Direct store delivery

Definition

Delivering to a customer's individual store and not into its distribution center.

Why It Matters

It is the model that puts a distributor's own person on the customer's floor, stocking the shelf and not dropping a pallet at the door. It costs more per case and it buys something a warehouse delivery cannot: shelf position, first sight of what is selling, and a relationship the customer's buyer does not control alone. For a buyer of the business it is a labor commitment as much as a service, so ask how many accounts are served this way and what each one costs in hours.