Vertical
Also called vertical market
Reviewed by Dasha ShakovVP Marketing, Proton
Updated
What is vertical?
A vertical is the industry segment a distributor operates in, such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC, industrial, jan/san, foodservice or medical supplies. Building materials is another, and people also use “vertical” for the customer industries a distributor sells into, such as healthcare or manufacturing.
How it works
Each vertical has its own manufacturers, products, buyers, trade associations and habits, so experience in one only partly carries over to another.
Vertical example
A rep who moves from an electrical distributor to a plumbing distributor keeps her selling skills but has to learn new product lines, manufacturers and contractors.
Related terms
- Industrial distributionIndustrial distribution is the part of wholesale distribution that supplies factories, plants and utilities with the parts, tools and supplies they run on.
- Foodservice distributionFoodservice distribution is the business of supplying restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels and other places that cook for people away from home.
- Janitorial and sanitation (jan/san) distributorA janitorial and sanitation (jan/san) distributor sells cleaning chemicals, paper goods, trash liners and floor-care equipment to building cleaners.
- North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the code set the US, Canada and Mexico use to classify businesses by industry.
