1) Marketing channels exist to perform needed functions like distribution at lower cost than if a customer or manufacturer acted alone. 2) When designing distribution channels, key objectives include increasing product availability, satisfying customer service needs, ensuring promotional support, obtaining market information, maintaining cost-effectiveness and flexibility. 3) Common institutions in marketing channels include merchant wholesalers, agents, retailers and non-store retailers. The best alternative depends on the priorities around these objectives and a company's competitive strategy.

1. CHANNEL DECISION AND
ALTERNATIVES

2. CHANNEL- A CONCEPT
2
 A Marketing channel is a set of
organizations involved in the process
of making product or services available
for use or consumption.

3. Definitions
-
-PHILIP
KOTLER

4. Why Do Marketing Channels Exist?
 Middlemen often perform the needed functions
at a lower cost than either the customer or the
manufacturer could by themselves.
 The first step in designing a distribution
channel for a given product is to determine
what objectives the channel must accomplish
and their relative importance.

5. Designing Distribution Channels: What are the
Objectives to be Accomplished?
 Objectives of distribution channels:
 Increase the availability of the good or service to
potential customers.
 Satisfy customer requirements by providing high
levels of service.
 Ensure promotional effort.
 Obtain timely and detailed market information.
 Increase cost- effectiveness.
 Maintain flexibility.

6. Designing Distribution Channels: What are the
Objectives to be Accomplished?
 Product availability
 The most important objective for a channel.
 For industrial goods, two aspects of availability
must be considered.
 Attain the desired level of coverage in terms of
appropriate retail outlets.
 The item’s positioning within the store

7. Designing Distribution Channels: What are the
Objectives to be Accomplished?
 Meeting customers’ service requirements
 Crucialobjective for analyzer and defender
businesses attempting to differentiate themselves
on service dimensions.
 Some the service requirements include:
 Order cycle time
 Dependability
 Communication between buyer and seller
 Convenience
 Postsale services

8. Designing Distribution Channels: What are the
Objectives to be Accomplished?
 Promotional effort
 Obtain
promotional support from channel
members for the firm’s product.
 Market information
 Middlemen are often relied on for fast and
accurate feedback.
 A high level of channel feedback is particularly
important for firms in highly competitive
industries.
 Feedback is crucial for prospectors.

9. Designing Distribution Channels: What are the
Objectives to be Accomplished?
 Cost-effectiveness
 Important to businesses pursuing low-cost
analyzer or defender strategies.
 Flexibility
 Firms pursuing prospector strategies in new or
rapidly growing or technically turbulent product
categories, consider this important.
 A flexible channel is one where it is relatively easy
to switch channel structures or add new types of
middlemen.

10. Institutions Found in Marketing Channels

11. Designing Distribution Channels: What
Kinds of Institutions Might Be Included?
 Merchant Wholesalers
 Some types of merchant wholesalers engage in a
full range of wholesaling functions while others
specialize in only limited services.
 Both buy goods from various suppliers and then
resell those goods to their commercial
customers, either industrial buyers or other
resellers such as a retailer.

12. Designing Distribution Channels: What
Kinds of Institutions Might Be Included?
 Agent middlemen do not take title to, or
physical possession of, the goods they deal in.
 Manufacturer’s agents or manufacturer’s reps
 Salesagents
 Brokers
 E-Hubs

13. Designing Distribution Channels: What
Kinds of Institutions Might Be Included?
 Retailers
 Sellgoods and services directly to final
consumers for their personal, nonbusiness use.
 One classification scheme groups stores
according to their method of operation:
 Low margin/high turnover
 High margin/low turnover

14. Designing Distribution Channels: What
Kinds of Institutions Might Be Included?
 Nonstore Retailing
 Includes direct selling, mail-order catalogs, TV
shopping, vending machines, and Web sites.
 Auction sites facilitate retail start-ups.

15. Marketing Channels for Industrial Goods and
Services
Manufacturer Manufacturer Manufacturer Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Representativ
Sales Branch
e
Industrial
Distributors
Industrial Industrial Industrial Industrial
customer customer customer customer
Zero level Single Two level Three

16. Which Alternative Is Best?
 There are trade-offs among the various
objectives a company might try to accomplish
with its distribution channel.
 The decision depends on:
 Which distribution objectives are considered most
important,
 Which is influenced by the business’s competitive
strategy and the other components of the
marketing program.

17. Which Alternative Is Best?
 Number of intermediaries - Three basic
strategies are available:
 Intensive Distribution
 Exclusive Distribution
 Selective Distribution

18. Which Alternative Is Best?
 Promotional effort, market information, and
post sale service objectives
 Economic criteria
 The theory of transaction cost analysis (TCA)
argues that when substantial transaction-specific
assets are involved, the costs of using and
administering independent channel members are
likely to be higher than the costs of managing a
company sales force and/or distribution centers.

19. Which Alternative Is Best?
 Cost-effectiveness
 Minimizing physical distribution costs subject to
the constraint of achieving some target level of
product availability and customer service.
 Make-or-buy decisions
 Supply chain management

20. Transaction Cost Analysis
(TCA)
High
Sales Force
Value –
added
partners
Value-add of sale
Distributors
Retail stores
Telemarketin
g
Internet
Low
Low High
Cost per transaction

21. Which Alternative Is Best?
 Channel integration and system:-
 Vertical marketing system
 It comprises producer, wholesaler and retailer acting
as a unified system.
 It achieve economies through size, bargaining power
and elimination of duplicate service.
 Horizontal marketing system
 Two or more unrelated companies put together
resources or program to exploit an emerging
marketing opportunity.

22. Which Alternative Is Best?
 Flexibility
 Generally, vertically integrated systems are
difficult to alter quickly.
 Channels involving independent middlemen are
often more flexible.

23. Which Alternative Is Best?
 Multichannel distribution
 Companies are increasingly using multiple
channels.
 Some use dual distribution systems.
 Hybrid system is a variation.
 Multichannel systems employ separate channels
to reach different target segments.
 Members of a hybrid system perform
complementary functions for the same customer
segment.

24. Example of a Hybrid Marketing Channel

25. Channel Design for Global Markets
 Market entry strategies
 Exporting is simple because it involves the least
commitment and risk.
 Contractual entry modes are non equity
arrangements that involve the transfer of
technology and/or skills to an entity in a foreign
country.
 Overseas direct investment can be implemented
in two ways—through joint ventures or sole
ownership.

26. Channel Design for Global Markets
 Contractual entry modes:
 Licensing
 Franchising
 Includecontract manufacturing
 Turnkey construction contract
 Coproduction
 Countertrade

27. Channel Design for Global Markets
 Channel alternatives
 The use of domestic middlemen who provide
marketing services from a domestic base.
 The use of foreign middlemen.

28. Conclusion
 The primary responsibility for channel success
lie with the manufacturer. Thus, manufacturers
must recognize those functions that cannot be
delegated to middlemen and perform them at a
level at least equivalent to that expected from
the other channel members.