Part
01
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Part
01
Chapin International - Distribution Process
Although we were unable to paint a holistic picture of the distribution process of Chapin International, we have pieced together relevant information from a host of different sources to provide as much information as possible.
We found that Chapin distributes its products through wholesalers; most hardware, home improvement, and e-commerce retailers; brick-and-mortar retailers; as well as through their online store, which the customers can also contact and place their orders via phone. It deals directly with customers (B2B) and end-consumers (B2C) and has sales reps in different regions. It serves customers around the world including the US, Mexico, China, Australia, Europe, and Canada, with one of their distributors being Paysverco. With 10% of their business overseas, it occupies 85% market share in the industrial sprayers market, while being one of the largest manufacturers of retail and industrial sprayers in the world. It also has many subsidiaries as well as various manufacturing facilities located in Batavia, BY; Clarence, NY; Coopersville, MI; and overseas.
Below is a deep dive of our methodology and findings.
Methodology
We started our research by browsing the Chapin Manufacturing website. Our initial approach was to look for annual/quarterly reports, however, their reports were not available through their website. We found that Chapin is a private company, so it is not required to publish annual reports.
After being unable to find annual reports, we decided to browse different pages on their website and found useful information through different pages, e.g. Chapin Webstore, the company history, shipping policy, returns policy, terms and conditions, and their FAQ page, among others. We also found a dedicated website for Australia but that also didn't produce any useful results. We also found a 'retailers' page but it wasn't working. We also found that Chapin's website has login areas for 'Vendors' and 'Representatives' separately.
After gathering some helpful information from the above-mentioned pages, we decided to look for Chapin's social media pages and see if we could find any detailed information there. We found their LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube pages, however, no substantial information could be sourced from these sites as well.
Next, we decided to look at sources from wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and e-commerce retailers. We found dozens of such entities providing Chapin products, e.g. Amazon, Mowers Direct, Quality Distributing LLC, Wholesale Lawn & Garden Products, etc. We searched through official websites of many of these entities without meeting with any success in finding information that could provide an overview of Chapin's distribution process or provide insights into the relationship of these specific entities with Chapin.
Another approach that we tried was to look for information through credible databases and business listing websites. Through this, we came across Chapin's profile on US Business Executive, which included an interview of Chapin's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Chuck Mattes, which revealed some useful information.
Yet another approach was to look at job announcements from Chapin. We looked at multiple job postings and came across one for the position of Customer Service Representative on Indeed, which also revealed some helpful information.
The helpful information that we found through all these strategies is detailed below.
Helpful Information
- The Chapin Webstore states, "Shop for products not available at retailers and replacement parts for all products." This suggests that it distributes its products through retailers as well as through their online store.
- The History section on their website states, "So Mr. Chapin began making his own cans and selling them to his customers." This suggests that the company started as a B2C company and later started their B2B dealings when their business grew larger. It has a dedicated page for the shipping policy, which suggests that the company still provides B2C services. Also, customers can contact their customer service department directly to place orders.
- The website also states, "Here, in this spacious, modern plant, Chapin sprayers are designed, fabricated, formed, assembled, coated, tested, packaged, stored and shipped to customers around the world."
- Chapin's Facebook page states, "Chapin products are available online and most hardware, home improvement and e-commerce retailers." The company also distributes to wholesalers, e.g. Wholesale Lawn & Garden Products.
- Their FAQ page states that the products can be found through local store locations of retailers who sell Chapin products, which suggests that the company also distributes products to brick-and-mortar retailers.
- Their FAQ page also reveals one of the distributors in Canada by the name of Paysverco. We further researched Paysverco to find out that it runs a retail store, MAGDecor, but it does not sell the type of products distributed by Chapin in that store.
- Chuck Mattes, Vice President Sales and Marketing at Chapin, revealed in an interview to US Business Executive that Chapin is "the largest manufacturer of industrial and retail sprayers in North America" and "one of the top in the world". He also revealed that Chapin has an 85% market share in the industrial sprayers market and that the products are distributed to Canada, US, Mexico, China, Australia, and Europe with 10% of the business coming from overseas.
- Chapin has many subsidiaries as well as manufacturing locations. The headquarters is located in Batavia, NY with manufacturing, assembling, and warehousing capabilities for a large sprayer lineup. The company has a secondary manufacturing facility in Clarence, NY with assembling and warehousing capabilities for their lawn, garden, and ATV spreaders. Additionally, Chapin has a "Heath Outdoor Products" facility in Coopersville, MI, which is "responsible for manufacturing suet and assembling flag kits, finch socks, and purple martin houses, as well as warehousing Heath's extensive inventory of bird items." The company also has various locations overseas for specialty solutions.
- The job description of a Customer Service Representative (CSR) at Chapin revealed that the CSR is responsible for coordinating with customers, sales reps, and end-consumers. This signifies that Chapin distributes products directly to customers/businesses (B2B) and also to end-consumers (B2C). This also suggests that the company may have sales reps for different regions in the US and/or the world.
Summary
To summarize the above findings, it can be said that
- Chapin distributes its products through wholesalers; most hardware, home improvement, and e-commerce retailers; brick-and-mortar retailers; as well as through their online store, which the customers can also contact and place their orders via phone.
- Chapin deals directly with customers (B2B) and end-consumers (B2C) and it has sales reps in different regions.
- The company serves customers around the world including Canada, US, Mexico, China, Australia, and Europe.
- One of its distributors, in Canada, is Paysverco.
- It occupies a 85% market share in the industrial sprayers market.
- 10% of Chapin's business is overseas.
- Chapin is "the largest manufacturer of industrial and retail sprayers in North America" and "one of the top in the world".
- The company has many subsidiaries as well as various manufacturing facilities located in Batavia, BY; Clarence, NY; Coopersville, MI; and overseas.