In correctly functioning free markets, those who can most efficiently handle a good at a given stage will tend to own it at that stage. No single person can be the expert in every relevant part of the production. The distribution of knowledge and responsibility allows for specialisation. When a product is more valuable in somebody else’s hands, a profit-seeking business will hand it off. Middlemen continue to exist because they are the most efficient owners of their phase of the operation. They increase the overall efficiency, and their necessity depends on the context.