DISTRIBUTORS IN TRANSITION -- E-enabled Dealers

One company that is attempting to address this conundrum is VieNet.com. VieNet builds a Web-based inventory supply chain management tool that connects manufacturers, dealers and end users, according to VieNet President Richard Chance.

"Our basic premise is to streamline the current supply chain as much as we can, thus reducing inventory and saving transaction costs, while making the current supply chain more efficient. We aren't changing the model and the way it's done; we're just making it more efficient."