Designing Channel Information System

CIS is an integrated information system to handle data in the channel management. It should be user centric and user friendly. The designing of a channel information system begin with an identification of the strategic, managerial, and overall channel objectives. It is critical to define the rela­tionships among decisions and to decide the flow

1 Comments

Evaluation of Channel Performance

Evaluating channel information system effectiveness is one of the significant outcome for the success of CIS. More and more companies are adopting multiple channels of distribution. Hence, sales managers need metrics that can help them to assess the performance of each sales channel, as well as the inter-relationships among the various sales channels adopted

1 Comments

Understanding Logistics in Sales Management

Logistics is adding “place utility” to a product. For example, a product needs to be transferred from a Mumbai to another location say Delhi. This product could be raw material for the manufacturing facility, or the finished product from the manufacturing facility for distribution in the market. The management of raw materials usually comes

1 Comments

Elements of Sales Logistics Management

The objective of logistics management is to facilitate an efficient trans­portation or timely movement of products from one place to another with optimum inventory level consistent with customer service goals at lowest possible total logistics cost. The Council of Logistics Management (1998) defines logistics as, “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient,

1 Comments

Sales Supply Chain Management

The supply chain management aims to intensify the processes that take place from the level of the suppliers of raw materials to that of the end customers. The aim is to add value and to increase the use of resources and improve cost efficiency by transporting the required product at the desig­nated time. The

1 Comments

Marketing and Logistics in Sales Management

The “mantra” of marketing to have the right product in the right place at the right time has increased the importance of logistics and supply chain in the domain of marketing and distribution management. Logistics and marketing are referred to as key management orientations in a company and interpreted as the functional and integrated

1 Comments

International Marketing in Sales Management

An international market is a market outside the territorial boundaries of a company’s domestic market. International marketing denotes marketing activities that are co-ordinated and integrated across multiple domestic markets.[1] International markets are being homogenized by advances in communication and transportation technology, and customers in the dis­tant parts of the world tend to display similar

1 Comments

Selecting an International Sales Market

Selecting a global market for expansion is a crucial strategic decision as successful international marketing rests on factors like product fit, leverage, and opportunity. There is a famous marketing adage about Bata’s entry inthe African markets. It is said that when Africa was opening up as a market, many shoe manufacturing companies sent their

1 Comments

International Sales Orientations

Different companies follow different management approaches in interna­tional marketing. Usually companies follow ethnocentric, polycentric, or geocentric approaches of management for doing business in international markets. An ethnocentric approach consolidates control at company head­quarters. Most of the strategic decisions are made in the home country, and expatriates from the countries of origin hold key posts

1 Comments

The Mode of Entry in Sales Management

The mode of entry in the international market is an important decision with large and long-term implications for an organization. Different com­panies use different modes of entries while going for international expan­sion. The different modes of entry are indirect exporting, direct exporting, licensing/ franchising, joint ventures, and direct investment. An organiza­tion’s commitment, risk, control,

1 Comments

Selection of International Distribution Partners in Sales Management

It is important to understand that channel partners are executors of mar­keting strategy. Companies starting their businesses in a foreign country need to start their business from scratch. As most of the markets are regu­lated and controlled by networks of domestic channel intermediaries, so it is essential for a company to collaborate with domestic

1 Comments

Profile of an International Salesperson

Many companies send their salespersons to explore the international opportunities. Although sending salespersons to different foreign markets is a costly process, but it is still economical than establishing a full oper­ation in a foreign country. The salespersons in the international markets must have all the requisites of a successful salesperson in the domestic market.

Documents in International Trade

The sale of products in the international markets poses different chal­lenges to the marketers. Here, the customers and the selling companies are usually located in the various countries, and the supply of products is usually facilitated through third-party logistics partners. Hence, both the buyer and the seller need to perform their respective obligations as

2 Comments

The Banner Company: Integrated Food Products Company – Solicitation of New Accounts

The Banner Company—which had annual sales in excess of $800 million— processes and distributes lines of dairy products, foodstuffs, and specialties such as glues and animal food supplements. These lines were marketed throughout the United States and Canada by five separate sales organi­zations departmentalized by products. Each of these sales organizations was further divided

1 Comments

Diamond Pump: A Manufacturer of Industrial Pumps – Sales Manager Performance

Homer Castleberry had held the job of vice-president of sales at Diamond Pump for five years. Lately he had had the feeling he was running on an endless treadmill, never getting anywhere. Returning from an extended trip visiting seven sales agents in the western states, a postponement of an eighth visit found him with

1 Comments

Hillman Products Company: Manufacturer of Power Tools – Distributor-Dealer Problems

James Weston, director of sales and marketing for Hillman Products Com­pany, Springfield, Massachusetts, faced the problem of taking action to improve the company’s distributor and dealer relationships, which had steadily worsened. The effect of the worsening relationships was reflected in the latest sales report, which recorded a 12 percent sales decline during the past

1 Comments

Sonton Pharmaceuticals: Managing a Difficult Distributor

Sonton Pharmaceuticals Private Limited (Sonton) is a growing pharma­ceutical company in India with a wide range of pharmaceutical products. Sonton boasts a line of 26 brands, including painkillers, diabetic, gastropa- thy, neuropathy, and cardiac products. Sonton’s logistics management was like that of any other pharmaceutical company in India: the manufactured pharmaceutical products went to

1 Comments

Delphic Corporation: Manufacturer of Appliances and Electronic Equipment – Distributor-Dealer Sales Training

The Delphic Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri, was a leader in the electronics and appliance fields. Its exclusive business was the design, manufacture, sale, and, for large jobs, installation of this equipment. The Modern Kitchen Division manufactured a broad line of kitchen cabinets, dishwashers, and garbage disposals for residential use. These products were sold throughout

9 Comments