Marketing Channels, Wholesaling Intermediaries, and Technology

This report examines the value of wholesaling intermediaries, exploring whether they add value or simply interfere with the retailing process. It analyzes the functions of marketing channels, including transactional, logistical, and facilitating functions, and discusses strategic decisions like licensing and marketing partnerships. The report then delves into the components of retail marketing, such as retail strategy, target market, retail format, and sustainable competitive advantage. It highlights the services provided by wholesaling intermediaries, differentiates between various types based on ownership and services offered, and explores the crucial role of technology, including online shopping, in modern marketing, emphasizing its impact on efficiency, customer experience, and competitive advantage. The report references key academic sources to support its analysis.

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Running Head: Marketing 0

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Table of Contents
Wholesaler intermediaries..........................................................................................................3
Marketing channel functions..................................................................................................3
Transactional functions (Creating utility)...........................................................................3
Logistical functions (Providing services)...........................................................................3
Facilitating functions (Lowering costs)..............................................................................3
Strategic decisions......................................................................................................................4
Licensing................................................................................................................................4
Marketing partners..................................................................................................................4
Distribution partners...............................................................................................................4
Components of retail marketing.................................................................................................4
Retail strategy.........................................................................................................................4
Target market..........................................................................................................................4
Retail format...........................................................................................................................4
Retail market..........................................................................................................................4
Sustainable competitive advantage.........................................................................................4
Services of wholesaler intermediaries........................................................................................5
Assistance in distribution.......................................................................................................5
Warehousing facility..............................................................................................................5
Link of regular production......................................................................................................5
Difference between the major type of wholesaling intermediaries............................................5
Based on Ownership...............................................................................................................5
Manufacturing owned facilities..........................................................................................5
Independent wholesaling intermediaries............................................................................5
Services typically offer...........................................................................................................5
Merchant wholesaler...........................................................................................................5
Agents and Brokers.............................................................................................................5

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Role of technology.....................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Wholesaler intermediaries
Intermediaries of wholesaling provide values to customers. Intermediaries do not have
direct contact with customers. These provide benefit and service to customers directly
(Bernard & Grazzi, 2015). These generate utility and enhance time utility, ownership utility,
and place utility. The place utility allows consumers to accomplish products when they need
them. The place utility delivers services and goods to retail sectors and other locations. The
ownership utility refers to ownership or title of the product that is transferred to consumers.
Remunerations of these utilities generate great value to its consumers. The place utility and
time utility delivers accessibility that all persons have become a customer to. These have a
location and time that benefits the consumer. This is something that smaller producers or
retailers may not consume ability to handle on their own (Coimbra & Rey, 2017).
Wholesaling intermediate supports consumers to achieve a great advantage from their
existence.
Marketing channel functions
Many of the functions are served by the marketing channels. These include and
creates utilities to facilitate the change of efficiencies. Some of the functions performed by a
single member and accomplished by independent and joint efforts. Marketing channels like
distributors, wholesalers, and retailers provide three kinds of functions: purchasing product to
resale consumers, product distribution to customers, and supporting sales to consumers by
other and financing services (Gabrielsson & Gabrielsson, 2019).
Transactional functions (Creating utility)
 In this channel, the product is purchased and sold to the customer to increase the revenue.
Dealing remains with a channel partner as including a large number of customers.
Logistical functions (Providing services)
 Wholesalers and distributors have a responsibility to deliver products to customers
physically.
Facilitating functions (Lowering costs)
 This supports the sales force to gather information about the market with the help of their
intelligence.

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Strategic decisions
Channel strategy decisions is a plan to reach customers through services and products.
These contain two functions: Selling to customers and delivering a customer experience
(Mitchell, Dean, & Sharfman, 2011).
Licensing
 This function provides facilities to business to use brand or intellectual property like the
design of a product in exchange for fees.
Marketing partners
 These partners provide a platform for advertising to reach customers. This also brings a good
number of customers to the market.
Distribution partners
 Partners provide support to distribute, sales and delivery services, products, and customers
experience. These partners of distribution expand the sales to a new segment of customers
and new regions.
Components of retail marketing
Retail strategy
 The resources and format of the retailer policies fulfill target market needs. This is based on
the policies to form a sustainable competitive benefit.
Target market
 The segments of the market consist of the plans of retailers to focus on retail mix and sources.
Retail format
 This supports the environment of the retailer's operations. These satisfy the requirement of
the target market by offering pricing policies, promotional programs.
Retail market
 A group of customers with the same needs fulfilled by using the same channel of retailer and
format (Magali, 2012).
Sustainable competitive advantage
 The retailer has an advantage over its competitor as not copied by customers to maintain a
long time advantage (Kumar, 2011).

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Services of wholesaler intermediaries
 These provide a valuable service to producers or manufacturers.
Assistance in distribution
 These collect orders from widely scattered wholesalers and buy goods in large number to
reach customer scattered in different parts of the country.
Warehousing facility
 A wholesaler collects information and extent demand to pass the producers that enable the
production of goods according to the needs in the market.
Link of regular production
 These have a useful intermediary function between the producers and retailers for regular
production to maintain a fluctuation in demand by matching supply.
Difference between the major type of wholesaling intermediaries
Based on Ownership
Manufacturing owned facilities
 These owned all kind of facilities to focus on producing a certain number of products in case
of unexpected shortage or demand.
Independent wholesaling intermediaries
 These include all activities that are necessary to sell goods or services to firms.
Services typically offer
Merchant wholesaler
 These have the responsibilities regarding the entity that purchased by them for industrial
customers.
Agents and Brokers
 These only have the liability on the possessed goods.
Role of technology
Technology in online shopping has full control of information and data. This is key
for wholesaler and retailers to obtain a competitive advantage. This brings the notice for
retailer and wholesaler to hustle the processes and deliver the cost of saving benefits to
retailers. This increase the involvement to respond to the market place by enhanced flexibility
and speed (Steyn & Smith, 2016). This also enhances the process to deliver a product. It has

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increased the personalized customer experience. These have built a loyal base of a customer
by automated services. These have adopted new standards of customer services by a feature
of same-day delivery. Technology has helped in a new way to deliver obstacle by gaining a
competitive edge to offer fast services within a lower price. These have allowed to command
the right attention of the customer by updates and inform new products and promote sales
directly. These have provided a track to buy and alter interactions by strong connections with
customers and establish a brand in a good range of smartphone shopping (Neal, 2018).
References

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Bernard, A., & Grazzi, M. (2015). Intermediaries. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(04),
916-920.
Coimbra, N., & Rey, H. (2017). Intermediaries. Journal of Business Management,
01(01), 29-117.
Gabrielsson, M., & Gabrielsson, P. (2019). Strategies. International Journal of
Business Management, 20(01), 88-99.
Kumar, V. (2011). Sustainable Competition. Journal of Marketing, 75(01), 16-30.
Magali, J. (2012). Components of Retail Marketing. Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, 19(01), 140-149.
Mitchell, R., Dean, J., & Sharfman, M. (2011). Strategic Decision. Strategic
Management Journal, 32(07), 683-704.
Neal, A. (2018, 10 01). Technology. Retrieved from RIS: https://risnews.com/6-ways-
retail-technology-changing-future-online-shopping
Steyn, M., & Smith, P. (2016, 08 20). Commerce. Retrieved from Topper:
https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-environment/emerging-trends-in-business/
electronic-commerce/