Harold Zarate Diaz
AMM101.0050
Hw #31-32
5/8/08
Professor B. Smith
1. Read inside business article on Dell computers- direct and not so direct p.480.
Summarize two major ideas about this company that interest you about its
distribution of its products.
The first major idea of this company that interests me the most is that Dell
developing every component in house. They save time and money by choosing
among the best components available on the market. The company strengthens
relationships with suppliers by guaranteeing certain purchasing volumes in exchange
for on time delivery and expedited transactions, because part are available precisely
when need. The second major idea is that Dell’s control over its marketing channel
gives it more flexibility to try different marketing ideas, as an example, Dell has
sparked sales by offering low interest rate financing on expensive products.
2 Do review questions: 1, 2, 3,9,14 and 16 p.504
1. In what ways is a channel of distribution different from the path by a product
during physical distributions?
Channel of distribution is a sequence of marketing or organizations that directs a
product from the producer to the ultimate user. Different channel of distribution
generally are used to move consumers and business products.
2. What are the most common marketing channel for consumer products? For
industrial products?
Every marketing channel begins with the producer and ends with either the
consumer or the business user.
3. What are three general approaches to market coverage? What types of products
are each used for?
The three general approaches to market coverage are:
Intensive Distribution: is the use of all available outlets for a product. Producer that
wants to give its product the widest possible exposure in the marketplace chooses
intensive distribution.
Selective Distribution: is the use of only a portion of the available outlets for a
product in each geographic area.
Exclusive Distribution: is the use of only a single retail outlets for a product in a
large geographic area.
9. What is the basic difference between wholesalers and retailers?
The difference between a wholesalers and retailers is that wholesalers provides its
Producers with an instant sales force so that producers sales representatives need not
call on retailers. This can result in enormous savings for producers, but in the other
way retailers may buy from either wholesalers or producers. They sell not only goods
but also such services as auto, haircuts, etc. But some retailers sell both.
14. What is physical distribution? Which major functions does it include?
Physical distribution is the movement of the products themselves through their
channels of distribution. The major functions it is a combination of several
interrelated business functions. The most important of these are inventory
management, order processing, warehousing, materials handling and transportation.
16. List the primary modes of transportation and cite at least one advantage of each.
The primary modes of transportation is a common carrier, is a transportation
firm whose services are available to all shippers. A contract carrier is available for
hire by one or several shippers.