Today the system of commodity circulation and distribution channelsare an integral part of any company's development strategy, allow it to expand its sales markets, increase customer base, and increase the competitiveness of its products. In this regard, when building a company's strategy, it is necessary to take this system into account.
The system of commodity circulation in marketing representsa complex of processes for the movement of goods, which includes such elements as: the formulation of orders, warehousing, control over the quantity of goods in a warehouse, transportation. At the same time, for the construction of a system of goods circulation, the company can use both internal services and attract outside organizations.
Channels of commodity circulation are an important part of the company's marketing policy. From what channels the company chooses for itself, depends the success of its products on the market, and, of course, the revenues of the company itself.
So, let's take a closer look at the essence and types of channels of commodity circulation.
The channels of commodity circulation are ways towhich is the physical movement of goods from the producer to the end user. A final consumer of a commodity is a person who uses the goods to meet his own needs. On the other hand, the channels of commodity circulation are also ways and means of delivering goods to consumers. Also, by this term, we can mean the aggregate of individuals and legal entities that are intermediaries in the process of commodity circulation.
Depending on its complexity and structure, the channels of commodity circulation can be divided into 3 main types: direct, indirect and mixed.
In the case of using direct channelsGoods are directly delivered from the manufacturer to the end user. In such a scheme, no intermediaries participate. That is, the chain of goods movement is as simple as possible: it looks like the producer is the end user. When using the direct channel of goods circulation, all the functions for the movement of the goods and their sale are assumed by the manufacturer himself.
Direct channels of commodity circulation, as a rule, are used for the sale of such goods as complex technological equipment, or in the production of products or the provision of services under a specific order.
Следующий тип каналов товародвижения более common - it is indirect channels. In this case, the manufacturer disclaims some of the functions for the delivery of goods to final consumers. The scheme of movement of goods is complicated. It adds a new element - the intermediary (s), that is, the chain is as follows: the manufacturer - the intermediary (s) - the final consumer. Dealers, distributors, agents, retail intermediaries act as intermediaries. At the same time, the manufacturer, of course, loses direct contact with the consumer of its products, but using such a channel gives an obvious advantage - the expansion of the sales market and greater sales efficiency. Thanks to its connections and the scope of its activities, wholesale and retail intermediaries ensure the wide availability of goods and bring it to target markets. The manufacturer, although it loses a part of its profits in favor of intermediaries, nevertheless remains in the gain, as it saves its own resources and time. The market for its products is expanding to such a scale that would not be available to the manufacturer if he acted on the market alone.
The last type of distribution channel - mixed - combines elements of the first two channels.
An important condition for the efficiency of the useddistribution channels are the minimum cost for the seller and the timely delivery of goods to the market. As a result, you can achieve good performance.
