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Marketing Channel Decisions: A Case Study

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Marketing channel decisions are one of the most complex and important decisions that management faces today. If one looks at the major strategy of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion and distribution), the greatest potential for achieving a competitive advantage now lies in distribution (Obaji, 2011).
Distribution is an inseparable part of marketing decisions and involves all the decisions about distribution of products to the consumers or the end user. The issues of distribution were analysed by a number of marketing specialists (Berman, 1999; Kim, 1996; Delton, 1997; Frazier, 1999; Kotler, 2003; Rosenbloom, 1999; Stern, 2006; etc.).
Distribution still offers a new frontier for competing successfully, especially if the emphasis is …show more content…

Reflecting their importance in industrial and transitional economies, marketing channels gradually came to be viewed as the set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption (Coughlin, Anderson, Stern, & El-Ansary, 2001). This perspective draws attention to those members (e.g. wholesalers, distributors, retailers, etc.) comprising the distribution system and engaged in the delivery of goods and services from the point of manufacture to the point of consumption (Anderson & Coughlan, 2002). The management of such institutions through marketing channel management involves the planning, organizing, coordinating, directing and controlling efforts of channel members (Gundlach et al, …show more content…

In this effort, topics such as channel structure, power/conflict, environmental issues, and relational dimensions have been studied thoroughly. However, the concept of channel strategy, as well as other aspects related to distribution management has received little attention (Brent, 2007).
Channels research has typically taken a manufacturer perspective. That is, how channels should be organized and on-going channel relationship should be managed are normally addressed from the manufacturer’s point of view, such as whether or not to use integrated channels and how power should be used to coordinate exchanges. Furthermore, a large amount of research on retailing exists (Frazier,

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