INRODUCTION A channel of distribution is defined as the path or route along which goods move from producers or manufacturers to ultimate

consumers or industrial users. In other words, it is a distribution network through which producer puts his products in the market and passes it to the actual users. This channel consists of producers, consumers or users and the various middlemen like wholesalers, selling agents and retailers(dealers) who intervene between the producers and consumers. Therefore ,the channel serves to bridge the gap between the point of production and the point of consumption thereby creating time, place and possession utility. There is a famous saying The theory without practical is lame and practical without theory is blind. This modern era is era of consumers. Consumers satisfy themselves according to their needs and desires, so they choose that commodity from where they extract maximum satisfaction. It has been identified that in the beginning of 21st century the market was observed a drastic change. The successful brand presents itself in such a way that buyers buy them in special values which match their needs. Marketing is an important part of any business and advertisement is the most important part of marketing. The title of my project is A Brief Study of the Distribution Channel of Samsung mobile, Mercedes cars and Head & Shoulders shampoo in India Head and Shoulders shampoo Head & shoulder is a brand of P&G particularly used for dandruff prevention and to protect hair. The shampoo market in India was estimated at Rs.21.41 billion per annum as of February 2008, growing annually at a rate of 14.5 percent. Head & Shoulders is the world No. 1 Antidandruff shampoo and now has become a part of Indian homes as well. This best-ever antidandruff shampoo has an improved formula, which offers the fine combination of antidandruff efficacy and hair conditioning. What makes the new Head & Shoulders its best so far is its break-through formula which covers the scalp more effectively to remove even the tiniest flake of dandruff, while the new conditioning property keeps hair looking beautiful. Head & Shoulders is available in three different pack sizes: 200ML (Rs139), 400ML (Rs224), 5ML ( Rs1.5) , and 8.4ML ( Rs3 ). Distribution Channel With help of distribution channel we can know whole overview of distribution in the market. Channel study helps us to know about the flow of product in market. In Bhubaneswar Company has its own distribution network and supplies the order on basis of sales man report or order is given by suppliers on phone. The company has its own depot in Cuttack.

But in this distribution channel there is a problem that is they collect demand draft first from retailers and after that they provide the product and also there is money limit and quantity limit. Goods should be more than 5 boxes and amount should be Rs.35000 at lest. So many retailers and not interested in taking product directly from company. Only few big retailers do this. Some retailer has directly picked up their goods from company depot and they are usually made payment through the DD. Even some retailers have been collecting their products through their association or say distributer and bulk breaking between them. This type of distribution system has adopted by some retailers in suburb of Bhubaneswar where a significant demand would likely to be there. But companys salesperson is not visiting these places. The distributer collect the products from company depot and their sales person go and collect the demand weekly and then according to the retailer requirement provide product to them.

Promotion From Manufacturer to Retailer Various club membership and incentive according to them Platinum Club: Sales target of Rs.50,000& above Gold Club: Sales target of Rs. 30,000-50,000 Silver Club: Sales target of Rs. 30,000 and Below From Distributer to Retailer In 1 Carton (40 pieces) 3 pieces are free given to retailer by Distributer MARGIN C&F to Distributor: 2-5% Distributor to Retailer: 10-12% REORDER TIME For retailer is 1 week and for some it is 14 days and in every 1 week the sales person of distributor takes the order and supply according to the requirement of retailer and sometime retailer also give order on phone. MERCEDES CARS Mercedes-Benz is the brand name owned by Daimler AG and its headquarters is at Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1881 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler and its Product line consists of Luxury cars, buses, trucks, high performance internal combustion engines. Distribution Network in india

Distribution Channel Of Mercedes

Mercedes Benz Daimler Plant Mercedes Benz Indian Headquarter , Pune

Mercedes Benz Dealerships

Customer

Mercedes Benz is a brand name in itself and therefore no vigorous advertisement is required. Advertisements in the form of promotion activities are done through conducting events like golf sponsorship, lunch and dinner parties. Channel Participants and channel structure Companies like DHL, Fedex are some logistic partners. Mainly Cargo Ships are used for imports and trucks are used national distribution. USA is the hub of manufacture of mercedes cars. In India Mumbai, Delhi and Pune are main distribution hubs for the product. Special software's are used for managing complex problems and are recorded accordingly. Distribution Cost includes Octroi, Custom Duties, Freight ,Insurance etc are important factors while transferring the product. 12.5% tax is charged as tax on the overall figure. channel conflict All the functions are done in a systematical and orderly manner so there is no such conflict. The documents are carefully, confidentially and judiciously used. Insurance and other claim receipts are kept for proof which in turn reduces risk and conflicts. Computers and ecommerce are preferred more to reduce error which cause conflict and accuracy. Payments are made in advance to the main branch. Brand name also plays a vital role. warehouse management Warehousing is done by the transporters. The warehouses charges comes uptoRs.2500 a day per car. Logistic and Distribution Cost is huge as the product is from foreign country and luxurious product. Taxes and Custom duty charges are comparatively higher than other product. Other expenses includes octroi, freight, insurance etc. Suggestions 1. The channel system can be made better by establishing more assembly plants around the country and creating franchisee so the product is easily available and widely distributed. 2. Company should train their employee more about logistic to reduce uncertainties. SAMSUNG MOBILES Samsung India Electronics Private Limited (SIEL) is the Indian subsidiary of the US $55.2 billion Samsung Electronics Corporation (SEC) headquartered in Seoul, Korea. The company commenced its operations in India in December 1995 today enjoys a sales turnover of over US$ 1 Billion in just a decade of operations in the country.. It is

a well known electronic appliances manufacturer company. Samsung deals in all over the world and its products are very famous in India and the electronics giant is now reaching deeper and wider into the Indian market, tempting consumers with technologically advanced products specially tailored to their needs. Distribution India is the second largest and the fastest growing telecom market in the world in terms of number of wireless connections. From a level of about 34 million in March 2004, the mobile subscribers have reached a level of over 812 million in March, 2011 registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57%. Along with the launch of new products, Samsung also consolidated its distribution system. Optiemus, as the national distributor of Samsung mobile handsets to modern trade (organized retail chains), has achieved sustained growth in its top-line in the last three years. The growth is also underpinned by the increasing dominance of Samsung in the handset market in India. The company has established a strong distribution network and currently has 27 distribution center across various parts of India. Though renewal of distributorship agreement with Samsung would remain a concern, the presence of Optiemus in allied businesses while diversifying its revenue profile would mitigate the overall risk. CARE Equity Research believes that the increasing penetration of high-end smart-phones in India (where Samsung has emerged as one of the leading players) would help Optiemus in boosting its profits. The direct dealer interface helped the company get quick feedback from dealers, and enabled it to launch products according to consumer needs. The producer and the final customer are part of every channel. These channels are different levels. A one-level channel contains one selling intermediary, such as a retailer. A two-level channel contains two intermediaries. In consumer markets, these are typically a wholesaler and a retailer. A three-level channel contains three intermediaries. In the meatpacking industry, wholesalers sell to jobbers, who sell to small retailers. From the producer's point of view, obtaining information about end users and exercising control becomes more difficult as the number of channel levels increases. Samsung is having three types of distribution system. Two of them comes under one-level channel and last one comes under two-level channel.

Optiemus, which derives over 95% of its revenues from the distribution of Samsung handsets, is set to benefit from the continued growth in mobile handset market coupled with robust growth of Samsung in India. Optiemus exhibited revenue CAGR of 68% over the period 2009-2011. As per the provisional results for 2012 Optiemus achieved a turnover of Rs.1906cr and a PAT of 27.24cr.

Low margin business With the share of smart-phones increasing in Optiemus product portfolio and its price being relatively higher than that of feature phones, the company in recent times has seen an increasing trend in the average selling price which has also augmented into higher profits at the absolute level. However the margins continue to be on the lower side owing to the distribution nature of business. Strong distribution infrastructure in place Optiemus is the

national distributor for Samsung mobile handsets to modern trade (retail chains). The company has as its clients some well known and reputed retailers such as The Mobile Store, Spice Distribution Limited, Planet M Retail Limited, Reliance Digital Retail and Indus Mobile Distribution. These retail chains give their model-wise and location-wise projections to Optiemus, who after receipt of the consignment from Samsung, deliver the same to the retail chains as per their requirement. Optiemus currently has 27 offices cum warehouses across India. The widespread distribution network enables the company to cater to the needs of the customers/retail chains in a prompt and timely manner.