Channels

The channel is made up of businesses other than you that facilitate putting your products into the hands of customers.

You make a great product and you want to put it into the hands of your customers. Despite increasing number of innovations making it easier to sell directly to your customers, there are other parties that can greatly extend your reach. These include Distributors, Republishers, Brokerages and Resellers.

Traditional channels aren't for all products, but that doesn't mean your product can't leverage traditional or non-traditional channels to build your use base.

	Vendor	Distributor	Republisher	Brokerage	Reseller
Buys from...		Vendor	Vendor	Vendor	Vendor Distributor Republisher
Sells through...	Distributor Republisher End User Partners	Reseller End User	Reseller End User	End User	End User
Views the Vendor as a...		Supplier	Partner	Supplier	Supplier

What companies make up the channel?

Here are four general types of companies you will find in the tech industry channel.

Distributor	Reseller
Distributors source, manage and move products in volume. Many are total solution providers, especially to large institutional buyers. Distributors view vendors as suppliers. Assume that vendors (or republishers) bear all costs of the relationship.	Resellers sell to end users. They provide a venue and may also provide services or solutions. Resellers view vendors as suppliers. Assume that vendors (or republishers) bear all costs of the relationship.
Republisher	Brokerage
Republishers are a local market stand in for the vendor. They may adapt product to the local market or help you do it. They usually assume marketing and support. Republishers view vendors as partners because of their investment. They expect to own the customer relationship.	Brokerages generally act as resellers or relicensors of product, processing or facilitating a sale to end users. Many digital resellers are actually brokerages instead of resellers. Brokerages view vendors as suppliers and almost always own the customer relationship.

Distributor

Reseller

Distributors source, manage and move products in volume. Many are total solution providers, especially to large institutional buyers.

Distributors view vendors as suppliers. Assume that vendors (or republishers) bear all costs of the relationship.

Resellers sell to end users. They provide a venue and may also provide services or solutions.

Resellers view vendors as suppliers. Assume that vendors (or republishers) bear all costs of the relationship.

Republisher

Brokerage

Republishers are a local market stand in for the vendor. They may adapt product to the local market or help you do it. They usually assume marketing and support.

Republishers view vendors as partners because of their investment. They expect to own the customer relationship.

Brokerages generally act as resellers or relicensors of product, processing or facilitating a sale to end users. Many digital resellers are actually brokerages instead of resellers.

Brokerages view vendors as suppliers and almost always own the customer relationship.

There are many other types of channel partners, chief among them the many types of customer facing businesses that sell, bundle or recommend third party products.

Does it matter?

The channel is as subject to disruption and transformation as any segment of the tech industry, but it remains relevant. Even companies that came in existence specifically to by-pass it and sell directly to end users are involved in it.

Where next?

Is your product relevant to the channel? The answer may surprise you and it can vary by market.