Ramesh Verma, a field sales executive for a leading FMCG brand, has been on the road since sunrise. By mid-morning, the thermometer outside Raipur reads 41°C, his shirt clings with sweat, and his scooter carries the weight of dozens of paper forms. He meets a kirana owner eager to stock a new summer SKU. Demand is there. Shelf space is there. But the process isn't.
Instead of celebrating an instant sale, Ramesh begins the long dance of forms, photocopies, signatures, and approvals. It will be at least a few days before this store can place its first order. By then, the campaign's buzz will have cooled.
Multiply that scene by thousands of outlets across Tier 2 and Tier 3 India. Rural demand is rising 6% faster than urban demand, yet brands are watching it slip away.
Here's why.
The friction in onboarding
For Ramesh, onboarding a single retailer means multiple trips back and forth over the couple of days. Each trip burns fuel, time, and his patience. That's 75,000 selling days lost if his company plans to add 5,000 outlets this quarter.
But these aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. They represent Ramesh's burnt afternoons chasing signatures, his scooter breaking down from overuse, his family dinners missed because he's still collecting photocopies at 8 PM.
Back in his air-conditioned office, Ramesh's regional manager sees different metrics: onboarding volumes, completion rates, and quarterly targets. He doesn't see Ramesh's sweat-stained shirt, the kirana owner's growing impatience, or the competitor who swooped in while Ramesh was stuck in bureaucracy.
The ghost in the numbers
The pressure is getting to Ramesh's colleagues. Last month, his teammate Suresh found a shortcut: ghost stores. Fictitious outlets were created to hit quarterly targets. Suresh showed Ramesh how simple it was: forge a few documents, submit fake store details, tick the onboarding box.
But Ramesh has seen what happens when brands discover these phantom retailers. The trust erosion isn't just with the head office; genuine kirana owners lose faith in the company's selection process as well. If the brands can't tell real stores from fake ones, how can a retailer trust their business judgment?
The churn spiral
Three months after Ramesh's onboarding marathon, that enthusiastic kirana owner calls with bad news: he can't pay this month's invoice. His customers aren't buying the premium SKUs as expected. He wants to return half his stock.
Ramesh's heart sinks. All those trips, all that paperwork, all that 41°C heat for a relationship that's crumbling. His company's due diligence missed something crucial: this wasn't the right retailer for this product category.
But Ramesh had no tools to assess this upfront. His company still relies on basic financial checks designed for corporate clients, not the mom-and-pop stores that represent 90% of India's retail landscape. Meanwhile, three streets away, a more suitable kirana owner is still waiting for someone to approach him.
What if Ramesh could do magic?
Picture this: Ramesh walks into that same kirana store outside Raipur. But instead of paper forms, he pulls out his phone. The shop's photo is captured, documents are verified instantly, and creditworthiness is assessed in real-time. Thirty minutes later, the retailer is onboarded, verified, and placing his first order.
Ramesh heads home in time for dinner with his family. The kirana owner stocks up confidently, knowing he's been matched with the right product mix. The regional manager sees genuine growth, not inflated numbers.
What if Ramesh could assess a retailer's true business potential before making that first trip?
What if he could spot a potentially problematic credit risk before investing multiple days of follow-ups?
What if the system were smart enough to prevent his colleague Suresh from creating ghost stores in the first place?
A better world with AI
For Ramesh, this transformation isn't about technology; it's about getting his life back.
Onboarding in 30 minutes means no more days of paper chases. AI-powered verification handles document checks while he's still shaking hands with the store owner. Computer vision analyzes the shop's setup to gauge real business potential.
Agent authentication in 1 minute means Suresh can't create ghost stores anymore. The system cross-verifies every detail in real-time, flagging inconsistencies that human oversight misses.
Automated multilingual journeys mean Ramesh doesn't need to translate forms or explain complex procedures. The retailer can complete verification in his preferred language while Ramesh focuses on relationship building.
Continuous monitoring means that kirana owners' payment troubles would be flagged months earlier, giving Ramesh time to provide support or adjust credit terms before relationships sour.
This isn't wishful thinking; IDfy is already solving this. This is already happening for smart FMCG companies who've realized that onboarding is strategic growth infrastructure, not administrative overhead.
The subtle shift
Somewhere in another FMCG company's territory, another field executive like Ramesh is getting on his scooter. But his phone contains magic AI-powered onboarding that turns his job from paper-pushing drudgery into relationship-building excellence.
While Ramesh burns daylight chasing signatures, his competitor is closing three deals before lunch. While Suresh creates phantom stores to hit targets, their team is building genuine retailer networks that generate real revenue.
The brands that recognize FMCG digital onboarding as strategic growth infrastructure, not back-office tasks, will capture India's consumption boom. Every day you delay, competitors using FMCG onboarding automation are moving faster. Every manual process you cling to, technology is making it obsolete. Every ghost store that slips through, your brand reputation pays the price.
Somewhere outside Raipur, another Ramesh is getting on his scooter. The question isn't whether this transformation will happen. It's whether your Ramesh will be armed with AI or still clutching paper forms.
Because in the battle for India's retail future, the fastest onboarder wins.This is the untold story of how outdated onboarding is strangling India's retail revolution, and at IDfy, we are exactly solving this.
IDfy powers India’s most trusted retailer onboarding solution, helping FMCG brands verify faster, onboard smarter, and build stronger retail networks that grow with confidence.
Ready to explore how AI-powered retail intelligence could transform your go-to-market strategy? Connect with us at anika@idfy.com. to discover what's possible when technology meets retail ambition.