Every consumer brand in India eventually draws the same diagram: company at the top, outlets at the bottom, and a few layers in between. Super stockists, CFAs, distributors, sub-distributors, wholesalers. Each layer exists for a reason — reach, credit, local knowledge, logistics. Each also takes a margin and hides a little more of what is really happening.
The common tiers
| Tier | Role | Usually serves |
|---|---|---|
| CFA / C&F agent | Holds and dispatches company stock for a fee | Distributors in a region |
| Super stockist | Buys in bulk, resells to distributors | Distributors, sometimes wholesalers |
| Distributor | Buys, stocks, sells and delivers to retailers in a territory | Retailers on beats |
| Sub-distributor / sub-stockist | Serves smaller towns from a distributor | Rural and small-town retailers |
| Wholesaler | Sells to retailers who come to buy | Retailers outside beat coverage |
How money flows
Each tier buys at a price below the next tier's buying price. As an illustration (not a recommendation), on a product with a retail price of ₹100:
| Buys at | Sells at | Margin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retailer | ₹85 | ₹100 | 15% of MRP |
| Distributor | ₹80 | ₹85 | ~6% |
| Super stockist | ₹77 | ₹80 | ~4% |
Add credit — each tier gives the next some days to pay — and every rupee of margin is also financing someone's working capital.
What gets lost between tiers
- Stock visibility below the tier you bill.
- Secondary and tertiary sales, which arrive late if at all.
- Scheme pass-through — whether a scheme meant for retailers reached them.
- Credit risk that moves down the chain.
Designing a network that stays visible
- Map every outlet to one serving partner and every partner to its territory.
- Record the hand-off at each tier — orders and deliveries between partners, not just your own billing.
- Keep one ledger per partner, including scheme accruals and claims.
- Define who serves what, so territories don't overlap.
- Review tiers yearly. A tier that adds margin but no reach is a candidate for removal.
How Zaqnet models the network
- Dealers and distributors as partners with territories and agreements.
- Schemes, accruals and claims per partner — see trade schemes and dealer claims.
- Targets and the sales that count toward them.
- A ledger per partner for everything that moved between you.
- Field teams in GroundLink book outlet orders against the right partner, so lower tiers are visible — see distributor management systems.
See how the whole network runs in one system on the distributor management software page.
Every tier you add is a tier you can no longer see — unless you design for it.