Shifts that follow the order cycle
Each shift below spans nine hours including an hour's break, leaving eight hours of work. The overlap between the two godown shifts in the afternoon is when company trucks usually arrive and when picking for the next day starts. The OSH Code limits ordinary work to eight hours a day and leaves intervals and weekly limits to notification, so plan month-end extensions as overtime and not as a longer normal shift.
- Godown morning shift, 7 am to 4 pm: picking, loading vans, receiving trucks
- Godown evening shift, 1 pm to 10 pm: returns, unloading and picking for tomorrow
- Delivery shift, 8 am to 5 pm, ending with settlement
- Billing shift, 11 am to 8 pm, to bill the day's orders
- Salesmen's field shift, 9:30 am to 6:30 pm
Weekly offs and the Sunday question
Most distributors work six days and close on Sunday, which suits salesmen and delivery, since many retailers are quiet or shut. The godown may still need a skeleton team on Sunday for truck arrivals. Give the godown team personal weekly offs on rotation, so two loaders cover Sunday and take a weekday off instead. For everyone else, the shift's weekly off pattern does the work, including a Saturday rule if the office closes on some Saturdays.
The month-end roster
In the last week of the month, billing may run until 11 pm and the godown may load vans for two delivery rounds. Plan it as a separate roster: assign the month-end week in bulk with an extended billing shift and an extra evening team at the godown, and treat the additional hours as overtime, agreed in advance. A rotation template, with cycles of up to 62 days, can move godown staff between the morning and evening shifts fairly across the month.
Swaps and covering a van
When a delivery driver needs a day off, another driver has to take the van, or that day's orders do not leave the godown. In the app, the driver proposes a swap to a colleague for the same day or for two different dates, and weekly offs can be traded too. After the colleague says yes, the supervisor approves, then HR, and the roster only changes after that final step, so the godown in-charge knows at 7 am who is driving which van.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- In Shifts & Roster, create the godown morning and evening shifts, the delivery, billing and salesman field shifts, each with its break and grace.
- Set Sunday as the weekly off in the shift pattern for field and office staff, and personal weekly offs for godown staff who cover Sundays.
- Build a rotation template that moves godown staff between morning and evening shifts, staggered per person.
- Assign the month-end week in bulk, with extended billing hours and extra godown cover.
- Allow swap requests in the mobile app, with the supervisor approving first and HR second.
Read more about shifts and rosters in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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What shifts does an FMCG distributor's godown run?
Usually a morning shift for picking and loading vans, starting around 7 am, and an afternoon or evening shift for receiving trucks, returns and picking for the next day. The two shifts overlap in the afternoon, when company trucks often arrive. The month-end week may need an extra late team.
Do distributor salesmen work on Sundays?
Usually not. Most distributors give salesmen and delivery staff Sunday as the weekly off, since many retailers are closed or quiet. The godown may keep a small team on Sunday for truck arrivals, and those staff take a weekday off instead.
How should distributors plan the month-end rush?
With a separate roster for the last week: extended billing hours, an added godown team, and two delivery rounds if needed. Freeze leave for that week, agree overtime with each person in advance, and approve it promptly so it is paid in the same month's payroll.