Chat with AIExam 15: Distribution Channels and Supply Chain Management
Which of the following modes of transportation controls the largest share of the freight business as measured by ton-miles?
(84) 
VerifiedA
Describe the factors that influence a firm's choice of a marketing channel strategy.
(70) VerifiedThe factors that influence a firm's choice of a marketing channel strategy are:
1. Market factors: Business purchasers usually prefer to deal directly with manufacturers, but most consumers make their purchases from retailers. Marketers often sell products that serve both business users and consumers through more than one channel.
2. Product factors: Perishable goods, trendy or seasonal fashions, complex products, such as custom-made installations and computer equipment, move through short channels. In general, relatively standardized items that are also nonperishable with low unit cost pass through comparatively long channels.
3. Organizational and competitive factors: Companies with strong financial, management, and marketing resources feel less need for help from intermediaries. A large, financially strong manufacturer can hire its own sales force, warehouse its own goods, and extend credit to retailers or consumers. But a small firm with fewer resources may do better with the aid of intermediaries. The manufacturer's desire for control over marketing its products also influences channel selection.
4. Competitive factors: Marketers sometimes choose distribution channels to either avoid competitors or compete with them head-to-head. Sometimes businesses will only work with distributors who offer exclusivity, meaning they will not carry a competitor's line. In many categories, this is not possible, as wholesalers often carry most major brands so that they can provide the best assortment to their retail customers.
Businesses that explore new distribution channels must be careful to avoid upsetting their channel intermediaries. Distribution channels work smoothly only when members cooperate in well-organized efforts to achieve maximum operating efficiencies. Two types of conflict - horizontal and vertical - can hinder the normal functioning of a distribution channel.
5. Intensity factors: Another key channel strategy decision is the intensity of distribution. Distribution intensity refers to the number or percentage of intermediaries (usually retailers) through which a manufacturer distributes its goods in a particular market. Optimal distribution intensity should ensure adequate market coverage for a product. Adequate market coverage varies depending on the goals of the individual firm, the type of product, and the consumer segments in its target market. In general, distribution intensity varies along a continuum with three general categories: intensive distribution, selective distribution, and exclusive distribution.
You're finding your new job as the marketing manager for highly specialized medical equipment to be very challenging. Relatively few medical practices and hospitals across the country need your product, and it's tough to determine who the decision makers are. Which type of distribution channel will work best for your objectives, and why?
(88) VerifiedB
When a producer grants exclusive rights to a wholesaler or retailer to sell its products in a specific geographic region it practices intensive distribution.
(69) Which of the following components in the supply chain of a manufacturing company are most concerned with speed and timeliness?
(82) You're the production manager for Blue Ribbon Bakery, and you're responsible for managing the inventory of all of the flour, eggs, milk, butter, and other raw materials that go into the company's baked goods. Storing all of these raw materials, some of which require refrigeration, can get expensive so you don't like to go overboard on ordering them, but on the other hand you have to make sure the bakery workers have what they need. Which of the following methods of inventory control do you think will work best at Blue Ribbon?
(73) High sales volume spreads selling costs over a large number of items, generating adequate returns from direct sales.
(78) As the marketing director for a tablet computer manufacturer, you're aware that some consumers still need a lot of help and information before making a decision to buy a tablet, while others are familiar with tablet computers and know exactly what they're looking for in a product. With this objective in mind, which distribution channel makes the most sense for marketing your products?
(67) John works for an ice-cream manufacturer. His department focuses on keeping the finished products fresh as well as ensuring that they reach the retailers on time as the products are highly perishable. In addition, his department decides on which flavors of ice cream should be sent to which retailers in various trade areas. John is most likely involved with:
(79) You're the production manager for a company that manufactures clothing, and you oversee activities in a wide range of departments from cutting and stitching to warehousing and shipping. Maintaining a steady flow of goods through production is essential, so if you could employ any supply chain management system to make your job easier, which of the following would you choose?
(82) Shippers that transport goods via water carriers incur very low costs compared with the rates for other transportation modes.
(73) You're the marketing director for a company that manufactures customized mining equipment used to extract fairly rare precious metals like iridium, palladium, and rhodium from the earth. You have chosen to create a fairly short distribution channel because:
(79) Which of the following is NOT typically moved through a short distribution channel?
(84) Conflicts resulting from disagreements among channel members at the same level, such as two or more wholesalers or two or more retailers, or among marketing intermediaries of the same type are called _____ conflicts.
(78) _____ refers to the movement of products through more than one channel to reach the firm's target market.
(73) You're responsible for keeping track of inventory for a huge, national chain of bookstores, which is challenging since thousands of products are constantly being delivered, stocked, sold, and transferred through your stores. So, if you could employ any supply chain management system to make your job easier, which of the following would you choose?
(77) On your first day as the new operations manager for a major toy manufacturer, you take a look at how raw materials are handled. The manufacturing plant keeps close to 500,000 types of tiny parts on hand, ready for assembly. To ensure that workers are able to easily locate, inventory, and retrieve these parts, as well as finished goods, you've decided the company needs ______ to keep production at its peak.
(80) People love celebrity gossip, which is what makes your Hollywood insider magazine so popular. That's why your product is sold in a wide range of outlets, from bookstores to drugstores and convenience stores to outdoor kiosks. As the marketing director for the magazine, you've set up a fairly long distribution channel because:
(67) 
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