If you’re a brand selling through regional distributors, it’s time to face two facts.
One is obvious.
The other not so much.
Here’s the obvious fact: Ecommerce is here to stay. And many of your customers want to buy directly from the brands they trust. It’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce. And you’ll need to learn how to ship products, one at a time, directly to individual consumers.
Now here’s the hidden fact.
You have a big part of what you need for D2C already in place.
That’s because your regional distributors aren’t just holding inventory. They’re holding the key to a hidden ecommerce fulfillment network.
Distribution Inventory: Your Hidden Fulfillment Network
Let’s start with a simple idea: a sales channel you already have – your regional distribution network – is more valuable than you think.
If you manage distribution inventory – product sent to your regional distributors – you're sitting on a network of distributed warehouses, experienced partners, and proven workflows. You already have reach. You already have scale. The only thing missing? A strategy to leverage them for D2C fulfillment.
Let’s walk through what’s changing, why it matters, and how you can use this shift to move faster, protect margins, and scale smarter.
The Old Distribution Inventory Model Was Built for a Different Goal
Traditionally, for brands distribution inventory management focused on a single job: keeping regional distributors stocked so they keep their retail customers stocked.
Your regional distributors stocked the inventory they needed to serve retail stores, contractors, or resellers. It worked – and in many industries, it still does.
But in a world where ecommerce is the default buying behavior – not a niche – you need a model that does more.
In an ecommerce-driven world, distribution inventory management isn’t just about replenishing retail stock. It’s about rethinking how to leverage that stock and help support one of your most valuable assets – your established network of regional distributors – in the process.
The New Distributed Inventory Model Solves a New Set of Problems
Enter distributed inventory management (DIM) – a model designed for ecommerce fulfillment, not just retail resupply.
DISTRIBUTION inventory management handles wholesale relationships. DISTRIBUTED inventory management powers D2C ecommerce.
Amazon has trained ecommerce shoppers to expect products quickly – in one or two days – and for little or no delivery cost. Of course, there is no such thing as “free” delivery. It comes out of product margins. So for many products, the only viable way to provide fast, affordable delivery is to stock the product in multiple locations closer to consumers. That cuts delivery distance, time and expense.
Here’s how it works:
- You distribute inventory across multiple fulfillment locations.
- You use real-time data and systems to manage, forecast and replenish that inventory wherever it’s stocked.
- You prioritize fast, affordable delivery by automatically routing ecommerce orders to the fulfillment location with the lowest delivered cost.
The result?
- Faster delivery speeds
- Lower shipping cost
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Better control over the ecommerce experience
But there’s a catch: for most brands, building that fulfillment infrastructure from scratch is hard. Warehousing is expensive. 3PLs are complex and often require experienced management. Sales channel options like Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS drain margins, and often are not a good option for heavy, bulky or slower moving products.
That’s where the breakthrough comes in.
How to Turn Distribution Inventory Into a Fulfillment Network
You already have inventory.
You already have regional warehouses.
You already have distributors who are close to customers.
What if you could use what you’ve already built to fulfill ecommerce orders?
That’s the premise behind The Distribution Network (TDN) – a solution created by Etail Solutions to help brands transform their distribution inventory into a nationwide fulfillment advantage.
Instead of only using regional distributors to replenish local retailers, you now use them to ship D2C ecommerce orders.
Here’s what changes:
- Distributors receive ecommerce orders, automatically routed by you for fulfillment.
- They fulfill those orders directly to consumers.
- You get speed and scale without adding new infrastructure.
The Distribution Network turns your regional distributors into a nationwide D2C fulfillment engine.
What the Model Looks Like in Practice
Let’s make the shift from distribution inventory management to distributed inventory management tangible.
Step 1: Inventory is already in place. Your distributors are holding the right stock in the right place to serve online customers.
Step 2: You use TDN – software built on Etail Solutions’ proven order and inventory management platform – to:
- See real-time inventory levels across distributors
- Route orders based on availability and total delivered cost
- Sync with your online sales channels and ecommerce platforms
Step 3: Orders flow automatically to the best fulfillment node – the regional distributor offering the lowest delivered cost.
Step 4: Distributors use pick/pack workflows they already know. TDN generates the pick list, selects the best shipping option, prints the label, and generates the packing slip.
Step 5: The order ships.
Step 6: The TDN system notifies you and the sales channel of shipment and provides tracking information for the customer.
It’s the same infrastructure and workflows. But now it works for D2C.
What You Gain (And So Do Your Distributors)
This isn’t just about operational efficiency. It’s about strategic advantage.
For brands:
- Faster delivery across the country
- Lower shipping costs from shorter shipping zones
- Scalability without adding warehouses or 3PLs
- Less risk since you are dealing with distributors you know and trust
For distributors:
- New revenue by participating in ecommerce fulfillment
- Stronger relationships with the brands they represent
- Better utilization of space, labor, and systems leveraging only slight modifications to workflows they already have in place.
- A role in the future, not just the past
This model doesn’t replace distribution – it upgrades it. It turns traditional regional distribution into a modern D2C fulfillment infrastructure.
Plus multiple studies by major carriers like UPS and FedEx have shown that, depending on your product’s shipping requirements, three or four distributed inventory locations are enough to serve most of the US with affordable, 1-2 day shipping.
For brands, that means you don’t need to have all your distributors onboard. Three or four would be enough. For distributers, being an early adopter of the process means you can recruit new customers – more brands – by offering D2C fulfillment when other distributors in your area still are clinging to their traditional role.
What You Need to Make It Work
This model isn’t theoretical. It’s operational. To make it work, you need a few core components:
- A system to intelligently route orders
- Inventory visibility into distributor stock levels
- Ecommerce integrations that connect your store to your fulfillment logic
- Distributor readiness with training and expectations aligned
The Distribution Network by Etail Solutions is designed to do exactly that – connect, automate, and enable the full model.
Don’t Build More. Use What You’ve Built Smarter.
When you think about what it takes to scale ecommerce fulfillment, it’s easy to default to bigger warehouses, new 3PLs, or outsourced solutions.
But the smarter play?
- Use the network you’ve already built
- Make your existing inventory work harder.
- Turn your distributors into fulfillment partners.
We’ve seen this before.
A shift in customer behavior creates pressure. The old systems strain. Some brands cling to what worked before. Others adapt.
Right now, that shift is happening for brands and their regional distribution partners.
The technology is here.
All that’s left is the decision to move.
Learn more at distribution.network.
Additional resources
TDN PLATFORM OVERVIEWS
The Distribution Network for Brands
