1. Physical Distribution
1.1. Characteristics
1.1.1. Customer Service - Level of customer service the distribution activities should support.
1.1.2. Transportation - Ways of firm to move their productsInventory
1.1.2.1. Classes of carriers
1.1.2.1.1. Common carriers
1.1.2.1.2. Contract carriers
1.1.2.1.3. Private carriers
1.1.2.2. Major Transportation Modes
1.1.2.2.1. Railroads
1.1.2.2.2. Motor Carriers
1.1.2.2.3. Water Carriers
1.1.2.2.4. Pipelines
1.1.2.2.5. Air Freight
1.1.2.3. Freight Forwarders and Supplemental Carriers
1.1.2.3.1. Act as transportation intermediaries , consolidating shipments to gain lower rates for their customers
1.1.3. Inventory Control - Allocation of inventory a firm should maintain at each locationProtective Packaging and Materials
1.1.4. Protective Packaging and Materials Handling - Ways a firm packages and efficiently handle goods in factory, warehouse and transport terminals
1.1.5. Order Processing - Ways for firm to handle order.
1.1.6. Warehousing - Where the distribution system will locate stocks of goods and the number of warehouses the firm should maintain
2. Logistic and Supply Chain Management
2.1. Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP)
2.1.1. An integrated software system that consolidates data from among the firm's units.
2.2. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
2.2.1. Uses a tiny chip with identification information that can be read by radio frequency scanner from a distance is placed on an item
2.3. Logistical Cost Control
2.3.1. Third-Party Logistics
3. channel strategy decision
3.1. Selecting a marketing channel
3.1.1. market factors
3.1.2. Product factors
3.1.3. Organizational factors
3.1.4. Haircuts, manicures, and dental cleanings all operate through short channels
3.1.5. Competetive factors
3.2. Determining distribution intensity
3.2.1. Intensive Distribution
3.2.2. Selective Distribution
3.2.3. Exclusive Distribution
3.2.4. Legal Problems of Exclusive Distribution
4. The function of marketing channel
4.1. Facilitating searches by both buyers and sellers
4.2. Standardizing exchange transactions by setting expectations for productsl
4.3. Adjusting for discrepancies in the market's assortment of goods and services via sorting
4.4. Facilitating the exchange process by reducing the number of marketplace contacts necessary to make a sale
5. Channel Management and Leadership
5.1. Channel conflict
5.1.1. Horizontal Conflict
5.1.1.1. Results from disagreements among channel members at same level.
5.1.1.2. Causes sparks between different types of marketing intermediaries that handle similar products.
5.1.2. Vertical Conflict
5.1.2.1. Resulting in frequent and severe conflict.
5.1.2.2. Channel members from different levels find many reasons for disputes
5.1.3. The Grey Market
5.1.3.1. Refers to flow of new good through distribution channels other than authorized or intended by manufacturer or producer
5.2. Achieving Channel Cooperation
5.2.1. Effective cooperation among channel members is needed
5.2.2. .Achieved when all channel members regard themselves as equal components of same organization.
5.2.3. Channel captain plays an important role in providing leadership to achieve cooperation
6. Types of Marketing Channels
6.1. Marketing intermediary
6.2. Resellers
6.2.1. Retailers
6.2.2. Wholesaler
6.3. Brokers
6.3.1. Agents
6.4. Facilitators
6.4.1. Transportation companies
6.5. Service firms market
7. vertical marketing systems
7.1. corporate systems
7.1.1. a single owner operates the entire marketing channel
7.2. administered systems
7.2.1. a dominant channel member exercise power to achieve channel coordination
7.3. contractual systems
7.3.1. coordinate channel activities through formal agreements among channel members
7.3.1.1. wholesaler-sponsored voluntary chain
7.3.1.1.1. a wholesaler has formal agreement with retailer to use a common name and to produce the wholesaler's goods
7.3.1.2. retailer cooperative
7.3.1.2.1. retailers establish a shared wholesaling operation
7.3.1.3. franchise
7.3.1.3.1. a wholesaler or dealer agrees to meet the operating requirements of manufacturer or other franchise