Manufacturing distributor roles

In developed economy, the product flow chain involves a range of actors -manufacturers, distributors, retailers, household, and bulk consumers - all or some of whom could potentially play a role in the return flow of waste lamps to recycling facilities. In Europe, the preferred system for collection and recycling is based on EPR. The used lamps are either collected by a representative of manufacturer or municipal waste collection infrastructure is used for the... 

Oh, you re just a distributor. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that when a prospective customer approached our booth at a trade show, let us just say I wouldn t have to be working. Many assume that the role of distributor can be relegated to that of middleman, reseller, or intermediary one who lacks the expertise of those who actually manufacture products— Oh So you just buy products and resell them to someone else. These gross oversimplifications do little to explain the scale, complexity, and critical role that a distributor plays in the movement of goods and services from manufacturer to end user (the supply chain), particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. 

While local dynamics will always remain vital to the profitability of chemical distributors, strategic partnerships with suppliers and customers will play an increasing role in their performance. To ensure substantial value growth, specific key success factors must be fulfilled to enable distributors to leap to the next industry S-curve as partners of the chemical industry and chemical-consuming manufacturers. 

Costs of selling, delivery, and related functions will continue to rise, and the chemical distributor can play an increasingly important role in getting products from the manufacturers plants to the large number of users that constitute the sizeable less carload markets. 

In this chapter, intermediaries should be understood to be largely independent of the manufacturers, as issues of conflict are only relevant when intermediaries are motivated by their own objectives. Intermediaries take various names depending on the context, including reseller, wholesaler, distributor, retailer etc. Our focus will be restricted to intermediaries that play a sales role, as opposed to, say, serving purely as a communication channel. 

It s clear that not just any make and model of dock light will do. Think through these six questions — and also factor in the reputation of the manufacturer and the distributor — before you make the purchase. A little homework up front is well worth the effort when it comes to LED dock lights given the number of choices and the important role they play. 

A trade association can play a coordinating role by stipulating that any member has to follow certain rules and r ulations, including the adoption of security measures. For example, the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) has developed a code of responsible distribution, has mandated third-party auditing of code compliance, and has actually terminated membership for noncompliance. Other chemical industry associations such as the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA), American Petroleum Institute (API), and National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) have member codes of conduct and can also play key roles in this regard. 

As firms began to consider the need for such a connective system, attention moved to how the company can extend its S OP activities from manufacturing facilities and warehouses to suppliers, distributors, and key customers. The historical tendency was to keep the focus on a make-to-stock orientation and use S OP as the link between internal operations and finished goods in the warehouse. Suppliers were only considered in terms of lead times, filling bills of material (BOMs), and their ability to respond to emergency needs. In the new environment, the attention moves to how suppliers can play a key role in the overall efficiency of the interenterprise network and reduce the bullwhip effect. 

The.se databases have an important role to fill from a supply point of view, and mention should be made of the MDL Available Chemicals Directory (ACD), which coordinates the offerings of many suppliers. Containing over 240 catalogs representing over 500000 products and 2(X)000 substances, the ACD provides an efficient way to reliably source and comparison-shop for commercially available chemicals. The database contains all of the necessary information to select a vendor s product on the basis of a review of the purity, grade, and quantity desired, and then to place an order with the manufacturer or a local distributor. 

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