CHANNEL OF DISTRIBUTION

A channel of distribution or trade channel is defined as the path or route along which goods move from producers or manufacturers to ultimate consumers or industrial users. This channel consists of: - producers, consumers or users and the various middlemen like wholesalers, selling agents and retailers (dealers) who intervene between the producers and consumers. These channels of distribution are broadly divided into four types:

Producer-Customer:- This is the simplest and shortest channel in which no middlemen is involved and producers directly sell their products to the consumers. It is fast and economical channel of distribution.

Producer-Retailer-Customer:- This channel of distribution involves only one middlemen called 'retailer'. Under it, the producer sells his product to big retailers (or retailers who buy goods in large quantities) who in turn sell to the ultimate consumers.

Producer-Wholesaler-Retailer-Customer:- This is the most common and traditional channel of distribution. Under it, two middlemen i.e. wholesalers and retailers are involved. Here, the producer sells his product to wholesalers, who in turn sell it to retailers. And retailers finally sell the product to the ultimate consumers.

Producer-Agent-Wholesaler-Retailer-Customer:- This is the longest channel of distribution in which three middlemen are involved. This is used when the producer wants to be fully relieved of the problem of distribution and thus hands over his entire output to the selling agents. The agents distribute the product among a few wholesalers. Each wholesaler distributes the product among a number of retailers who finally sell it to the ultimate consumers. For salubrious walnuts we use the producer-retailer-consumer as a channel of distribution

WAREHOUSING
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of walnuts. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns and villages. They usually have loading docks to load and unload walnuts from trucks. They often have cranes and forklifts for moving goods, which are usually placed on ISO standard pallets loaded into pallet racks.

Warehousing Functions and Objectives

The basic warehousing functions traditionally have been considered to be as follows: 1. receiving; 2. identification and sorting; 3. dispatching to storage; 4. placing in storage; 5. storage; 6. retrieval from storage; 7. order accumulation; 8. packing; 9. shipping 10. Record keeping. In designing warehousing systems it is desirable to maximize: 1. space utilization; 2. equipment utilization; 3. labor utilization; 4. accessibility of all materials; 5. Protection of all materials.

We use cold warehouses for Salubrious walnuts which is neither too large no too small as our brand is new in the market. We produce or manufacture our product on the basis of demand in the market so that there is no wastage.

Cool warehouses and cold storage

Cold storage preserves walnuts. Refrigerated storage helps in eliminating sprouting, rotting and insect damage. Walnuts are generally not stored for more than one year. Cold storage helps stabilize market prices and evenly distribute walnuts both on demand basis and time basis. It will be in close to a growing area as well as a market, be easily accessible for heavy vehicles, and have uninterrupted power supply.

TRANSPORTATION
Transportation is a vital component of business everywhere since it allows goods to be transferred to various places. In fact this is the backbone of several industries and business. One cannot deny its importance in any respect. Although transportation depends upon three main modes of transportation Air Cargo, Railways and Road Transport (involving trucks), but trucks remain the major contributor of all time.

For salubrious walnuts we use compact trucks for transportation as we have to transport the product to the local market. So this is a cheap method for transportation.

PROMOTION STRATERGIES OF SALUBRIOUS WALNUTS

Promotion is an activity, such as a sale or advertising campaign, designed to increase visibility or sales of a product . Promotion is one of the very important components of marketing mix. Promotion mix is defined as a specific combination of promotional methods used for one product or a family of products. Elements of a promotion mix may include print or broadcast advertising, direct marketing, personal selling, point of sale displays and/or merchandising

stratergies
1.

Above-the-line promotion: Above-the-line promotion is paid-for and

includes traditional advertising routes such as television, radio and the press. These are good for carrying marketing messages to a large audience.

Salubrious walnuts can be advertised through local channels, local newspapers and we can also advertise them on radio channels such as (92.7 FM) which is very popular among the masses. Special displays or positioning in stores or advertising on supermarket trolleys are also examples of above-the-line promotional activity for salubrious walnuts.

2. Below-the-line promotion:
Below-the-line promotion can take many forms and is usually more under the control of the business. Typical examples include events or direct mail. Salubrious walnuts can be promoted through door-to-door leaflet drops or books of vouchers which give customers discounts over a period of time. These help to attract consumers and establish brand loyalty so the consumer buys the product again.

 E-mail newsletter for consumers. This creates a relationship with consumers, which is unusual for a B2B organisation. This method will help us to communicate directly with and listen to consumers, it also enables the business to collect information, for example, about their lifestyles and product choices. This can be used for feedback, research and promotions. Another way of promotion is to send our sales representatives to some of the major bakery houses and tell them about our products its unique USP, and benefitsand persuade them to use our product .we can also offer them some discounts on bulk purchase. we can also tell them to display our product banner or pamphlet on their windows which can also be a different kind of advertising.

3. PR and sponsorship: Public relations (PR) are a form of promotion that is

concerned with developing goodwill and understanding between organisations and the public. We can sponsor events like marathons or other health related eventswhich will create a favorable image of our brand. We can also inform people during these events the benefits of nuts eating.