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Distribution Channels
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Distribution Channels

Understanding & managing channels to market

Julian Dent
Kogan Page, 2011
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

If your company sells a product to consumers or other businesses, you’ll appreciate this inside view of the channels of distribution. Logistics expert Julian Dent covers the factors that matter most to retailers and wholesalers and explains how suppliers should structure their commercial propositions to appeal to distributors. This is not a casual or breezy read, but an in-depth examination of the ways goods move to market. Dent offers a guide to how distributors operate and lists the major financial indicators they use to track their performance. getAbstract recommends this thorough, instructive manual to distribution professionals and to marketing and sales executives who seek an advanced education about how their products reach their customers.

Summary

Getting to Market – But How?

The way your firm handles distribution is crucial. Your distribution channels can dictate your profitability since approximately 50% of any product’s price represents the costs of moving it to the customer. Clearing a path to market through the right conduits can mean the difference between your company’s success or failure. Many firms don’t know enough about the numerous, complex distribution channels they can choose among to get their product to their customers in the fastest, easiest and most profitable way.

Some companies are masters of distribution. Take, for example, Coca-Cola: During the 1990s, the beverage giant’s executives set the goal of making sure that everyone on the planet could have easy access to a Coke. Today, almost everywhere, almost anytime, you’re likely to find the now-ubiquitous softdrink. Retailers willingly partner with Coca-Cola – instead of Pepsi – to supply them during busy holidays. Why? Coke can quickly restock stores’ inventories – often several times a day, if needed, because of Coke’s “local bottler-based logistics.”

To find the right channels for your products, understand these “distribution systems...

About the Author

Julian Dent heads VIA International, a consultancy that helps corporations and franchisers manage their distribution channels.

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