AIRBNB: Disrupting Traditional Distribution Channels

Recall: According to the passage, what type of platform is Airbnb in the hospitality industry?

• A chain of budget hotels

• An online lodgings marketplace

• A traditional travel agency network

• A franchised bed-and-breakfast association

Strategic Thinking: If the hospitality industry’s age‑old principles are being challenged by Airbnb, which strategic priority does the passage say Airbnb must pursue next to remain competitive?

• Standardize room designs across hosts

• Increase franchise fees for property owners

• Continue to adapt and innovate

• Limit listings to major hotel chains

A firm is preparing for a new product launch and wants to align tasks with Learning Objective 1. Which action best fits the objective stated in the visual?

• Identify the most persuasive slogan for a national TV ad

• Map out the reasons for using intermediaries and specify the distribution tasks channels will handle

• Set quarterly revenue targets for the sales department

• Negotiate lower input costs with suppliers for manufacturing

The supply chain is often described as a “make and sell” view. What does this view emphasize?

• Starting with the target customer’s needs and working backward

• Prioritizing advertising over logistics

• Focusing on the firm’s raw materials, productive inputs, and factory capacity

• Outsourcing distribution to independent wholesalers

Which description best captures the demand chain’s “sense and respond” perspective?

• Manufacturing products to maximize factory utilization

• Planning that starts with the needs of the target customer

• Stockpiling inventory to stabilize upstream supply

• Negotiating lower prices with component suppliers

A value delivery network is composed of which set of actors working together?

• The company, suppliers, distributors, and customers partnering to improve the performance of the entire system

• Only the company’s marketing department coordinating promotions

• Government regulators overseeing industry standards

• Retailers collaborating solely with end consumers

Consider the Ford truck example. What does it illustrate about value delivery networks?

• They are limited to in-house manufacturing teams with no outside partners

• They integrate people within the company plus outside suppliers, dealers, and marketing service firms to create and deliver value

• They rely exclusively on customers to perform distribution tasks

• They eliminate the need for branding or positioning strategies

Which statement best defines a marketing channel as presented in the section?

• A pathway used by a single firm to advertise its products directly to consumers

• A set of interdependent organizations that make a product or service available for use or consumption

• A government-regulated system for controlling product prices and supply

• A technology platform that automates online sales without intermediaries

In this section, the term distribution channel is used interchangeably with marketing channel. What does this equivalence imply for managers making channel decisions?

• They should view distribution solely as logistics and ignore customer access

• They should consider channel partners as a coordinated system for delivering availability to users

• They should rely on government agencies to set channel membership rules

• They should avoid intermediaries to reduce costs at all times

Using the diagram’s logic, imagine three manufacturers and three customers. Which configuration minimizes the total number of contacts?

• Each manufacturer contacting each customer directly

• Customers contacting manufacturers only when needed

• All manufacturers and customers connecting through a single distributor

• Manufacturers connecting to one customer who relays messages to others