Value added reseller (VAR)
A value added reseller buys a manufacturer's product and sells it on with something added: integration, configuration, installation, support or bundled services. The addition is what distinguishes a VAR from a distributor that simply stocks and ships.
In practice
The model exists because some products are not usable as shipped. Industrial automation, instrumentation, software and capital equipment often need specifying, integrating with what a customer already runs, and supporting afterwards, and a manufacturer cannot do that at every customer in every territory. A VAR does it locally and takes a margin for the work rather than for the movement of the box.
That distinction matters for how a VAR should present itself online, and most get it wrong. A VAR's website that reads like a catalogue is competing on price with everyone else carrying the same lines, which is the one comparison it should avoid. The buyer is not choosing between two identical products, they are choosing who will make it work, so the capability is the product and the catalogue is the evidence.
VARs share the two-audience problem that every channel partner has. One audience is the end customer evaluating whether you can solve their problem. The other is the manufacturer deciding who gets a line in a territory, and they are looking for technical depth, coverage and whether you will represent the product properly. Very few websites in this category speak to the second audience at all.
The terms overlap in everyday use and it is not worth being precious about them. A distributor may add real technical value, a VAR may hold stock, and a manufacturers rep does neither because they never take title to the goods. What separates them commercially is where the margin comes from: stocking and logistics, applied expertise, or commission on a sale.
A quick check on your own positioning: read your homepage and count how many sentences describe what you add versus what you carry. If the lines you sell are named in the first screen and your capability is not, you are presenting as a catalogue in a market where the catalogue is the commodity.
Common questions
What is the difference between a VAR and a distributor?
A distributor stocks and ships, and competes on availability, coverage and price. A VAR adds work to the product: specification, integration, installation or ongoing support. The lines blur in practice, since many distributors add technical value, but the commercial difference is whether the margin comes from logistics or from applied expertise.
What is the difference between a VAR and a manufacturers rep?
A VAR buys the product and resells it, taking title and carrying the commercial risk. A manufacturers rep never takes title; they sell on the manufacturer's behalf for a commission. That difference decides who holds the customer relationship, who handles support, and who carries inventory.
How do VARs win new manufacturer lines?
Largely on demonstrated technical capability and territory coverage. A manufacturer evaluating you is answering whether you can represent the product properly, and they will look at your website before any conversation. Publishing your technical capability, staff certifications and the lines you already carry is what that audience is actually checking.