Why POS Budgets Remain a Sticking Point Between Suppliers and Distributors
I recently found myself in the middle of a familiar debate. It reinforces a reality I see time and again in the retail ecosystem.
A supplier and a distributor — long-time partners who know each other well — ended up arguing over a 15% cut to a single POS (point-of-sale) order.
The distributor's stance was blunt: "POS doesn't work — it's rarely executed."
The supplier pushed back just as hard: "We can't keep cutting this. We need to hold the line to drive pull at retail."
The tension wasn't really about one order, or 15%. It was about something bigger: Real, unrelenting budget pressure across the industry.
Consumption is down. Shopper traffic is fragmented. Retailers are demanding more support, but marketing spend is under the microscope like never before. Local marketing and POS programs are often the first line item that gets scrutinized or cut because they’re seen as discretionary, hard to measure or operationally messy.
But what really struck me wasn’t the budget debate itself — it was the trust gap at the heart of it.
- The distributor is tired of paying for materials they believe won’t be used or that reps won't prioritize.
- The supplier is desperate to protect brand visibility and competitiveness in a tough market.
- Both sides are trying to protect margin and share, while navigating pressure from their own leadership to cut costs.
The Reality
It's easy from the outside to say "just fix compliance" or "just use better data." But the reality in the field is far messier.
Distributor priorities shift constantly by market and portfolio. Sales reps are stretched thin, balancing dozens of competing brands and their own KPIs. Corporate brand teams often don't understand local nuances. And the downstream incentive to "just get it done right" is rarely as strong as we'd all like to believe.
When people don't trust the process, it breaks down — every time.
We don't talk enough about this friction in the three-tier system. But we should.
These disagreements over a 15% cut aren't going away on their own. If anything, they're going to become more common as cost pressures intensify. And when budgets get reduced, it's rarely because POS "doesn’t work" in principle. It's because no one trusts it will actually be used — compliantly, effectively and where it matters.
I see this dynamic every day.
I talk to suppliers who can't prove ROI to internal stakeholders, leaving them vulnerable to cuts. I hear from distributors who don't want to deal with pallets of unused materials gathering dust in the warehouse. I see both sides wanting to do the right thing, but struggling with the operational reality of how it's ordered, shipped, tracked and measured.
Making Improvements
My organization focuses so much on making the process work better — not by spending more, but by making every dollar count.
Partners need an entity that will:
- Target the right accounts and regions where POS and local marketing actually drive sales lift.
- Simplify the ordering process for reps, with user-friendly portals, pre-approved kits and fulfillment logic that matches market needs.
- Provide real-time inventory management to reduce overproduction, waste and unplanned costs. With visibility into warehouse levels, usage trends and reorder triggers that ensure the right quantities at the right time.
- Offer integrated reporting so supplier and distributor teams can see what's working — and justify it.
At the end of the day, the industry doesn't need more spending on POS. It needs better spending on POS.
We need to close the trust gap so these budget battles aren't the default. Because when supplier and distributor teams are forced to nickel-and-dime each other over 15%, it doesn't just hurt the relationship. It hurts the brand. It hurts the retailer. And it makes it even harder to win with the shopper.
We can do better. But it starts with acknowledging the messy reality, talking honestly about the friction and committing — together — to actually fix it.
About the Author
Amber Roberts is vice president of business development at Ansira. She spends her days in the messy middle of supplier–distributor conversations, where optimism meets budget constraints and everyone wants "just one more revision." With 20-plus years in the retail, CPG & beverage alcohol space, Amber's focus is helping partners navigate the complexities of local marketing, compliance and the three-tier system without losing their sanity — or their margins.
