Every quote comes with a catalogue, a price and a product description. Which structure the seller sits in becomes clear at the first spare part order or the first technical question.
| Seller | Role | In year two |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Makes the product itself | Technical answers come from the source |
| Official distributor | Represents the maker in one country | Parts and warranty flow is defined |
| Dealer | Buys from the distributor and sells on | The chain grows, answers slow down |
| Importing trader | Brings in batches and sells them | The same model may not be found again |
Three questions at the quotation stage settle it: who makes the product and is the brand the same as the maker, which legal entity will handle a warranty claim, and who will supply the same model and its parts three years from now. Distributor status is read from the country representative list on the brand owner's site or from a signed authorisation, never from a logo in a catalogue.
On a one-off purchase the short chain looks cheaper. When a fleet is being built, spares, technical support and continuity enter the total cost and the order can change.
On the Isotec side the split is written down: manufacturing and product development sit with GEBHARDT, while spare parts and warranty run through the GEBHARDT distributor for Türkiye.