Free Essay on Role of Distribution in the Supply Chain

Introduction

The supply chain management system typically consists of various players, namely; Producers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. Their vital role is usually to ensure that the products reach potential customers at the right time, right places. As this takes place, the products must also attain a certain level of quality so that the end-users domestically and internationally accept them. Distribution as a unit process in the supply chain process assists in supporting the manufacturing process and operations, by reducing the overall costs by helping in cutting short the long production runs. It is usually a mandate of the distributor to take goods from the company at their expense. Typically, the costs are usually less compared to what the company could use when it decided to do the supply alone. In other words, distribution by the supply chain process may also help a company in attracting large markets by attracting more new customers.

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The chain can easily break the bulk into from wholesalers to retailers and then to consumers or instead end users. The high cost of distribution is divided by these partners, making the product accessible to the customer in a more straightforward manner (Waseem-Ul-Hameed et al., 2017). Therefore, it is also true to conclude that distribution not only benefits the customers by ensuring real-time delivery of goods and services unto them, but it also helps the firm in attracting higher profits.

Factors Influencing a Company's Distribution Channels

Before choosing on which distribution channel to utilize, it is vital to make specific considerations to ensure that the most appropriate and productive channel is selected. The first factor is the product. Types of products may be used to identify which distribution channel to use. Various categories include; perishable and durable goods: public and private assets. The second factor is the market (Ramaseshan & Patton, 1994). The nature of the market can also be used to determine the most suitable type of distribution channel to use. The quality of demand is determined by aspects such as population distribution, gender, age, and social class disparities.

Accordingly, all these may help a company to make a better choice. The third factor is the competitors (Ramaseshan & Patton, 1994). Some companies may be facing stiff competition, while other companies also operate as monopolistic. Forth important consideration should be the type of buyer's habits or buying quantities. When the customers are prone to buying 300mls of coca-cola soda, then it advisable for the company to distribute more of that, and limit on the 500mls and 1L soda, to attract enormous profit (Ramaseshan & Patton, 1994). Standardization and customization are also other factors to consider before making a selection on the convenient, effective, efficient, and cost-effective type of distribution channel.

Innovative Technologies Applicable in a Supply Chain Process

The use of technological advancements in supply chain management has a comparatively large number of profits. These include; reduced operational costs, exceptional efficiency characterized by reducing errors, and ensuring customer and firm satisfaction. These technologies include; Radio Technology, Social Media Revolution, and Transport Management Software. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) related technologies help in easy monitoring of the product being distributed while at the production center and in the supply chain as well. They are usually installed in every organizational product to help a customer quickly identify any present anomalies (Seymour et al., 2007). Social media revolution also has numerous benefits, including enhancing the connection with other companies, stakeholders, and customers. The company can also respond to end user's comments and complaints without necessarily getting in touch. Besides, if any problem arises in the supply chain management both at the production and supply chain levels, immediate communication may get made for a much more fastened effort to address the concern. Also, the social media revolution could help in enhancing the visibility and reputation of the firm.

On the other hand, transport management system installation may act as perfect preparation for the newly invented computerized supplies management. Applying the online shipping and tracking means of a system in the sector of transport may integrate almost several operations under a single umbrella (Seymour et al., 2007). Customers can also decide to have the systems installed on their phones to help them in monitoring the distribution, shipping, and creation of electronic bills of landing while at home, or in the individual office.

Integration Process in a Supply Chain Management System

In convention, several companies usually prefer using the integration steps, which basically works from within the company and maybe serving the domestic market. The benefits are then propagated outwardly when broad-scale distribution takes place. The necessary process may begin when the company decides to make in-house improvements like inventory reduction. Reducing the inventory could eventually reduce the working capital, storage costs, and transport costs. A useful analysis of the particular bound logistics then follows (Fox et al., 1993). This strategy may assist in the revealing process of existing opportunities for making savings. It is from this stage, where the effort of an integration outwardly expands.

Metrics of Evaluation

It may seem uneasy for the participants engaging in the supply chain management system to count themselves as skillful because, without the parameters, they shall not have known whether they have achieved the goals or not. Performance metrics are the essential tools because they ensure that there is an improvement in the overall productivity and performance rates. They include but not limited to infrastructure, customer services, and material lead time (Stewart, 1995).

References

Fox, M. S., Chionglo, J. F., & Barbuceanu, M. (1993). The integrated supply chain management system. Technical report, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://eil.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/public/papers/iscm-intro.pdf

Ramaseshan, B., & Patton, M. A. (1994). Factors influencing international channel choice of small business exporters. International Marketing Review. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02651339410069227/full/html

Seymour, L., Lambert-Porter, E., & Willuweit, L. (2007, April). RFID adoption into the container supply chain: proposing a framework. In Proceedings of the 6th Annual ISOnEworld Conference (pp. 11-13). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lisa_Seymour2/publication/269928585_RFID_adoption_into_the_container_supply_chain_Proposing_a_framework/links/57ef9eb408ae91deaa521321/RFID-adoption-into-the-container-supply-chain-Proposing-a-framework.pdf

Stewart, G. (1995). The Supply chain performance benchmarking study reveals the keys to supply chain excellence. Logistics information management. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09576059510085000/full/html

Waseem-Ul-Hameed, M. A., Ali, M., Nadeem, S., & Amjad, T. (2017). The role of distribution channels and educational level towards insurance awareness among the general public. Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol, 6(4), 308. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Waseem_Ul_Hameed/publication/322447147_The_role_of_distribution_channels_and_educational_level_towards_insurance_awareness_among_the_general_public/links/5b572ad1aca27217ffb7d919/The-role-of-distribution-channels-and-educational-level-towards-insurance-awareness-among-the-general-public.pdf