Market channel
It consists of individuals and firms involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by consumers or industrial users.
Direct channel
A producer and ultimate consumers deal directly with each other. Eg. Channel A--There are no intermediaries with a ___ ___, the producer must perform all channel functions.
Indirect channel
Intermediaries are inserted between the producer and consumers and perform numerous channel functions. Channel B, C, and D.
Business channels
They are typically shorter and rely on one intermediary or none at all because ____ users are fewer in number, tend to be more concentrated geographically and buy in larger quantities.
Industrial distributor
They perform a variety of marketing channel functions, including selling, stocking, delivering a full product assortment, and financing. They are like wholesalers in consumer channels.
Electronic marketing channels
It employs the Internet to make goods and services available for consumption or use by consumers or business buyers.
Direct marketing channels
It allows consumers to buy products by interacting with various advertising media without a face-to-face meeting with a salesperson. Eg. catalog sales, telemarketing, etc.
Multichannel marketing
It involves the blending of different communication and delivery channels that are mutually reinforcing in attracting, retaining, and building relationships with consumers who shop and buy in traditional intermediaries and online. It seeks to integrate a
Dual distribution
An arrangement whereby a firm reaches different buyers by employing two or more different types of channels for the same basic product. This is done to minimize cannibalization of the firm's family brand and differentiate the channels.
Merchant wholesalers
They are independently owned firms that take title to the merchandise they handle. They go by various names.
General merchandise (or full-line) wholesalers
They carry a broad assortment of merchandise and perform all channel functions. Most prevalent in the hardware, drug and clothing industries. Don't maintain much depth of assortment within specific product lines.
Specialty merchandise (or limited-line) wholesalers
They offer a relatively narrow range of products but have an extensive assortment within the product lines carried. They perform all channel functions and are found in the health foods, automotive parts, and seafood industries.
Rack jobbers
They furnish the racks or shelves that display merchandise in retail stores, perform all channel functions, and sell on consignment to retailers (they retain the title to the products displayed and bill retailers only for the merchandise sold). Eg. toys,
Cash and carry wholesalers
They take title to merchandise but sell only to buyers who call on them, pay cash for merchandise, and furnish their own transportation for merchandise.They carry a limited product assortment and do not make deliveries, extend credit, or supply market inf
Drop shippers or desk jobbers
They are wholesalers that own the merchandise they sell but do not physically handle, stock, or deliver it. They solicit orders from retailers and other wholesalers and have the merchandise shipped directly from a producer to a buyer. Eg. bulky items such
Truck jobbers
They are small wholesalers that have a small warehouse from which they stock their trucks for distribution to retailers. They usually handle limited assortments of fast-moving or perishable items that are sold for cash directly from trucks in their origin
Manufacturer's agents
They work for several producers and carry noncompetitive, complementary merchandise in an exclusive territory. Eg. automotive supply, footwear, and fabricated steel industries
Selling agents
They represent a single producer and are responsible for the entire marketing function of that producer. They design promotional plans, set prices, determine distribution polices and make recommendations on product strategy. Eg. Used by small producers in
Brokers
They are independent firms or individuals whose principal function is to bring buyers and sellers together to make sales. They usually have no continuous relationship with the buyer or seller but negotiate a contract between 2 parties and then move on to
Manufacturer's branch office
It carries a producer's inventory and performs the functions of a full-service wholesaler.
Manufacture's sales office
It does not carry inventory, typically performs only a sales function and serves as an alternative to agents and brokers.
Vertical marketing systems
They are professionally managed and centrally coordinated marketing channels designed to achieve channel economies and maximum marketing impact.
Corporate vertical marketing systems
The combination of successive stages of production and distribution under a single ownership.
Contractual vertical marketing systems
Independent production and distribution firms integrate their efforts on a contractual basis to obtain greater functional economies and marketing impact than they could achieve alone. The most popular among the three.
Wholesaler-sponsored voluntary chains
It involves a wholesaler that develops a _____ relationship with small, independent retailers to standardize and coordinate buying practices, merchandising programs, and inventory management efforts.
Retailer-sponsored cooperatives
They exist when small, independent retailers form an organization that operates a wholesale facility cooperatively.
Franchising
A contractual arrangement between a parent company and an individual or firm that allows the firm or individual to operate a certain type of business under an established name and according to specific rules.
Manufacturer-sponsored retail franchise systems
A manufacturer licenses dealers to sell its product to various sales and service conditions. Eg. Ford and Pepsi-Cola
Service-sponsored retail franchise systems
They are provided by firms that have designed a unique approach for performing a service and wish to profit by selling the franchise to others. They exist when franchisors license individuals or firms to dispense a service under a trade name and specific
Administered vertical marketing systems
It achieve coordination at successive stages of production and distribution by the size and influence of one channel member rather than through ownership.
Intensive distribution
A firm tries to place its products and services in as many outlets as possible. It is usually chose for convenience products or services such as candy, fast food, etc.
Exclusive distribution
It is chosen for specialty products or services such as men's and women's apparel and accessories and yachts.
Selective distribution
A firm selects a few retailers in a specific geographical area to carry its products.
Channel conflict
It arises when one channel member believes another channel member is engaged in behavior that prevents it from achieving its goals.
Vertical conflict
It occurs between different levels in a marketing channel, between a manufacturer and a wholesaler or retailer or between a wholesaler and a retailer.
Disintermediation
Conflict arises when a channel member bypasses another member and sells or buys products direct.
Horizontal conflict
It occurs between intermediaries at the same level in a marketing channel, such as between 2 or more retailers or 2 or more wholesalers that handle the same manufacture's brands.
Channel captain
A channel member that coordinates, directs, and supports other channel members. They can be producers, wholesalers, or retailers.