Distributor
Topic: Markets, Equilibrium and Government Intervention · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 12 "Understanding Markets"
Meaning
A distributor is a person or business that carries goods from manufacturers or wholesalers to retailers. A distributor is most useful when distance or difficult terrain makes direct supply hard. The distributor is a link in the supply chain: manufacturer → wholesaler → distributor → retailer → consumer. Without distributors, goods would not reach shops in far-off places.
Example
In the AMUL story, milk middlemen collected milk and carried it onward. This bridged the gap between the villages where milk was produced and the places where it was sold.
Don't confuse with
- Wholesaler: a wholesaler buys in bulk from producers, stores the goods and sells them through mandis. A distributor's main job is to move goods over distance to retailers.
- Retailer: a retailer sells small quantities to final consumers. A distributor supplies the retailer and does not sell to consumers.