As with any marketing campaign, consistency is key when you are implementing marketing programs with your retailers or distributors. Managing these programs centrally helps ensure consistency and efficient use of funds, so that you communicate your message—and your brand—as strongly as possible.What You Need to KnowWhy can’t local outlets develop...
Vendor Managed Inventory VMI is a process in which a supplier generates orders for its distributor based on demand information sent by the distributor. VMI was first applied to the grocery industry, between companies like Procter & Gamble supplier and Wal-Mart distributor. VMI is now providing the benefits of smoother...
Distribution in specialty contracting is facing a fork in the road in its role in the supply channel. It can continue to play its historical role of wholesale/retail combination of parts pass through and hope to be profitable through speculations, or it can become a low cost provider of services...
From the executive summary: ‘The last few years have been rough for distributors. Price pressure and intense competition have eliminated razor thin margins, pushing many distributors to the brink. In addition, distributors have gotten into the habit of giving away value-added services in hope of winning deals, and driving costs...
From the executive summary: ‘Distributors no longer have a lock on information needed by customers to make purchasing and sourcing decisions, since manufacturers and online sources increasingly make such information more readily available. As a result, the perceived value of the salesforce in educating customers about new products and in-use...
This paper examines the relationship between distributor backorder performance and its inventory levels under Vendor Managed Inventory VMI in a supply chain that consists of distributors and manufacturers. We construct a principal-agent model to show that distributors' inventory managed by manufacturers can be used to induce distributor efforts, which are...
This article provides a primer on basic public relations and external communications strategy for wholesaler-distributors. It reviews the key elements of an effective communications strategy and discuss best practices that can be used by both large and small distributors. The bottom line: All distributors should have a strategy to preserve...
The deteriorating health of manufacturer-distributor relations requires both parties to take some tough medicine if they want to benefit from the economic rebound ahead. Manufacturer-distributor relations are in a sorry state because the fundamental relationship is changing. The relationship is built on a few simple exchanges. Distributors provide access to...
Many manufacturers and other suppliers use dealers or distributors to market, sell and service their products. A supplier may choose to terminate a dealer or distributor for a variety of reasons, but it may find its ability to end the relationship limited by a range of legal constraints. We will...
Microsoft's goal is to help distributors reach their maximum business potential by delivering connected solutions designed to meet unique business processes through trusted partnerships and ongoing service. This paper is the fifth in a series of white papers designed to help forward-thinking distributors increase efficiency, customer service and profitability with...
Microsoft's goal is to help distributors reach their maximum business potential by delivering connected solutions designed to meet unique business processes through trusted partnerships and ongoing service. This paper is the fourth in a series of white papers designed to help forward-thinking distributors increase efficiency, customer service and profitability with...
Drop shipping is simply an arrangement between a person and the manufacturer or distributor of a product one wishes to sell in which the manufacturer or distributor--not him--ships the product to the customers. This means that he can sell quality, brand-name products on the Web site for a hefty profit,...
Every distributor knows the trap. Customers continue to demand high levels of support but are increasingly unwilling to pay for the value added. It gets worse. Products and brands are widely available, so there are plenty of competitive distributors ready to step in if service levels suffer. Distributors seeking to...
Does the listed Gross Margin for an account actually reflect the real Gross Margin? The answer astoundingly no! Various hidden price factors can allow money to leak away from ones profits, and ultimately one’s bottom line. By tightening these "leaks", all operating costs to service a customer are properly accounted...
This articles talks about E-marketplaces which can still generate enormous value for the small distributor, who is most likely proceeding with caution with respect to his e-commerce initiatives, especially since smaller distributors lack the manpower to develop, standardize and update content required for e-commerce. By joining marketplaces, distributors share the...
VMI is a process where the supplier generates orders for the distributor based on demand information sent by the distributor. During this process the supplier is guided by mutually agreed to objectives for inventory levels, fill rates and transaction costs. There are two EDI transactions at the heart of the...
Two features characterize distributors, merchants, dealers, or factors. First, unlike agents who take a commission, they buy stock for re-sale. Second, they are usually but not always appointed by the manufacturer to cover a specific geographical area or sector of the market. Typically, the distributor is a small company, perhaps...
Using distributors as an alternative to direct selling is very far from being a soft option, though it may be inevitable. The article considers the manufacturer- distributor relationship and looks at its three commonest problems. Industrial companies, which previously managed their own direct sales forces, have to learn how to...
Increasingly distributors are replacing direct sales forces in industrial marketing. They cost less, and absolve the manufacturer from the burdens of credit control, but in appointing distributors, the manufacturer loses control of the sharp end where the sale takes place. The fundamental question is - How can the principal identify...
In order to transition from offering free services to a fee-based service provider, distributors have to undo old customer relationships. Distributors seeking to sell services face a significant challenge. The customers do not think of one as a service company. They value the support that distributors provide, but that help...
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