Distribution & Wholesale
A distributor is a service level and a balance sheet, not a discount line.
Twenty-nine articles on the channel side of medical equipment: distributor selection, wholesale terms, brand portfolios, market entry and the regional growth questions that follow.
- 29 distribution and channel articles
- Distributor due diligence and financial health
- Market entry and brand portfolio covered
Choose the channel model before the contract
Exclusive and intensive distribution produce different service levels at different five-year costs.
Exclusive, selective or intensive
Exclusive distribution buys commitment and service depth; intensive distribution buys coverage and price competition. Changing the model after signing costs more than the discount the wrong model won, because the existing channel has already been trained and stocked.
What to require from a distributor
Technical capability, stock depth, a named clinical contact and the ability to hold regulatory documents. A distributor who cannot answer a technical question in front of a surgeon is a logistics company with a catalogue, and the manufacturer carries the consequences.
Due diligence is financial as well as technical
A distributor who cannot fund the next shipment is a supply risk even when the product is right.
Balance sheet and continuity
Ask for payment behaviour, stock depth and the share of their revenue you represent. A distributor for whom you are marginal will serve their larger principals first during an allocation, whatever the contract says about priority.
Territory, pricing and channel conflict
Define territory, price bands for tenders and who owns a cross-border deal before the first order. Channel conflict is cheap to prevent in the contract and expensive to arbitrate after two distributors have quoted the same hospital.
Market entry and brand portfolios
Brands enter a market through a partner, and the partner’s portfolio decides how much attention your line gets.
Portfolio fit and market entry
A distributor carrying nine competing lines and yours as the tenth will sell what they already know. Choose the partner whose existing portfolio makes your device the obvious complement rather than another catalogue entry, and agree a launch plan with numbers.
Wholesale terms that hold
Volume commitments, price protection on stock, and a defined process for tenders and public procurement. Terms that assume stable prices fail the first time a tariff or a currency move lands in the middle of a season.
Four things that decide whether a channel works
All four are settled in the contract, not in the relationship.
Portfolio fit
Your device should complement what the partner already sells, not compete with nine other lines on the same shelf.
Financial capacity
Their ability to fund stock and carry receivables decides whether your product stays on the shelf.
Technical capability
Someone who can answer a clinical question and support a case, not just process an order.
Clear territory rules
Territory, price bands and tender ownership agreed before the first cross-border quote.
Where to go next
Adjacent topics in this set. Each one is a hand-written guide to the same depth.
Supplier & Vendor Management
Qualification, counterfeit controls and vendor models.
Distribution and wholesale questions
Should a manufacturer use one distributor or several?
What financial checks matter for a distributor?
How do I prevent channel conflict between distributors?
What makes a good market-entry partner?
What should wholesale terms cover?
Tell us the market and the product line
Send the device, the target territory and the volume expectation. We will come back with the channel options, the documentation a partner must hold and the terms that keep the line moving.