3.4 La stratégie de distribution — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hello and welcome. Today, we’re
2. 0:02tackling a topic that’s as
3. 0:03fascinating as it is invisible:
4. 0:05distribution strategy. It’s the
5. 0:07secret journey that every product takes
6. 0:09before it lands in our hands. Think
7. 0:11about it for a second. That coffee
8. 0:13you’re drinking, that smartphone in
9. 0:14your pocket, how exactly did they get
10. 0:16there? It’s not magic, far from it.
11. 0:18It’s the result of a series of very
12. 0:20calculated choices. And yes, it’s
13. 0:22this plan, this roadmap that
14. 0:24orchestrates the entire journey from
15. 0:26the manufacturing plant to our shopping
16. 0:28cart. So, let’s dive behind the
17. 0:30scenes together to see how it all works
18. 0:32. So, to clarify things, what exactly
19. 0:35is distribution strategy? Well, it’s
20. 0:37the set of actions that aim to make a
21. 0:39product available. But be careful, not
22. 0:41just any old way. It has to be in the
23. 0:43right place, at the right time, and in
24. 0:45the right quantities. It’s much more
25. 0:46than just a simple delivery. It's a
26. 0:48real art of synchronization. To
27. 0:51implement such a strategy, a company
28. 0:53needs tools. We can imagine it as a
29. 0:55large toolbox with two main
30. 0:57compartments. The physical functions on
31. 0:59one side and the commercial functions
32. 1:01on the other. These are our two main
33. 1:03families of tasks. On the one hand, we
34. 1:05have everything that is concrete,
35. 1:07logistics, the movement of goods, and
36. 1:09on the other hand, we have all the
37. 1:10commercial actions that will enable and
38. 1:12encourage sales. The two are
39. 1:14inseparable. Let's start with the
40. 1:17physical. It's a bit like an obstacle
41. 1:19course for each product. First,
42. 1:20transportation to get it from point A
43. 1:23to point B. Then, handling to load and
44. 1:25unload it without breakage. Then
45. 1:28storage where it will wait in good
46. 1:30conditions. And finally, splitting,
47. 1:32where we open the large boxes to
48. 1:33prepare the small quantities that will
49. 1:36be sold in stores. Each step is
50. 1:38critical, but logistics is not
51. 1:39everything. Commercial practice is just
52. 1:42as essential. Assortment means creating
53. 1:44a coherent and attractive offer in
54. 1:46store. Information is advertising,
55. 1:47sales advice, and everything that helps
56. 1:49you make a choice. Negotiation, of
57. 1:51course, is the act of selling. And
58. 1:53finally, the services that come after,
59. 1:55such as delivery or a warranty, are the
60. 1:57key to building loyalty. Okay, so we
61. 1:59have our tools. Now, how do we put all
62. 2:01this together? What are the possible
63. 2:03plans and master plans? Basically,
64. 2:05there are three main types of channels
65. 2:07for getting a product to the consumer.
66. 2:09The first is the direct channel, the
67. 2:12simplest. From the producer directly to
68. 2:14the consumer. Think of the farmer who
69. 2:15sells his vegetables on the farm. Then,
70. 2:17there is the short channel. We add an
71. 2:19intermediary, the retailer, the
72. 2:21producer sells to the store, which
73. 2:22sells to the customer. And finally,
74. 2:24there is the long channel, the most
75. 2:26traditional for mass consumption, which
76. 2:27involves at least two intermediaries,
77. 2:29such as a wholesaler and then a
78. 2:30retailer. And here, be careful, there
79. 2:33is no perfect solution. Each channel
80. 2:35has its strengths and weaknesses. The
81. 2:37choice will depend on a constant
82. 2:38balancing act between the control you
83. 2:40want to maintain over your product, the
84. 2:42costs you are prepared to incur, and
85. 2:43the size of the market you want to
86. 2:45reach. Look, it's very clear here. The
87. 2:47direct channel is great for margins and
88. 2:49customer relations. But hello to the
89. 2:51logistical headaches and storage costs.
90. 2:53On the other hand, the long channel
91. 2:55allows you to be present everywhere
92. 2:57throughout the country, but you
93. 2:58completely lose contact with the end
94. 3:00customer and the pressure on prices is
95. 3:01enormous. It's always a question of
96. 3:03compromise. OK, we've seen the channels
97. 3:05, that's the how. But there's an even
98. 3:07deeper question, the why. What is the
99. 3:10philosophy, the intention behind the
100. 3:11way a brand chooses to be present on
101. 3:13the market? In fact, it often comes
102. 3:15down to this big gap. On the one hand,
103. 3:18total control. You want to master your
104. 3:21image, the customer experience, the
105. 3:23quality from A to Z. On the other,
106. 3:25maximum coverage. We want to be
107. 3:27everywhere, visible, accessible and
108. 3:30have volume. It is very difficult to do
109. 3:32both at the same time. First, the
110. 3:34strategy is to be everywhere all the
111. 3:37time, which is intensive distribution.
112. 3:39The idea is to cast a wide net. We are
113. 3:42thinking of sodas, packets of chips,
114. 3:44chewing gum, products that we expect to
115. 3:46find in any store, any gas station. The
116. 3:49number one objective is availability.
117. 3:52Now, we are changing the approach
118. 3:53completely. With selective distribution
119. 3:55, the goal is no longer to be
120. 3:57everywhere, but to be in the right
121. 3:58places. The company will choose its
122. 4:00retailers according to precise criteria
123. 4:02. The image of the store, the
124. 4:03competence of the salespeople, it is a
125. 4:05way of protecting its brand image while
126. 4:07having a good presence. And finally, we
127. 4:09arrive at the top of the pyramid,
128. 4:11exclusive distribution. Here, the
129. 4:14watchword is rarity. Control is total.
130. 4:17We grant exclusivity to a single store
131. 4:19per city, for example. The customer
132. 4:22experience must be perfect, and rarity
133. 4:24itself becomes a selling point. Think
134. 4:27of luxury brands or sports cars. This
135. 4:30table perfectly sums up the dilemma.
136. 4:32Intensive gives huge visibility but
137. 4:34costs a lot and you control nothing.
138. 4:36Exclusive offers absolute control and
139. 4:38an impeccable image. But you cut
140. 4:40yourself off from a large part of the
141. 4:42market, and selective in the middle
142. 4:43tries to juggle to have the best of
143. 4:45both worlds. Not easy. Very well. We
144. 4:48have seen the circuits, the
145. 4:49philosophies, but how does a company
146. 4:50decide in concrete terms? How does it
147. 4:53choose its side? Obviously, it is not
148. 4:54done randomly. It is the result of a
149. 4:56fairly in-depth analysis. In fact, we
150. 4:58can see it as a compass with four
151. 5:00cardinal points. First, we have to look
152. 5:02internally: does the company have the
153. 5:04money and the teams to manage a complex
154. 5:06network? Next, we examine the market,
155. 5:08where customers are and, above all,
156. 5:10what rivals do. Third point: is the
157. 5:12product itself technical, luxury,
158. 5:14fragile? And finally, potential
159. 5:16partners, intermediaries. Who are they?
160. 5:18Are they available? How do they work?
161. 5:21It all leads back to the central idea
162. 5:23this sentence summarizes. Distribution
163. 5:25is not an isolated decision in its
164. 5:27corner. It must be in perfect harmony
165. 5:29with the marketing strategy, with the
166. 5:31brand image, with the overall
167. 5:32objectives of the company. Everything
168. 5:34must be aligned. There you have it. If
169. 5:36there is one thing to remember, it is
170. 5:38this: There is no absolute best
171. 5:41strategy. There is only one strategy
172. 5:43that is most relevant for a given
173. 5:45company with a given product in a given
174. 5:47market at a given time. It is a pure
175. 5:50balancing act and that is where it
176. 5:53becomes really interesting today. And
177. 5:55if the solution were not to choose with
178. 5:58digital, the boundaries would explode.
179. 6:00A brand can very well sell directly on
180. 6:02its website while being in select
181. 6:04stores and perhaps even have one or two
182. 6:07exclusive stores. This is called
183. 6:08omnichannel. But that's a whole other
184. 6:10topic. Mm.