Channel Management

Abstract

Having devised a channel strategy, a supplier organisation has to develop appropriate relationships with its intermediaries which will enable it to take good advantage of the opportunities it wishes to address. The major drawbacks to using intermediaries, rather than supplying direct, are the loss of control which intermediaries imply and the lack of access to direct feedback from user markets. Channel management must, therefore, seek to work with intermediaries so that they both complement the suppliers’ marketing objectives and minimise the problems of control and market information. Organisations can achieve this through attention to channel motivation, treating intermediaries as business partners and managing channel conflict.