Selecting Distribution channels according to product life cycle

Product Life Cycle Stage and General Strategies for choosing a channel

Introductory Stage Product has recently been launched; hence there will be fewer distribution channels.

Strategy: You may be able to accept any intermediary, which is capable to paying any product you produce. At this stage You should try to convince them to carry your product

Growth Stage

Product has gained has its acceptability; hence more distribution channels will be added.

Strategy: More resellers will be interested, so you should move on to develop an appropriate criteria, policies and procedures that should help you to choose which reseller suits the most, here you would be executing an intensive distribution strategy

Mature Stage

Product has been embraced, but competition is a threat. Primary goal should be to maintain market share

Strategy: If your product lies at mature stage, you should Offer reseller discounts, include additional marketing channels to add convenient shopping, like catalogues, internet shopping, offer coupons e.t.c.

Decline Stage

Product has been embraced, but competition is a threat. Primary goal is to maintain market share

Significance of adopting a suitable distribution channel

It is important to select appropriate channel, because the distribution channel we select can determine the Level of success our organization achieves. Incase of retail items like T.V or DVDs, Those Intermediaries that use poor promotional techniques or are unable to keep up with consumer demand can damage our products marketability and sales. Having said that, it will be adequate to mention various factors that should be considered while selecting a distribution channels

• The size of target market
• Where the target market is located
• The details of buying habits of the target segment

Only, after having above information, one could adopt a suitable strategy that would guarantee success.

For the changes that have taken place in businesses over the last many years, a valuable resource seems to have been forgotten, Industrial Engineering (I.E.). Today's popular concept of Lean seen as Lean Manufacturing, Lean Management, Lean Enterprise, and Lean Principles is widely used because of its effectiveness in eliminating waste and its positive impact to a company's productivity. A little know fact to many, is that the Lean approach is heavily based on Industrial Engineering principles. If Lean is a great thing then perhaps Industrial Engineering has something to offer as well.

I.E. offers a wide range of skills permitting the understanding of an entire operation and the relationships of the different groups in that operation. For this reason, I personally had been approached for the position of General Manager at the specific request of a company for an I.E.. Specific skills of I.E. are used in Lean, and other skills of I.E. support Lean within the different departments and functions in an operation. It's a great one-two combination which is not commonly known.

Lean eliminates waste and promotes efficiency; I.E. does the same and goes one step further to scientifically look at the waste and determine the impact of removing it. The old idiom “Throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” is apropos. An informed look at changes to systems, methods and product costs can be eye-opening.

I.E. has historically been charged with the responsibility of being the bridge between Finance and Production/Manufacturing, where the costs of a product are generated. This is for a reason; that I.E. once again, has the skills to understand where the financial figures originate in terms of processes, materials, production, machinery, and infrastructure systems. In fact it is I.E. that studies all these aspects of an operation to determine the inputs to calculated costs; a great companion to Finance. It is called scientific management which has been around for a hundred years.

For small and big businesses, missed opportunities often show a cumulative behavior. I have seen missed opportunities range in the scale of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Without an I.E. using the skills of scientific methods in an operation, you are left to wonder what is really happening and what is not. People are busy with the mandates of their function and their specific goals to meet; who is looking at how it all comes together? The I.E. if there is one, or often no-one if your enterprise has forgotten I.E.

These skills are not isolated to manufacturing companies but are applied just as effectively to service providing companies and any enterprise which adds value to a product or service through activities.

Remember Industrial Engineering and keep your eye on the ball to manage opportunities and maximize profits.

A poorly designed position offers little chance of delegation as the individual is usually lacking the information they need themselves to perform their job; these people will find it difficult to delegate as they cannot pass on what is necessary when they don't have it themselves.

Some workplaces do not work to systems and get by on dysfunctional work design which makes delegation difficult.

Workplaces that don't work to clear goals make it difficult to pass on goals through delegation. The best that can be achieved in these instances is task oriented duties given to staff which falls sadly short of high performance work from effective delegation.

Communicating goals or criteria becomes difficult when a systems framework for the workplace does not exist. For those Managers and Supervisors who show initiative in trying to explain these in delegating, often face the peril of being reprimanded through rationalized feedback as a substitute for well developed plans and SMART goals

Often times the authority given through delegation is the start of a chain reaction of problems for the absence of clear responsibilities throughout the workplace and business. In these cases turf wars easily start where staff becomes afraid of taking delegated work.

When departmental plans and goals are poorly developed and communicated a Manager or Supervisor has little choice but to stick their neck out in giving advice in delegating, with little chance of recognition for their initiative. In these instances the good ideas in the advice offered is often stolen by those wallowing in the confusion of the workplace.

Focusing on results without consideration of the process fosters norms which create dysfunctional work habits. One desperate act after another in compensating for missing workplace systems only strays a business further from the desired sustainable business.

Some of the worst workplaces have come to be from neglect of sound skills development and practices which are substituted with compromised attempts at effective work. It is the like the dog chasing his own tail; so much energy, resource and opportunity is wasted.

Effective delegation is an integral part of a high performing work system but there are times when delegation doesn't have a chance.

The acronym DDPE can be used to remember the four stages:

Defining and analysing the problem involves identifying the problem to be solved. The exact requirements of the problem need to be determined and whether it can be solved using information technology. All factors need to be identified, such as technical, operational, time, financial and ethical.

Designing possible solutions involves generating different solutions to the problem. It any require investigating solutions to similar problems. It often involves using application software. However, if the problem requires a specific solution, then the solution may involve programming.

Producing the solution involves building the solution to solve the problem. It involves applying the application software to the problem or writing software.

Evaluating the solution involves checking the results of the solution and making sure it solves all aspects of the problem. It can be used to highlight and improve any part of the solution.

Project development aims to produce a solution that is as effective and error-free as possible.

There are three important features:

Each stage has certain tasks to be completed. It builds on the decisions of the previous stages. However, in the development of a solution there is often a good reason to return to the previous stage.

Each stage is not always separate and distinct. People involved in the development of the solution often switch between stages.

The extent of each stage depends on the complexity and size of the project. In a small project, some of the stages can be simplified and completed quickly. However, in a large project all the stages will be involved.

Management

The most efficient way of solving a problem is through careful planning and making the best use of your available resources.

A project plan describes what is to be done, who will do it, when it will be done and how it will be done. It outlines the resources that will be needed and the expected results of each stage in the project. When developing a project plan you need to be aware of the overall stages of the project and the tasks that have to be completed. The project plan should effectively use the talents of each member of the group. Different tasks are assigned to each member and the workload spread across the group. A journal and diary entries are used to record and monitor the progress of the project. A project plan is prepared by a project leader. A project leader is responsible for the project from the beginning to the end. They ensure the project is meeting its goals and resolve any conflicts.

A Gantt chart provides a quick method of determining if the project is on time. Gantt charts are used in meetings to review progress and identify problems. A Gantt chart is a bar chart with each bar representing a task. The vertical axis of the Gantt chart lists the tasks and the horizontal axis shows the time frame. The success of a project depends on accurate time estimates for each task. Tasks can be concurrent or dependent. Concurrent tasks are tasks performed at the same time. A dependent task requires another task to be completed before it can begin.

File management is an important but often neglected part of project planning. If an efficient structure and naming system is implemented, time will not be wasted. The importance of backing up you project cannot be overstressed. Unfortunately there have been group members who have lost all their work the day before the project was to be completed. This problem is unavoidable. Group members need to implement a process for backing up their project on a regular basis.

Resources are the tools needed to complete all the tasks of a project. The type of problem and the size of the project have an effect on the resources. Resources can include the group members, hardware, software, consumables (paper, ink cartridges, CD's), and access to the Internet, data, finances and time. Identifying resource requirements early in the project will save time and resources later. Is the available information suitable for the project? How can the data be collected? What training is required to complete the project?

Communication Techniques

Communication techniques include a variety of strategies and skills for dealing with other people. Strategies for effective communication are categorised as verbal, written and graphical:

Verbal communication is the use of the spoken word. It involves not only the words themselves but also the tone and the loudness of the voice. eg: "This has been a great day" could have been negative or positive depending how they are said. Effective verbal communication skills allow you to inform, persuade and motivate others. You should choose your words carefully and practise any major speeches. When conducting an interview the questions should be thoroughly prepared before the interview.

The wider business environment should be under constant surveillance from managers. Trends in the marketplace should be identified so that the business can change accordingly in order to capitalize. If the need for change can be identified prior to that of a competitor the Company can take full advantage of the "head start" and increase its competitive advantage.

Management of change however, is not merely ordering a change and then waiting to view the repercussions. The main challenge which today's businesses face in managing change successfully is implementing the change with minimum resistance and maximum benefit.

One of the major contributing factors to resistance to change is from "fear of the unknown". By building employee trust and offering support greater confidence is placed in management and thus resistance to change from employees is considerably smaller. In addition, if the change is supported by new training, and these changes are open to criticism and participation from the business' internal stakeholders, concerns which may have caused grievance and resistance can be laid to rest, streamlining the company's direction. When employee apprehension is minimized, common business goals can be more productively achieved.

In conjunction to the mission statement a business establishes specific company goals which are usually measurable, for example “Our Company will increase market share by 20% by the end of 2006”. Management should be ready to change these goals if reasons present, for example if an economic recession hits the company goals may be reassessed to ensure survival. Realistic goals should be set by management regardless of changes which are occurring; creating unachievable goals and not tailoring them to the respective situations may cause unease within employees and in turn may damage the invaluable interpersonal relations in the business.

A business culture which embraces change also contributes to the ease to which a business can manage the respective changes. Younger organizations such as Google and Virgin are better suited to change as they have a fresh and impressionable culture, surpassing autocratic organizations that are bounded by an historical culture, is PBL.

The business culture should be supportive of the risk taking, entrepreneurial nature of the company. This can be reaffirmed this culture via change agents who act as catalysts assuming responsibility for managing the change process. When the culture is reflective of the entire organizations focused goal changes can occur quickly without resistance. Change models are a useful aid in uncovering resisting a driving change forces in an organization.

Change models are simplified versions of reality and can aid business to manage change. The two main models which are of use to a business who wishes to manage change effectively are the force field analysis and unfreeze-change-freeze model both developed in the 1940's by Kurt Lewin. Organizations who have embraced Lewin's change models include Aimcorp and sectors of the Australia's Government .

The force field analysis suggests that any organization who implements a change program will experience two types of force that govern the effectiveness of the change; driving forces, in favor of the change, and restraining forces who oppose the change. Driving forces initiate and encourage change including; workplace culture, change agents, availability of training other resources used to drive forward the change.

Restraining forces on the other hand work against the change creating resistance. The equilibrium results from the two forces pushing in opposite directions. Methods of increasing the driving forces and reducing the restraining forces include; provide training to develop sympathy to the manager's (driver) view point, conducting surveys to clarify issues which are creating difficulties for some people and possible negotiation of rewards.

In the unfreeze-change-freeze model, "unfreezing" is represented in establishing the need to change and then undergoing a number of steps to begin the change. This unfreeze stage is developed by increasing the driving forces and reducing the restraining forces. The "change" technique follows when the change is ready and able to be administered. The "refreeze" technique solidifies the change process which has take place through feedback and reward.

Managing change effectively can be achieved through a number of different approaches, the initialization of strategies to reduce resistance to change, as well as setting achievable goals, creating a business culture of change and adopting Lewin's change models can aid the ease to which change is accepted in the business. The one constant in business has been described as many as "change", thus change should be embraced in order to maximize the businesses success in a dynamic world.

One way could be usage of translators.If you are attending conference calls,or business meetings you can arrange for a translator for your help. But not all the time you can keep the translators with you,that adds up to the company's expenses.Alternatively, you can train your employees in that foreign language if you are deputing them to the client place.

Whether there are language barriers or not, respect should be maintained between both the parties. If the client does not know English which is a universal language,you may suggest them to undergo training.

Whether they are from different language or they follow different culture, you should always think you are one team, try to consider their ideas at work.This way you are respecting them. You need to work a bit harder to convince foreign language teams. But its not impossible.