There are many, many other factors to consider, but the fact is many manufacturers consider these two factors first, as they combined will save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in addressing a new market. As a result of the relationships with retailers, chains and department stores and a thorough overview of how to make the order management and fulfillment processes as efficient as possible, distributors like Lambert are increasingly in demand. The reciprocal nature of the relationship all hinges on the trust of the retailers, chains and department stores in Lamberts' ability to execute on the many processes critical for managing ongoing buyer-supplier relationships. For any given manufacturer to just learn these processes, much less execute them with precision and speed, would take years to learn. That is the major benefit for a manufacturer to work with Lambert for example, yet this applies to many other indirect channels across many different industries.

Look at the website of at least one of the brands that Lambert distributes exclusively. Do the manufacturer and the distributor stress different aspects of the product? Why do you think this is?

For purposes of this example I looked at the website for Fulcrum wheels, which stresses racing and touring on their website, which is advanced in its approach to illustrating its products. The entire site is segregated by each of these dominant areas of wheel designs, complete with online guides on how to get the best possible wheels for an activity. Cycles Lambert on the other hand only shows a subset of the racing wheels from Fulcrum, and does not provide the level of detail as shown on the Fulcrum site itself. The reason that Cycles Lambert chooses to only show a subset of the entire product set from Fulcrum is that the distributor has created a product strategy specifically in racing wheels and Fulcrum's unique capabilities fill one area of that broader strategy. Lambert has a product...

This roadmap is created based on what Lambert knows customers will be looking for, in addition to an analysis of their previous sales history. Lambert is looking to fill a specific niche in their overall strategy, while Fulcrum is positioning all products in their respective target markets to get maximum impact on awareness and sales of each product.
If you were a bicycle retailer, and CL customer, what do you think would help to push more business to your store? Why?

This question, in a complete and formal answer, would lead to marketing plan for a bicycle retailer. Instead of providing that depth of response, the abbreviated answer is that as a Lambert customer, the first and foremost would be sales leads that Lambert acquired from manufacturers (who often pass leads through their distributors for follow up by dealers), in addition to sales leads generated from within Lambert itself from marketing activities and even the website. The entire aspect of lead management and escalation would be a critical part of how I'd work with Lambert on an ongoing basis.

Second, I'd look to work out opportunities to have my retail store receive the latest products when they were introduced, so my store would be mentioned in the advertisements paid for by manufacturers but placed by Lambert in key industry publications. I'd work to have manufacturers detail my store and test new concepts on my store space as well, and I'd also work to create a more aggressive cooperative advertising program with Lambert and its manufacturers. Cooperative advertising is where manufacturers reimburse a share of the advertising completed by retailers in exchange for mentioning their products. Finally, I would work with Lambert Marketing to make sure my retailing location was mentioned in as many ads as possible in industry magazines, specifically on new bicycles, accessories and parts.