Sourcing Direct From the Manufacturer Is Not Always Easy
by Carrie Hinkel on December 18th, 2007
Many newcomers to the retail business assume that when it comes time to buy their products, they’ll just ring the manufacturer and place an order. Well, for many products, that may not be the case. For big companies that sell electronics or computers, it’s truly next to impossible.
Why? Because a product manufacturer is plenty busy with designing, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, advertising and public relations. Basically, they’re doing what they do best – and that’s why their products are in demand to begin with.
It makes a lot more sense for a manufacturer to work with a company that specializes in selling products to retailers – a wholesaler that has hundreds of thousands of buyer contacts for both large and small stores and websites.
Take Canon for instance. You can buy their cameras almost everywhere – from the big box stores to small websites. So how are all these thousands and thousands of stores buying Canon’s products? From Canon’s factory-authorized distributors. Depending on the size of the manufacturing company, they may just have one distributor, or they might have several – each typically covering a different region of the country.
Finding a manufacturer’s factory-authorized distributors
That’s the easy part. Yes, really! All you need to do is call the manufacturer and ask. You might even be able to find the information right on their website. Then you can call the factory authorized distributor and ask them about pricing, minimums, etc. It’s the closest most companies will ever get to buying products directly from a big manufacturer.
When can you source directly from the manufacturer?
Many times if the manufacturer is a small company you can buy directly from them. The best way to find out is by calling or emailing and asking. Be sure to inquire about quantity discounts as well.
If wholesaling is your game and you want to become an authorized distributor, contact the manufacturer and get information on their requirements for this (they normally have them – most large manufacturers are very choosy about who they authorize to distribute their products).
Also, while most electronics and computer manufacturers don’t wholesale directly, many manufacturers from other industries will. For instance, in the pet industry, Nylabone brand’s parent company sells direct to retailers. Obviously they are a big company and they have factory-authorized distributors that sell their pet products to thousands of stores, but they also take orders directly too.
So, what’s the best way to buy wholesale products?
First, figure out what brands you want to carry. Then, call each manufacturer and ask if they wholesale directly. If they don’t, then ask who their factory-authorized distributor is. You should only be buying from either of those companies. There are plenty of scam companies on the internet that claim to be wholesalers of big manufacturers’ products, but in reality they are just buying from the factory-authorized distributors and then marking it up!
Now that you’re in the know, getting the best prices on wholesale products is easy. Just remember to always start your search with the manufacturer and never take a company’s word that they are a factory-authorized distributor without checking with the manufacturer first. You might also decide that buying from a factory-authorized distributor is easy, as many times they are the wholesalers for many manufacturers in a particular industry. Many times, buying from a wholesaler means that you can buy from several manufacturers all with just one order.