Goa University

Goa Business School

Department of Management Studies

Alice dressing’s Case study

Prepared by: Jawid Tabesh 1927

Subject: SDRM
Advisor: Prof. Teja Dicholkar
1- What should Alice’s have done? Evaluate the Pros and Cons of
the above-mentioned distribution channels?

Pros and Cons

 Benifits
 Answer 1) when it comes to distribution we can’t say with 100 percent assurance that
which line of distributions is better the company decides to go for what kind of
distribution channel considering their resources and kind of business.
 The first line of distribution in the case which is a direct distribution from Alice to
customers, certainly there is advantages and disadvantages
 The first advantages of direct distribution is that you have a direct connection with
customer and get precious information’s about consumer buying habits, mindset
changes and respond to feedbacks directly. The second reasons is that in direct
distribution, there would be a faster delivery to the customer unlike to indirect
distribution that it takes so much time to reach to consumer. The more intermediary
between eliminates the faster product delivery will get to the consumer and more
profit will producer gain. The third reason in direct distribution is that the producer
have more control over product and can build a good relationship with customer.

 Challenges
 Despite the advantages for direct distribution, it has some potential drawbacks and
disadvantages, one of the biggest challenges is that sizeable costs that can come with
direct distributions. As an example you may need to purchase trucks, hire drivers and
rent storage space you may find it harder to reach potential customers without the
network an established distributer provides.

● Benefits
●The second distribution channel is from Alice – Grocery store – Customer, the third
distribution channel is from Alice – Grocery store – Customer and forth
distribution channel is from Alice – Specialty Grocery Store – Customers. All
these distribution channels in case which brings third person between producer and
consumers is called indirect distribution, this also has advantages and disadvantages.
Going through external sales channels has its own benefits. Indirect distribution
allows you to:
 share shipping and storage costs
 make it easier for customers to find your products
 benefit from your third-party’s experience, infrastructure and salesforce
 avoid the complexity of managing distribution logistics.
 ● Challenges
 The main challenge with indirect distribution is the distance it puts between you
and your customers. By adding an intermediary, you are also increasing the
amount of time it takes for your product to reach the buyer.
 It’s also harder to establish brand loyalty when you are not interacting directly
with your customer. Still, it is a good way of bringing your product to market
without burdening yourself with the start-up costs of establishing your own
distribution channels.
 If you decide to go the indirect route, it’s important to clearly define the terms of
your agreement with your partner from the beginning. You should agree on roles
and responsibilities, training and customer support, reporting and performance
monitoring, among other issues.

2- Based on the case synopsis what distribution approach (es) would you suggest
Alice’s Dressings? Why?

Answer 2) in my idea the best option would be licensing the formulas and restaurant
name to another manufacturer and receive a 4 percent to 5 percent royalty on net
sales. This distribution and sales decision is also low-risk, with low-resource
requirements. The long-term potential return is much higher than selling out of a
single restaurant. Because surviving in the market and competing with existing and
potential competitor needs prior knowledge about markets, economic, social and
political conditions and require managerial knowledge as well, that’s why I would
recommend that Alice should go for licensing the formula to those who are into
business and get profit in long term