CDH

What CDH does

CDH (Centralvereinigung Deutscher Wirtschaftsverbände für Handelsvermittlung und Vertrieb e.V.) is a registered non-profit German trade association (e.V.) headquartered in Berlin that has served as the country's leading umbrella body for self-employed B2B sales firms (Handelsvertreter) since 1904. It represents approximately 40,000 member companies covering all German industry sectors and is registered in the Bundestag Lobby Register (number R001888). CDH's functional remit is divided between political advocacy (shaping German commercial agency law and Bundespolitik) and member services (legal consultation on sales law, Prozesskostenfinanzierung / litigation funding, Vertretungsvermittlung / representation brokerage, market statistics, and a Sonderkonditionen portfolio of negotiated partner discounts).

The organisation operates a federated structure of eight regional Landesverbände and multiple Fachverbände (industry-specific divisions), and runs a small wholly-owned subsidiary, CDH-Wirtschaftsdienst GmbH (managed by Jens Wolff), which sells working papers, contracts, and professional documents. The technology stack is a bundle of digital member services rather than a unified SaaS product: a member portal at cdh.de, the handelsvertreter.de directory and matching marketplace (Germany's leading commercial agent directory), the ASKMI-based virtual 3D showroom, the CDH Infothek knowledge library (fact sheets, legal/tax resources, webinar recordings), and the CDH Shortcast monthly legal-ruling podcast. No public API, SDK, or developer-facing integrations are documented.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through annual membership dues (consultation-based pricing, individually negotiated) plus the subsidiary's document sales and member-only partner discount programs (e.g., Eshop Guide B2B shop solutions up to 50% off, Bitdefender cybersecurity, mobility, insurance, communications, and e-invoicing). CDH is member-owned and has no external investors or parent company; the association is led by President Dirk P. Goeldner.

Name

CDH

Legal name

Centralvereinigung Deutscher Wirtschaftsverbände für Handelsvermittlung und Vertrieb (CDH) e.V.

Website

https://cdh.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CDH is Germany's leading trade association for self-employed commercial agents and B2B sales firms, representing ~40,000 member companies since 1904 from its Berlin headquarters and providing lobbying, legal consultation, representation brokerage, and digital member services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: CDH generates revenue primarily through membership fees from approximately 40,000 commercial agency companies across Germany. Members pay dues in exchange for lobbying representation, legal advice, process cost financing, representation brokerage, and group purchasing benefits.
2. Special Conditions/Services: Revenue from negotiated special conditions and discounted services for members including mobility, insurance, software, marketing tools, hardware, and communication services.
3. CDH-Wirtschaftsdienst GmbH Sales: Sales of working papers, contracts, and business documents through the subsidiary CDH-Wirtschaftsdienst GmbH.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CDH is Germany's leading trade association for self-employed commercial agents and B2B sales companies. It provides members with lobbying representation, legal consultation on sales law, process cost financing, representation brokerage connecting manufacturers with sales agents, group purchasing discounts on mobility, insurance, software, and other business services, plus digital platforms such as the handelsvertreter.de directory and ASKMI virtual showroom.

Product overview

CDH (Centralvereinigung Deutscher Wirtschaftsverbände für Handelsvermittlung und Vertrieb) is a professional trade association (e.V.) representing approximately 40,000 independent commercial agencies (Handelsvertreter) operating in B2B distribution across all industries in Germany. CDH is not a software product company but a membership organization offering a bundle of services including legal consultation, representation, networking, statistics, and a digital member portal. Its core digital offerings include the ASKMI digital sales room platform, the handelsvertreter.de public agent directory and matching platform, the CDH Infothek knowledge library (with fact sheets, legal/tax resources, and webinars), and the CDH Shortcast legal rulings series. Members also access a suite of Sonderkonditionen (special-condition partner discounts) covering e-commerce tools (Eshop Guide B2B online shop), cybersecurity (Bitdefender), mobility, insurance, and more. A subsidiary, CDH-Wirtschaftsdienst GmbH, operates a shop selling professional documents. The association's services are provided primarily to members through the cdh.de portal and the members-only area, with public-facing content on handelsvertreter.de.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• handelsvertreter.de: Germany's leading commercial agent directory and matching platform operated by CDH
• ASKMI – Der digitale Verkaufsraum
• CDH Legal
• CDH Shortcast – Urteil des Monats

Quantifiable outcome

• Represents nearly 40,000 commercial agency companies across all B2B sectors in Germany
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Gemeinschaftsausschuss der Deutschen Gewerblichen WirtschaftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2026Joint committee of German commercial industry associations. CDH is a member and participates in joint studies and policy positions, including the Wachstumsgrundlagen study presented in June 2026.
• Eshop Guide GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationEshop Guide GmbH is a long-standing e-commerce expert partner that developed B2B online shop solutions specifically for CDH members. CDH members receive up to 50% discount on online shop implementation services, enabling them to establish digital sales channels.
• Bitdefender GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationBitdefender is a global cybersecurity solutions provider and CDH cooperation partner. Offers CDH members special pricing on cybersecurity solutions including threat detection, endpoint security, and digital identity protection for businesses.
• IUCAB (International Union of Commercial Agents and Brokers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIUCAB is the international umbrella organization for commercial agents and brokers. CDH represents German interests in this global network and participates in international conferences and initiatives for commercial agency professionals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bundesverband Großhandel, Außenhandel, Dienstleistungen (BGA): German federal association for wholesale, foreign trade, and services. Comparable in its role as a multi-segment trade association providing advocacy, member services, and policy engagement for intermediaries in distribution.
• Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE): Germany's leading retail trade association. Operates broadly across trade and services with lobbying, member benefits, and statistics, overlapping with CDH's advocacy and member-service model but covering retail rather than commercial agency.
• Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI): Germany's principal industry federation. While much larger and broader than CDH, BDI is the dominant German trade association benchmark for lobbying reach, policy influence, and member-benefit infrastructure.
• Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (DIHK): Umbrella of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce. Comparable as a statutory German business-intermediary body providing member services, advocacy, and infrastructure across all sectors.
• Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH): German confederation of skilled trades. Operates a comparable umbrella structure of regional and specialized sub-associations and provides legal consultation, lobbying, and member services to self-employed professionals.

Direct peers

• Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland (BDD): German trade association for direct selling and independent sales representatives. Highly comparable to CDH in serving self-employed B2B/D2C sales professionals, with overlapping advocacy and member-benefit functions.
• IUCAB (International Union of Commercial Agents and Brokers): International umbrella federation for commercial agents and brokers, of which CDH is the German member. Operates as a membership-based trade body focused on cross-border commercial agency advocacy, the closest functional peer to CDH.

Emerging players

• Bitkom: Germany's leading digital industry association. An adjacent trade body whose digital transformation agenda and member-benefit catalog increasingly overlap with CDH's digitalization and platform initiatives (ASKMI, handelsvertreter.de).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CDHBERLIN
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CDHberlin/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/CDHBERLIN
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cdh--centralvereinigung-deutscher-wirtschaftsverb-nde-f-r-handelsvermittlung-und-vertrieb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CDH