Disintermediation

This describes the process of elimination of a layer of intermediaries from a marketing channel or the displacement of traditional resellers by radically new types of intermediaries. Complete disintermediation tends to be the exception because intermediaries can often handle channel functions more efficiently than producers can handle them. Much of the initial hype surrounding Internet focused on disintermediation, but this did not happen. Many traditional intermediaries have been replaced with Internet equivalents, which are more efficient than traditional ones.