Van Sales Software for African Brands
Van sales software runs the whole van selling day in one mobile app. Reps load the van and sell at the duka, kiosk or provision store. They print the invoice, collect cash or mobile money, take returns and reconcile stock and cash at day end. The van reaches the shops a scheduled drop will never justify, so BeatRoute makes every route sell its full load, with the Order AI Agent prioritising the SKUs each outlet will take.
Built for van-based retail sales and distribution
Designed for offline, low and no-connectivity environments
Quick invoicing, secure collections, and real-time reconciliation
⊢Trusted by AAVA Brands, BUA Foods and Dangote Cement⊣
The missing 20%
Every van route should come back empty
Our primary research shows a consistent gap in van sales. Vans are on the road every day, and brands still realize only about 80% of the revenue those routes could carry.
Here the leak has an address. Fuel and road time make an unplanned route expensive before it sells anything, the load is picked blind. Invoicing waits for a signal that may not come until evening.
As a result, a significant portion of sales potential is lost, even though the field force remains active throughout the day.
BeatRoute closes it by moving van sales past activity tracking: routes aligned to demand, the right SKUs prioritized per outlet. Invoicing, stock and collection running on the device with or without a network.
- The van ran the full route. Why did the revenue come back short?
- Which SKUs should have gone out on this load, and did they?
- How much cash is on this van right now, and against which invoices?
- What happens to all of this when the outlet has no signal?
Activity tracking answers none of those, because in every one of them the van was moving.
Capabilities
What van sales software has to do
Load the van against demand, let the rep sell, invoice and collect at the counter with no signal, then find out which routes are leaving revenue behind.
Load the van against demand
Our van sales software helps you decide what goes out on each trip, at which price and on whose credit, so the load matches the route rather than the last one.
Know the outlet before the van pulls up
Stores are onboarded with profiling and verification rather than added as a name
Stop sending out stock the route cannot sell
Load limits and credit limits are set per stock issue
Give the van a route someone can be held to
Route planning runs on geo-tagged beat plans, so adherence on every delivery route is a fact rather than a claim
Let the outlet choose when it wants delivery
Reps schedule the delivery date against the issued order
Measure the trip on more than distance covered
KPIs are defined for orders, sales value and coverage
Get the van loaded without a paper indent
Reps request and issue stock in the app, repeat the last issue, or issue against a supply order
Sell, invoice and collect at the counter
Our van sales app helps the rep close the whole transaction at the outlet, with no signal and no paperwork to key in later, and keeps van stock and cash correct as it happens.
Know the route was actually run
Visits and route adherence are tracked by GPS against the beat plan
Close the delivery at the counter
Stock is collected and delivery marked against the customer on the spot
Invoice in the outlet with no signal in it
Invoices generate and print at the outlet, fully offline, and sync when the vehicle is back in range
End the day with stock and cash already agreeing
End-of-day payment and stock reconciliation run through the app rather than at the depot
Take the money in whatever form the outlet has it
Cash, digital payment and cheque all link to their invoice, including partial payments and outstanding amounts
Keep van inventory true as the day goes
Van stock auto-updates after every sale and sales return, and unusable product is written off in the app
Find the routes leaving revenue behind
Our van sales software helps you compare routes and reps on what they realised rather than what they covered, and see where the schemes and the must-sell list actually landed.
Compare routes on what they realised
Dashboards read by rep, route or region rather than as one field number
Build the view your category team asks for
Custom dashboards run at brand, SKU or channel level
Find out what the returns are really costing
Customer returns analyse by SKU, quantity and value
Know whether the must-sell list reached the counter
MSL and FSL compliance measure per outlet and per route
Get told where execution is breaking down
BeatRoute Copilot surfaces execution gaps and trends rather than waiting to be queried
Retire the scheme that never moved volume
Scheme and promotional performance analyse across routes and SKUs
We needed tools that would help our salespeople cover more stores efficiently. With BeatRoute's routing and SFA solutions, we managed to triple our coverage in three years. The tools are robust, even in remote areas with poor connectivity. It's been a great experience working with the BeatRoute team.
Why you should choose BeatRoute over van activity tracking
Resources
Relevant resources
Van sales, direct store delivery and route economics, for teams selling off the vehicle.
How Perfetti India Optimized Route-to-Market and Delivery Operations with BeatRoute
At a Glance Company Perfetti Van Melle Spokesperson Mayank Pandey, Sales Capability Head Industry FMCG – Confectionery Region India Primary Goal…
Read more
FMCG Route to Market: Sales Teams, Distributors, and Retailers
TL;DR This guide is for FMCG sales leaders and distribution heads managing route-to-market execution across sales teams, distributors, and retailers.…
Read more
Reimagining Digital Transformation For Enterprise FMCG Brands ft. Pallavi Nigam
Featuring: Pallavi Nigam, Digital Projects Head – Supply Chain at Mondelēz International Host: Nikhil Chaudhary, VP Marketing at BeatRoute The FMCG […
Read moreFrequently Asked Questions
What is van sales software?
Van sales software is a mobile app for selling ready stock from a vehicle. The rep loads the van, follows a planned route, sells and invoices at each outlet, collects payment, takes returns and reconciles stock and cash at day end. BeatRoute does all of this for brands and distributors selling into general and modern trade, and syncs with your ERP or DMS.
What does a van sales day look like in BeatRoute?
It runs in six steps. Load-out: the rep requests and issues stock in the app within load and credit limits. Route sales: the rep follows a geo-tagged beat plan to each duka, kiosk or provision store, while the Order AI Agent proposes the SKUs that outlet will take. Invoicing: the invoice is printed at the counter with customer pricing and schemes applied. Collection: cash, mobile money or cheque is linked to its invoice. Returns: sales returns and unusable stock are recorded against the van. End of day: stock and cash reconcile in the app, so gaps surface the same day rather than at the depot.
Does the van sales app work offline?
Fully. Reps invoice, collect and update stock with no network, and everything syncs when signal returns. This is the normal case on an upcountry route, not an edge case.
Can reps collect payments in cash or mobile money?
Yes. The app records collections in cash, mobile money or cheque, and links every payment to its invoice, including partial payments. Outstanding amounts stay tracked against the customer as pending. The day's cash is reconciled against what actually left the van.
Does van sales work alongside pre-sales and distributor delivery?
Yes. Van sales, pre-sales and distributor-served outlets run on one platform and one outlet universe, which is how a territory is covered.
Can it connect with our ERP or DMS?
Yes. BeatRoute integrates with major ERPs and DMS platforms through plug-and-play connectors or custom APIs. Stock and pricing sync from the ERP or DMS, and closing van stock is matched against it at the end of the trip. Anything captured offline on an upcountry route syncs once the van is back in range, so nobody keys in paper.
Which African brands use BeatRoute?
AAVA Brands in Nigeria runs its sales reps and distributors on BeatRoute and saw 25–30% growth in store-level sellouts (read the AAVA Brands case study). BUA Foods and Dangote Cement are also BeatRoute customers in Nigeria.
How long does it take to go live with van sales software?
Most teams go live on BeatRoute in 21 days. Setup covers the ERP or DMS connection for stock and pricing, load and credit limits per stock issue, geo-tagged beat plans, and customer-level pricing and schemes. Reps then work from the mobile app, which runs offline from the first trip.
Can I see stock at the distributor, the shop and in the van?
Yes, BeatRoute tracks stock across all three legs of the channel. Distributor stock updates as goods are received and billed out. Shop stock is captured by the salesman during the visit, so you know what is sitting on the shelf before the next sales order is taken. Van stock reconciles at the end of the trip against what was loaded and what was sold. That end-to-end view is what separates a real DMS from an order-taking app.