What is the process in the gun business? how many middle men are between the manufacturer and local gun shop?

I am wanting to get a federal firearms license and am not sure of the chain of command so to speek. I want to order my firearms excluding as many middle men as possible therfore getting the lowest prices on the guns I purchase for my gun shop. If I had to guess right now I would say I will have to buy from a distributer and the distributer gets the guns right from the factory but i am not sure.

I got an FFL several years ago with the same idea in mind. I called and talked to the chief executive officer of Remington Arms Corp.He talked to me like I was his best friend and said he'd send out the best price list he had blah, blah,blah. When I got all the advertisements and everything else I looked through the prices.After I included the shipping costs I could go to the local WalMart and get the same gun for just couple of bucks more.It's not the middle man but volume buying.The manufacturers give the big chain stores huge discounts for bulk purchases.So WalMart ,for example,orders 600 model 700 BDL 30-06's.They go to there warehouse and then are distributed around the country.Get the picture?If your going to open a shop make sure gun's are only a side line.Have a specialty that keeps people coming back,especially during the off season.