Arabic

Credit controller decides

New orders held until it clears

On holdSalesman told

Paid and matched

In your ERP, the orders released

• Watch stock against what is selling

  Stock on hand, open orders and what each item sells week by week, read from your ERP, so the reorder point moves with demand, ahead of Ramadan and Eid as much as in the summer.

• Draft the purchase order

  Quantities for each supplier from the reorder rules you set, in the supplier's pack sizes and minimums, for your buyer to approve.

• Chase the supplier's confirmation

  The order is acknowledged, the ship date confirmed and the documents asked for. A date that slips is flagged with the customer orders it affects.

• Tell sales what is coming

  When stock is short, the salesmen and the customers waiting for it hear the arrival date, so nobody promises what is not there.

See supplier follow-ups→

Sunflower oil in tins falls below its reorder point; the agent reads stock and open orders, drafts the purchase order in the supplier's pack sizes and checks the last price paid; the buyer approves it and it goes to the supplier; the supplier confirms the ship date; the customers waiting for the oil are told when it arrives.

Below the reorder point

Sunflower oil, the tins

Agent

Reorder

• Reads stock and open orders
• Drafts the order in the supplier's pack sizes
• Checks the last price paid

Buyer approves

Sent to the supplier

ApprovedSent

Supplier confirms

The ship date on the order

Confirmed

Customers waiting told

With the arrival date