Geographical location matters in different ways when it comes to distribution. When you
think of the different functions and what's best for the company, we have to take different
things into consideration. For Transactional Functions, you would want to be in a city area,
places with businesses and residences so that you can promote and sell products. For this
function you would like to be in an area with people not spread apart. Logistical Function
you will want to be near highways or ports simply to assist with product distribution. This
function is more to deal with products rather than customers. Here you would like
somewhere that has a lot of land. And final is facilitating function, this one is more of the
middle. Dealing with giving products to product and being available to other businesses.
With my company having to grow within health care, they decided to have their own
operation facility and distribution centre to help centralize equipment and products for the
hospital. This helps get rid of the middleman an operate directly with suppliers and
customers. Geographical location can affect your business' distribution channels in a number
of different ways. One way is that your geographic location will determine what suppliers
you use. In terms of logistics, the goal is to find the most cost effective and secure delivery
method for the materials you source for the production of your product. It is generally the
suppliers who are local to the production facility that win the job of supplying materials.
Geography is also important because you want to strategically locate your business nearest
to your market. If your market is quick and fast loans for people who are desperate, you are
not going to want to locate in a rich, affluent neighborhood. If your market is farmers who
will want to purchase your farm gear, you're not going to want to locate yourself in a mega-
city.
Lastly, you will normally always want your channel partners to be located in your market. If
you use distribution, and you are selling in Chicago, you want your distributors to be located
in the Chicago-land area.
Your geographical location can affect how you select your channel for distribution. For
example if there is a place located by a river or ocean, distribution would likely be by ship.
One has to think well regarding the location of the area they will be using to produce
merchandise. The easiest way to distribute it would be the best way to go. If your location
would be by the mountains than by air or land would be the best way to distribute the
merachndise. So your geographical location really does matter where your lacation is. Also
one has to check where there would be more traffic. You would want to be located where
people will know where you place is and that could be a part of marketing. Your
geographical location can affect your selection of distribution channels in a multitude of
ways. One good example of this is a company that specializes in bringing product via
container from overseas. If their business is heavily reliant on import; being closer to a port
or major rail hub should be highly desirable. The longer it takes to get from the port, to the
rail, and then halfway across the country is just added time and expense on the final
transportation cost. This also can result in more delays when the supply chain is extremely
busy with large numbers of product being imported as well as potential rail strikes affecting
the supply chain.
Logistics is a vital but often overlooked part of operations. In the manufacturing industry the
product to make the end product must be brought in and then the final product must be
shipped out when completed. A strong logistics department can make a company that much
better while a weak unsuccessful one can drastically effect the bottom line of the company.
If a company doesn't meet customer deadlines it could eventually lead to the loss of that
customer/revenue!. Geographical location of a business can affect how various distribution
channels are selected. When a business is located far away from the market, the choice of
distribution channel should be one that ensures that the products or services reach the market
within the stipulated time frame. when the business or production take place near the market,
there is no need for a distribution channel since the company may sell the products and
services directly to the customers.
Geographical location can also affect the selection of distribution channel since it determines
the time take for the products and services to reach the market for instance manufacturer
need to transfer product and services to a market for sell but it may be to far this may cost
the manufacturer and the market to transfer good and receive but not as difficult for a
company that is in the same location as the manufacturers.
These are examples of distribution channels . Direct and indirect channels.
There are numerous factors that affect the selection of a distribution system. Many
companies decide channel split by looking at the customer demographics, particularly age.
Context: in an emergency where we need a fast answer, the company would answer the
phone, 'irrespective of our demographic group, personality and the type of business are all
factors. The unit value of the product, perishability, technical nature, standardized or
customized product, number of buyers, types of buyers, buying habits, and also the buying
quantity. All of these can affect the choice of channels of distribution by the manufacturer. I
live in Arizona, which rarely has any weather that causes distribution issues. However, I
have learned that when ordering things from other states I need to keep in mind their
geographical location and the season. I have a daughter who is on medication that only
comes from certain specialty pharmacies and needs to be shipped in monthly. In the winter
months, I need to be on top of it and order her medications taking into account the possible
weather. One year we ended up having to use the hospital's supply bc there was a massive
snowstorm in the midwest and her medications got stuck on the truck for days.
There aren't any middlemen in this scenario, they get packed at the pharmacy and shipped
directly to me.
Last Christmas, I was working at Walmart as part of the stocking team which we called Cap
2. It snowed really bad the night before and I would always help unload the truck every time
I would get there (unless they didn’t need my help). I get to work and my boss tells me that
there is no truck that day because the roads were so bad the night before that it was too
dangerous for the truck to get there to deliver our stuff. This is one of the ways geographical
location can have an effect the distribution channel with the roads not being safe to drive.
On the other hand, if it were summer time the weather also tends to be unpredictable. If we
were to get enough rain to the point where the roads were too flooded that would also be a
huge impact on the geographical location. Thankfully I don’t work at Walmart anymore so I
don’t have to deal with stuff like that.
