Thursday, November 28, 2019

Overview of Distribution Channels

The world of marketing channels is a dynamic and ever changing place that offers some of the most exciting challenges known to business professionals. Whenever a new opportunity to make money appears, a new marketing channel is often created. In some fast changing markets, business possibilities emerge so rapidly, radically transforming the distribution channels. Often times, this is so frustrating for channel managers, who must decide which channels are correct for their company, product, and market places.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Overview of Distribution Channels specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A distribution channels are a group of people and firms involved in the transfer of title or ownership as the product moves from the producer to the ultimate consumer. The American Marketing Association describes a distribution channels as the structure of intra company organization units and extra company agent s, dealers, wholesalers and retailers through which a commodity, product or service is marketed (Havaldar and Cavale, 2006). In short, distribution channels are nothing but intermediaries or middlemen between the producer and the consumer. Distribution channels are there because the producers can not reach all their customers. They help to multiply reach and provide efficiency to the marketing process. Furthermore, they have the core competence and the reach which a company may not have and they can do this entire process more cost effectively. According to Havaldar and Cavale (2006), distribution channels can broadly be classified as follows: Sales Channel This has the function of motivating buyers, sharing information between the consumer and company, negotiating fair bargains for the consumer, and financing the transactions. A distributor for Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company would perform all these functions for the company by dealing with retailers and wholesalers who stock and sell the company products. Delivery Channel This is regarded as the primary job of a clearing and forwarding company and, is typically meant for physical transactions only. A clearing and forwarding company for Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company would ensure that the orders received from the company for the company distributors would be physically delivered to them on time and in full. The clearing and forwarding company would also receive and stock the company products for distribution. Service Channel This is mainly concerned with the after sales service. This will ensure that Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company is able to address any issues brought up by clients after the actual distribution has taken place.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A number of distribution channels are available and may be used by a company depending on preference. They include company owned distribution centers, dis tributors, value added resellers and agents, who could be exclusive, or shared, wholesalers who stock and sell a variety of products including that of competition and, retailers who are the ultimate and direct connect with the end user and consumer. For industrial products, a company’s own sales and marketing team could also serve as part of the channel system. Each channel member has unique characteristics and serves some objectives for the companies doing business in a given market or geographical area. Analysis of Target Market’s Needs This part contains information about the needs of the target market. In the first place, the target market is densely populated. In addition, the target population seems attracted to the Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company products and the existing companies are not able to satisfy the market demand. Clearly, this lessens the company’s advertising burden. However, despite the fact that the existing companies are not able to meet the ma rket demand, they have been offering high quality services. This implies that Oatmeal/Quaker Oats will be required to work extremely hard to differentiate its products and services from those of other players in the sector. Secondly, and to Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company’s advantage, there is a small market segment that is yet to be penetrated by any of the players. With such a niche, Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company is assured of setting foot in a section of the target market without fierce competition (Pinson, 2008). Over and above what has been said above, the trend in the target market indicates that the need for the company’s products and services will continue to increase. This can be attributed to the fact that there is an influx of people from other areas coming to live in the target market. In essence, this has the effect of increasing the area’s population. Choice of Channel Members Although there are a variety of channel members who may be used by Oatmeal/Qua ker Oats Company, it is advisable for the company to use wholesalers and retailers for effectiveness. Furthermore, an indirect rather than direct distribution approach will improve the company’s performance. Using an indirect approach to distribution will enable Oatmeal/Quaker Oats Company to create a strong relationship with customers by taking advantage of the wholesalers and retailers. In this case, wholesalers and retailers will act as the middlemen to deliver products and services to the customers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Overview of Distribution Channels specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Number of Channel Members As has been indicated in the preceding section, wholesalers and retailers are the two channel members who will be used in the distribution of products and services to customers. This number of channel members has been chosen strategically in order to avoid dealing with a very complex distribution system. Channel Organization The channel organization will be as illustrated by figure 1. Figure 1: Channel Organization The figure shows the flow of products for the company to the consumer. Once the company has done its production, the products are dispatched to the wholesalers using the company’s transportation facilities. The wholesaler then makes arrangements to get the products to the retailers. Finally, it the retailer who makes sure that products end up with the consumers. References Havaldar, K. K., Cavale, V. M. (2006). Sales Distribution Mgmt. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Pinson, L. J. (2008). Anatomy of a Business Plan: The Step-By-Step Guide to Building Your Business and Securing Your Company’s Future. Tustin, CA: Aka Associates.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on Overview of Distribution Channels was written and submitted by user Coleman Burton to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

An analysis and comparison of James Bond Film Essay Example

An analysis and comparison of James Bond Film Essay Example An analysis and comparison of James Bond Film Paper An analysis and comparison of James Bond Film Paper The names Bond James Bond In 1952 writer Ian Fleming created one of the best fictional heroes of all time, James bond. James bond films have become a major hit throughout the years. The first James bond Movie was made in 1962. Since then over 21 James bond films have been made. There has been 6 actors, all were successful in playing the James bond roll; Sean cannery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig (current James bond).There are many different reasons why the audience go for James bond films. It is appealing to women because of the good-looking, sophisticated and intelligent men. They are mainly drawn to James bond as he has all of these features and he is British. Women might also want to watch the films to keep a look out for fashionable clothes which are represented in the female actors. Males on the other hand are attracted by many more ideas. The films are constantly full of high energy and excitement which the props help to build up such as the unusual gadgets, guns, explosions and extreme stunts. Some men might watch James Bond films because of envy built by the main character Bond himself. The fact that he owns flashy cars such as the Aston Martin and other exhilarating vehicles could cause some male or even female audiences become quite jealous in addition James bond seems to always be surrounded by beautiful women. James bond films have gorgeous women, most in which are presented either half naked or through their sexual actions which is another reason why men are enticed to Bond films. It seems that every James bond film follows the same formula. The typical James Bond storyline would be when a problem occurs, bond is usually ordered to solve it. Bond hunts down the villain, on the way of his mission he either bumps into beautiful women or women that are related to the problem. He gets involved with the women sexually, sometimes in order get information from them. Some of the ladies end up dead and luckily for one, bond falls in love with them and so she lives. In the end James bond finds out the villains evil intensions and discovers a way to halt his/her tactics. The villain dies; Bond once again saves the world from destruction. There are many different settings for James bond movies. Some of the typical settings would be usually placed in exotic fancy locations such as the Bahamas or Spain, this is normally where he chases the villains and ladies. The conventional characters that are used in James bond films are usually very attractive and influential to the audience. There is always a classically stereotypical female villain who thinks she can seduce James Bond, she is the very sexually promiscuous woman in which bond can easily get information from by using sexual advances. Sometimes they are influenced by James bond to turn from bad to good but they end up dead either way. However the good girls are the ones that Bond truly falls in love with, she is not as sexual as the female villains but is a very beautiful lady and Bond protects her till the very end. The villains are usually the ones that want to take over the world or blown up a city/place. James Bond is a stereotypical heroic character. He is a ladies man/a man on a mission. Bond completes his given task and later praised by bonds high class boss. There is a regular theme tune that is often played when James Bond makes his entrance in different places or when he is ready for action.  James bond posters help the audience to uncover the possible story before watching the film. This essay will be closely analysing, comparing and contrasting two well known James bond posters. Firstly I will be analysing the James bond Thunderball poster. The mis-en-scene of this poster is initially the images of James bond. We can see James Bond in a variety of different activities which connotes the film is full of action furthermore gives us the impression James bond is a strong, fit and healthy man. James bond is shown in a significant way to suggest he is the main character. In the first shot he is wearing a black suit which shows he could be high class. Bond is holding a gun and carrying a jetpack suggesting that the film will be violent. His face expression seems to looking in another direction in a quite serious look. This implies he is suspicious or ready for action. The fire also suggests a bit of violence. The brown background is quite dull however is an effective way to make James bond appear more conspicuous hence capture the audiences attention. The guns, jet suits and fire are appealing to a male audience. In the next shot we see the same man in the first shot; he is wearing a orange swim suit. This connotes he is a very sporty masculine man. Bond seems to be holding back another diver out of the way, we cannot see the divers face, but we can see him possibly aiming to get the metal object off Bonds hand, maybe this object is the key device that will blow up the world thus he could be the villain. Perhaps Bond is trying to get the device away from the villain giving the audience the impression he is the heroic character. We see a different background as opposed to the first shot. It is shot in a different place which implies the film will also be set in many countries/places. We can see water and speedboats in addition other drivers seem to be falling into the water, this whole background scene connote that it is an action packed film.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

A Tale of Two IS Projects. JetBlue and WestJet Essay

A Tale of Two IS Projects. JetBlue and WestJet - Essay Example Importance of Reservation System in WestJet and JetBlue For airline companies like JetBlue or WestJet, the importance of the reservation system is like a heart to organizations’ operations giving stimulus to each of the organization sections. An airline company which is settled on a larger scale reservation system is directly necessary to the business operation of that company (Laudon, 2013, pp. 556-557). Ability to book flights or dealing customers with time effectiveness comes directly from an effective reservation system and for that reason organizations like JetBlue and WestJet emphasize on keeping their reservation systems upgraded. Similarly, fares or inventory record management, data processing and management and information management is all what is conducted through an active reservation system (Laudon, 2013). For that reason, JetBlue and WestJet both organizations try to induce their systems with a proactive and comprehensive approach. If the systems are not proactive, there are more chances that a lot of informational op erations get weakened affecting the overall business of the company. This clears out the significance of a reservation system in a transnational airline organization (Laudon, 2013). Key Risk Factors on Upgrading Reservation Systems (JetBlue vs. WestJet) For a firm like WestJet which captures forty percent of the Canadian market share by taking 300 to 400 flights each single day, it is a complete challenge to upgrade its reservation system which requires significant amendments in the operational setup (Oz, 2009). The challenge is same for JetBlue which is a budget airline and have to deal with a large number of customers each day. From the business point of view, the challenge is of losing sales number, revenues and position in the stock market. Because upgrading requires a temporary shutdown, it intakes the risk of losing brand value or position (Laudon, 2013). From customers’ point of view, if amendments are not good enough like they cannot meet the customers’ choice and view, they result in a significant setback to firm’s business. Definitely, when customers are not satisfied it impacts the overall status of the company and also the prospect which comes through customers’ approval. These were particular risk factors which both WestJet and JetBlue involved at their upgrades. The factors required wise planning and the input of leadership to get controlled and managed. They required effective administrative planning to result in favor of firms’ operations (Oz, 2009). Implementation of the New Reservation System There were distinctive problems which both organizations (JetBlue and WestJet) faced at the time of their reservation system upgrade. They faced problems at the managerial level, planning problems and operational problems at the time of change (Wit & Meyer, 2010, p. 439). The initial challenge was to transform the smaller reservation setup to a larger IS system- a system which has more vibrant processing and can easily deal with greater volume of customers. This required the expansion of the primary database, the expansion of the inventory, and the expansion of the processing units in order to become a uniform information system. However, the situation on upgrade was mo re enduring for WestJet than JetBlue. According to Robert Palmer (a