Distributor Choices

There are typically 4 choices a small or midsize manufacturer can choose from to distribute in the Asia Pacific region.

1) Direct Model: The advantage is that a small/midsize company will have a dedicated sales and marketing team as well as a support staff to help with customer support and logistics.  However this is very costly and it may take years to break even thus the risks are quite large.

2) International Conglomerate (ie ThermoFisher or VWR) Model: This method allows access to multiple countries through a single portal.  However, the small/midsize company will not have a dedicated sales and marketing effort and will have to compete with literally thousands of different companies for exposure, some of which have competitive products.

3) Single Country Large Distributor Model: In every country there are very large distributors that are fairly easy to find.  This course model enables a simple solution to obtaining representation to a single country.  However, these companies represent hundreds if not thousands of companies and may face similar limitations of the International Conglomerate Model.  Getting your company’s products in front of their sales and marketing teams, while not impossible, will take continuous effort.

4) Niche Small Distributor Model:  Every country have niche markets with distributors that serve them.  These smaller distributors have dedicated sales and marketing teams that because of their smaller portfolio can give the client’s products more attention. However, the challenge is identifying these niche distributors that would be willing to dedicate their limited resources to the client’s product lines.