Wholesalers in a Nutshell – Will they Deal with You?
What is a wholesaler? In a nutshell, it is a company that buys (usually directly) from a manufacturer in large quantities at a discount, then pieces out the product into smaller quantities that are then sold for a higher price. The usual chain of product goes: Manufacturer > Wholesaler > Retailer > Customer.
Services provided by wholesalers involve both manufacturers and retailers. Producers, once the product is manufactured, begin incurring storage costs as well as logistical issues involved with keeping product onsite. Wholesalers usually pay transportation costs, as well as reducing costs involved with producer storage by removing manufactured product to a warehouser’s own utilities, providing financial benefits as well. These costs incurred by a warehouser can be spread among many more products than a retailer or producer, thereby reducing the per-item cost to a retailer. A warehouser also takes the burden off the producer for possible detrimental stockpiling of goods, as the warehouser often has agreements to purchase certain quantities in exchange for reduced product costs, reassuring...