Managing Stock Delivery and Digital Handover

Keep promises about availability and completion through a clear fulfilment process.

Part 7 of 10 | Starting an Online Business in The Gambia

Learning goals

Track stock commitments, choose a realistic delivery area and confirm that the customer receives the right item or file. Plan for failed handovers instead of assuming every dispatch succeeds. You will produce a fulfilment plan for one offer. The lesson covers operations and does not provide import paperwork, customs rates or universal courier promises.

Before you begin

Use the confirmed-order process from Part 6. Choose an initial delivery boundary based on a route you can actually arrange, not a claim to cover all of The Gambia immediately. Costs and timing may differ between neighbourhoods and longer-distance routes. Collection, local delivery and international shipping each need their own customer agreement and cost check.

Step 1 Distinguish stock on hand from available stock

Suppose ten saleable items are physically on hand and three are reserved for confirmed orders. Seven are available for new buyers. When two reserved items are dispatched, physical stock becomes eight and reserved stock becomes one; availability remains seven. If another on-hand item is found defective and held aside, saleable availability falls to six. Record the reason rather than silently changing a number.

An item shown in a supplier catalogue is not your stock. Mark sourced-on-request goods and their lead time clearly. Release expired reservations according to the terms already explained to the customer, not an improvised rule. Inspect returns before deciding whether they can re-enter saleable stock. A returned parcel is not automatically a new item ready for the next buyer.

Step 2 Confirm the delivery route

Gampost's official service page describes parcel and EMS options. INDIL advertises delivery services for Gambian users and businesses. These are routes to investigate, not tested guarantees of coverage, price or performance. Ask about the exact origin, destination, item type, size, timing, tracking, collection and failed-delivery arrangements before quoting the customer.

Obtain enough location information privately: area, useful landmark, contact route and a mutually suitable handover window. Use a location pin where helpful, but do not assume it replaces all directions. Confirm an alternative recipient only with appropriate agreement. Do not give every rider access to the complete customer list; share only what is needed for the assigned delivery.

Step 3 Pack and hand over accurately

Check code, quantity, variation and condition against the order before packing. Use packaging suited to the journey and item. A generic bag is not enough for fragile, leaking or temperature-sensitive goods; such products need appropriate specialist arrangements outside this beginner example. Avoid sending prohibited or unsuitable contents simply because a parcel can physically be accepted.

Record the dispatch reference and communicate a realistic update. Distinguish a courier estimate from a guarantee you have made. If a route is delayed, update the customer and discuss options. Obtain suitable proof of handover without publishing their address or identity. If collection fails, follow the agreed approach and investigate costs before arranging another trip.

Step 4 Adapt fulfilment for services and files

For a digital deliverable, check the final file opens, has the agreed content and uses the promised format. Send it through the agreed channel with appropriate access permissions. A link that only the seller can open is not successful handover. Test using a suitable separate view without exposing the customer's material publicly. Keep an original backup according to the agreed support and retention arrangements.

For a service, distinguish first draft, revision and final acceptance. Explain what the customer needs to review and by when, without inventing a silence-means-approval condition after the work is done. Track revision requests against the agreed scope. If extra work is requested, agree timing and price before doing it. Delivery quality includes usability, not merely sending a message saying finished.

Guided exercise

1. Recreate the ten-item stock example and calculate availability after reservations, dispatch and one defective item. Show why dispatching reserved stock does not create new availability.

2. Compare collection and one delivery route for your offer. List the actual details that need a quotation or provider confirmation.

3. Create a packing and handover checklist using fictional order details. Keep private addresses out of public materials.

4. Rehearse a failed handover and explain how you will contact the customer, check the parcel and agree the next step.

5. For a digital service, test an original practice file and its access settings. For a physical shop, rehearse the package check without dispatching a real order.

Knowledge check

1. Are reserved items available to sell again?

2. Does a courier advertisement guarantee your specific route and date?

3. Is a file delivered successfully if the customer cannot open it?

Answer guide

1. No. They are already committed until appropriately released.

2. No. Confirm the actual service and terms.

3. No. Usable access is part of fulfilment.

Completion standard

Produce correct stock figures and a fulfilment plan with confirmed facts separated from assumptions. Include a failed-delivery response or digital-access test. The customer promise must match the route and resources you can actually provide.

Sources and verification notes

Gampost services. Checked 18 September 2026. Official postal service describes parcel and EMS services. Confirm destination, permitted contents, tracking, delivery terms and current quotation before promising shipment.

INDIL Gambia delivery website. Checked 18 September 2026. First-party delivery-service advertising only. Coverage, performance, fees and payment capabilities were not independently tested; displayed demos are not confirmed transaction evidence.