CHALLENGES OF DUAL DISTRIBUTION AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM: INCREASED OPERATIONAL COMPLEXITY

While the benefits of dual distribution are compelling, implementing this model is not without challenges. Managing multiple distributors adds complexity that must be carefully handled to avoid pitfalls such as channel conflict and inefficiencies. Here we discuss the key challenges and provide best-practice strategies to mitigate each drawback, ensuring that the advantages of dual distribution far outweigh the downsides.

Adding a second distributor means additional coordination in almost every aspect – onboarding, training, forecasting, reporting, and managing day-to-day business. There is potential for customer and partner confusion if roles and rules are not clearly defined. For example, partners might not know which distributor to use for a given deal, or government customers might get quotes from two different distributors for the same product, causing inconsistency. Internally, the vendor’s operations team will need to handle multiple order flows and data sources, which can complicate tracking of sales, inventory, and performance metrics.

Mitigation: To tackle this complexity, it’s critical to establish clear operating rules and communication channels from the outset. Define how deals will be allocated or shared between distributors to avoid overlap confusion. Some companies segment by market or account type (e.g. one distributor handles Department of Defense accounts, the other handles civilian agencies; or splitting by geographic regions or deal size). Others allow a free-for-all but use a deal registration system to ensure only one distributor (and its partner) is pursuing a specific lead at a time – this prevents two channels unwittingly competing for the same customer deal. Ideally, your CRM or partner management platform should ingest opportunity and order data from both distributors, so you have one consolidated pipeline and can do unified forecasting. Many vendors use a PRM (Partner Relationship Management) system to give partners a single place to register deals and get approved, regardless of which distributor fulfills the order on the back-end. By standardizing processes and using technology platforms to integrate channels, you minimize the complexity impact.