Business Challenge 3 – 3rd November 2020

It is much harder to optimise distribution than it is to optimise price, advertising, or promotions. And yet, it is critical to do so.

Too little coverage means shelf space and sales are lost to competitors and complacent retailers don’t feel the need to price and merchandise your brand competitively.

Too much coverage means retailers compete too intensely, squeezing their own margins, and not earning an adequate return on their shelf space.

For a sustainable partnership, distribution coverage shouldn’t get too far ahead of or fall behind demand, nor should the performance of the manufacturer get too far ahead of or fall behind that of retailers.

Kusum Ailawadi will present a framework, key metrics, and tools from her new co-authored book titled “Getting Multi-Channel Distribution Right”, to help ensure just that.