Supply-chain investigations
The points where stock leaks, is refilled or is re-bagged between your plant and the retailer, identified, evidenced and closed.
Tracing leakage, diversion and refilling from plant to retailer, reconciling dispatches against sales.
Some of the most damaging brand losses happen inside your own supply chain: product removed in transit, genuine containers refilled with substandard material, or bags re-packed with a lower grade. Customers blame the brand.
We reconcile dispatches, receipts and sales from plant to depot to dealer, check transporters and depots, and look for refilling and re-bagging points in the field. E-way bills, weighbridge records and stock records are compared so that losses are located, not just measured.
The result names the points of leakage and the people involved, with control recommendations that make the same leak harder to repeat.
Leakage, refilling or re-bagging is happening somewhere between your plant and the retailer.
Signs we see most often
- 01Stock or weight losses appear between plant, depot and dealer.
- 02Customers complain about the quality of products that carry genuine codes.
- 03Empty containers or used packaging are being bought up in bulk in the market.
- 04Transit times are long or routes deviate from the plan.
- 05Weighbridge or depot records do not reconcile.
Scoped in writing, run by one accountable team.
Every engagement starts with agreed questions, a reporting line and a confidentiality protocol. The steps below are how this service usually runs; we adapt them to your matter.
- 01ReconcileMatch dispatches, receipts and sales across the chain.
- 02AnalyseCompare e-way bills, weighbridge and stock records for anomalies.
- 03InspectCheck transporters, depots and routes.
- 04LocateFind refilling, re-bagging and leakage points in the field.
- 05EvidenceDocument the people, premises and methods involved.
- 06ControlRecommend controls for packaging, transit and depots.
Leakage points identified, evidenced and closed.
- A reconciliation of dispatches, receipts and sales
- Identified leakage, refilling and re-bagging points
- Evidence on the people and premises involved
- Findings from the transporter and depot review
- Supply-chain control recommendations
The law and frameworks this work is aligned to
- Aligned to ISO 22380 on product fraud and ISO 22384 on protection plans
- Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 rule 138 on e-way bills
- Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 offences of theft, cheating and criminal breach of trust
References show the standard the work is built to. They do not imply accreditation or endorsement by the bodies that publish them.
This is a summary of the service. For a deeper understanding of how it would work for your organisation, please reach out to us.
Talk to a BDI partnerWhere this service meets BDI's technology.
The platforms below record, monitor or act on the work this service produces.
Questions clients ask before we start.
How is this different from a source investigation?
A source investigation looks for counterfeiters outside your business. A supply-chain investigation looks for leakage, refilling or substitution inside your own distribution chain, often involving transporters, depots or partners.
Do you need access to our ERP?
Dispatch, receipt and sales records are essential. An ERP extract is ideal, but we can work from the records you hold.
Can the findings support action against transporters or employees?
Yes. Evidence is documented for disciplinary, contractual or criminal action, as your counsel advises.