Any series of firms or individuals who participate in the flow of goods and services from producer to final user. It can also be explained as sets of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption.
Channel functions and flows A marketing channel performs the work of moving roots from producers to consumers, taking care of time, place and possession gaps that5 separate goods and services from those who need or want them. The functions include the following
Information: Collection and dissemination of market research information about potential and current customers, competitors and other forces in the marketing environment.
Promotion: development and dissemination of persuasive communications designed to attract customers to the offer.
Negotiation: An attempt to reach final agreement on price and other terms, so that transfer of ownership or possession can be affected
Ordering: Marketing channel members communication of intentions to buy to the manufacturers
Financing: The acquisition and allocation of funds required to finance the inventories at different levels of the marketing channel.
Risk taking: Assumption of risks connected with the carrying out the channel work.
Physical possession: Successive storage and movement of physical products from raw materials to the final customers
Payment: Buyers payment of their bills to the sellers through banks and other financial institutions
Title: The actual transfer of ownership from one organization to person to another.
Participants