A distributor with a direct, formal agreement with a brand or manufacturer covering what can be sold, where, and under what pricing. The brand knows exactly where its stock is going. See our piece on what authorised distribution actually means.
Trade conducted between businesses, rather than between a business and an individual consumer (B2C). Wholesale distribution is a B2B activity: the buyer is a business intending to resell, not an end customer.
A deduction a brand or distributor applies against an invoice, usually to recover costs from a buyer's non-compliance, for example selling below an agreed pricing floor, or failing to meet an agreed marketing or presentation standard.
Multiple smaller orders (often from different buyers or destinations) combined into a single larger shipment to reduce per-unit freight cost and simplify customs handling, then broken down again at the destination.
An Incoterm meaning the seller's responsibility for the goods ends once they're loaded onto the shipping vessel at the port of origin. From that point, the buyer bears the shipping cost and risk. Often used interchangeably (loosely) with "ex-works" pricing in casual trade conversation, though the two aren't identical.
Genuine, non-counterfeit product that has been diverted from the market or channel a brand intended it for, bought cheaply in one region and resold in another, for example. Nothing about the product is fake, but the brand has lost control over where it ends up. See our full article on authorised vs. grey market stock.
A standardised set of international trade terms (published by the International Chamber of Commerce) that define exactly when responsibility, cost and risk for goods passes from seller to buyer during shipping, e.g. FOB, CIF, EXW, DDP.
The total cost of a product once it has actually arrived at the buyer's premises: unit price plus freight, duty, insurance and any handling fees. The number that matters for real margin, as opposed to the quoted unit price alone.
The time between placing an order and receiving the stock. For cross-border orders, a realistic lead time should already account for customs clearance, not just transit time. See our article on UK/EU lead times and paperwork.
The lowest price a retailer is permitted to advertise a product at publicly, even if the actual sale price at checkout can differ. Used alongside or instead of RRP to protect a brand's visible market positioning.
The smallest quantity of a product a supplier will sell in a single order, usually set by production batch sizes, packaging formats, or the margin needed to make fulfilling a small order worthwhile. See our article on how MOQs actually work.
An agreement that trade buyers won't sell below a set floor price, in exchange for access to stock through an authorised channel. Protects the product's market value and every buyer's margin, not just the brand's. See our article on why pricing protection matters.
The price a brand or manufacturer suggests a retailer sell a product at to the end consumer. Not always legally binding on its own, but often reinforced through pricing protection agreements within a trade network.
An account with a supplier or distributor set up specifically for a business buying to resell, as opposed to a retail customer account, usually granting access to trade pricing, invoicing terms, and bulk quantities.
A business that buys stock with the intention of reselling it, rather than using it themselves, typically a retailer, reseller, or another distributor further down the supply chain.
The process a distributor uses to assess a prospective trade buyer before granting access to stock: checking trading legitimacy, sales channel, and pricing intentions. See our article on what makes a trade buyer "vetted".
Selling goods in bulk, at a lower per-unit price than retail, to a business that will resell them, rather than selling individual units directly to the end consumer.