Distribution in a Developing Economy—Some Emerging Trends and Implications for Strategy Available to Purchase

Several interesting events are taking place in the socio‐economic scene of India which may seriously affect the distribution system operating in an organisation. A discerning marketing manager should be able to read the writing on the wall. For decades, the distribution channels in India, with respect to a large number of consumer and industrial goods, remained overcrowded with a variety of market middlemen. The environmental forces from various directions have already challenged the functioning of such conventional channels and shaken the existence of parasitic middlemen to whom the system offered a sort of social insurance. The channels are now getting shorter. The traditional gap between the manufacturer and consumer is being bridged. Pressures from several directions are paving the way for modification or major changes in the distribution channel of an individual firm.