Name: 

Adding more intermediaries to the distribution channel can make distribution more efficient than selling direct.

Marketing distribution channels create three types of utility: Time (making the good or service available to customers when they want it), Place (making the good or service available to customers where they want it), and Form (making the good or service available to customers as they want it).

It can be confusing to distinguish wholesalers from retailers because some organizations operate both as wholesalers and as retailers.

Distribution channels perform at least six important functions in the overall marketing system: facilitating the exchange process, sorting, standardizing, holding inventories, assisting in the search process, and transporting.

Distributors adjust for discrepancies in the market’s assortment of goods and services by seeking to standardize what is offered.

Distributors assist in the search process by providing information to both buyers and sellers.  For example, they might tell buyers about the sales trends for a given product category and they might tell sellers about the unique attributes of all of the products available in a given category.

There are four main types of distribution channels:  direct, one-step, two-step, and three-step.

After determining how many and which channels to use for a specific good or service, a marketing manager’s channel decisions are not over because changes can occur later that may make a marketing manager want to revise these decisions.  For example, distributors who go out of business may need to be replaced; new distributors may open up for business that should be considered; or competitive factors may make it essential to use the Internet as a distribution channel in a particular product category.

Direct distribution channels are more important in consumer goods markets than in business goods markets due to the smaller size of most consumer goods.

The “traditional” marketing channel for consumer goods is the two-step channel, from producer to wholesaler to retailer to user.

Multiple channels are used when the same product is marketed through several channels as well as to both consumer and business users.  The opportunities for marketers to use multiple channels have expanded as the result of competition among retailers and other marketing intermediaries.

Though many reverse marketing channels have to do with recycling expensive raw materials or prevention of environmental pollution, some exist to handle product recalls and repair service for defective products.

Orchestra Seating Ticket Brokers, a Broadway theatre ticket agency that sells tickets in bulk to corporate tour companies like Grayline, should be considered a wholesaling intermediary even though the firm does not take title to the tickets it sells.

With a small item like theatre tickets, some of the other marketing functions often performed by wholesalers of more tangible goods, like storing and transporting, do not need to be performed by the producer or anyone else in the distribution channel.

Tim Hortons is a major Canadian franchise operation.  Franchising is a form of vertical marketing system that is based on agreement between a franchisee and a franchisor whereby the franchisee agrees to meet the operating requirements of the franchisor in return for the rights to carry the name and products of the franchisor.  The franchisee typically also receives a variety of marketing, management, technical, and financial services in exchange for a specified fee.

There are four steps in the channel selection and implementation process: (1) selecting the appropriate type of channel, (2) determining the desired distribution intensity, (3) negotiating arrangements with the proposed channel members, and (4) supporting the channels.

Canada’s relatively small and widely dispersed centres of population tend to result in less specialized wholesaling and retailing institutions than in the United States.  However, this market factor does not limit the range of channel opportunities available to a Canadian marketing manager.

A generalization that is usually true of marketing channel length is:  The more standardized the product, the shorter the channel.

Procter & Gamble has a very broad product line, including various brands of soaps, detergents, toothpastes, disposable diapers, cake mixes, and cosmetics.  It is better able to avoid the use of wholesalers and to market its products directly to retailers or business users than many of its smaller competitors because its sales force has such a large variety of products to offer to customers.

A marketer may decide that intensive distribution is most appropriate for his product, but may not be able to implement this strategy if the product category is in low demand and retailers only want to carry one or two brands in the category, or if the product has a relatively low profitability.

A good channel of distribution is needed for a product to be successful.  A good channel of distribution is one that is suited to

Place utility is enhanced by a member of the distribution channel when the member

Which of the following statements is true regarding distribution channels and marketing intermediaries?

Which of the following is not a distribution channel function?

A one-step channel for consumer goods consists of

Small retailers and thousands of small producers with limited lines will most likely use which type of distribution channel?

Distributing services to either consumers or business usually involves shorter channels of distribution than distributing goods due primarily to which of the following characteristics of services?

Jason received a letter from Pontiac informing him that a panel on his dashboard was defective and could cause serious injury in the event of a collision.  The letter directed Jason to return the vehicle to any authorized Pontiac dealer for free repairs.  This is an example of

A chemical company buys chemical cleaning products from several manufacturers and resells these products to numerous businesses and organizations.  This company does not sell to consumers or end users, and therefore would be considered a(n)

The difference between a “wholesaler” and a “wholesaling intermediary” is

Wholesaling intermediaries perform which of the following marketing functions?

Wholesaling intermediaries are classified by type of ownership and by title flows.  The ownership categories consist of all of the following except

Of the following, the type of wholesaling intermediary that would be considered a manufacturer-owned marketing channel member is the

Merchant wholesalers include all of the following except

The wholesaler who brings buyers and sellers together and allows merchandise to be inspected prior to beginning the purchase process is the

Vertical marketing systems consist of

Examples of vertical marketing systems include all of the following except

A contractual VMS may be a

Major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Sears act as ___________ in given situations.

There are several different types of distribution channels.  The best type