Two students, Nick and Lee, were studying for an upcoming exam in their introduction marketing course. While studying the chapter on marketing channels and wholesalers, Nick made the following statement: $$If it weren$$t for wholesalers and other intermediaries in the channel of distribution, the products we buy would cost a lot less!$$ After contemplating Nick$$s statement, Lee said, $$Wait a minute. We learned in class that channel intermediaries actually make marketing more efficient by minimizing the number of transactions necessary to sell products.$$ Lee$$s statement refers to:

Question $2$Select one:

a$.$

value created by channel intermediaries.

b$.$

channel intermediary development.

c$.$

price inflation by channel intermediaries.

d$.$

channel intermediary promotional efforts.

e$.$

an inaccurate statement by Lee; Nick was correct.