Ending a distribution agreement cleanly is an execution job, not a negotiation replay: almost everything that matters was written at signing, and the exit simply runs it. Work in three phases — before notice, during the notice period, and after the end date — covering stock, the warranty tail on units already installed, brand materials, and customer and installer records. Read your own agreement for every answer below; where it is silent, that silence is a question for your counsel, not an assumption to act on.
Key Takeaways
- An exit executes the agreement you signed — read the six clauses before serving notice.
- During notice, close stock, open orders, the installed-base register and the warranty tail with signed evidence.
- Gaps in the agreement are counsel questions, settled before notice, not assumptions acted on after.
- Keep your unit register for the whole warranty tail, and debrief the clauses into your next agreement.
Before Notice: Read What You Signed
Locate these clauses first, and note every gap:
- Notice. The period, the form it must take, and the address it goes to — a notice sent wrongly can fail to start the clock.
- Stock. Whether a buy-back or returns clause exists at all, which stock it covers, and in what condition and timeframe.
- Sell-off rights. Whether you may keep selling held stock after the end date, and for how long.
- The warranty tail. Who answers claims on units already sold and installed, and for how long — the duties our warranty and after-sales checklist itemises.
- Brand materials. Signage, listings, marketplace stores, demo units and printed stock — what is returned, removed or retired, and by when.
- Records. What happens to the unit register, installer list and customer records — who keeps which copy.
Take the gap list to counsel before notice is served: a silent buy-back clause is negotiable only while the relationship still has a future.
During Notice: The Working Checklist
| Item | What happens | Evidence it is done |
|---|---|---|
| Stock position | A final count agreed with the manufacturer; buy-back, return or sell-off runs exactly as the clause reads | A signed stock statement both sides hold |
| Open orders | Units in production or in transit are allocated per the agreement | An order-by-order disposition list, agreed in writing |
| Installed base | The unit register — serials, sites, installing partners — is handed over complete | The register itself, acknowledged as received |
| Warranty tail | Claims on sold units route to whoever the tail clause names, from the end date | A written routing note your installers and customers can act on |
| Installer notification | Partners are told who supplies and supports them next, in an agreed sequence | The notification itself, sent on the agreed date |
| Brand materials | Listings, signage and demo units are removed, returned or retired per the clause | A materials checklist signed off line by line |
After the End Date
Close the accounting: final invoices, credit notes and any buy-back settlement reconciled against the signed stock statement. Keep your copy of the unit register for as long as the warranty tail can still reach you — the tail period is whatever your agreement states. Then run the honest debrief: which clauses served you, which silences cost you, and what the next agreement must write down at signing. That debrief is the cheapest contract advice you will get, written from your own records — the same reasoning behind weighing private label against reselling a branded charger before the next commitment.
If the Next Step Is a New Supplier
Sequence it after the exit, not across it: representation that overlaps against the old agreement’s terms creates the exact dispute a clean exit exists to avoid. When you are ready, EVDANCE’s reseller and distributor program is the route in — bring the lessons list, browse the product range, and raise the exit clauses at the start of the negotiation, not the end. Questions run through contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the manufacturer be required to take back unsold stock?
Only if your agreement’s buy-back clause says so, on the terms it states. If the agreement is silent, stock on hand at exit is yours to sell off or hold — which is why the clause belongs in the signing conversation.
Who handles warranty claims after we exit?
Whoever the agreement’s tail clause names. The manufacturer’s warranty stands behind the product — EVDANCE’s is a 3-year standard term — but the claim route after an exit, and who fronts it locally, is decided by that clause, so hand the routing note to your installers before the end date.
How much notice do we have to give?
Whatever your agreement states, in the form it states. There is no standard period to quote; a notice missing the contractual form or address may not start the period at all.
Related Reading
- EV Charger Warranty and After-Sales Terms: A Distributor’s Checklist
- Private Label vs Reselling a Branded EV Charger: Pros and Cons
- How Distributors Can Build a Profitable EV Charger Product Line
- How to Find EV Charger Distributors and Installers to Sell To
