Buyer type
FMCG Supply for Distributors
Your problem is range against rotation: enough breadth to serve your customers, without capital sitting in lines that move slowly.
Range against rotation
A distributor is judged on availability. A trade customer who cannot get three lines from you starts looking for someone who carries all three, which means range has a defensive value beyond what each line earns on its own.
The tension is that breadth and stock turn pull against each other. Carrying forty lines to protect a relationship means capital in forty lines, and the slowest of them will be the ones you carry purely so nobody has to shop elsewhere.
Multi-brand sourcing helps precisely there. Lines that cannot justify a manufacturer minimum on their own can be taken in carton or layer quantities alongside the lines that do, so the tail of your range costs less to hold.
Ordering against sell-through
Distributors generally reorder against measured demand rather than forecast, and that favours smaller, more frequent orders than an import programme would use.
- Mixed pallets for the tail of the range, ordered as it depletes
- Full pallets for the lines that have earned it
- Consolidation across brands so one delivery covers several gaps
- Assortment adjusted between orders as sell-through data comes in
Within Europe this runs on road freight, which turns around faster than sea and lets stock cover run tighter. For distributors outside Europe the same logic applies at container cadence rather than pallet cadence.
What your sales operation needs from a supplier
A field sales team sells what it can promise. That makes the supplier questions less about price and more about certainty.
| What you need | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| To know what is actually available | Availability confirmed per line at quotation, not assumed |
| Pack and case detail for trade customers | Pack size and units per carton stated on every line |
| Consistency between orders | Repeat assortments quoted against the same specification |
| A straight answer when something is short | Told at quotation, not discovered on the pallet |
Working with us
Send the assortment you want to carry with approximate quantities. We will confirm what is available, tell you which lines need larger quantities to be viable, and quote the whole list rather than the parts that are easy.
Common questions
- Can I order small quantities of slow-moving lines?
- Often, alongside faster lines on a mixed pallet. Minimums are per product, so a slow line with a carton-level minimum can travel with lines you buy by the pallet. Send the whole list and we will tell you what is achievable.
- How often can I reorder?
- As often as the commercial size of the order makes sense. Within Europe road freight makes frequent replenishment practical; for longer routes freight per carton pushes toward fewer, larger shipments.
- Will the same specification be supplied on repeat orders?
- We quote repeat assortments against the same specification and will flag it if a pack format or sourcing origin has changed. Packaging can vary by sourcing market, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming continuity.
Build your distribution range
Send the assortment and quantities you want to carry. We will confirm availability across the whole list.