Intermediary

An intermediary is a third party that acts as a ‘go-between’ between two or more trading parties and as a conduit for goods or services in the supply chain. As an example, travel agents are intermediaries in the travel industry, providing value for customers by consolidating demand and creating a ‘one-stop shop’ and also by providing an additional sales channel for travel providers. Many supply chains have been subject to ‘disintermediation’, or ‘cutting out the middleman’, as distributors, agents and importers have been reduced in number and buyers now deal with fewer intermediaries. See also Supply Chain.