Why does planning matter?
A distribution looks simple: goods go from a store to people. In practice it is where stock, safety and trust meet. Too little stock and people leave empty-handed. Poor crowd flow and people get hurt. Weak records and items vanish between the truck and the recipient.
A written plan, shared with everyone who works on the day, prevents most of this.
Step-by-step plan
- Confirm the purpose and the rules. Which project and budget pays for it? What does the donor or programme require for targeting and records?
- Confirm the recipient list. Who is entitled, and how are they identified? Check the list is current and approved.
- Set the entitlement. What does each person or household receive? Write it per item.
- Calculate quantities. Recipients multiplied by entitlement, plus a small margin.
- Check and reserve stock. Compare the need with stock on hand. If short, raise a purchase early.
- Plan transport and storage. Vehicles, loading, route, security, and where goods wait on site.
- Choose and prepare the site. Space, shade, water, safe flow, access for people with disabilities, and a way to raise complaints.
- Assign roles and brief the team. Everyone knows their task, the entitlement and the rule for exceptions.
- Run the distribution. Check, hand out, record.
- Reconcile and report. Within a day or two.
How to calculate quantities
A quick table keeps the arithmetic visible.
| Item | Entitlement | Recipients | Margin | Quantity to issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blanket | 2 per household | 400 | Small | Recipients x 2, plus margin |
| Hygiene kit | 1 per household | 400 | Small | Recipients x 1, plus margin |
Fill in your own numbers. Keep the margin small and written, so it is not mistaken for spare stock to take. Check that the stock on hand covers the total, including goods reserved for other activities.
Who does what on the day?
Separating roles protects both recipients and staff.
- Site lead. Runs the plan, decides on exceptions with a second person.
- Verifiers. Check identity against the list at the entrance.
- Hand-out team. Issue the items, and only the items, in the set quantity.
- Recorders. Mark each recipient as served, and capture signature or thumbprint if your process requires it.
- Stores officer. Issues goods to the site and takes back the remainder.
- Safety and complaints officer. Manages crowd flow and receives concerns.
The person who records should not be the person who hands out. Each role checks the other.
How should you record issues?
Record as you go, not later from memory.
- Each recipient is marked as served, with date and time.
- The quantities issued are written down per item.
- Exceptions and replacements are noted, with the reason and who approved them.
- Complaints are logged, with a reply.
- Damaged or refused goods are counted and recorded.
At the end of the day, the team lead and the stores officer both sign the summary.
How to reconcile afterwards
Reconciliation answers one question: do the numbers close?
- Goods issued from the store.
- Minus goods handed to recipients, from the recorder’s list.
- Minus goods returned, damaged or lost, with notes.
- The result should be zero, or any difference explained.
Return unused stock to the store and record it. Investigate gaps the same day, when memories are fresh. Our article on how to run a physical stock count shows how to check the remaining store stock, and inventory management for NGO warehouses covers the daily records.
What can go wrong?
- Outdated lists, so entitled people are missed or ineligible people are served.
- Double collection, when there is no way to mark people as served.
- Crowd pressure, when the site is too small or the timing is unclear.
- Pressure on staff, from local leaders or others, to favour certain people. Agree beforehand who handles this.
- Missing records, so nobody can show where goods went.
Think through each one before the day, and plan a response.
Where EMPOBase fits
In EMPOBase Logistics & SCM, you record stock by location and review movement and distribution records, with project and activity references where you have them. Check these against your physical counts and delivery evidence. Counts of records are not counts of unique people: EMPOBase does not remove duplicates between beneficiaries, so your own recipient checks still matter. A goods received note does not move stock, so update inventory as a separate step. See the documentation for the modules.