"This book is intended for an international audience of practicing and future managers. The subject is marketing channels, the companies that come together to bring products and services from their point of origin to the point of consumption. Marketing channels are the downstream part of a value chain. The originator of goods or services gains access to a market through marketing channels. Channels of distribution are a critical element of business strategy." "The ideas in this book apply to any channel for any product or service in any market. The generality of the book is shown in its many examples taken from all over the world. These cover a wealth of different products and services, sold to businesses and consumers, selected from the worldwide business press, research, and consulting. Examples range from autopsies, dog and cat food, personal computers, pleasure boats, and dolls, to stereo speakers, fast food, tires, garden products, and fast-moving consumer goods; and from maternity clothing, uninterruptible power supplies, and maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) goods, to furniture, automobiles, airline travel services, and mutual funds. The variety of the examples reinforces the generality of the principles. As is appropriate for an international readership, the presentation of each example assumes that the reader is unfamiliar with the product or market in question. The book presents the concepts needed to frame the problem, then explores the channel issues in depth by means of the examples."--BOOK JACKET.