A business always aims to improve and grow day by day. A core manufacturing company main practice is manufacturing and packaging. If you are any food processor or food manufacturer you would have felt lack of sales strategy at many point of time. In India there are lakhs of companies offering quality food products. If u feels your quality is really superior and wants your product to reach customers then you can collaborate with distributors. This is now a necessity for surviving in this competitive market.
Distributors acts as a sales arm for your firm. A distributor is essentially an independent contractor. It has a highly developed retail channel for sales and promotion of your product. usage of distributors give your product a wider reach to the mass audience that also without the investment of any company assets for the development and management of any business network.
A distributor is a firm that buys a product and sells it to reseller wholesaler or customers directly. Most of the distributors provide various services like warranty, technical support, servicing facility post to purchase. We do not need to pay distributors for that.
Though distributors have many benefits but the ultimate benefit for which we choose a distributor is that they can sell our products and help us in generating revenue quickly.
Establish customer base: it’s the most significant role of a distributor. It helps to establish a good relationship with both new and existing customer base. That’s very useful in case you need to quick promotion and sales of any newly launched commodity.
Expertise sales and marketing: Distributors are exerts who are experienced in sales and marketing of any product. They know when to sell how to sell and whom to sell. So only they are able to effectively bring up a new product in the market and achieve best sales results.
Storage and logistics: hiring distributors saves your money which would have been spent in getting storage space. Distributors help in extending your storage area. They have reliable and pre-established logistics by help of which shifting of products becomes quicker and cost effective.
Wider distribution channel: a distributor is not only limited to a specific place. Its boundary can extend from a small territory to different states as well. As large area it covers wider will be the presence of your product. On one side it increases your consumer base and along with it saves your additional money which would have spent on premises and staff.
Quick rout to market: sales are all about fast delivery of your products and services to your customer. A distributor develops its distribution network which ensures your product reach from its territory to national and global level. This vast coverage helps to maximise sales and profitability.
Now either you yourself can form a distribution and retail network or take help of us in formation of the above. We provide an exclusive service of providing you with the best distributor who is capable achieving the targeted sales volume in your niche. We also assist you with the establishment of a strong retail channel for an uninterrupted supply of your product to market. We have experienced team who with their experience are able to judge which retail channel you should follow which kind of distributors suits your need.
Now before appointing the distributors for your company you must be aware about different type of distributors and their job roles so that you can have a clear idea about what is going on.
First classification is based on the mode of operation which classifies distributors into two types
Direct distributors: this type of distributor directly sells to consumer. He reduces the cost by removing the middle man in the supply chain. Which generally eats a large amount of profit? However drawbacks are that lack of large physical storage capacity, less marketing exposure and high marketing cost.
Indirect Distributors: a distributor cannot solely handle all the sales procedure rather he need whole supply chain to work hand in hand to give good sales result. A distributor needs a network of retailer, wholesaler and reseller for the product distribution. It facilitates the manufacturers to concentrate on production while generating sales becomes the work of distributor. This type of distribution channel depends on the size of business product type and volume sales targeted.
Other classification of distributor depends on the need of customer according to which the distributors have moulded themselves
Intensive Distributors: you should go for an intensive distribute if you want to sell out your product as quickly as possible and that also through the largest possible reach. They work with large number of wholesalers and resellers and make huge volume sales keeping their profit margin low. It’s good for mass market product as they developed quick routs to market. Through this distribution channel they are able to quickly supply and replenish the consumer demand.
Selective Distributors: here the specialised distributors are experienced distributor. If your production capacity is not too large but your product quality is superior then you may go for it as these distributors have small number of wholesalers and retailers. Here they can effectively reach the consumers. They maintain high level of service and consumer satisfaction here profit retained is more in this case.
Exclusive Distributors: if you are manufacturer with a niche product and market targeting a specific target audience then he should opt for an exclusive distributor. When we want to maintain brand integrity, image, reputation exclusive distributor is a necessity then. There are very few exclusive distributors they sell only to their suitable retailers. Going for exclusive distribution is also good when you need whole distribution channel control.
Now after you know that who is a distributor his role benefits and types it’s also necessary to know how to appoint a distributor and what criteria should he be judged before partner shipping with him.
Financially strong: he should be financially strong as he needs to invest in stock infrastructure. His huge sales are on credit basis and if he is not financially sound he couldn’t sustain in the market.
Experience: Prior experience is necessary for understanding the process and steps he should take for your product it would also help to build good relation with retailers fast.
Infrastructure: Infrastructure like warehouse, vehicle, and manpower is necessary to retain the quantity and quality of the product.
Market reputation: Market reputation is necessary in terms of relationship with retailers and wholesalers this is important as the distributor reputation is directly proportional to the reputation of the product he is selling.
Market knowledge: prevailing knowledge about the competition, products, market attitude, retailers, competitors this knowledge is very important for getting grasp on the market.
We know that distributor is an important part of distribution channel so extra care and attention is needed while you appoint your distributor as its selection would be very important for achieving leadership in that particular market and So only it’s quite important to evaluate different distributors based on the above qualities and then choose the suitable partner for you. In this we will help you we will find best suitable distributors for you and establish a distribution channel such that you can grow at fastest and spread globally.
