Channel conflict
Disagreement among marketing channel members on goals and roles–who should do what and for what rewards (435)

Channel level
A layer of intermediaries that performs some work in bringing the product and its ownership closer to the final buyer.

Conventional distribution channel
A channel consisting of one or more independent producers, wholesalers, and retailers, each a separate business seeking to maximize its own profits even at the expense of profits for the system as a whole.

Direct marketing channel
A marketing channel that has no intermediary levels.

Disintermediation
The displacement of traditional resellers from a marketing channel by radical new types of intermediaries or by product and service producers going directly to final buyers. (439)

Distribution centre
A large, highly automated warehouse designed to receive goods from various plants and suppliers, take orders, fill them efficiently, and deliver goods to customers as quickly as possible (454)

Distribution channel
A set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user. (431)

Exclusive distribution
Giving a limited number of dealers the exclusive right to distribute the company's products in their territories. (445)

Horizontal marketing system
A channel arrangement in which two or more companies at one level join together to follow a new marketing opportunity (437)

Hybrid marketing channel
Multichannel distribution system in which a single firm sets up two or more marketing channels to reach one or more customer segments (438)

Indirect marketing channel
Channel containing one or more intermediary levels. (433)

Integrated supply chain management
The logistics concept that emphasizes teamwork, both inside the company and among all the marketing channel organizations, to maximize the performance of the entire distribution system. (457)

Intensive distribution
Stocking the product in as many outlets as possible. (445)

Intermodal transportation
Combining two or more modes of transportation (456)

Marketing logistics (physical distribution)
The tasks involved in planning, implementing, and controlling the physical flow of materials, final goods, and related information from points of origin to points of consumption to meet customer requirements at a profit. (452)

Selective distribution
The use of more than one, but fewer than all, of the intermediaries who are willing to carry the company's products. (445)

Supply chain management
Managing value-added flows of materials, final goods, and related information between suppliers, the company, resellers, and final users. (452)

Third-party logistics (3PL) provider
An independent logistics provider that performs any or all of the functions required to get their clients' product to market. (458)

Vertical marketing system (VMS)
A distribution channel structure in which producers, wholesalers, and retailers act as a unified system. One channel member owns the others, has contracts with them, or has so much power that they all cooperate. (436)