For most wholesale distributors, the marketing budget is one of the tightest line items on the P&L. Every dollar spent has to work hard — stretch further, generate more leads, support more branches. What if a meaningful portion of that budget was already covered by your manufacturers, and you simply weren't claiming it?
That's the reality of co-op marketing funds in 2026. Most wholesale distributors qualify for tens of thousands of dollars in manufacturer co-op every year. Most never claim it, and the funds quietly expire and go back to the manufacturer. At A&B Consulting Group, we help distributors across the construction supply chain recover the co-op funds they're entitled to — turning a tight marketing budget into one that goes significantly further, without spending an extra dollar.
Understand What Co-Op Marketing Actually Is
Cooperative advertising — usually just called co-op — is money manufacturers set aside to help distributors promote their products. It's a standard industry practice across nearly every category in the construction supply chain: building products, roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, tools, and adhesives, among others.
The mechanism is straightforward. A percentage of your annual purchase volume from each manufacturer accrues as co-op funds throughout the year. When you run marketing that features their products and meets their program requirements, you submit proof of the activity and get reimbursed — typically as a credit toward your next order. Reimbursement rates usually fall between 50% and 75%, depending on the manufacturer.
The funds are yours either way. The only real question is whether you claim them before they expire at the end of the program year.