Also known as the land of Lincoln, Illinois is the state that houses one of the biggest cities in the United States – Chicago. Illinois is a state that caught on the fire of industrialization fast. It has been a trailblazer in that aspect. Its level of development is quite outstanding and fascinating at the same time.

Agriculture used to be the mainstay. However, with modernization and the development of technology, other economic aspects came to play. Services, manufacturing, and finance are the leading economic activities in Illinois, each contributing 15 times as much to the total income generated in the state as does agriculture. Nevertheless, agriculture is still a major economic activity, and Illinois usually ranks as one of the five most productive farming states in the nation.

The state of Illinois has a population of 12.73 million residents. For retailers and retail distributors, this is a big market. This is the type of market where supply can always be made and demand would never really run out. Especially, when it comes to essential consumer products, there is always an overwhelming demand that the players in the supply chain have to meet.

Just like every other American state, there are essentials that are needed daily by Americans. Food, shelter, toiletries, clothes, electronic gadgets, transportation, and a whole lot of essentials are needed by the average human being for existence in the 21^stcentury world.

The retail trade is one that connects directly to the consumers. It is the trade that lays emphasis on how to get the consumer to get the product from a particular retailer and to establish a relationship with that retailer. However, a retailer, most times, does not get the goods directly from the manufacturers or get the goods produced herself. There is the existence of the retail distributor in the supply chain.

Retail distributors are essential links in the supply chain. When manufacturers produce their products, they need distribution for the product. There are several situations where the manufacturer does the distribution to retailers. This is direct store delivery. However, not all manufacturers have the capacity to do their own distribution to retail outlets. For instance, a new brand still seeking market recognition does not have a name in the market and will need to be significantly promoted and pushed. A retail distributor can do a better job of getting the product to several hundred or even thousands of stores.

With about 20% of the working population in the state of Illinois into retail and wholesale trade, there is an impressive amount working in the supply chain. However, there is more to the supply chain than the number involved. There are general goods everyone is interested in but there are specialized products like adult goods, sports goods, smoking goods, and some others.

There are established retail distributors in the state of Illinois. Windy City Distributing is one. The distributor carries out supplies of craft beer and artisan imports to several retailers throughout the state.