What's a Rep?

From a recent Fortune magazine supplement:

"Unlike distributors, who take title and add cost to the goods they sell, reps are not an additional channel, nor are they middlemen or channel intermediaries. They are a manufacturer's sales personnel in the territory, simply paid on a different basis -- commissions, rather than salary plus incentive, plus expenses"

Other significant differences:

Manufacturers' Reps

Distributors

	Sell only in a defined area
	Do not handle competing lines
	Sell as an agent; do not take possession
	Compensated by commission on sales
	Typically handle 12-14 lines
	Typically entrepreneurial, owner operated
	Interface with distributors, refer orders to distributors, receive commissions on sales through distributors
	Add value through application engineering, design-in, product synergy
	May warehouse (for a fee) but do not maintain inventory
	Focus on customer needs
	Work with distributor salesmen, providing technical support and product knowledge

	May sell anywhere
	Frequently handle competing lines
	Buy for resale; assume ownership
	Compensated by margin of sale price over cost price
	Often handle several hundred lines
	Rely heavily on reps for referrals, training, engineering and product support
	Add value through time-place utility
	Maintain inventory
	Focus on selling what's on the shelf
	May provide installation and product service