Who is a distributor and is it a superfluous link?

This borrowed from the English word came to Russia with the beginning (return) of capitalism. When asked who the distributor is, the easiest way to respond with a translation is by the distributor. To be more precise, it can be a physical (individual entrepreneur) or a legal entity that mediates the supply of products from the manufacturer (the starting point) Resellers (resellers) and, ultimately, a direct buyer. How else can you describe who is a distributor and what does he do? First of all, he is the representative of the manufacturer in a certain territory. That is, he is building a sales channel, setting up a network, and not retailing. This is its difference from the reseller. The scale of both the network and the entrusted territory can be very different. Everything depends primarily on the product. The more mass it is, the more popular it is, the more competition it has, the scope of the distributor's activity (by the way, according to the Dictionary of 2007 the form "distributor" is allowed) is already more concentrated. Let's take an example: the producer of juices (dairy products, bread and the like) Is interested in having his goods in all retail chains, in small shops, kiosks, in supermarkets and shopping centers. Consequently, the channel must be wide and branched. And who is the distributor in this case? This is a wholesaler, establishing relations with retailers, dealing with pricing policies in a particular city and / or region, tracking and organizing promotional and promotional activities, positioning, laying out. At the same time, it can work as a single manufacturer, and promote products of different manufacturers. He can work on his own behalf or not. But it is he who is responsible for warehousing, wholesale purchases, pricing in the region.

Let's take another example, which will illustrate who the distributor is. Suppose the manufacturer is engaged in the production of banner fabrics for large-format printing on five-meter printers. How much can it be for the final buyers, if such machines are extremely rare, are they at best available in one enterprise producing advertising in a metropolis? In this case, it is more expedient for him to entrust the distribution of his products to the distributor for a whole country or several regions at once. And there is no sense to promote it through several channels, because the demand for such goods is selective and sporadic.

Often, distributors of auto parts, plumbing, complex machines work for commissions. For them, a certain volume of sales is planned for the region (country, county, city, network). When it is implemented, they can expect to receive bonuses. But for the receipt of money from the final buyer it is the distributor who is responsible, often the evaluation of his work is done only after calculating the annual turnover and paid invoices. The manufacturer's position, in general, is understandable. He wants to supply large parties and not think about advertising, about discounts, about debts, or about the local market. All worries should lie on the shoulders of the distributor. He will have to decide how, in what form, from which budget to advertise the goods, who can be given a loan, and with whom to take the prepayment. His concern is also where to store the products before delivery to the store (or to the customer). Therefore, the search for distributors, literate, who can build a channel, long-term partnerships with retailers, is not such a simple task. But it is his work that ultimately determines the reputation of the products in the region.