Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for milk distributors.
A checklist built from how milk distributors work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Route indents
- Crate deposit ledger
- Return and leakage claims
- Dairy purchase and dispatch notes
- Outlet accounts and collections
- Home subscription deliveries
- Cold room log
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For the depot loader
- For route salesmen
- For the accountant
- For subscription desk staff
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Dairy dispatch against loaded and delivered quantity
- Standing indent against actual delivery per outlet
- Crates held by outlet, missing by route
- Leaked, soured and expired packs by batch
- Outlet balances by age with credit limit shown
- Salesman settlement differences by route and day
- Household deliveries, pauses and prepaid balances
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Payment gateway for prepaid households
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does each van get a loading sheet?
- Can a returned pouch be traced?
- How are crates counted?
- Can a relief salesman cover a route?
- Can households pause deliveries?
- Does it work without signal?
- Can the dairy’s bill be checked here?
- Can we keep outlet credit limits?
- Who keeps the delivery records?
- What would setting up cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Return packs have no owner
- Crates leave and do not come home
- Standing indents drift
- Dairy bill and route sheets disagree
- Subscriber payments blur together
Prefer to talk it through? See the milk distributors page.