0000000001230631
AUTHOR
Jean-marc Joyeux
The Influence of the Digitalisation of the Distribution Channel in the Process of Bypassing Wholesalers: The Case of a Distribution Triad
• ObjectivesThe wholesaler, a traditional player in distribution, has been going through a new phase in its evolution over the last twenty years. Driven by the digitalisation of activities, upstream and downstream players are trying to bypass it and new players such as commercial platforms are appearing. In order to understand this phenomenon, this research analyses how the wholesaler manages to keep a part of the flows between the actors of the distribution channel.• MethodA qualitative analysis by individual interviews within the building materials sector highlights the appropriation of informational flows by manufacturers leading to the phenomenon of partial disintermediation which affec…
La relation de service dans le canal de distribution : une application au négoce de matériaux français
International audience
Resistance of traditional wholesalers: a dichotomy of flows within the distribution channel
The wholesaler has often been threatened with the risk of disintermediation both upstream and downstream of the distribution channel. Wholesalers, in their role as intermediaries, remain established in many sectors. The Internet has also generated a current of re-intermediation via digital platforms. The article starts from the premise that wholesalers are always essential players in the distribution channel and increase their value proposition through services and digital. As part of a qualitative study in the French market for the sale of building materials, an interesting phenomenon emerged. It is the partial disintermediation of wholesalers for the benefit of industrialists. This partia…
Analyse de la digitalisation du canal de distribution : une approche triadique dans l’étude du risque de désintermédiation des grossistes traditionnels
Intermediaries are little studied in Management Science. The research proposes to put forward a particular type of intermediary that is the wholesaler. Faced with the digitization of all sectors, it is interesting to question the capacity of wholesalers to generate added value in the distribution channel. Based on the triadic methodology and the field of study, it turns out that digital can modify one of the inter-organizational relational processes. In the absence of a strong demand for downstream distribution channels, wholesalers are struggling to put in place a digital strategy that makes sense. On the other hand, this delay allows the industrialist to take the lead on information flows…