When Manufacturers Go Into Competition with Distributors

I don’t know whether it’s the economy or the drive for immediate results but it really irritates me when manufacturers go into competition with their distributors.  In the fire protection industry the business model has always been that manufacturers produce a product and distributors around the country/world integrate the product into a usable system for an end user or resell to a contractor base.

Recently some manufacturers have decided to go straight to end users with their products, side stepping distributors, with a total solution.  In my opinion this type of action limits the manufacturers reach as distributors become aware of the issue and chose not to actively sell the product.  As contractors and integrators, we already have enough competitors, we don’t need to also worry about companies that are supposed to support us.

Your either a manufacturer or you’re a competitor, there really is no in-between.  I, for one, will be supporting the manufacturers that support their distributors.