Interview Analysis

Interview Analysis

Justin Hogan

MBA 510 – Managerial Research

May 29, 2013

Interview Analysis

            Firearms manufacturers utilize distributors to sell firearms directly to consumers in commercial, military, and law enforcement market.  It is important for manufacturers to find distributors that fit the mold of their business objective and fulfill their need to reach their target customers.  With so many manufacturers and distributors available to each, it is important to find what factors make a relationship strong between a manufacturer and a distributor. 

Objective

            The objective of this analysis is to find out what makes a relationship strong between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor.  This relationship is important because of the high number of both potential manufacturers and distributors that each could choose to do business with.  Keeping a strong relationship between the two entities helps both businesses thrive in a highly competitive market.  In order to find out more about ways to strengthen these sorts of relationships, interviews were conducted among each party.  

Population

            The individuals that qualify for the interviews come from both manufacturers and distributors, creating two populations for the research.  Individuals from manufacturers should be sales representatives of the manufacturer who have a direct relationship with distributors, actively pursue new distributors for the manufacturer, and work hand-in-hand with the distributors selling to customers.  Individuals should be between the ages 30-50 and have over 10 years of experience in the industry.  Interviewees should have worked with multiple distributors and, if possible, worked for more than one manufacturer.  Using these standards gives the researcher the best perspective of the relationship between a manufacturer and a distributor because of the number of years the individual has been involved with the business.

            The population for the distributor should be individuals in upper management that have a direct relationship with manufacturers.  These individuals also make the business decisions for the distributor on what manufacturers they carry, establishing a direct relationship with sales representatives from the firearms manufacturers.  They should also have over 10 years of experience and be between 30-50 years old.  The individual’s distributor should also carry more than three manufacturers at a time.   Individuals who make the final decisions within a distributor will give the best knowledge of the distributor in relation to the manufacturer.

Protocol

            The interviews were conducted on an individual-to-individual basis.  Because of time constraints and location of the interviewee, the interview with the manufacturer representative was conducted over the telephone.  The concern with the telephone interview was the inability to read body language and facial expressions in response to the questions.  Overall the telephone interview was successful and the interviewee answered every question with no reservations.  The interviewee of the firearms manufacturer was asked nine questions relating to the relationship to a firearms distributor from a manufacturer’s standpoint. 

Questions to the manufacturer:

·         What are the important factors in choosing a distributor?

·         What is the process in selecting distributors? Who is responsible?

·         How many distributors do manufacturers typically have per territory?

·         What support from a distributor is needed to build the relationship?

·         Do manufacturers push customers to certain distributors over others? Why?

·         What is the most important part about the relationship with a distributor?

·         What actions or processes by a distributor would make the relationship strong?

·         What actions by a distributor would make the relationship weak or put it in jeopardy?

·         Have you ever terminated a relationship with a distributor?  Why?

The questions to the distributor were also asked on an individual-to-individual basis during normal business hours.  This interview was conducted face-to-face in the interviewee’s business office.  The biggest concern with this interview was time constraints with the interviewee and keeping answers focused on firearms manufactures and not manufacturers in general.  The interviewee was open and honest with answers.  The interviewee of the firearms distributor was asked ten questions relating to the relationship to a firearms manufacturer from a distributor’s perspective. 

Questions to the distributor:

·         What do you look for in a manufacturer?

·         How do you decide what manufacturers you carry?

·         How many manufacturers do you have?  How do you feel about that number? 

·         Do you push certain manufacturers more than others?  Why?

·         What is the most important part about the relationship with your manufacturer?

·         What actions or processes by a manufacturer hurt the relationship?

·         What support from a manufacturer is needed to keep your relationship strong?

·         What is the biggest challenge keeping a strong relationship with a manufacturer?

·         What do you think the manufacturer wants from a distributor?

·         Have you ever lost a manufacturer that you wish you could have back? What would you do differently?

Analysis of Interview Results

            The overall results of the interviews showed that the relationship between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor is one that needs to be strong to survive.  Each participant of the relationship needs to fulfill certain roles for the relationship to progress and grow.  It appears from the data that the firearms manufacturer has the upper hand in the relationship with the distributor, meaning he or she has the power to hire and fire distributors over concerns with the relationship.  Even with the overall power, the role of the manufacturer needs to be supportive of the distributor and provide support to the distributor with marketing materials, armor’s clinics, and sales support to customers.  Manufacturers also know that by supporting the distributors with sales and marketing, those distributors will promote their products over competitors to potential customers.   

            The most important factors to the firearms manufacturer in their relationship with a distributor can be broken down into three categories: business, credit, and sales force.  The overall business includes factors as their market share, history, and a good reputation in the industry.  The credit of the distributor was the second factor in the relationship.  Having strong financial backings and overall good processes in their shipping and receiving was important for manufacturers, giving them confidence that they can rely on the distributor to pay their bills and get their product to the end user in a sufficient fashion.  The third factor was the sales force of the distributor.  Employing a competent sales staff that supports the manufacturer’s products was a key factor in the relationship to the manufacturer. 

            The firearms distributor looks for a number of different factors when looking for a firearms manufacturer.  Pricing structure, initial buy requirements, reorder requirements, delivery timeframe, return policies, and territorial restrictions are general concerns of a distributor when looking to carry a firearm manufacturer.  Distributors are also concerned with the demand and quality of their products, along with their representation in the field.  Lastly, the distributor looks at their overall brand and how the manufacturer markets to build it. 

            When selecting who to use as distributors, manufacturers break it down regionally.  They typically have at least two or more distributors per territory.  The reason for this is for competitive bids within a territory for customers, creating a competitive market for both distributors and customers.  Manufacturers would advise customers to see certain distributors over others because of their relationship with the distributor.  This practice was also found with distributors, who likewise push customers towards certain manufacturers.  Generally, distributors would do this with manufacturers they have a stronger relationship with and have a potential for larger profit margins. 

            The most important aspect in the relationship between a manufacturer and a distributor, according to the manufacturer, is trust and the distributor keeping up with financial responsibilities with the manufacturer.  The manufacturer having trust with a distributor includes trust in their sales staff to fully support their product and to fulfill their role of selling the manufacturers product to customers within their territory.  Actions like negative feedback about the manufacturer and no other sales supports were the biggest factors in the relationship getting worse. 

            The distributor’s most important aspect of the relationship was the overall partnership in general.  Having trust in each other in promoting the products and getting support from the manufacturer is the key to the relationship from the distributor’s point of view.  Distributors also need strong support from field representatives on the manufacturer’s side to help drive business to distributors when needed.  Both the manufacturer and distributor found that open communications between both entities helped facilitate any misunderstandings in the relationship and to solve any issues between the two.  Any critical issues with the partnership were to be discussed immediately in order to stop any possible termination of the partnerships by the firearms manufacturer.    

Conclusion

            This project was developed to show what makes a strong relationship with a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor.  One-on-one interviews were conducted with representatives from both manufacturers and distributors.  This process gave an evaluation of the relationship from both sides, but time constraints restricted the sample size.  Future research to be conducted should include more samples from each side of the manufacturer and distributor relationship. 

The relationship between a firearms manufacturer and a firearms distributor is one that needs to remain strong for both businesses to succeed.  Both sides of the relationship need to support the other in terms of trust, communication, and sales support.  In the relationship, there are certain roles that each play in order for the partnership to be successful.  The manufacturer looks for a distributor that he or she can trust with their products and that also have strong sales support.  It is important for the manufacturer to choose distributors that are financially capable and have market share in their territory.  The distributor also knows the importance of trust in the relationship with a firearms manufacturer.  Distributors look for manufacturers that have a demand for their product and produce a quality product.