Manufacturers' Representative

Manufacturers' Representative

A manufacturers' representatives (rep), also known as sales agent, is an individual, sales agency or company that sells a manufacturer's products to wholesale and retail customers.

When a manufacturer hires a manufacturers rep firm, this usually means that a contract is signed between the two companies, which empower the rep to sell, or solicit sales for, the manufacturer's products as an agent in a defined territory. The products are usually ordered directly from the manufacturer, who then pays a sales commission to the manufacturers rep firm. The commission rate varies according to the market and the product type. It can be anything from 1% to 50%, although a more typical commission rate would be 10% to 25% for low-cost or consumer products and 5% to 10% for high cost or industrial products.

An international manufacturers' representative may be responsible for, in addition to sales solicitation, handling inventory, dealing with tariffs, and complying with government regulations.