A distributor is the middleman connecting the producer and retailer. After a product is produced, it may be stored or shipped to the next level in the supply chain, normally either a distributor, retailer or customer.
Often there may be a chain of mediators, each passing the product down the chain to the next business, before it finally gets to the consumers or end-users. This process is recognized as the ‘distribution chain’ or the ‘channel.’ Each of the parts in these chains will have their own certain needs, which the producer must take into consideration, along with those of the important end-user.