Historically, relationships between B2B manufacturers and distributors have been a complicated mix. Some are valuable partnerships, while others are rocky relationships seeded with mistrust. Case in point: The Industrial Performance Group finds 82 percent of manufacturers and 92 percent of distributors say profitability is suffering because of problems in their working partnerships. The entrance of nontraditional competitors, disintermediation concerns and the explosion of digital transformation have done little to ease that tension.
Becoming a Digital Distributor author Mark Dancer puts a fine point on two sides of the concern, saying, “Distributors exist to offer a market basket of supplier products to customers but fear that manufacturers would rather market directly to customers. Suppliers are dependent upon distributors for market access but often question the margins earned by distributors.”