No Retailer

No Wholesaler

Full Chain of Distribution

This tends to be used when the producer makes a limited •range of products, storage costs are high and the product is perishable.

The wholesaler is eliminated in industries where the pro­ducer makes a number of standard products that it sells to similar kinds of retail outlets. Frozen-food firms and large bakeries tend to have their own distribution network and their own fleet of delivery lorries.

There has been a growth in the case of wholesalers, which sell directly to the general public. These large discount stores sell furniture and other household products in warehouse-style buildings with relatively poor customer facilities. Mail order companies such as Great Universal Stores, where local selling agents run a catalogue for orders, are a good example of distribution without a retailer. These local agents work on a commission basis and deal with the ordering of goods and the means of payment.

Direct Selling

Direct selling to the customer is typically found in the sale of services, e.g. insurance and double glazing. In the case of industrial products such as chemicals and manufacturing machines, firms generally employ a full-time sales force to try and sell products to other firms. Such sales teams may be organized on a regional basis, with specific areas of the coun­try to cover, e.g. North West, East Midlands and South Wales. The sales team is a very important part of the market­ing function. Although its major role is to sell the company's product, it may also be source of important market research information, e.g. salesmen can find out customers' reactions to products and can find out their future requirements. They can also find out what competitors are doing and supply this information back to the company. The sales team may also be the first link that a customer has with the company, and so the presentation of a good image may be important.

Retail Outlets

There are various retail outlets through which manufac­turer can decide to sell a product. In 1984, it was estimated that there were 343,153 retail outlets controlled by 230,787 organizations - which indicates that the vast majority are "one-shop" operation.

Organizing the Sales Force

When deciding the problem how sales effort is to be organ­ized three main approaches may be used:

1. Organize geographically. Consequently, there may be a Midwest, a Southern, a New England, and a West Coast dis­trict or region. Most firms organize in this way.

2. Organize by product. When a firm has diverse prod­ucts that require specialized technical or applications knowl­edge, it may be necessary to organize the sales force accord­ing to major product categories.

3. Organize by customer. Where a firm faces rather diverse types of customers, organizing by major customer categories leads to better servicing and understanding of cus­tomers' needs. Consequently a firm may have a separate sales force for calling on retail chains, on department stores, on wholesalers, and on certain industrial and contract cus­tomers.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29