Distributor evaluation checklist
A distributor evaluation checklist for manufacturers: market coverage, customers, product fit, finances, service, compliance and how to score candidates.
By the PromptLab team29 October 20265 min read
The wrong distributor costs you a territory. They hold your product, quote it badly or sit on it while a competitor's line takes the shelf. The right one opens a region you couldn't reach alone. Checking the candidate before you sign is cheaper than replacing them later.
This checklist is for manufacturers choosing a distributor in a new region or replacing one. Work through it for each candidate and score them on the same points. Once you have picked one, our distributor onboarding checklist takes over, and how to sell through distributors covers the relationship.
Check market coverage and customers
Start with whether they reach the buyers you want. A distributor with a big warehouse and the wrong customers is no use.
Coverage and customers
Check product fit and conflicts
A distributor that carries three competing lines won't push yours. Look at what is on their shelf and how much room there is for you.
Product fit
Check operations and service
A good sales force still fails if the warehouse can't deliver. Visit if you can, or ask for photos and references.
Operations
Check the business and its finances
You are about to extend credit and trust. Check the company is sound and honest before you commit stock to it.
Business and finance
Check references and attitude
Numbers show capability. Conversations show whether the two of you will work well together.
References and fit
Score the candidates
A score stops the loudest pitch winning. Weight what matters to you and use the same scale for each distributor.
Decision
Say you score two candidates out of 5 on five equal criteria. Candidate A scores 5, 4, 4, 3 and 4, a total of 20, so 4.0 on average. Candidate B scores 5, 5, 2, 3 and 3, a total of 18, so 3.6. A is the safer choice even though B scored as high or higher on the first two criteria.
The items people skip
- Competing lines. Teams check coverage and forget to ask what else is on the shelf.
- A visit. A warehouse looks different in person from how it reads in a brochure.
- Reference calls. People collect names and never ring them.
- Exit terms. It is easier to agree how a deal ends before it starts.
How PromptLab helps
Track each candidate as an account, with the people you met as contacts and the evaluation notes on the account. Use a list or a custom field to mark which candidates are shortlisted, and keep the scores in a custom field or the notes. Put contracts and references in the Files tab on the account. Once a distributor signs, create a deal for their first order, send them a quote from a customer price list, and track the samples you send them. A workflow can create a task when the deal changes stage. See distributor solutions.
Frequently asked questions
How do I evaluate a distributor?
Check their market coverage, customers, product fit, operations, finances and references, then score each candidate on the same criteria. The checklist above groups the questions in that order.
What should I look for in a distributor?
Look for reach into your target customers, a line-up that fits yours without too many direct competitors, sound storage and delivery, a healthy business and reps who can explain your product.
Should I give a distributor exclusivity?
Only if you get something in return, such as minimum volumes, a launch plan or limits on competing lines. Many manufacturers start non-exclusive or with a trial period and move to exclusivity once the distributor has shown results.
How many distributors should I evaluate?
Look at three to five for each territory, if the market has that many. Fewer and you can't compare. More and the evaluation takes the time you should spend on selling.
What happens after I choose a distributor?
Sign an agreement, share product training and price lists, plan the launch and set targets. Our distributor onboarding checklist covers these steps.