Distribution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Distribution - Essay Example tury old strategy of independent dealers to a reduced number of jointly held super stores, thus reducing competition among the dealers and shifting the focus to competing with the other automobile dealers (1). In 2005, the Ford unified its Ford and Mercury Lincoln division to strengthen its marketing, sales and service, in the face of growing competition. (2). Therefore in the last decade Ford has demonstrated an urge to adapt to the environment in which it functions. These changes have not given Ford the boost it needs. Ford needs to be more innovative in its changes in the distribution and sales strategies, in keeping with revolutionary change that it brought about in the early 1900s through mass production assembly lines (3). So what is the innovative distribution strategy that Ford can consider? A look at its web site provides a possible solution. In its web site Ford offers a prospective customer the means to navigate and find out the range of products and accessories offered and the possible cost of a product with a variety of accessories and financing facilities. In short the customer has all the information he needs to make the purchase, but now has to go to a jointly held super store and place his order. In case Ford were to make use of the Internet and sell directly it would be making use of direct selling strategies. No doubt this would be against the grain of traditional sales and distribution in the automobile industry sector, which has relied on indirect dealer based sales. There is no market intelligence to suggest that Ford is considering such a change, but then maybe such an innovative change in the automobile sector would be to the advantage of Ford. The reason for this suggestion is the example of Dell Inc. Dell changed the way in which business enterprises have viewed direct selling strategies and the use of the Internet for sales, through its successes in the computer and peripherals market. This remarkable direct-sales model was the result