A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S FO LIA OECONOM ICA 17, 1982
K r y s ty n a I w iń sk a -K n o p *
CONDITIONS OF U T ILIZA TIO N OF D ISTR IB U TIO N CH AN NELS IN TH E COM PANY STRATEGY (CASE STUDY O F TH E CLOTH IN G
M ARKET)
This p ap e r p rese n ts an a tte m p t a t assessm ent of th e s tru c tu re of d istrib u tio n ch an n els for consum er p ro ducts and d iffe re n t flow s w ith in these channels, and especially flow s of inform ation, negotiations and physical m ovem ent of products.
This assessm ent w ill be perfo rm ed tak in g into account 2 aspects: firs tly — possibilities of utilizing d istrib u tio n channels to en su re a h arm o n y b etw een su p p ly and final dem and w ith m axim um u tiliz a -tio n of economic resources;
secondly — possibilities of utilizing d istrib u tio n channels as a m eans of m ark e tin g stra te g y along w ith its rem ain in g elem en ts and especially th e product.
A ssum ing th a t even in th e econom y possessing a u niform system of m an ag em en t d istrib u tio n channels should be d iffe re n tia te d , I am of the opinion th a t th e aim of th e analysis m ay be a t lea st p a rtly achieved th ro u g h em pirical research es focussed on observation of flow s and e n v iro n m en ta l conditions d e te rm in in g activities of p a rtic u la r lin k s of th e channel. The m ain thesis of th e p ap e r is a s ta te m e n t th a t uniform c h a ra c te r of d istrib u tio n channels reduces a d a p ta b ility of these channels to needs resu ltin g from fe a tu re s of th e p ro d u ct and th e ta rg e t m ark e t segm ent.
O ur analysis encom passes th e clothing m ark e t, and m ore precisely e ig h t production com panies w ith a d iffe re n tia te d a sso rtm e n t s tru c tu re and in stitu tio n a l fra m ew o rk (state and co-operative). T he research es w ere c a rrie d out in tw o stages. The first stage consisted in d ire c t o bser-v ation of th e com pany actibser-vities in th e a re a of fu n ctio n in g and flow s w ith in the channel. The second stage aim ed a t collecting opinions of
decision m ak ers in th e com pany. A pplying a m ethod of th e u n fo rm a li-zed in terv iew and tre a tin g decision m akers as e x p e rts we trie d to obtain th e ir opinion about possibilities of utilizing d istrib u tio n ch an n els as a m eans of m a rk e t m anipulation. The research es w ere supplem ented by observation of a tra d e link in one region to w hich th ese products w ere passed. This allow ed to p e rfo rm a diagnosis of th e ex isting si-tu ation. It should, how ever, be m entioned h e re th a t research es com ple-ted by us a re only of an illu stra tiv e ch aracter.
It seem s necessary to define conditions in w hich th e research es w ere conducted. These conditions are com posed of th re e groups of pheno-m ena:
1. c h a ra c te ristic fe a tu re s of th e m ark e t, 2. m an ag em en t and p lan n in g system ,
3. m a rk e t situ atio n in w hich d istrib u tio n channels are functioning. C h a ra cte ristic fe a tu re s of th e clothing m a rk e t include:
— com m on and continuous c h a ra c te r of clothing consum ption; — big d iversification in satisfactio n of d iffe re n t needs of p a rtic u la r social and professional groups accounting for fo rm atio n of d iffe re n t m a rk e t segm ents;
— w ide and rap id ly changing asso rtm en t, sh o rten in g of p ro ducts life cycles;
— co m p le m e n tarity and s u b stitu tio n in fu lfilm en t of diverse u tility functions;
— big influence e x e rted by th e po p u latio n ’s incom es on changes in th e level and s tru c tu re of dem and;
— re la tiv e ly rap id changes in taste s and p referen ces of population. T he clothing m a rk e t is re la tiv e ly , stro n g ly co n cen trated , w hich leads to u n ificatio n and m onopolization of th e s tru c tu re of d istrib u tio n c h a n n e ls 1. T he m a rk e t channel consists of th re e links: th e p roducer o p eratin g in d ep e n d e n tly of th e o th e r links in th e dom estic m ark e t, w ho-lesale and reta ilin g in te g ra te d w ith each other.
T he p re se n t system of m an ag em en t and c e n tra l p lan n in g im posing detailed directiv e indexes and applying p rohibitions and ord ers ex c lu -des a possibility of choosing m ethods of a c tiv ity to be follow ed by all p a rtic ip a n ts of d istrib u tio n channels. D ecisional pow ers of com panies
1 T h e av e ra g e n u m b e r of th e em ployed p e r one c lo th ing co m p an y am o u n ts to 390 perso n s in P o lan d w h ile th e co rresp o n d in g fig u re in th e FR G is 80, F ra n -ce — 60, Ita ly — 15, H oland — 72, G re a t B rita in — 75, USA — 70. J. W a - n i e w s к i, M a rketin g w y ro b ó w te k sty ln o -o d zie żo w y c h . R acjonalne rozw iązania
(M arketing o f T ex tile an d C lothing P roducts. R atio n al S olutions), P a p e r for sym posium , Łódź 1976.
a re re s tric te d and reduced to im p lem en tatio n of task s stip u late d in th e c e n tra l plan.
Lack of g eneral equilibrium , w hich is f u rth e r ag g ra v a te d by p a rtia l disequilibrium , poses difficulties in assessm ent of occuring phenom ena. T hus e.g. ease w ith w hich p ro ducts can be sold causes th a t production com panies force production of m ore expensive products a t th e cost of ch eap er p ro d u cts w hich ag g rav ates s tru c tu ra l conflicts b etw e en dem and and supply. The p ro d u cer does not pay a n y a tte n tio n to consum er or end user. In th is situ a tio n th e task of d istrib u tio n channels is not only to a d ap t th em to th e ta rg e t m a rk e t segm ent b u t also en su re conditions for m otivation of supply.
The assessm ent of u tilizatio n of d istrib u tio n channels in th e com -pan y stra te g y can be accom plished on th e basis of e a rlie r fo rm u lated principles to be observed by th e s tru c tu re of d istrib u tio n channels in th e discussed m ark et. T hese principles can be ro u g h ly sum m arized as follows:
1. All activities c a rrie d by all links in a given m a rk e t ch an n el being reflected in m u tu a l contacts, in fo rm atio n and stip u latio n s should p ro -m ote increased a d a p ta b ility of channels to -m ark e t req u ire-m e n ts, w hich allow s for th e ir tran sp o sitio n to w ard s m otivation of supply. It is espe-cially im p o rta n t w h e th e r a given d istrib u tio n ch an n el a d ap ts itse lf to re q u ire m e n ts posed by th e p ro duct fe a tu re s and th e ta rg e t m a rk e t segm ent.
2. T here is a need to p reserv e a considerable ela stic ity of th e m ark e t ch an n el stru c tu re . T he po in t h e re is to a n sw er a question: does th e d istrib u tio n channel respond p ro p erly to changes in m acro and m icro-en vironm icro-ent?
3. In th e c e n tra lly p lanned econom y th e m a rk e t channel s tru c tu re should pave th e w ay for red u ctio n of discrepancies b etw een tasks d e-fined on th e m acroeconom ic scale and passed to com panies and m icro- economic targ ets. The la tte r ones realized w ith in a d istrib u tio n channel should be u niform for individual links. T h at w ill be possible if flow s passing th ro u g h these links a re coordinated and su p p o rt one a n o th e r to achieve a com m on ta rg e t for all levels of a m a rk e t channel.
4. M ark et channels m u st be c o rre la te d w ith o th er elem ents of th e m ark e tin g m ix, th a t is w ith product, price and prom otion. T hus for exam ple: active d istrib u tio n policy m ay im prove th e p ro d u ct im age and in th is w ay increase effectiveness of th e s tra te g y th ro u g h product. C o rrectly organized flow of inform ation facilitates th e p ro d u ct prom o-tion. And finally, pricing decisions should be ad ap ted to th e form of d istrib u tio n w h e th e r it be exclusive, in tensive or selective distrib u tio n .
th em should provide conditions for assessm ent of these channels. It is essential to cre a te possibilities for cost accounting not w ith in th e f ra -m ew ork of p a rtic u la r links b ut account of expenses re fe rrin g to the w hole d istrib u tio n channel, tak in g into account functions perfo rm ed by it. A d istrib u tio n channel is tre a te d as a system w ith in w hich a tte m p ts should be m ade at c o n stru ctu n g a q u an tified account of effectiveness.
A nalysis of m acro and m icro en v iro n m en tal conditions as w ell as conditions in w hich individual com panies op erate allow s to sta te th a t d istrib u tio n channels in the Polish clothing m ark e t a re utilized p rim a -rily to en su re a h arm o n y b etw een supply and dem and. T hey are, m reover, ch aracterized w ith a considerable degree of u nification and m o-nopolization. This is reflected in beh av io u r of p a rtic u la r lin k s of th e m a rk e t chan n el and m a rk e t flows. The pro d u cer and th e tra d e do n o t c re a te a system and despite appearances th e y o perate in d ep endently. L arge, h ighly c o n cen trated production com panies possess a stro n g b a r-gaining position. The d istrib u tio n system refo rm carried out in 1976 w as to en sure, am ong others, conditions of p a rtn e rs h ip in th e m a rk e t channel. The p rese n t s tru c tu re of tra d e reveals fe a tu re s c h a ra c te ristic for larg e econom ic s tru c tu re s i.e. it o perates in m an y b ran c h areas, it encom passes a re la tiv e ly isolated te rrito ry , and m ain tain s ties w ith th e c e n tral p lan 2. A lthough th e re w as accepted a p rinciple th a t coexistence of consum er needs should d e te rm in e th e organizational b ran c h s tru c tu -re of tra d e and though th e -re w e-re set up tra d e organizations in line w ith consum er needs, th e p rese n t tra d e com panies a re ch aracterized w ith u n iv e rsa lity and lack of a d a p ta tio n to m a rk e t segm ents. C onsum er re q u ire m e n ts a re only to a sm all degree tra n s fe rre d to m otivate supply.
T he researches show ed th a t producers often sim plify th e ir activity. T hey do not co n cen trate th e ir effo rts and resources on developm ent of production ad ap ted to needs of d efin ite m a rk e t segm ents b u t th e y ten d to focus th e ir a tte n tio n on th ese a sso rtm en ts w ith w hich a m inim um of e ffo rt allow s th em to exceed task s outlined in th e c e n tral plan. This absorbs raw m aterials, m aterials, and production capacities fu lly utilized in production com panies. T hus ela stic ity of su p p ly is ex definitione insi-g nificant 3.
Z M. S t r u ż y c k i , P ostęp te ch n iczn o -o rg a n iza c yjn y w handlu. M echanizm y
kiero w a n ia (Technical a n d O rg a n iz atio n a l P ro g ress in T rade. M an ag em en t M
e-chanism s), W arszaw a 1978, p. 282.
3 T he socalled fra m w o rk a g re em e n ts p ro v id in g fo r m a in te n a n c e of p ro -du ctio n rese rv e s of 15 to 20 p er c e n t a n d allow ing for c u rr e n t in tro d u c tio n of design, m a te ria l, a n d technological n ovelties to tr a d e did n o t fu lfil th e e x p e c ta -tions. T h ey rep re se n te d a n a tte m p t a t m o re evenly sp rea d a n d b e tte r a d a p te d to c h a ra c te r of b ra n c h e s a n d a s so rtm e n t g roups la b o u r division b etw een in d u stry
The production com pany holding a m onopolist position and o p erating in conditions of m ark e t diseq u ilib riu m tends to red u ce its sales risk and su b o rd in ate the rem ain in g lin k s of the d istrib u tio n channel. I t can not only im pose th e term s of th e c o n tra ct being concluded b u t also d estroy th e effectiveness of all legal in stru m e n ts le ft at th e disposal of th e buyer. This produces consequences of tw o kinds: c o n tra cts not only fail to re fle c t th e existing m a rk e t re q u ire m e n ts b u t even in instances of th e ir breach by th e supplier, th e su p p lie r escapes p u n ish m e n t 4.
Exam ples of failu re on th e p a rt of p roducers to keep to c o n tra ct te rm s a re fre q u e n t changes of colouring of fabrics, th e ir q u a lity and ty p e as w ell as lack of p u n c tu a lity in execution of contracts. T he last m entioned factor is of special im portance in th e case of seasonal goods. D elayed deliveries of these goods affect n eg ativ ely th e effectiveness of tra d e com panies as a re s u lt of accum ulating stocks and co n sequent sa-les a t reduced prices.
F re q u e n t changes in term s of co n tra cts a re caused by u n sa tisfa c to -ry co-operation b etw een pro d u cers of clothing and te x tile in d u st-ry . In co-operation contacts th e existing reg u latio n s o ften tim e do n o t stip u late precisely lim ites of resp o n sib ility and risk -ta k in g by negotiation p a r tners. Raw m ate ria ls b a rrie r is a facto r h am p erin g a d a p ta b ility of com -panies. This system continues to be h ig h ly ineffective from th e econo-mic, social and end u se r’s points of view. The tra d e becom es q u ite often a b a rrie r to intro d u ctio n of m a rk e t innovations and it is unable to e x e rt an y active influence on o th e r bran ch es of th e n ational economy. R esponsibility for provision of th e m a rk e t is tre a te d too form alistically. The system s approach to th e d istrib u tio n channel m ust provide for joint resp o n sib ility for th e m a rk e t provision. H ence th e need for eva-lu ation of d istrib u tio n lin k s not only on th e basis of im plem ented plan tasks b u t also degree of satisfaction of social needs. H ow ever, in as m uch as th e position of th e p ro d uction com pany in th e dom estic m a rk e t
an d trad e . They, how ever, failed to p ro m o te any bigger im p ro v e m en t of co- -o p e ra tio n b etw een lin k s d u e to la ck of p ro p e r changes in th e field of tools a n d u n fa v o u ra b le m a rk e t situ a tio n . (F. M. S z ą g , S y s te m w sp ó łp ra cy m ię d z y p
rze-m y słe rze-m i h a n d lerze-m a ochrona in te resó w k o n s u rze-m e n tó w (C o-operation S ysterze-m
b etw e en In d u s try a n d T ra d e a n d C onsum er P rotection), R oczniki I.H .W .iU . 1978, No. 2, p. 49).
4 See J. L e w a n d o w s k i , I n s tr u m e n ty p ra w n e ja k o narzędzia w za jem n eg o
o d d zia ływ a n ia i w spó łp ra cy u c z e stn ik ó w ry n k u . S ym pozjum n a u k o w e nt. „W
spółdziałan ie u czestników ry n k u ja k o czynnik p o stęp u w za sp o k a jan iu p o trzeb lu d -n o ści” (Legal I-n stru m e -n ts as Tools of M utual I-n te ra c tio -n a-n d C o-o p eratio -n b etw e en M a rk e t P a rtic ip a n ts. S cientific S ym posium on „C o -o p eratio n of M a rk e t P a rtic ip a n ts as a F a c to r of P ro g re ss in S ta tisfa c tio n of P o p u la tio n ’s N eeds”), W arszaw a 1977, p. 357.
allow s it to neglect th e buyer, th e situ atio n is m ore com plicated in th e foreign m ark et. A com pany unk n o w n in a given m a rk e t experiences difficulties in selling its products. Its position is d e te rm in e d not only by its size b u t also by th e im age in a foreign m ark et. T h a t is w h y the Polish p roducer is forced to use services of a local m iddlem an in a given m ark e t (this function is in m ost cases p erform ed by an agent). The r e -p u tatio n of th e m iddlem an -provides som e kind of g u a ra n te e of q u ality of Polish products u nknow n in a given m arket.
T he channel s tru c tu re is, how ever, v e ry extensive w hile operation of com panies dealing w ith e x p o rt and im p o rt of pro d u cts shifts, to a larg e degree, th e b u rd en of resp o n sib ility from th e p ro d u cer to fo-reign tra d e com panies sim u ltaneously e x ten d in g th e tim e req u ired for m a rk e t flows.
F u n ctio n al isolation of in d u stry and tra d e links ham p ers co -o rd in a-ted flow s w ith in a d istrib u tio n channel. A stu d y of d istrib u tio n links rev ealed th a t th e role of in form ation and negotiation flow s is insignifi-cant. The in form ation flow co n stitu tes a p rere q u isite of decision-m aking m ainly a t th e c e n tral level, w hile com panies p rac tic a lly do not benefit from it. It is visible even in the horizontal s tru c tu re of th e channel. In o rd er to en su re ela stic ity of th e m ark e t channel w ith re g a rd to clothing it becom es necessary to have access to in fo rm atio n not so m uch of n o r-m ative type b u t r a th e r of r-m ark e tin g type. It ap p ears u n fo rtu n a te ly th a t m ark e tin g research es conducted by the channel links have a lim i-ted scope and are r a th e r of form al th a n p ractical and useful ch aracter. Even se ttin g up of th e B ranch C e n te r for M arket A nalysis, w hich co- -o rd in ates such researches, did not increase th e role of th e inform ation flow. A policy of elab o ratin g persp ectiv e and lo n g -te rm forecasts of clothing consum ption by th e in d u stry is h a rd ly advisable, w hile th e t r a -de is charged w ith a task of d e te rm in in g th e volum e of th e consum ption over one and tw o -y ea r periods on the basis of d em and tre n d s, level of stocks and im port volum e. T his reduces a d a p ta b ility of th e m ark e t channel and ela stic ity of supply. It is w ell know n th a t stocks of clothing p ro ducts ten d to be excessive in th e final link of d istrib u tio n w hich is a re su lt of m u ltilevel d istrib u tio n system as w ell as of in stitu tio n a l and not fu n ctional selection of c rite ria of th e m ark e t channel organization 5. It can f u rth e r be added h e re th a t d ata com prised in sh o rt and lo n g term plans re p re se n t sim u ltan eo u sly a b a rrie r to th e in form ation flow w hich is due to rigid provisions of th e p lan and th e ir fre q u e n t corrections. It
5 T h e sh a re of excessive stocks in o v era ll stocks of som e clo th in g a r t icles in 1977 la rg e ly ex ceeded th e n a tio n a l a v e ra g e of 3.3 p er cen t a n d a m o u n ted to: 7.5 p er cen t in te x tile coats, 6.6 p e r ce n t in te x tile clothes, a n d 5.7 p er cen t in k n itw e ar.
ap p e are d in th e course of our research es th a t ord ers o ften resem ble req u e sts addressed to an econom ic u n it rem ain in g in a s tro n g e r b a
r-gaining position, and such position is as a ru le h e ld by a pro d u ctio n com pany. O ffers are som etim es nothing m ore th a n p re se n ta tio n of designing capacities of th e in d u stry and th e offered designs can n o t be contracted. L ow er decision-m aking levels e.g. m an ag em en t of clothing stores have lim ited rig h ts and p rac tic a lly th e y cannot place th e ir orders d ire c tly in p ro d uction com panies. S im ilarly th e y do not p a rtic ip a te in fairs and com m odity e x c h a n g e s 6. In th is situ a tio n grow s th e ro le of in form al ties and rela tio n sh ip s prom oted a fte r all by th e m an ag em en t system .
In m ost cases th e re a re used in d irect form s of d is tr ib u tio n 7. The physical flow of p ro ducts is not su p p o rted by th e in fo rm atio n flow. D e-liveries a re u n p u n c tu a l and a sso rtm e n t supplied does not correspond to th e order. The role of negotiations is lim ited. A d m in istrativ e decisions, and system of goods allocation provide a binding basis for conclusion of contracts. A t n atio n al fairs negotiations a re re s tric te d in p ractice to ab o v e-p lan pro d u ctio n w hich has not been c e n tra lly im posed by regio-nal organs of a u th o rity .
In th e s tru c tu re of m a rk e t channels no account is ta k e n of re q u ire -m ents re su ltin g fro-m p ro d u ct fea tu re s and th e ta rg e t -m a rk e t seg-m ent. If w e divide clothing p ro ducts into 2 groups:
— p rim a rily staple item s, — p rim a rily fashion item s,
we can see th a t th e y satisfy diverse needs. P rim a rily staple item s of clothing a re to m ee t e le m e n ta ry needs of clothing w hile fashion item s m eet social, a esth etic needs, shape th e im age and p e rso n a lity of a m an 8.
C lothing com panies utilize, how ever, th e sam e s tru c tu re of th e m a r-k e t channel for d iffe re n t products. T he above quoted classification is g e n e ra lly bypassed. C lothing p ro ducts w ith d iffe re n t ch a ra c te ristic s and satisfy in g d iffe re n t needs are sold th ro u g h th e sam e n e tw o rk of stores.
e j . K a l e k , Badanie organizacji za m a w ia n ia to w a ró w p rzez p u n k ty sp
rze-d a ży rze-d eta liczn ej (A nalysis of Goorze-ds O rrze-d e rin g S y stem by R etail O utlets),
Rocz-n ik i I.H.W .i U. 1976, No. 2, pp. 134— 136.
7 In th e EEC co u n tries, w h ich account fo r 20 p e r cen t of th e w o rld clothing p ro d u ctio n th e w h o lesale plays an in sig n ifica n t ro le in sales of te x tile s. It m ain ly ac ts as m id d lem a n in sales of sta p le item s. D irect lin k s w ith re ta ilin g re p re se n t th e m ost im p o rta n t m a rk e t channel. T h u s e.g. in th e FRG r e ta il tr a d e sells ab o u t 60 p e r ce n t of a ll te x tile s, in F ra n c e — 75—85 p e r cent, in Ita ly 70— 85 p e r cent, in H oland — 45 p e r ce n t a n d in B elgium 40—80 p e r cent.
» T his division is u sefu l in p red ic tin g fu tu r e d em an d , o rg an iz atio n of goods o rd e rin g system , re la tio n s b etw een sales a n d stocks, a n d p h y sical re a liz a tio n of th e p roduct. F or exam ple, it is d iffic u lt to p re d ic t d e m an d fo r n ew a n d fash io -20 — F o li a o e c o n o m ic a 17
No account is ta k e n of th e fact th a t th e d istrib u tio n chan n el should consolidate th e com pany im age w hich involves application of m onodi-strib u tio n or dual d ionodi-strib u tio n 9.
N onetheless, th e com pleted research es rev ealed th a t som e com pa-nies, w hose pro d u ct is accepted in th e m ark e t, give p refe re n c e to direct contacts w ith re ta il trade. An expression of positive in te g ratio n a tte m p ts of th e m a rk e t channel links a re the so-called rack -jo b b in g deals being a form of franchising, in w hich th e p ro d u cer defines ex a ctly th e place and form s of selling of his products. M anagers of stores encom passed by such deals possess pow ers expan d in g th e ir independence in tak in g d ecisions concerning especially selection of asso rtm en t. T h a t la rg e ly in -creases th e a d a p ta b ility of the m ark e t channel to m ark e t req u irem en ts. The analysis p resen ted above, alth o u g h it is lim ited to some basic problem s, allow s us to fo rm u la te some conclusions concerning increase of possibilities of utilizing d istrib u tio n channels in s tra te g y of com pa-nies.
1. T here exists a need for evolution in th e m an ag em en t system . This re fe rs to extension of independence of com panies, red u ctio n in th e n u m -b e r of directiv e indexes in fav o u r of in d irect m ethods of m anagem ent w hich will u ltim a te ly lead to bigger e la stic ity of o perations of th e m a r-k et channel linr-ks.
2. In o rd er to en su re a d a p ta b ility of th e m a rk e t channel it is n e-cessary to:
— sh o rte n th e tim e period b etw een conclusion of a c o n tra ct and d eliv ery of products;
— m ain ta in production cap acity reserv es m aking it possible to a d ju st th e p ro d u ct in line w ith changing m ark e t req u irem e n ts;
— im prove co-operation w ith in d u strie s producing fab rics for th e clothing in d u stry ;
— change th e p re se n t system of lau n ch in g new fashions a n d of new p ro d u ct developm ent w hich is connected w ith sh o rten in g th e ir rea liz a
-n ab le pro d u cts. It ca-n ra -n g e b etw e e-n fu ll ac cep ta -n ce of th e p ro d u c t a-n d its co m p lete reje ctio n . It is o ften im possible to re p e a t o rd e rs fo r th e se p ro d u cts ev e n in th e sam e season. In th e case of fash io n a b le ite m s th e re is often a d irec t re la tio n sh ip b etw e en sales w ith in a w eek an d in itia l stocks fo r th is w eek. W ith in som e lim its th e se sales a re p ro p o rtio n a l to stocks. T his re la tio n does n o t a p p e a r in th e field of sta p le item s. (L. W. S t e r n , A. E 1 - A n s a r y,
M a rke tin g C hannels. P re n tic e H all Inc. Englew ood Cliffs., N ew Je rse y 1977,
pp. 88—90).
8 M on o d istrib u tio n is u tilized w ith selective su p p ly of b ra n d e d item s. Dual d is trib u tio n is, on th e o th e r han d , ap p lied in th e case of n o n b ra n d e d goods or goods th e prices of w h ich a re n o t essen tial. S ee B. T i e t z , M arketing, W isu
tion tim e and red u cin g th e num ber of com m issions approving new d e-signs.
3. T here m u st be in te g ra te d functions w ith in a m a rk e t channel. The role of tra d e cannot be re stric te d solely to acceptance of economic con-cepts of th e pro d u cer and su b ordination to them . T he p ro d u cer should be in te rested in realizatio n of ideas and m a rk e tin g objectives of th e tra d e com pany 10. T h ere m u st be also ensured tra n s fe r of functions w i-th in a given channel e.g. w ii-th i-th e pro d u cer tak in g over w holesale and reta ilin g functions th e re w ill grow effectiveness of applied in stru m e n ts and launched m ark e t activities.
4. It is indispensable to rem ove excessively uniform o rganization solutions in th e field of th e m a rk e t channel links. This involves in tro -duction of d iffe re n t pro-duction and tra d e organizations, d iffe re n t form s of v e rtica l in te g ratio n w hich will enhance th e elem en t of com petition.
5. E lim ination of divergencies b etw een d etailed ta rg e ts of p a rtic u la r links in th e d istrib u tio n channel involves sy n th e tic d eterm in atio n of these ta rg e ts w hich w ill still leave a considerable scope of freedom fo r th e channel links in directio n s of th e ir activity. This is also d ep e n d en t on ela stic ity in disposal of resources allow ing for accom plishm ent of these targets.
6. A lthough it is v e ry difficu lt to co n stru ct a qu an tified account of the channel effectiveness, th e co n stru ctio n of a cost account m ay be facilitated by app ly in g a system s approach to th e d istrib u tio n channel. It is possible to design system s tra n sfo rm atio n of th e organizational stru c tu re s of th e m ark e t and of th e ir m an ag em en t tools in o rd er to r e -lease stim uli encouraging m a rk e t p a rtic ip a n ts to lau n ch in te g rate d activity.
K r y sty n a Iw iń sk a -K n o p
W ARUNKI W YKORZYSTANIA KANALÖW DY STRY BU C JI W STR A TE G II PR ZED SIĘB IO R STW A NA PR ZY K ŁA D ZIE RYNKU ODZIEŻOW EGO
Celem a rty k u łu je st p ró b a oceny fu n k cjo n o w a n ia k an a łó w d y stry b u c ji p ro -du k tó w k o n su m p c y jn y c h oraz stru m ie n i przepływ ów ty c h k an a łó w a w szczegól-ności stru m ie n ia in fo rm acji, n eg o cjacji i fizycznego r u c h u p ro duktów . Jeg o tezą sta n o w i stw ierdzenie, iż zu n ifik o w a n y c h a ra k te r k an a łó w d y stry b u cji u tr u d n ia zdolności dostosow aw cze ty c h k an a łó w do p otrzeb w y n ik ając y ch z cech p ro d u k tu
10 See R. N i e s c h 1 a g, H erstellerm a rk etin g u n d H a n d lem a rk etin g im W e
i se g m en tu obsługiw anego ry n k u . P od uw ag ę w zięto ry n e k odzieżowy. R ozw a-żanie o p arto o b a d a n ia p rze p ro w ad z o n e w 8 p rz e d sięb io rstw a ch p ro d u k c y jn y c h o zróżnicow anej s tr u k tu rz e a so rty m e n to w e j, sfo rm u ło w an o zasady, k tó ry m po-w in n a odpopo-w iadać s tr u k tu r a k an a łó po-w ry n k o po-w y c h n a o m a po-w ian y m ry n k u oraz w n io sk i odnoszące się do zw iększenia m ożliw ości w y k o rz y sta n ia k an a łó w d y s try -b u c ji w stra te g ii przed się-b io rstw .
