Running Head: CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION 1

Channels of Distribution

University of the People

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Channels of Distribution

According to Wine and Dhar (2011), the distribution channel system gives customers

access to your products and services and is a value chain in ·which different members of the

system add value and are compensated accordingly. There are many different channel

structures, No one channel system is appropriate for every industry, product category, or furn.

The channel structure depends on customer and competitor behavior, the marketing strategy

used, and the resources available. Channel systems can evolve over time as these elements

change. Channel members perform a wide variety of functions for the system. A common

decision sequence is to first choose between direct and indirect channel systems and then

choose particular channel members. Hybrid channel systems include a number of different

channel types that complement one another and perform different tasks to obtain a sale.

Channel power enables a channel member to exert some authority to get another

member to do something it would not otherwise do on its own. Channel management involves

maintaining good relationships and resolving conflict between channel members. Conflict can

be resolved by demarcating products between channel members, helping the channel members

to achieve their goals, and offering more push and pull money. New channel opportunities are

arising from changes in supermarket retailing (category management, efficient consumer

response [ECR], and continuous replenishment programs [CRPsJ), multilevel or network

marketing, and changes in technology.

One industry that comes to mind who has changed channels of distribution over the

years is the News and Media industry. This industry was majorly channeled via newspaper

prints and radios. However, these days, there are a numerous number of media houses who are

fully online and digital in the means of channeling their product. Cable News Network (CNN)

are on almost all cable TV networks in the world and are seen by millions of people on a daily
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basis without a single page of news print. They have a full-fledged live website where news

articles are published on a daily basis. They can host live interviews of people and have people

call in from all over the world. News articles can be searched and archived for future references.

Events can be covered and broadcasted live as they happen and consumers can

livestream wherever they are in the world and see live multimedia news service delivered to as

little a screens as a mobile phone/smartphone. Affinity for newspapers (the old channel of

distribution is grossly becoming ineffective and unacceptable. This is one of the major reasons

(consumer-based) for the transition from the old channel of distribution to the new-age internet-

based channel of distribution. Another major reason for this transition would be competitor-

based as all other news and media outlets are going live on the internet as well and they cannot

afford to stay behind. The quality of product/service delivered is another reason for the

evolution. These days, even news and media is being broadcasted at a video resolution that

competes with cinema movies and high-end video streaming devices.

The most significant reason for the transition from old paper-based news broadcasting

to internet-based multimedia delivery is advancement in technology and its wide acceptance

by the masses. People are so addicted to their “screens” that they hardly have time to read

“papers” these days. For this reason, even department stores needed to go multi-channel and

have virtual stores online so people can still reach them while pressing their phones.

From my own perspective, I’d say the most significant of these reasons for transition is

technological advancements. The speed of advancement is putting every business on their toes.

If care is not taken, any business that lags technologically risks the danger of being swept aside

and forgotten. Therefore, each business entity/enterprise must keep up with technological

advancements in order to stay in vogue and be relevant to their consumers. Tsai (2009) also

confirmed that the evolution of the social media makes every single human being a potential
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news-source as they can record videos and send news updates even directly from their mobile

phones from anywhere in the world. This is the highest level of scalability that any business

can expect – imagine the power of over 4.39 billion world internet users being your news source

(Kemp, 2019)!

In conclusion, for the sake of those who are still very much into paper-based news

distribution, and for the safety from excessive exposure to screens and rays, a multi-channel

means of distribution of news and media can be adopted pending the time the old paper-based

media broadcasting will be phased out.

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References

Tsai, E. (2009). The Evolution of Media Content Distribution: Circulation 1.0 to 2.0. July 1,

2009. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/evolution-media-

content-distribution-circulation-10-20 on the 30th of May 2019.

Kemp, Simon (2019). Digital 2019: Global Internet Use Accelerates. January 30, 2019. Retrieved

from https://wearesocial.com/blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-

accelerates on the 30th of May 2019.

Winer, R. & Dhar, R. (2011). Marketing Management (4th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.