Analysis of Hewlett-Packard's Consumer Marketing Channel

This report provides an analysis of Hewlett-Packard's consumer marketing channel, focusing on the roles of each member within the channel. The report begins with an introduction to marketing channels, defining their importance in transferring goods from manufacturers to consumers. It then examines HP's channel, which includes manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and end-users. The manufacturer, in this case, HP, is responsible for production and identifying potential customers. Westham Trade Co Ltd. is identified as a key wholesaler responsible for product distribution and promotion. Best Buy is presented as a major retailer, directly interacting with customers and influencing product development. Finally, the report outlines the role of the customer in providing feedback and initiating product usage. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of each member's role in HP's global success.

Running head: MARKETING & MANAGEMENT
Hewlett-Packard
Marketing & Management
4/19/2019

MARKETING & MANAGEMENT 1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Consumer Marketing Channel...............................................................................................2
Role of all the members of the marketing channel................................................................2
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

MARKETING & MANAGEMENT 2
Introduction
The intent of this paper is to discuss the marketing channel and also the channel
members of the Consumer marketing channel in the context of Hewlett-Packard. In addition,
the paper is elaborating the role of the each of the channel member of Hewlett-Packard.
Consumer Marketing Channel
A marketing channel is consists of the activities, organizations, and people that are
important for transferring the ownership of the good from the manufacturer to the end
consumer (Kotler & Keller, 2016). Hewlett-Packard is the multinational company of
information technology with headquarter in California. The company operates in business
across the world by offering its information technology services. In order to maintain the
supply of the products and meet the demand of the customers across the world, the company
is able to maintain a strong consumer marketing channel through which the product is
transferred from the manufacturing unit to the end user. The consumer marketing channel of
the company is comprised of four key members that are Manufacturer, Wholesaler, Retailer,
and End-user i.e. Customer.
Role of all the members of the marketing channel
Manufacturer – Manufacturing is the procedure of the production of the products
through labor or machines that is after completion, sold to the end user. The manufacturing
unit of Hewlett-Packard in the United States is in California, which is also the head office of
the company. The role of Hewlett-Packard is not just to manufacture the stock of laptops and
different hardware and software services, but it is also accountable for recognizing the
potential patrons through networking with the help of different conferences and business

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associations, taking follow up of the leads, evaluating the internet databases and consulting
business directories (Zhang, 2010).
Wholesaler - Westham Trade Co Ltd. is the company that is involved in the
distribution of diversified products in the market. It is known in the industry for distributing
printers, tablets, workstations, IT management software, PCs, network products, and desktops
(Bloomberg, 2019). Westham Trade Co Ltd. is one of the key wholesalers of Hewlett-
Packard, who is responsible for the save delivery of products to the retailers. The major role
of Westham Trade Co Ltd for HP is to promote the service and products in its local area as
well as taking the change of product sales. A wholesaler is also assigned with a sales target
and after achieving these targets they revenue benefits and rewards from the main company.
Besides this, another role of the wholesaler of HP is to manage the inventory at all-time such
that the particular area does not fall short.
Retailer – Best Buy is one of the online as well as offline electronics retailers with
head office in Minnesota. Best Buy is involved in the retailing of the HP products in the
market at different locations including Mexico, Canada, United States, etc. (Best Buy, 2019).
Best Buy offers a number of products and is in direct interaction with the huge base of the
customers, which gives it a chance to encourage the development and manufacturing of more
sustainable products. Through its interaction with the customers, it performs the major role
for the company that is to influence the customers to purchase a particular product by
highlighting the benefits and features of the products.
Customer – The major target customer of Hewlett-Packard across the world is small
& medium business, private organizations, government institutions, and the general public.
The major role of the Hewlett-Packard customers is to provide true feedback regarding the
products of the company they have used or are using, in order to support the company in

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making updates into the systems. Another role performed by the customer is to be as an
initiator to use the products of the company such that the company can try to meet their
needs.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it could be concluded that all four members of the marketing
channel perform a major role in the development and growth of Hewlett-Packard across the
world.

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References
Best Buy. (2019). HP Instant Ink. Retrieved from https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp/hp-
instant-ink/pcmcat1474927211435.c?id=pcmcat1474927211435
Bloomberg. (2019). Westham Trade Co Ltd. Retrieved from
https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/0146594D:US-westham-trade-co-ltd
Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2016). A Framework for Marketing Management 6th ed. UK:
Pearson.
Zhang, H. (2010). Research Hewlett Packard through its Value Chain. International Journal
of Business and Management, 5(8), 179-190.