Basics
FMCG distribution terms explained: primary sales, secondary sales, beat, drop size and more
Thirty words every FMCG distributor hears from the company and his salesmen — primary and secondary sales, CFA, super stockist, beat, strike rate, lines per call, drop size — each in one plain sentence.
29 September 2026 · 9 min read
Short answer
Primary sales are the company’s sales to you; secondary sales are your sales to shops. A beat is the fixed list of shops for one weekday. Strike rate is the share of visits that end in a bill, lines per call is products per bill, and drop size is the average bill value. The rest are below, each in one sentence.
The company’s area manager, the salesmen and the software vendors all speak in shorthand. These are the words you will hear most, in the order you meet them.
Company
makes the goods
CFA / super stockist
stores or resells in the region
Distributor
primary sale comes in
Shops
secondary sale goes out
Customers
tertiary sale
Who sells to whom
Primary sales: What the company sells to its distributors (or to a super stockist). The company's own sales target is usually counted here.
Secondary sales: What the distributor sells to shops. This is the sale that brings the distributor's money back.
Tertiary sales: What the shop sells to the final customer.
CFA (carrying and forwarding agent): A warehouse agent who stores the company's goods in a region and dispatches them to distributors. The CFA does not own the goods.
Super stockist: A large wholesaler who buys from the company and supplies smaller distributors in an area the company does not serve directly.
Distributor: The business that buys from the company (or super stockist) and sells and delivers to shops in its territory, usually with its own salesmen, vans and credit.
Sub-distributor: A smaller distributor or wholesaler who buys from a distributor to serve villages or small towns.
General trade (GT): Kirana and other independent shops, which buy on credit through distributors and salesmen. Most FMCG volume in India goes through GT.
Modern trade (MT): Supermarket and retail chains, which buy on agreements, often centrally, with stricter terms.
How the road works
Beat (route): The fixed list of shops a salesman covers on a particular day of the week.
Day-list: Mulberry Sales' name for a beat: the shops assigned to a given weekday.
Van sales: Selling straight off a loaded van: the salesman bills and hands over the goods on the same visit.
Pre-sales (order booking): The salesman takes the order today and the goods are delivered tomorrow, usually by a separate delivery van.
Productive call (strike rate): A shop visit that ended in a bill. Strike rate is productive calls divided by shops visited.
Lines per call: How many different products are on an average bill. More lines means the shop depends on you more.
Drop size: The average value of one bill.
Load and unload: What goes onto a van in the morning and what comes back unsold at night. The difference should equal what was sold and given free.
Day-end close (settlement): Matching each van's bills, cash, UPI, credit and returned stock at the end of the day.
Money
Credit (udhaar): Goods given to a shop now and paid for later.
Credit days: How long a shop takes, or is allowed, to pay a bill.
Credit limit: The most a shop may owe you at once. A bill that would cross it should need the owner's yes.
Outstanding and ageing: What shops still owe you, split by how old each unpaid bill is: this week, last week, this month, older.
Trade discount: A price reduction given on the bill, usually by the company through the distributor.
Scheme: A company offer such as buy 12, get 1 free, applied on the bill to shops.
Claim: What the distributor asks the company to pay back: scheme costs, damage, expiry or price differences.
Stock
FIFO and FEFO: First in, first out; and first expiry, first out. Earliest-expiring stock should leave the godown first.
Damage and expiry write-off: Recording broken or expired goods as a loss at what they cost you, so the loss shows in profit.
Returnable crates (empties): Crates and bottles that go out full and must come back empty, tracked shop by shop.
Weeks of stock: Stock on hand divided by average weekly sales. It shows how long stock will last and what is sitting still.
Software
DMS (distributor management system): Software that records a distributor's bills and stock and shares them with the brand, usually chosen by the brand.
SFA (sales force automation): An app that records salesmen's visits, orders and attendance, usually for the brand.
Van sales app: Software the distributor uses to bill from vans and control van stock, collections, credit and the day-end close.
Where to go next
If you are choosing software, read DMS, SFA and van sales apps explained. If you are just starting out, read the systems to set up in your first 90 days. For the numbers behind a salesman’s day, see lines per call.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between primary and secondary sales in FMCG?
Primary sales are what the company sells to the distributor. Secondary sales are what the distributor sells to shops. The company often targets primary sales, but the distributor only gets his money back when secondary sales happen.
What is a beat in FMCG distribution?
A beat is the fixed list of shops a salesman visits on a particular day of the week, so every shop is visited on a predictable day.
What is strike rate?
Strike rate is the share of shop visits that end in a bill. If a salesman visits 40 shops and 32 buy, his strike rate is 80%.
Found this problem in your business?
Don't estimate it. Run one van on Mulberry Sales for 14 days with your own shops, products and salesman, and measure it. One price covers your whole business, not each salesman.
Read next
Choosing
DMS, SFA and van sales apps: what each one does, in plain words
What a distributor management system, sales force automation and a van sales app each do, who usually pays for them, and which one a distributor running his own vans needs.
Basics
Starting an FMCG distributorship: the systems to set up in the first 90 days
Once the company appoints you, these are the money, stock and people systems to put in place before the first months of credit and stock catch up with you.