FYI: Disintermediate

[Ruth Lundquist <rlundquist -at- prosarcorp -dot- com>]

Donning my MBA-student hat to provide far more information than you ever 
wanted:

While I don't know the context in which the original poster heard this word 
used, I can assure you that "disintermediate" is indeed a word appropriate 
to the business lexicon.

Disintermediate has to do with distribution channels: each level of 
business involved in getting a product to the consumer is an interemediary. 
For example, Kraft (manufacturer), Sysco (distributor), and Safeway 
(retailer) represent 3 intermediaries. In the last couple of decades, large 
retailers have banded together to purchase directly from the manufacturer. 
This process was known as disintermediation: they cut out one of the 
intermediaries--in this way, they were able to disintermediate some 
distributors. In fact, many online companies are hoping to disintermediate 
existing channels (think about online travel booking vs the travel agent).

I wasn't able to find this word in my favorite online dictionary, but it is 
in my textbook (Kotler), which, incidentally, is the textbook of choice in 
80% of US MBA marketing classes. (http://www.kotlermarketing.com/)

Ruth

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