A wholesale distributor is a person or business that delivers product to retailers or other wholesalers for resale. It might be an importer or manufacturer, a reseller or an inventor.
Wholesale Distribution has evolved from just delivering goods in your van or fleet of trucks from store to store. You can sell product in different ways and deliver them in many other ways. You could sell in person, by phone or the internet. You could deliver in person using your trucks or drop ship products by the case or by the truckload. There is even the addition of new type of stores like large Cash and Carry and superstores line Costco and Sam's Club.
For example, the person selling to your local convenience store or local supermarket is for sure a wholesaler. They might sell soda, candy, sunglasses, cookies, milk, janitorial products, soap, and more. This company could be a small independent one man operation or a national wholesale distributor with a fleet of trucks. In most cases it's both. Most convenience stores buy from different suppliers, some are very large, some are a one man show.
In all of our examples most sales will be done through retailers. You can also sell to other wholesalers, to cash and carry stores, or to independent street sellers.
Distributors come in many shapes and sizes and can sell the same things to the same customers. There is business for everybody. Your success will depend on several points including Pricing and Service.
It is easy to become a wholesale distributor. You just need a car. Not a truck, pick-up or van. You can start with a just a car. OK, so you will not be able to deliver very heavy items like beverages to 20 stores in one day but that's ok, just don't start your business selling beverages.
There are many products that you can sell out of your car or the truck of your car. You can sell sunglasses, snacks, novelties, watches, toys, and many other small items.
This is the easiest type of distribution to start. You can sell these products to local supermarkets and convenience stores in your city or town. Getting the products is very easy and there are good profit margins in all these kind of products. You can visit your local cash and carry to get many of these items or go to a local trade show.
The beauty is that you don't need thousands of accounts to make money. You can start with just a few by working on the weekends and if you provide great service customers will come to you. You will get tons of referrals and your business will grow in no time at all.
