How to receive distributor stock in a Pakistani pharmacy

Check the delivery before it becomes stock

A distributor delivery is the moment most stock problems are still easy to fix. Once the carton is on the shelf, a short-dated batch, a missing bonus, or a warm insulin pen is much harder to argue about.

Do this while the delivery person is still in the shop.

Match the paper to the cartons

Compare the invoice with what is physically in front of you:

• Product name and pack size
• Quantity, including any free or bonus packs
• Batch number printed on the carton, not only on the bill
• Expiry date
• Trade price you expected to pay

Count bonus packs separately. In Pakistan a scheme such as "10+1" means you received eleven packs and paid for ten. If the free pack is missing, your real cost is higher than the scheme you agreed to. Write the shortage on the bill before you sign.

Refuse stock you cannot sell in time

Ask for the expiry before the pack is opened and mixed with older stock. There is no single national cut-off that every distributor uses. Each company sets its own return window, and that window is in your agreement, not in a general rule of thumb.

If the expiry is too close for the speed at which that item sells in your shop, do not accept it just to keep the relationship smooth. A pack you cannot sell and cannot return is a write-off you chose at the door.

Never put an expired pack into saleable stock. Quarantine it, mark it, and deal with it as a return or a destruction, not as a sale.

Cold-chain products are a separate check

Read the storage line on the pack. Many insulins, vaccines, and some other products must stay in a stated range, often 2°C to 8°C. If the carton arrives warm, or you cannot tell how it travelled, do not guess that it is still usable. Note it on the bill and speak to the distributor before it enters your fridge.

Inside the shop, keep a simple temperature note for the fridge, morning and evening. Load-shedding is normal. A note that says the fridge was off for most of the afternoon is more useful than a memory. Follow the pack instruction for what to do after a break in cooling. Do not invent a "it should be fine" rule.

Record the batch, then shelve it

Enter the batch only after the count is agreed:

• Batch number
• Expiry
• Quantity actually received, including bonus
• Cost you will use for margin (see the purchasing guide on true cost)
• Where it will sit: shelf, fridge, or back store

Then put the shorter-dated batch in front. That is FEFO: first expired, first out. Staff will sell what their hand reaches. The shelf layout is the control, not a reminder you hope they remember at 9 p.m.

After the delivery leaves

File the invoice with the date and supplier name. Purchase bills are part of the record a drug inspector can ask for. In Punjab, the drug rules require purchase invoices to be kept for at least three years. Other provinces set their own periods. Keep them long enough for your province, and long enough that you can still match a return to the original bill.

Key takeaways

• Count bonus packs. They are part of the delivery.
• Record batch and expiry before the carton is mixed with old stock.
• Do not accept short-dated or warm cold-chain stock just to finish the delivery.
• Put the earlier expiry in front.