But manufacturers also want it for product liability issues. Quite honestly, some distributors don't want us to know who those people are. Most manufacturers, however, lack the muscle to make distributors conform to such a stringent requirement. Even when they're big enough and powerful enough to do so, it requires tremendous systems capability to capture, store and transfer such data. Dan Weitzel, hose and connector marketing manager for Gates Rubber Company, says manufacturers want to work closely with distribution to keep abreast of the end-user marketplace.
Marketing is one area where there is a wide divergence of opinion between channel partners.
Sixty-five percent of distributors believe they provide good marketing assistance to manufacturers. Just 34 percent of manufacturers believe distributors are effective marketers. That puts distributors in the position of defending their value to suppliers. It's a very complicated world today. We see a repositioning of manufacturers trying to figure out their value equation and whether or not we're still in that equation.