Distribution Channel

Tourism distribution channel is a system of intermediaries or middleman that facilitates the sale and delivery of tourism services from suppliers to consumers (Buhalis and Law, 2001). Distribution channels can serve as part of the marketing mix that can makes the products available to consumers as the link between suppliers of tourism products and their end consumers, as well as the bridge between supply and demand (Kracht and Wang, 2010). This shows that, important to have a good distribution channel strategies to ensure information of the destination will be distribute aggressively.Pulau Meranti Lake is one of the potentially lake to be developed and promote as one of the tourism attraction. This lake situated at Puchong, nearby Sepang, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. Pulau Meranti Lake has an abundance of rural land and plentiful of water resources. This two combination will create the potential for significance economic development and help it to become one of the best lakes for water b ased activity tourism. Changing on consumers preferences have expanded the range of channels that tourism suppliers might use to distribute their products and multi – channels distribution is now are common.Each channel or path to the market may appeal to different segments, suit some products more than others suit, and have a simple or complex structure. Somewhat more slowly, distribution is also being acknowledged as a key part of revenue management. Returns can vary significantly from one channel to the next with each channel having its own set costs and benefits (Pearce, 2009). Having a good strategy will help new potential destination like Pulau Meranti Lake to be expose, having marketing strategy will help suppliers knows opportunities or threats that might occur also the strength and weaknesses of Pulau Meranti Lake.There are several steps involved to developed distribution channel for Meranti Lake. Identify Customers Needs and Selection Preference; Needs and wants of customers are varying for one market to other market. Suppliers need to do an observation on how to provide best information to the customers. In making their decision to visit one particular destination, customer needs information about the destinations, product available, services (example; transportation, accommodation), activities that offer and available at the destination.By provide this information clearly, it will help customer that interested to come to have some ideas about the Pulau Meranti Lake. Identify the Functions to be Performed to Meet the Distribution Needs of the Customers; there are some key functions to be identified such as information provision. We need to provide adequate information to the customers not only in the right place but also in the right time. Other than that, we need to consider on either to combine various elements such as accommodation, transportation or activities together.The most important steps are to decide marketing mix on Pulau Meranti Lake. Most of tourism supplier might require several marketing channel in order to cater a different types of customers and to wider the information to the customer. There are some questions needs to be answer by suppliers like on what are the best marketing mix that can be use and which are the best partner to be collaboration to make sure this potential destination are success. In case of Pulau Meranti Lake, we will use four P’s as our distribution channels strategy. i. ProductPulau Meranti Lake offers a water based activity tourism to the tourists. The combinations of sports, entertainment and relaxing place. There are many activities that tourists can do at Pulau Meranti Lake such as boating, water skiing, kayaking, jet skiing, and great fishing. Other than that, Pulau Meranti Lake also offer land activities such as cycling. Beside many activities offering, Pulau Meranti also provides lodging such as floating chalets to the tourist who like to stay and for those like to c amping, Pulau Meranti Lake provide an empty places for them.Other than that, there is one restaurant that implements open kitchen style to cater female tourists. Our restaurant concept will collaboration with Pak Engku, founder of Kuzie Catering, which is Pak Engku will managed the restaurant. Our restaurant also will give chance to women tourist by provide them an activities such as cooking class with our chefs on every weekend. ii. Price Some of our target markets are youth, working family, local communities, retired couples and lake enthusiast.We will offer affordable price to ensure we can attract more visitors to come and enjoy activities that provided at the lake. There are special price for schoolchildren, university students and senior citizen. We offer different price for student because we would like to make sure that they will come and enjoy our activities and at the same time will help government to decrease social problems and make sure that this young generation have s ome place for them to do their activities and not wasting their time. iii. PlacePulau Meranti Lake is strategic. This lake located between Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. It connected efficiently and effectively. Approximately, it takes about 15 minutes from Putrajaya and 30 minutes from Subang Jaya. Somehow, we will do collaboration with developers around Pulau Meranti Lake such as LBS Bina Group Berhad to construct alternatives entrance to make it easier for tourist to come. Besides that, there are important to have easy access from highway and make tourist alert about the signage to the lake from the highways.In this situation, we will collaboration with Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd or better known as LITRAK, concessionaire of Lebuhraya Damansarsa Puchong (LDP). The LDP is the instant and vital link to many tourist attraction and places of interest. Easy access will encourage more tourists to come and enjoy the activity provided by us. Other than that, we also will collaborate with R angkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) to list Pulau Meranti Lake in one of their routes every day. With this collaboration, Pulau Meranti Lake can be easily access via road transportation such as bus and car. v. Promotion This is one of the important part which is it has required the best combination to maximize the information distribution to the potential visitors. We will design an informative brochure that includes all the information such as activities, lodging and transportation, picture and map for visitors. We will also organize this brochure to be put at RapidKL counter and distribute it to highway users (such as LDP) by having a partnership with them. This partnership will give us an advantage to highlight Pulau Meranti Lake in RapidKL brochure.Other than that, printed media such as magazine also will be use. We choose Karangkraf as our partner. Karangkraf offer various type of magazine that caters for different segment. â€Å"LIBUR† is one of the magazines that we want to collaborate, which is this magazine are the first travel magazine in Bahasa Malaysia that provide international and local travel destinations. This magazine provides and informative information on the local and international travel scene for local readers, where to stay, dine and shop.One of activities that our offers are fishing, in order to attract fishing lovers we choose to advertise our lake in â€Å"UMPAN†, one of the magazine for fishing enthusiast. Information technology becomes one of the effective tools nowadays. This promotion tools has their own target market especially young generation. In order to attract this type of market segment, we will create a website for Pulau Meranti Lake. This website will have information of lake administration such as phone numbers, address, map and all information needed.We also will make sure our website is user friendly in order to make the information available directly on the website instead of going th rough several different links. Others marketing strategies that we plan to do is partnership with local, state and federal programs or agencies. We will try to organize Fishing Tournament every year. This programmed need us to do collaboration with local council, Majlis Perbandaran Sepang to promote our program. Besides that, this programmed also need us to strengthen our partnership with fishing department for stocking fishing to the lake.Regular monitoring and evaluation needed to ensure that marketing mix that has been chosen meet customers’ needs and wants. From business perspective, distribution channel not only to promote the product but also to generate income for the company. The project to transform Pulau Meranti Lake to Recreational Lake Tourism will be beneficial to not only the local council and local people, but it also can help us to prevent our environment and at the same time, economic and social development also will be beneficial.Reference Buhalis, D. and La ws, E. (2001), Tourism Distribution Channels: Practices, Issues and Transformation, Continuum, London Pearce, D. G. (2009). Channel Design for Effective Tourism Distribution Strategies. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,  26, 507 – 521. doi:10. 1080/10548400903163046 Kracht, J. and Wang, Y. (2010). Examining the Tourism Distribution Channel: Evolution and Transformation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,  22(5), 736 – 757. doi:10. 1108/09596111011053837 Distribution Channel Choice of distribution channels The choice of distribution channels is an important part of the companies’ development and has a significant effect on the production and sales. The production of ipad is very professional ,scientific and specific. Because of its mention ,high-tech products have specify when it comes to the channels of distribution. Usually,we can use the centralized distribution channels. Model of distribution 1) , , ,COMPAQ? DELL , 90 , : , 3? 4 , â€Å" † , IBM? HP? 2) Among all of the methods mentioned above ,the most frequent method s Apple use to distribute Ipod are the personal selling and agency. Apple adopt the personal selling because manufacturing companies can trade with customers directly,supplying all-around service such as product transport ,organization and research,preservation and technical support.In that way ,it can ensure the efficiency of the operation of channel. Direct selling means that there is only one point between the produce r and the final users,so the target users are usually large or medium companies. Although this method is widely used abroad,it develops slowly in China . Compared with personal selling ,Apple mainly sells Ipod through the distribution channel of Agency. And this approach plays a main role in the sales of electrical products in China.Its main advantage is that it can cover a large number of users,which is in favor of the promotion of Ipod as well as increase the popularity and regulation of the products of Apple. However,the most serious issue of the method is that because of the personal interests pursing of the agents,it is hard to â€Å" ( )~ † , , â€Å" ~ ( )~1 2 3 † , 3 , , , , , [1] , , , , , , Personal selling:Apple Corp set up a large number of offices and branches for come fixed big customers,such as Ogilvy ,Mccann,Leo Bernar. Under management and allocation in the marketing center, for the customer service, and develop new customers in the related area.Age ncy:Compared to sales, agents for apple is the role of its products to more general consumers In addition to professional customers in the area, With the return of Jobs and the apple Ipod series products, Apple open a new market in the majority of ordinary users . so,relations of mutual benefit and reciprocity between apple and agents, which makes the business of agents and the distributors is prosperous. Distributor:Different from the agents,as a distributor,Apple give them exclusive distribution rights , good profits,training of products as well as support for promotion,which gives them more advantages in sales.In some parts ,Apple will authorize a number of third party companies produce similar products and allow them to be sold on the market without labels. While in the mainland of china ,people will see some products claiming to be Apple ‘s OEM product labeling. Distributors claim that these products are Apple Proxy Companies production,but authority of Apple has not admi t that and have the rumor ,its attitude is ruminate. Shops:We can say it is Apple that bring the boom,the model of running shops almost violate the fundamental principle of sales.The servants of the shops will only commute with the customers about the clever use of the products ,but they rarely persuade them to buy immediately. Actually,from the establishment of 251 shores within 7 years and the 20 percentage of Apples’ sales income,we can conclude that the model is very successful. Online shop:this shop is not the distribution online sales like Taobao,but the sales model on Apple’s official website established by itself. Tn fact ,if you are a user of Ipod ,most changes will be conducted on its website. so, as a user of Apple ,you can hardly be attracted by its products