Another result includes the pressure to spec in the minimum daily allowance product for the end user. The incentive for the distributor is as obvious as the pressure he or she faces from their customers to reduce acquisition costs. Where a distributor once worked with end users and manufacturers to address application needs, the reality today is many simply must go with the product at the lowest price. Some do so because of profit motivation, most because they are subject to the same pressures facing the end user. And fierce competition is even better for any marketplace.
Competition eliminates unresponsive and inefficient suppliers and producers from the channel.
Further, it places the focus of manufacturers and distributors where it belongs on the customer. However, when that competition is predicated on inflated or unreal market factors such as unsustainable labor costs, the cracks begin to show. Nowhere is that more evident than in the integrated supply chain where everything, including PPE, becomes little more than SKU number. These market pressures also have predictable consequences for manufacturers. Regardless of how automated or streamlined a production line, it will always require some degree of personnel and labor cost.