《网络营销》课件PPTchapter12 Distribution.pptVIP

Chapter 12: Distribution Overview Distribution Channel Overview Distribution determines how the customer receives a product or service = determines brand image. Distribution channel = group of interdependent firms that work together to transfer product and information from the supplier to the consumer + composed of: Producers, manufacturers, or originators of the product or service, Intermediaries—the firms that match buyers and sellers and mediate the transactions among them, Consumers, customers, or buyers who consume or use the product or service. Distribution Channel Overview Each channel member performs some of the marketing functions needed to get the product from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Intermediaries: Perform some of these functions more effectively efficiently than other channel participants. Benefits = mediating transactions between parties, providing cost savings in the form of lowered search, monetary, transaction, and energy costs. Distribution Channel Overview 4 elements of a company’s channel structure: Types of channel intermediaries. Length of the channel. Functions performed by members of the channel. Physical and informational systems that link the channel members and provide for coordination and management of their collective effort to deliver the product or service. Overview Types of Intermediaries Channel intermediaries include: Wholesalers: buy products from the manufacturer + resell them to retailers. Retailers (brick-and-mortar online): buy products from wholesalers + sell them to consumers. Brokers: facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers without representing either party = market makers. Agents: represent the buyer/seller + facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers but do not take title to the goods. Manufacturer’s agents represent the seller purchasing agents represent the buyer. Types of Intermediaries For digital products (software), the entire distribution channel may b