Discussion: Distribution Channels
There are quite a number of marketing and distribution channels that cut across all the products in the market. Some of these channels of distribution include direct sales, sales using intermediaries, personal selling using a team of sales representatives, to mention a few. This paper aims to highlight these various distribution channels and the effect that they have on the value chain. This paper will also apply a distribution channel that I used in the purchase of my laptop.
One of the products that I recently purchased was a laptop from Apple. The channel that was used in the distribution and marketing of this product was the indirect channel, which employed the use of intermediaries (dealers). The product was marketed and delivered to me by some middlemen, who sourced it directly from the manufacturer before marketing and selling it to me. These intermediaries were authorized dealers by Apple company. The dealers affect the value chain of the product in such a way that they help in matching demand with supply (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2013). Since the dealers are given the mandate to market the offerings of the firm, they have a direct communication channel with the firm. As a result, they are better placed to advise the firm on the quantity to supply and by when. This kind of communication between the dealers and the suppliers helps in ensuring that the market demand is met, hence minimizing chances of shortages or overstocking.
However, there were also various other channels that would have been utilized. One of these is direct sales. Here is whereby a client purchases or rather sources the product directly from the manufacturer. In this regard, there are no intermediaries or middlemen. The client gets a straight link to the people in the “kitchen.” This channel of marketing and distribution helps the manufacturer in getting feedback from the client without the possibility of distortion of the same by the intermediaries. The manufacturers affect the value chain by responding to the clients’ feedback and acting on their requests. This ensures that the specific needs and requirements of the clients are met and addressed.
Apart from dealers and direct sales, the other channel of marketing and distribution that could have been used is through the use of a sales team. In this case, the firm may deploy a team of its employees to market and sell the product. The team may comprise of people from the various functions of the organization to include the technical function. In addition, the firm may also have some external parties hired as sales representatives to help in the marketing and selling of its offerings. Such kind of employees usually work on commission-based terms. The value that the salespersons, in general, may add to the value chain is that of increasing the sales volume (Oliveira, Gimeno, & O’Reilly for Higher Education (Firm), 2014). Besides that, the other value that the dealers or direct seller can add to the value chain is ensuring that the offering has a wide coverage.