Week 8 – International Marketing
Chapter 12 – Global Marketing Channels and Physical
Distribution
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS: OBJECTIVES, TERMINOLOGY, AND
STRUCTURE
- Marketing channels exist to create utility for customers
o Place utility = availability of a product or service in a location that is
convenient to a potential customer
o Time utility = availability of a product or service when desired by a customer
o Form utility = availability of the product processed, prepared, in proper
condition and/or ready to use
o Information utility = availability of answers to questions and general
communication about useful product features and benefits
- Utilities can be a basic source of competitive advantage
- Each market must be analyzed to determine the cost of providing channel services
- What is appropriate in one country may not be effective in another
- Even marketers concerned with a single-country program can study channel
arrangements in different parts of the world for valuable information and insights
into possible new channel strategies and tactics
- Distribution channels are systems that link manufacturers to customers
- In B2C, consumer channels are designed to put products in the hands of people for
their own use
- B2B involves industrial channels that deliver products to manufacturers or other
organizations that use them as inputs in the production process or in day-to-day
operations
- Distributor = wholesale intermediary that typically carries product lines or brands on
a selective basis
- Agent = intermediary who negotiates exchange transactions between two or more
parties but does not take title to the goods being purchased or sold
Based on the book ‘Global Marketing’ by Warren J. Keegan and Mark C. Green
Chapter 12 – Global Marketing Channels and Physical
Distribution
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS: OBJECTIVES, TERMINOLOGY, AND
STRUCTURE
- Marketing channels exist to create utility for customers
o Place utility = availability of a product or service in a location that is
convenient to a potential customer
o Time utility = availability of a product or service when desired by a customer
o Form utility = availability of the product processed, prepared, in proper
condition and/or ready to use
o Information utility = availability of answers to questions and general
communication about useful product features and benefits
- Utilities can be a basic source of competitive advantage
- Each market must be analyzed to determine the cost of providing channel services
- What is appropriate in one country may not be effective in another
- Even marketers concerned with a single-country program can study channel
arrangements in different parts of the world for valuable information and insights
into possible new channel strategies and tactics
- Distribution channels are systems that link manufacturers to customers
- In B2C, consumer channels are designed to put products in the hands of people for
their own use
- B2B involves industrial channels that deliver products to manufacturers or other
organizations that use them as inputs in the production process or in day-to-day
operations
- Distributor = wholesale intermediary that typically carries product lines or brands on
a selective basis
- Agent = intermediary who negotiates exchange transactions between two or more
parties but does not take title to the goods being purchased or sold
Based on the book ‘Global Marketing’ by Warren J. Keegan and Mark C. Green
