Short answer
A dealer and a distributor are not the same thing: a dealer generally sells in a defined area and holds stock against demand, while a distributor holds stock for a country or a wide region, manages a sub-dealer network and takes on the first level of after-sales support. What the manufacturer looks at is the same three headings in both cases: real reach in that market, after-sales service capacity, and the financial structure to carry a spare parts stock. In the attachment business what makes a relationship last is not the size of the first order but whether the service is still standing in the second year.
Dealer or distributor?
Which to start with depends on the size of the market and on the applicant's existing structure. A company with no service infrastructure starting straight into distribution struggles at the first failure, which is why most relationships start as a dealership and grow.
- Dealer: sells in a defined area, holds limited stock and generally orders as demand arrives. The entry barrier is low.
- Distributor: holds stock for a country or a wide region, builds a sub-dealer network and takes on the first level of after-sales support. Both responsibility and investment are larger.
- Exclusivity is a separate matter and does not come automatically; it is generally given against a volume commitment, stockholding and service capacity.
What the manufacturer looks at
- 1
Real reach in the market
How many customers you reach and in which sectors. An existing relationship with machine dealers, rental companies, quarries or demolition contractors is far more valuable than marketing from scratch.
- 2
Service capacity
An attachment is a product that is serviced, not just sold. Do you have a workshop, who attends, can you go to site. A sales channel with no service blocks at the first warranty failure.
- 3
Capacity to carry a spare parts stock
Keeping critical parts on the shelf takes capital, but that is what keeps sales going. A customer chooses the supplier whose parts do not take a week to arrive.
- 4
Technical knowledge and willingness to train
The team has to know the product: which breaker for which tonnage, which tool for which material. A team that makes time for training grows far faster than one selling from a catalogue.
- 5
Financial structure and payment arrangement
On a first order the payment method is usually a safer structure, and it relaxes as the relationship develops. That is standard commercial practice rather than mistrust; we covered payment methods in a separate guide.
What to build in the first year
- A demo and sample arrangement: attachments are sold by being run on site, not by being described.
- A critical spare parts stock, at least the fast-moving items. We covered which parts belong on the shelf in a separate guide.
- One technical contact: a single person who knows the product and whom the customer calls.
- Basic technical knowledge in the local language: tonnage matching, flow and pressure, tool selection.
- A simple service record: what was sold to which machine and when it was serviced. The second sale comes out of that record.
The size of the first order is not the measure
The most misleading measure in a new dealership is the size of the first order. A large first order placed before service capacity exists sits on the shelf as stock and strains the relationship. Healthy growth starts with a small, saleable opening stock; the second order takes its shape from how fast the first one sells.
Do and don’t
Do
- Describe the real demand in your own market concretely before applying.
- Plan the service side first; sales comes after it.
- Start with a small, saleable opening stock.
- Get product training for your team and name the technical contact.
- Record every machine you sell to; second sales and parts sales come from that record.
Don't
- Do not take responsibility for a wide region before building service capacity.
- Do not make exclusivity a condition at the start of the relationship.
- Do not position on price alone; in attachments the second sale comes from service.
- Do not decide stock by guesswork; look at the real demand of the first months.
- Do not leave spare parts for later; the first failure arrives within the first year.
How to apply
What makes an application strong is not a statement of interest but a concrete description of the market: which region you work in, which customer profile you sell to today, what you have on the service side and which product groups you want to start with. Where those four are clear, the conversation starts on technical ground.
If you want to work with HKM, you can use the dealer application form. We have gathered general information on delivery terms, documents and the buying journey in the export section; reading it before the conversation saves both sides time.