I don't think people understand the complexity of the supply chain. If it were possible for the manufacturers to directly sell to retail customers, they would b

I don't think people understand the complexity of the supply chain. If it were possible for the manufacturers to directly sell to retail customers, they would be more than happy to cut off distributors and pocket that additional margin for themselves. For a manufacturer to handle returns, expired products etc from retail customers or even retail outlets while having a manufacturing base in a different city/town is a huge headache. Many products (example: dairy and other perishables) require daily deliveries to retail outlets from manufacturers. Try doing this without a distributor arrangement.