A middleman is a person who participates in commodity trading between producers and consumers, promotes the occurrence and realization of buying and sellingLegal personalityOfeconomic organizationOr individuals.It is an intermediary link between producers and consumers.From different angles, middlemen can be divided into many types: according to whether they have the ownership of goods, they can be divided into dealers and agents. The former is the middleman who has the ownership of goods in the process of buying and selling goods;According to their different roles in the circulation process, they can be divided into wholesalers and retailers. The former is a middleman who does not directly serve consumers.In addition, the broad sense of intermediaries also includes banks, insurance companies, transportation companies, import and export merchants, all brokers, etc.However, in terms of the main types of intermediaries, there are only three types: agents, wholesalers and retailers.[1]
Chinese name
middleman
Interpretation
Resale the purchased products for profitmanufacturer
Now is the era of rapid development of multinational companies and the global economy. If there is no middleman, the goods will be produced by the manufacturerDirect salesFor consumers, the work will be very complicated and the workload will be particularly heavy.For consumers, the absence of intermediaries will also greatly increase the time of purchase.For example, middlemen can sell the goods of many manufacturers at the same time, and consumers can compare the goods of many manufacturers at one middleman, which saves a lot of time than going to various manufacturers to observe the goods without middlemen.
（2） Storage and distribution of products.
Intermediaries buy products from different manufacturers, and then distribute the products to consumers. In this process, intermediaries need to store, protect and transport the products.
（3） Supervise and inspect products.When ordering goods, middlemen investigated the design, process, production and service of the manufacturer's productsQuality assurance system, or according to the reputation of the manufacturerFamous brand effectTo select products;When purchasing, the products will be strictly inspected according to relevant standards;When selling products, they are generally classified.This series of work played a role in supervising and inspecting products.
（4） Deliver information.When purchasing products from manufacturers and selling products to consumers, intermediaries will introduce consumers' needs, market information, and the situation of manufacturers of similar products to manufacturers;They will also introduce the characteristics of each manufacturer to consumers.Invisibly transmitted information, promoted competition, and helped improve product quality.
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Importance of selection
1. The intermediary is an important bearer of the channel function, and can participate in all or part of itdistribution channel Physical flowPromotion flowMarket information flow.In general, the realization of distribution channelsProduct valueAnd improveTransaction efficiencyMost of the functions of efficiency and enhancing the competitive advantage of enterprises are completed with the active participation of intermediaries.Because the distribution channel is looseOrganizational systemThe middlemen are relatively independent. They must have the ability to independently undertake business and cooperate with other channel members.Therefore, the requirements for qualified middlemen are very high.In March 1999,Zhejiang Tianfeng Chemical Co., LtdThe "Yelao" brand rice seedling herbicide produced by the company was introduced into the agricultural means of production market of Hubei Province for the first time.The launch of this product has achieved great success. In just a few months, it has occupied 90% of the market of paddy field herbicides in Hubei Province, becoming the preferred brand for farmers.In addition to effective advertising, the success of "Yelao" herbicide is mainly due to the selection and management of distributors - Yinong Company.
2. Intermediaries objectively have differences in resources and capabilities. It is important to recognize their differences and choose intermediaries accordingly.Such as retail giantWal-MartWith a powerful computer network system, whensupplierAfter establishing a fixed relationship with Wal Mart, suppliers can check the sales of their own goods at any time through Wal Mart's special network system, so as to scientifically plan their own product production.Wal Mart's perfect distribution system also helps products reach consumers quickly.
3. The cooperation goals and intentions of intermediaries are different. Only those intermediaries with strong willingness to cooperate can reduce friction and risk.The development of Sanzhu reached its peak in 1997, with sales revenue of 4 billion yuan.Its success is mainly due to the company'sDistribution mode。Its distribution network is divided into six levels by level: head office, product marketing center, theater headquarters, subsidiaries, branches and workstations, with sales personnel up to 200000.However, these subsidiaries and sales centers were not directly invested by the three companies, but were only used by the three companies to recruit various intermediaries under their command.Due to the rapid expansion, the good and bad middlemen are intermingled. After some middlemen become bigger, they set up new doors and ran away with money from time to time, which made the three plants no longer brilliant.
Principle of selection
The following principles should be followed when selecting intermediaries:
1. The principle of reaching the target market.This is the basic principle for selecting middlemen.Because the purpose for enterprises to choose middlemen is to enter their products into the target market and facilitate consumers to buy.According to this principle, when selecting intermediaries, enterprises should know whether the intermediaries to be selected have sales channels and places in the target market of their products.
2. Principle of role division.This means that the selected middlemen should be consistent with the establisheddistribution channel Functional requirements.Clarifying the division of roles is not only the premise of cooperation, but also the principle and standard of selecting intermediaries. For example, P&G only develops a few major distributors in each region, and then through distributors, it can deal with lower level wholesalersretailerManagement.The distributor signed a contract with P&G, and both parties defined their rights, obligations and responsibilities, and carried out reasonable division of labor.
3. The principle of common aspiration.As a whole, an effective distribution channel can only be established if all channel members have the desire to cooperate.When selecting intermediaries, it is necessary to analyze their willingness to participate in the distribution of relevant goods, as well as their attitude towards cooperation with other channel members.
Selected conditions
(1)Market scope of middlemen。The market is the most critical reason for choosing middlemen.The first thing to consider is theBusiness scopeWhether the region included is consistent with the expected sales region of the product. For example, if the product is in the northeast region, the business scope of the intermediary must include this region.Secondly, whether the sales target of the middleman ismanufacturerDesiredLeadsThis is the most fundamental condition.Because manufacturers hope that middlemen can enter their own target markets and finally persuade consumers to buy their own products.
(2)Product policy of middlemen。The types and combinations of products underwritten by intermediaries are the concrete embodiment of the product policies of intermediaries.The choice depends on the number of "product lines" (i.e. supply sources) of middlemen and the combination of various distribution products, whether they are competitive products or promotional products.It is generally believed that middlemen who sell competitive products should be avoided, that is, the products sold by middlemen are similar to the products of the enterprise, such as 21 inch color TV sets.But if the competitive advantage of the product is obvious, you can choose to sell itcompetitorThe middleman of the product.Because customers will make an objective comparison of the products of different manufacturers and decide to buy competitive products.
(3)Geography of middlemenlocation advantage 。Location advantage is location advantage.The most ideal location for selecting retail middlemen should be the location with large customer flow.The selection of wholesale middlemen should consider whether their location is conducive to the bulk storage and transportation of products.Usually, transportation hubs are preferred.
(4)Product knowledge of middlemen。Many middlemen are large in scale and have famous brand productsmanufacturerThey are often selected because they have special experience in selling certain products.Choosing middlemen with special experience in product sales will quickly open up the market.Therefore, manufacturers should select experienced middlemen according to the characteristics of products.
(5)Expected cooperation degree。Intermediary and productionEnterprise cooperationDehao will actively promote its products, which will benefit both sides.Some middlemen hope that the production enterprises will also participate in sales promotion to expand market demand, and believe that this will lead to higher profits.The manufacturer should determine the specific way of cooperation with intermediaries according to the needs of product sales, and then select the most ideal cooperative intermediaries.
(6)Middleman'sFinancial status and management level.Whether the middleman can settle on time includes when necessaryAdvance payment, depending onfinancialSize of.Entire enterpriseSales managementWhether it is standard and efficient is related to the success or failure of middleman marketing, which is closely related to the development of production enterprises. Therefore, these two conditions must also be considered.
(7)Promotion policies and technologies of middlemen。How to promote the products and the ability to use the selected promotion means directly affect the sales scale.SomeProduct advertisingPromotion is more appropriate, while some products are suitable for promotion through sales personnel.Some products need effective storage, while others should be transported quickly.Consider whether middlemen are willing to bear certain promotion costs and whether they have the necessary material, technical foundation and corresponding talents.Before selecting a middleman, it is necessary to make a comprehensive evaluation of the realistic possibility of the marketing policy and technology that he can complete the sales of a certain product.
(8)Comprehensive service capacity of middlemen。There are many modern business operation service projects. The selection of middlemen depends on their comprehensive service capabilities. Some products require middlemen to provide after-sales service to customers, and some products require technical guidance or financial assistance in sales (such asbuy on creditOr installment), some products also need special transportation and storage equipment.The comprehensive service items and service capabilities that can be provided by suitable intermediaries should be consistent with the service requirements required by the enterprise's product sales.
Main differences
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(1) There are different premises.The traditional middleman is due to the high transaction costs of producers and consumers;The electronic middleman is a substitute for traditional direct selling, and it is the development and extension of the functions and effects of middlemen in new fields.
(2) The transaction subject is different.The traditional middleman is to directly participate in the transaction activities of producers and consumers, and is the axis and driving force of the transaction;As an independent subject, electronic intermediaries do not directly participate in the transaction activities of producers and consumers, but they provide a media and a place. At the same time, they provide consumers with a large amount of product and service information, deliver product service information and demand purchase information for producers, and efficiently facilitate the realization of specific transactions between producers and consumers.
(3) The transaction contents are different.When traditional middlemen participate in trading activities, they need to undertake material, information, capital and other exchange activities, and these exchange activities are accompanied by transactions at the same time;As a medium of transaction, electronic intermediaries mainly provide a place for information exchange, and specific physical transaction activities such as material and capital exchange are directly carried out by producers and consumers. Therefore, information exchange in transaction is separated from physical exchange.
（4）transaction modeDifferent, the traditional middlemen undertake the exchange of specific entities, including goods and funds;Electronic intermediaries are mainly engaged in information exchange, which belongs to virtual exchange and can replace some unnecessary physical exchanges.
（5）Transaction efficiencyDifferent, it takes twice to reach the transaction between producers and consumers through traditional intermediaries, and the information exchange in the middle is particularly blocked, resulting in the lack of direct communication between producers and consumers;Electronic intermediaries provide information exchange, which can help eliminate theInformation Asymmetry The exchange of specific entities can be realized only on the premise of transaction willingness, which can greatly reduce the invalid exchange and destructive exchange caused by asymmetric information in the middle, minimize the transaction cost and improve the transaction efficiency and quality.
