Vendor vs Manufacturer: Difference and Comparison

Business is an activity in which involves buying and selling various products and services for the purpose of making a profit.

Key Takeaways

1. A vendor is a person or company that sells goods or services to customers, while a manufacturer is a company that makes products to be sold by vendors.
2. Vendors do not produce their own goods but instead purchase them from manufacturers to sell them to customers, while manufacturers are responsible for creating and producing goods.
3. Vendors focus more on marketing and selling products, while manufacturers prioritize the production process and ensuring product quality.

Vendor vs Manufacturer

A vendor can be a company or any particular person who sells different products and services in the market.  Vendors purchase products from manufacturers. Manufacturers can be the employees who are responsible for producing goods and services for the market. They focus on the production process.

A vendor is a person who is involved in the process of purchase and distribution of goods and services to the consumers. He acts as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the consumer.

A manufacturer is a person who is involved in the process of converting raw materials into finished goods and services. He may sell his products directly to the consumers or indirectly through vendors.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Vendor	Manufacturer
Objective	The objective is to sell the products and services to the consumers.	The objective is to sell products and services to vendors.
Quantity	A small number of goods and services are sold.	A large number of goods and services are sold.
Market Relations	A vendor maintains B2C market relations.	A manufacturer maintains B2B market relations.
Risks	There is less risk involved as goods and services are sold on consumer demand.	There is a greater risk involved as goods and services are manufactured first.
Consumer Relations	A vendor has close relations with the consumers.	A manufacturer has distant relations with the consumers.

What is Vendor?

In a supply chain, the products and services are produced, manufactured into a finished product or service, and sold to the next member in the chain and finally to the consumer.

A vendor buys different finished products and services from different manufacturers. These products are then stored in a storage unit or directly sent to a shop.

A vendor maintains close relations with the consumers because of which he knows the demands of the consumers. The products and services which are purchased by the vendor are based on these demands.

What is Manufacturer? 

The process of converting raw materials into finished goods and services to meet consumers’ demands is known as a manufacturing process.

A manufacturer buys the raw materials from the producers or even produces them on his/her own. Once the raw materials are brought in, they are sent for manufacturing.

A manufacturer sells its products to vendors. However, he can choose to sell his products directly to the consumers in person or on the Internet.

Main Differences Between Vendor and Manufacturer

1. A vendor faces less risk as the goods and services sold are based on consumer demand. Whereas a manufacturer faces more risk as the goods and services are produced first.
2. A vendor has close relations with the consumer. On the contrary, a manufacturer has distant relations with the consumer.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037722179190033R
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002224298404800407