Chart Your Channels

The goal of channels of distribution is to move products from producers to 

• intermediaries
• final consumers
• industrial distributors
• middle men

Channels of distribution benefit consumers by 

• making a variety of products available to them.
• raising the quality of all consumer products.
• lowering the prices of all consumer products.

Channels of distribution benefit businesses by 

• getting their products to consumers more efficiently
• lowering the prices of all industrial goods. 
• raising their profits each year

Providing marketing information is an important channel activity. Businesses rely on marketing information to determine 

• their target markets’ needs and wants.
• how much to charge for their products.
• how intermediaries are performing.
• what to name their products.

The costs of promoting products are often 

• paid for entirely by one channel member.
• shared by channel members.
• avoidable in certain channels.
• very inexpensive, especially for new products

Retailers perform an important channel activity by negotiating with consumers on issues such as 

• manufacturing
• delivery
• risk-taking.
• promotion

A wholesaler breaks down a large shipment of a product and sells portions of it to several retailers. The wholesaler is reducing a discrepancy of 

• assortment
• quantity
• promotion
• installation

A retailer buys a variety of toys from a number of different producers and makes them all available for sale in the same place. The retailer is reducing a discrepancy of 

• installation
• assortment
• quantity

Channels of distribution allow channel members to share 

• profits
• risks
• equipment
• employees

Channel members add value to a product by 

• making the product more costly.
• pursuing individual goals. 
• performing certain channel activities expertly
• making the product difficult for consumers to find.