I totally agree that there is certainly value in selecting the right distributors. In fact, Kaur & Pandey (2012) maintain that choosing the right distributor is imperative in the supply chain. Nonetheless, I do not think that it is necessary for the business to carry out a 5 to l0 year’s sales projection to find out if the culture and philosophy of the distributor match its brand. The key for the small microbreweries to get noticed in the market is simply producing high-quality, unique beer that will appeal to numerous customers. According to a new American report, as cited by Crowell (2013), the new companies entering the beer market still find over 3000 small distributors, which apart from having the means to promote the new and better products, also have an interest. Thus, the small-scale brewers such as the owner of the existing restaurant need to take advantage of the numerous small distributors as well as middlemen in the beer market to promote their products. According to Williams (2015), the small wholesale distributors have a greater market base, perfect connection with the customers, broader variety of goods to stock, and facilitates faster stock movement compared to the large-scale wholesale distributors. Consequently, it will be ideal for the new microbrewery to use the numerous small distributors present in the beer market.
The small-scale brewers can use the biggest distributors not owned by the big beer companies to get their products noticed as well. I disagree that it can get expensive with the distributors if the ingredients are high-quality. In fact, the opposite is true. The customers will prefer the beer produced from high-quality ingredients because it will also be of high-quality. Thus, the demand for this type of beer will be higher in the market compared to the demand for the beer produced from low-quality ingredients. The distributors and middlemen will also prefer the beer made from high-quality ingredients. According to Brewers Association (2016), the microbrewers usually use direct channel or indirect channels or both in selling their products to the public. Consequently, the new microbrewery can still take distributors and middlemen and be profitable. The new microbrewery can use the distributors carrying a variety of brands and still be noticed. The only thing that it is supposed to do is to ensure that its products will appeal to a significant percentage of the customers.
References
Brewers Association. (2016). Craft Beer Industry Market Segments. Retrieved from https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/market-segments/
Crowell, C. (2013, September 10). Craft beer distribution: Study the market, distributors and your own operations. Retrieved from http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/packaging-distribution/craft-beer-distribution-study-market-distributors-operations/
Kaur, G., & Pandey, B. (2012). Intelligent Selection of Distributor by Manufacturer in Supply Chain Management using Multi Agents. International Journal of Computer Technology and Applications, 3(3).
Williams, K. (2015, October 26). Benefits of a Small Wholesale Distributor versus a Large One. Retrieved from http://www.womanhoodwithpurpose.com/benefits-of-a-small-wholesale-distributor-versus-a-large-one/
