A manufacturer will seek out partnerships with who will sell the manufacturer's products and/or services to the final consumers. (One word)

• A. Retailers
• B. Distributors
• C. Wholesalers
• D. Agents

Answer: (B)

Channel intermediaries connect manufacturers to final customers, and distributors are the partners that take products from the manufacturer and move them toward the market. They typically own the inventory, handle sales, logistics, and often credit terms, and then resell to retailers or, in some cases, directly to customers. This setup lets the manufacturer reach broad markets without building its own full direct sales force, leveraging the distributor’s established networks and expertise to bring products to the end user. While retailers sell to final consumers themselves, the distributor’s role is to bridge the manufacturer and the market, making it the best single-word fit for this description.