The Manager's Guide to Distribution Channels
By Linda Gorchels, Edward Marien and Chuck West
Published By: McGraw Hill
225 Pages, Hardcover
- · Dell Computer revolutionizes the computer industry by selling direct to end users, then successfully expands its distribution strategy to meet changing consumer demands
- · Avon goes beyond its legendary in-home sales channel, launching boutiques in established department stores to reach a younger, working market
- · Huffy relies on costly focus group results to launch a new bicycle line, yet overlooks one small but vital distribution detail – leading to what its CEO terms “a $5 million mistake”
In each case, a leading corporation made or attempted to make distribution channel decisions to better serve its end-customers and strengthen its long-term competitive position. Yet, as the market would prove, reliance on weak channel knowledge and market insight can derail even the most ambitious plans.
The Manager’s Guide to Distribution Channels is your bottom-line guide to ensuring that your firm successfully tailors its channel strategy and management to the realities of the channel and needs of the marketplace. A step-by-step handbook to formulating your channel structure, strategy, and relationship management so that it is both market-driven and results-oriented, this easy-to-implement manual is divided into three equally valuable sections:
· PART I provides an executive overview distribution channel issues, and the myriad decisions necessary to improve the flow of product from raw material to end user
· PART II defines channel and coverage requirements, while dealing with domestic and foreign channel design issues and selecting profitable channel partners
· PART III covers strategies for increasing distributor sales and strengthening channel relationships, from establishing mutual performance expectations to monitoring channel performance, and adjusting plans when necessary
Channel management is much more than simply the shipping and receiving of goods. It is the lifeblood of your business, and the key to its short-and long-term success. The Manager’s Guide to Distribution Channels tells you everything you need to know to maximize the operational effectiveness and profitability of your marketing channels and distribution prograsms. It helps you manager your distribution relationships both individually and as a whole, and transforms your channel management program from an operational chore into a strategic competitive advantage.