As you know, manufacturers and producers of any product will not have the means to reach the end consumer. They may have to avail the services of a wholesale dealer. This wholesale dealer becomes sort of a bridge between the producer and the consumer. We shall see some examples of products where the producers do not have the means to reach the actual consumer. 1. Farmers: Farmers produce food items in tremendous quantities. They do not have the knowledge as well as the machinery to approach the direct user. They necessarily have to engage the services of a wholesale dealer to market their produce. The wholesale dealer on his part has a network of retail outlets below him. He also has the capability of purchasing products in bulk quantities. In this way he can ensure the produce of these farmers reaches the consumer. 2. Large manufacturing companies: Large manufacturing companies are not able to sell their products directly to the end customer. They have to sell them through a chain consisting of the wholesaler and retailer between them and the end customer. In this way they can concentrate with the production aspect leaving the marketing and sales aspect to the wholesalers and retailers. You can classify wholesale dealers in many ways. However, the three most common types of wholesale dealers are as follows. 1. Merchant wholesale dealer: These persons usually engage in procuring the products from the producers and manufacturers in bulk. They take care of storage and distribution to the retailer and customer. They have different names in different industries such as wholesaler, distributor and so on. They procure items in bulk and pass them on to a chain of retailers. They do not usually do the direct selling. 2. Brokers: They are in actuality the middlemen who act as a connection between the producer and the consumer. They have a basic difference with the merchant wholesale dealer in the sense that these brokers do not assume title of the goods. They act on behalf of their principles and get a commission in return. They are also known as commission agents, selling agents, export and import agents and so on. Their profit is the commission only. 3. Manufacturer's agents: Certain manufacturers try to maintain contact with the customers and open up small sales branches where they exclusively sell their products only. They may also have warehouses of their own. These agents do not exhibit or sell any rival company products. They deal directly with the customer and sell their products at a wholesale rate. Today's scenario: With the advent of internet marketing, the importance of the wholesale dealer has taken a huge hit. Many online stores have come into the picture. They act as a platform where the customer will be able to directly interact with the seller. They do not need to maintain a warehouse facility as such. On receipt of the order, they can directly pass on the order to the manufacturing company who arranges for delivery too. Conclusion: Today the customer has a variety of choices. The dealer has to double up as retailer, service provider and so on. This is a perfect example of diversification of the activities of the dealer. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9315953