Assessing the distribution

strategies and practices of East

Africa Lion brands manufacturing
S.C
Introduction

 Marketing management is the process of decision making, planning, and

controlling the marketing aspects of a company in terms of the marketing
concept
 A product is not important to the consumer, if it is not available when and
where it is wanted. A product reaches customers through a channel of
distribution
 A channel of distribution always includes both the producer and the final
customer
 Purpose of the study

 The purpose of the study is to assess the distribution strategies and practices
of an organization which can help to increase the products accessibility to
customers.
 The study also sought the explanation of what work is performed by
marketing channel, channel design and its determinant, and physical
distributions and its functions.
 The weakness and strength of the distribution strategy of the organization
was also studied.
 Methods of handling the study

 The study employed descriptive research design. Descriptive research design

was preferred for it facilitates the collection for a considerable amount of
data quickly, efficiently and accurately
 This study adopted quantitive research approach
 The study employed simple random sampling technique which ensured that
each number of the population is included.
 The sources of data were both primary and secondary. The research utilized
structured and closed ended questionnaire to gather data from the targeted
population.
 Literature review

 Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for use

using direct or indirect means
 A distribution channel as a set of independent organizations involved in the
process of making a product or service available for use or consumption
 The ultimate goal of a distribution channel is to bridge the gap between
producers and consumers
Types of distribution strategies

 A zero level channel also called direct marketing channel is the shortest
channel which entails selling product and services direct to the final
consumer
 In a one level channel the products move from the producer through the
retailer before it is reaching the final consumer
 In a two level channel the product moves from the producer to the wholesaler
who in turn sells the products to the retailer who finally transfers to the final
consumer
 A three level channel comprises of three middlemen and although it is
occasionally used in distributing locally produced and consumed products;
these middlemen comprise of the agent, wholesaler and end users
Background of the EALBI

 East Africa Lion brands manufacturing S.C manufacturing facilities are found
at Dukem Industrial park
 The EALBI has implemented the ISO 9001:2008 quality management system
and continues to invest in modern technology for increased manufacturing
capacity and efficiency
 The products it produces are
 food
 Home care(soap)
 Personal care( lotion)
Factors affecting the distribution
strategies
 Political factor
 Economic factor
 Social factor
 Legal factor
 Technological factors
 Environmental factors
Cont..

 The company uses the direct and indirect distribution strategy

 All the distribution channels are applied by the firm except the channel which
involves the manufacturing agent.
 32% of the respondent agreed that the product whose direct consumers.
 40% agree that the product passes through the retailer before the end
consumers.
 28% of respondents agree that the product first goes through the wholesaler
before the final consumer. This shows that, though the product goes through
all the combination of the channels except through a manufacturing agent,
most of the product undergoes through the retailer before the final
consumer.
Cont..
 Strength

 Strong local management team

 Participate in all segment of product category
 Healthy relations with suppliers.
 Strong and good relation as well reputation with government bodies
 Strong Brand Equity with remarkable reputation in local market
 Well established Manufacturing infrastructure
 weakness

 Loss of communication control

 The manufacturer loses control over what message is being conveyed to the
final customers. The reseller may engage in personal selling in order to
increase the product sale and communicate about the product to his
customers. He might exaggerate about the benefits of the product this may
lead to miscommunication problems with end users. The marketer may
provide training to the salespersons of retail outlets but overall, he has no
control on the final message conveyed.
 Challenge

 Internal
 Cash , Sales Volume and Sales Increase
 None Skill Sales Force
 Communication gap b/n Seller and Producer
 Weakness sales strategy
 Team less Sales
 Influential and Capable Sales team
 Material sourced from local market with high price increment due to Forex scarcity
 Low capacity utilization.
 Forex unavailability
Cont..

 External
 Unfair Competitors selling price Discounts
 Only agent Sales with Currently Selling
 Agent & Bulk buyers more than 100th not coming. No D2D sales like Competitors
 Un branding sales activity/Strategy/
 Careless to sell for who need push products by variety
 Conclusion

 Many factors affect when choosing distribution channel

 When selecting distribution channel, the current economy needs to be
considered
 In order to increase the sales volume, motivating the channel members will
help.
 This can be achieved by salary increment and providing free training to the
members
 Recommendation

 The Company should always consider the factors available to establish and
assess the proper channel of distribution and be able to formulate strategies
of curbing and tackling this scenario
 The company needs to increase its promotion. By doing this it gives awareness
to the customers
 The company needs to use social media as one of distributing channels. Social
media can be used to influence demand