Industry guide

Quotes, substitutions and RMAs: distributor data AI labs want

Distributors make thousands of judgment calls a day at the counter and on the phone: quotes, substitutions, cross-references, returns and purchasing. Pewter names distribution among the industries buyers want.

Most of it already sits in an ERP such as Epicor Prophet 21 or Infor, a CRM, email and warehouse systems. Buyers want the written trail of how your team actually does the work, so most owners lead with SOPs and training material, then add day-to-day records once personal details are dealt with.

AI Data Offers research deskChecked against our methodology Updated October 28, 2026 4 min read 14 sources

Key figure: 71,932
Buyers' published range: $100K to $2M+
Time to a written offer: Days to 2 weeks
Owner time, per buyers: 1 to 3 hours

In this guide

01 / What buyers value

Records a buyer will look for at a distributor

Quote and order history
Where it lives
ERP
Why a buyer wants it
Line-level selling decisions
Raise first
Customer pricing
Substitution and cross-reference notes
Where it lives
ERP and docs
Why a buyer wants it
Product knowledge
Raise first
Usually nothing
Supplier and purchasing threads
Where it lives
Email
Why a buyer wants it
Buying decisions
Raise first
Supplier pricing
Returns, RMAs and credits
Where it lives
ERP
Why a buyer wants it
Exceptions and how they settled
Raise first
Customer names
Outside sales CRM notes
Where it lives
CRM
Why a buyer wants it
Account management
Raise first
Contact details

Record	Where it lives	Why a buyer wants it	Raise first
Quote and order history	ERP	Line-level selling decisions	Customer pricing
Substitution and cross-reference notes	ERP and docs	Product knowledge	Usually nothing
Supplier and purchasing threads	Email	Buying decisions	Supplier pricing
Returns, RMAs and credits	ERP	Exceptions and how they settled	Customer names
Outside sales CRM notes	CRM	Account management	Contact details

02 / Value

Putting a number on a distributor's data

No buyer publishes a price list by industry. What they do publish is a range for a whole company: micro1, Polyshares and Ventra each advertise deals from roughly $100K to $2M or more, and Pewter's licensing partner cites examples between $350K and $650K. Read those as the buyers' own marketing figures, not offers.

For a distributor of about 50 people, three things move the number most: how many years of history you have, how much of the work is written down in one place, and how cleanly client and employee details can be removed. Try the worth estimator for a range based on your size.

03 / Buyers

Which buyers take distributors and wholesalers

On Troveo's intake form, the closest category ("logistics, field service or supply chain") sits in the second of its four demand tiers, which it describes as above-average demand. Polyshares accepts distribution and wholesale, though it does not mark it as premium.

micro1
Published size rule
Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit
A 50-person distributor
Fits at 50
Mode
Published size rule
At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law
A 50-person distributor
Fits at 50
Nyne
Published size rule
At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history
A 50-person distributor
Fits at 50
Pewter
Published size rule
At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors
A 50-person distributor
Fits at 50
Ventra
Published size rule
At least 30 US staff and three years of data
A 50-person distributor
Fits at 50
Endless
Published size rule
Around 30 people or more
A 50-person distributor
Fits at 50
Polyshares
Published size rule
No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes
A 50-person distributor
No size floor
Mercor
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum
A 50-person distributor
No size floor
Troveo
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20)
A 50-person distributor
No size floor

Buyer	Published size rule	A 50-person distributor
micro1	Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit	Fits at 50
Mode	At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law	Fits at 50
Nyne	At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history	Fits at 50
Pewter	At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors	Fits at 50
Ventra	At least 30 US staff and three years of data	Fits at 50
Endless	Around 30 people or more	Fits at 50
Polyshares	No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes	No size floor
Mercor	Publishes no minimum	No size floor
Troveo	Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20)	No size floor

Checked against a typical distributor of 50 people. Ask each buyer whether contractors and part-time staff count.

Some buyers pay us a referral fee. It never changes your price, and it never changes the order of our rankings.

04 / Typical week

What one ordinary week produces

Monday: counter quotes and a backorder.
Tuesday: a substitution suggested for a discontinued item.
Wednesday: supplier price increases negotiated.
Thursday: an RMA processed with credit.
Friday: outside sales notes from ten visits.

Illustrative. Multiply one week by every year you have kept, and that is the record a buyer is looking at. The written decisions matter more than the totals.

05 / Process

How a deal works

1
Check the fit
Answer a few questions about headcount, years of records and the systems you use. No files change hands.
2
Inventory call
A buyer walks through what you hold and what it wants. Most say the owner spends one to three hours in total.
3
Written offer
Buyers usually send terms within days to two weeks: price, scope, term and whether the deal is exclusive.
4
Clean and deliver
Personal details are removed under the agreed method, then a copy is exported. Your originals stay where they are.

micro1
What it asks for
Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity
Offer and payment
Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice
Ask about
Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how.
Ventra
What it asks for
Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets
Offer and payment
Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60
Ask about
Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Polyshares
What it asks for
Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts
Offer and payment
Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days
Ask about
Licenses are exclusive by default.
Pewter
What it asks for
Operating records for the industries on its list
Offer and payment
No fee to the owner, it says
Ask about
Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays.

Buyer	What it asks for	Offer and payment	Ask about
micro1	Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity	Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice	Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how.
Ventra	Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets	Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60	Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Polyshares	Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts	Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days	Licenses are exclusive by default.
Pewter	Operating records for the industries on its list	No fee to the owner, it says	Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays.

In each buyer's own published words. Terms change, so confirm them in writing before you sign.

06 / Timing

If you are selling or winding down

A data license can sit alongside a sale or a wind-down. If you are selling the business, agree with the acquirer who keeps the right to license the archive. If you are closing down, keep the workspace and inboxes alive until a buyer has seen them. A closed company is not out of options: SimpleClosure reports more than 150 completed sales of shut-down startups' archives.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Is counter sales data useful?

Yes. Substitutions and cross-references are expert product knowledge that is hard to find anywhere else.

Is a 50-person distributor big enough?

9 of the 9 buyers in our size check take a distributor that size, going by their own published rules. Below 20 people your options narrow to the buyers with no stated minimum.

Do we lose our records if we license them?

No. A license gives the buyer a copy for agreed uses and your originals stay put. Read the term and deletion clauses closely: micro1's master terms describe a perpetual license, and Ventra warns it may be unable to erase data after delivery.

Find the buyers that fit your company

Answer a few questions about your size, tools and history. We show which buyers want a company like yours. Free, no files.

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Sources

Every number on this page links back to one of these.

Spot something wrong? See our corrections policy. Some buyers pay us a referral fee. How we make money.