Tools and Guides
Turn an unanswered distributor question into a next action
A practical issue log for the period before appointment: the precise question, the evidence held, the owner, the deadline and the commitment that waits.
An appointment can move forward while an important question stays unwritten and unassigned. The signature can arrive before anyone has taken responsibility for the answer. A short issue log fixes that: one row per question, with the evidence, the owner, the deadline and the commitment that waits.
1. Phrase the precise question
Not “is this distributor sound?” A question that can be closed names the entity, the product, the market and the permission or arrangement at issue. In the illustrative example, the question is not whether the company is registered. It is whether this company can import these valves for resale under the proposed appointment.
Precision matters because a precise question has a defined evidence requirement. A vague one invites another glossy profile and another meeting. Write the question in one sentence, then check that a document could close it.
2. Record what the evidence establishes, and what it leaves open
Put the evidence beside the question, not in a separate folder. State what the record proves and what it does not. A registration extract proves an entity exists; it does not prove permission to import a finished product for resale.
| Evidence held | What it establishes | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| Company registration and NIB record | A legal entity exists and holds a registered import category. In the illustration, the NIB shows API-P producer import status. | Whether the entity can import finished goods for resale under the proposed appointment. |
| Product and commercial records | The product family, the destination market and the terms on the table. | Whether the terms fit your commercial objectives or require specialist legal review. |
| Correspondence with the proposed distributor | What the distributor says it intends to do. | Whether any part of the arrangement is documented and can be relied on. |
Illustrative records from the worked example, not a client file. No Indonesian specialist has reviewed the example.
3. Name the person who can obtain an answer
Every open row needs an owner who can act, not a department. The proposed distributor can supply its own records. A qualified specialist can review a defined regulatory question. The analyst can record the answer and its limits. The client decides whether to proceed.
If nobody owns the row, the default outcome is a signature with the question still open. An owner is a person with a name and a next step, written in the log.
4. Set the evidence needed and a decision deadline
Define what would close the row before you ask for it. “More information” cannot be closed. “The written arrangement for the import-for-resale route, with supporting records, reviewed by a qualified specialist” can be.
Attach a date. The date should sit before the commitment it protects, not after it. A deadline that falls after signing is a record of a risk already taken.
5. Record the affected commitment and the reassessment trigger
Say which commitment waits while the row is open: exclusivity, the first order, a price, a territory or a term. Then say what would reopen the analysis. A new document, a change of product or market, a different distributor or a material assumption that no longer holds are all reassessment triggers.
The issue log, as a template
| Field | What to record | Illustrative worked row |
|---|---|---|
| Question | The entity, product, market and permission in one sentence. | Can the proposed distributor import these valves into Indonesia for resale? |
| Evidence held | What is dated and traceable. | Company registration and NIB record; the NIB shows API-P producer import status. |
| Evidence missing | The record that would answer the question. | The written arrangement for the import-for-resale route, with supporting records. |
| Owner | The person who can obtain the answer. | The proposed distributor supplies the records; a qualified Indonesian specialist reviews the defined question. |
| Due date | When the answer is needed, tied to the decision. | Before the exclusive appointment is signed. |
| Affected commitment | What waits while the row is open. | Exclusivity and the first order. |
| Status | Open, resolved, or reassessment needed. | HOLD. |
The worked row, step by step
The importing entity is not established. Request the written arrangement and supporting records. The proposed distributor supplies them. A qualified specialist reviews the defined question. Until that review is complete, the exclusive appointment remains on HOLD.
That sequence is a worked illustration, not a universal legal test. The question, the evidence and the reviewer change with the product, the market and the proposed terms. What does not change is the discipline: the commitment waits for the answer, and the answer has an owner and a date.
What this does not do
An issue log does not answer a regulatory question and does not replace specialist review. It does not turn a missing record into a finding of wrongdoing, and it does not make the appointment safe. It makes the open question visible, owned and dated before a signature.
The worked row uses the hypothetical Korea–Indonesia example on this site. No client work is implied and no Indonesian specialist has reviewed the example. No new rule or rate was checked for this guide.