The services of wholesalers to manufacturer are:
(i) Economies in large scale:
A wholesaler buys goods in bulk and, thereby, enables the producers to produce goods on a large scale. Large-scale production helps to reduce the cost of production per unit.
(ii) Assistance in distribution:
Wholesalers collect orders from a large number of retailers scattered over a wide area and buy goods in bulk from producers. He
enables producers to reach customers scattered over different parts of the country by distributing goods through retailers located in different areas. Therefore producer can concentrate only on production.
(iii) Warehousing facility:
A wholesaler holds large stock of goods in his private warehouse or in a rented warehouse. In this way he relieves the manufacturer from the function of warehousing.
(iv) Forecasting of demand:
A wholesaler collects information from retailers about the nature and extent of demand and passes it onto the producers and enables them to produce goods according to the needs, tastes and fashions prevailing in the market.
(v) Publicity of goods:
Often wholesalers launch advertising campaign to boost the demand for the goods. Producers get the benefit of such publicity and thus enabled to spend less on advertising.
(vi) Financial assistance:
A wholesaler often makes advance payments to producers. He buys the goods as soon as they are produced. Producers need not lock up their capital in maintaining huge stock of goods.
(viii) Risk-bearer:
A wholesaler provides a ready market to producers by placing advance orders and relieves the manufacturer from the risk of loss due to fluctuation in demand and storage of goods. He also reduces the risk by matching seasonal demand.

Merchant wholesalers:
Merchant wholesalers are wholesalers who take title to the goods. They are also sometimes referred to as distributors, dealers, and jobbers. This category includes both full-service wholesalers and limited-service wholesalers. Full-service wholesalers perform a broad range of services for their customers, such as stocking inventories, operating warehouses, supplying credit to buyers, employing salespeople to assist customers, and delivering goods to customers.
(i) Limited- Service wholesalers offer fewer services to their customers but lower prices. They might n it offer delivery services, extend their customers credit, or have sales forces that actively call sellers. Small retailers often buy from cash-and-carry wholesalers to keep their prices as low as big retailers that get large discounts because of the huge volumes of goods they buy.
(ii) Drop shippers are another type of limited-service wholesaler. Although drop shippers take title to the goods, they don't actually take possession of them or handle them. They deal with goods that are large or bulky. Instead, they earn a commission by finding sellers and passing their orders over to the producers, who then ship them directly to the sellers. Mail-order wholesalers sell their products using catalogs instead of sales forces and then ship the products over to buyers.
(iii) Truck jobbers (or truck wholesalers) actually store products, which are often highly perishable (eg. fresh fish), on their trucks. The trucks make the rounds to customers, who inspect and select the products they want straight off the trucks.
(iv) Rack jobbers sell specialty products, such as books, hosiery, and magazines that they display on their own racks in stores. Rack jobbers retain the title to the goods while the merchandise remains physically in the stores for sale. Periodically, they take count of what's been sold off their racks 'and then bill the stores for those items.

Indirect channel or distribution through middlemen are:
(i) Contract Distributors or Contract Logistics:
The large-scale producer outsources the warehousing, transporting, and distribution functions to a third party on contract. The contractor may process orders, collect payments and carry out customer service also. 
(ii) Manufacturer-Value Added Reseller (VAR)or Distributor-Customers:
The VARs receive the products from the manufacturers, incorporate them as if their own products by adding value-enhanced service, and sell them to customers.VARs provide highly skilled technical support so that the customer can have world-class satisfaction.
(iii) Manufacturer-Channel partner-Consumers:
An agreement is entered in between the producer and channel partner. The producer trains the technicians of the partner and provides certification that quality product and service is assured from the partner.
(iv) Manufacturer-franchisor-Consumers:
Producers adopt this channel to distribute goods or services in the home country and foreign countries.
(v) Manufacturer-Retailer-Consumer:
The producer appoints a network of retailers. The storage, warehousing, transport and distribution functions are undertaken by the producer himself.
(vi) Manufacturer-Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer:
The manufacturer engages wholesalers to purchase products from them as soon as the production is over. The storage, warehousing, transport and distribution functions are carried out by the wholesalers.
(vii) Producers-Agent-Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer:
In addition to the above channels of distribution, the middlemen, agents play the role of producers and wholesalers. They gather the agricultural produces or fishes from boats operators.
(viii) Manufacturer-Authorised Dealers-Consumers:
To retain control over the relationship with consumers, the manufacturer appoints authorized dealers. They receive all the goods produced by the manufacturer and sells them ill smaller quantities to retailers.

The VARs receive the products from the manufacturers, incorporate them as if their own products by adding value enhanced service and sell them to customers. VARs provide highly skilled technical support so that the customer can have world class satisfaction. Microsoft India has appointed Avnet and Redington as VARs in India. A solar panel producer may. have builders as VARs and the builders offer solar panel as additional facility to the buyers of flats, etc