Major Distribution Strategies in Marketing

Companies have to decide on the number of intermediaries to use in their channel. The various strategies that are available are as follows: Exclusive distribution Selective distribution Intensive distribution Exclusive distribution: It involves severely limiting the number of intermediaries handling the company goods or services. It is used when the producer wants to maintain a great deal of control over the source level and service output offered by the reseller. Often it involves exhaustive dealer agreement in which dealer agrees not to carry competitive brand. By generating exclusive distribution, the product hopes to obtain more aggressive and knowledge selling. Exclusive distribution tends to enhance the product image and attain larger markups. It requires greater partnership between the seller and the reseller and it is found in major industrial products, automobiles sector etc. Selective distribution: It involves more than a few and less than all of the intermediaries who are willing Continue reading

An Overview of Hedge Fund Strategies or Hedging Techniques

Hedge funds are pools of investment that invest in almost any opportunity in any market where they foresee impressive gains at reduced risk. Hedging refers to implementing strategies that manage or protect against an identified risk exposure. They take leveraged positions in publicly traded equity, debt, foreign exchange and derivatives. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive returns under all market conditions. Derivatives provide institutions the opportunity to break financial risks into smaller components and then to buy or sell those components to manage risk. Hedge funds hold a number of assets; they use derivatives to protect against the adverse price movement of these assets. Hedge funds play more of the role of speculators than of hedgers. They use derivatives when buying and selling assets and by putting long-short positions, they seek to hedge themselves against Continue reading

Intellectual Property – Meaning and Definition

Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the mind such as inventions, artistic and literary works, symbols, designs, names, and images that are used in commerce. IP is protected by law through patents, trademarks, and copyrights which enable people to earn recognition or derive financial gains from what they have created. By striking a balance between the interests of the inventors and the general public, the IP system aims to create an environment where creativity and innovation can flourish. Copyright is the term that is applied to describe the rights of the creators over their artistic and literary works. It covers items such as books, music, films, sculptures, computer programs, paintings, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings. The patent refers to the exclusive rights that are given to an invention. It gives the inventor the right to decide if their work can be used by others or not. Lastly, a Continue reading

Case Study of Mercedes Benz: The Role of Innovation in Organization Success

Mercedes is one of the companies that stood at the origins of the automotive industry, its name is no longer just a world-famous brand, but a real legend with a million-strong army of fans owning cars of this brand and an even wider audience of those who dream of it. Mercedes is the embodiment of German quality, reliability, and technical excellence, a symbol of high style, elegance, and respectability. Owning a Mercedes-Benz car demonstrates the status of a host who is not used to saving on himself and his safety. It is difficult to imagine such a person acquiring Mercedes spare parts on the market or in doubtful points. The manufacturer made sure that the original Mercedes auto parts were available to car owners wherever they live or wherever they are. Mercedes-Benz has been a classic in the automotive industry for more than a hundred years. The history of the Continue reading

Case Study of Maggi: Brand Extension and Repositioning in India

The industrial revolution in Switzerland in the late 1800s created factory jobs for women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. This wide spread problem grew to be an object of intense study by the Swiss Public Welfare Society. As a part of its activities, the Society asked Julius Maggi miller to create a vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Born on October 9, 1846 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, Julius Michael Johannes Maggi was the oldest son of an immigrant from Italy who took Swiss citizenship. Julius Maggi became a miller and took on the reputation as an inventive and capable businessman. In 1863, Julius Maggi came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals. Soon after he was commissioned by the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up with two instant pea soups and a bean soup Continue reading

Kaizen Vs Six Sigma: What’s the Difference?

The significance of a positive change is intrinsically characteristic of any culture. However, when viewed through the lens of a specific set of traditions, philosophies and the world picture, the phenomenon shapes, gaining new shades of meaning and incorporating more wisdom. Although kaizen, which is the Japanese interpretation of the continuous improvement concept, originates from a culture strikingly different from the Western one, in general, and the American one, in particular, it rubs shoulders with the Six Sigma concept as the foundation for an unceasing change toward the changing concept of perfection. The concept of improvement, which both Six Sigma and kaizen are meant to be geared toward, evidently is the characteristic that brings the two notions together. Diving deep into the Japanese philosophy of kaizen, one must mention that it implies little changes done reliably over a drawn out stretch of time. In other words, the focus on the Continue reading