Distributor Performance Research Articles

Forms of supplier relationship exploration and distributor performance

PurposeThis study aims to differentiate two types of relationship exploration – substitute relationship exploration (SRE) and complementary relationship exploration (CRE) – and examine their effects on a distributor’s detection capability in relationship governance with upstream suppliers and innovation capability in services to downstream customers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors obtained 176 responses from distributors in the semiconductor industry in China. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical moderated regressions are used to test the hypotheses.FindingsCRE increases both detection and innovation capability, whereas SRE reduces detection capability and increases innovation capability. Market uncertainty weakens the effect of detection capability but strengthens that of innovation capability on distributor performance.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to differentiate SRE and CRE, thus enriching the relationship marketing literature. Second, drawing on information economics, the authors uncovered the differential effects of SRE and CRE on detection and innovation capabilities. Third, market uncertainty moderates the effects of the two capabilities on distributor performance.Practical implicationsDistributors should be aware that there are different types of relationship exploration and, for that reason, should explore potential suppliers based on their business needs and firm conditions. The results of this study show that both SRE and CRE are beneficial for distributors’ innovation capability, but SRE reduces their detection capability. Practically, firms need to be aware of the trade-offs associated with different types of relationship exploration. Moreover, when market uncertainty is high, distributors should pay more attention to innovation than to detection capability building.Originality/valueThis study conceptualizes and differentiates between two forms of relationship exploration. By linking them with distributors’ capability building and performance, the authors provide theoretical and practical implications.

Implementasi Metode Profile Matching Pada Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Pemilihan Distributor Alat Kesehatan

Utilization of information technology in a company will assist in increasing the productivity of the company in carrying out its duties and responsibilities. Distributors are the most important part in a company that provides medical equipment in obtaining goods for the sustainability of the company. The evaluation process for distributors currently does not use a system, so the company has difficulty in evaluating distributors from the requirements that will be calculated and used as material for evaluating the distributor's performance. The decision support system in the selection of this distributor uses profile matching. Profile matching is a method in a decision support system that will provide recommendations based on a comparison of the profiles of each distributor with the highest score. The decision support system for selecting Medical device distributors helps companies to automate and computerize in determining the performance of distributors in meeting company needs. The results of manual calculations and web applications on the selection of medical device distributors show the same results, and there are no different calculations. Test results using blackbox get perfect results, namely 100% for all system functions created for the selection of medical device distributors

Using PLS-SEM for assessing negative impact and cooperation as antecedents of gray market in FMCG supply chains: an analysis on Spanish wholesale distributors

PurposeWithin the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain, one of the problems facing the distribution channel strategy is the presence of the gray market. The article shows two novel antecedents of the participation of official distributors in this gray channel: Negative impact on distributor performance and the relationship with their supplier. Knowledge of this background helps to preserve the strategy outlined for the official distribution channel.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 172 Spanish wholesale distributors and analyzed using PLS-SEM.FindingsThe authors found that the damage through negative affectation in the official distributor's performance and the cooperation provided by the manufacturer, have different effects. While affectation is shown to be a powerful antecedent of participation in the gray market, the effect of perceived manufacturer cooperation does not show strong results.Practical implicationsIn business practice, these findings lead the manufacturer to keep transactions carried out in the gray market at low levels and provide cooperation to official distributors to guarantee the official channel strategy aimed at efficiency in the distribution of branded goods.Originality/valueThe background of the gray market discussed in the study has not been previously analyzed in the literature. In this way, the authors contribute to the knowledge of such a common problem as the presence of the gray market in the segmentation of distribution channels of high-demand products.

Visualization of refrigerant two-phase flow before and through distributor and evaluation of its performance

Abstract This paper presents an evaluation of the performance of a refrigerant distributor with visualization of the two-phase flow. The distributor is a typical conical design w/o the orifice for about 4 kW R134a system. Three factors influencing two-phase flow distribution are varied: mass flow rate, distributor inlet quality, and orientation. We looked at the uniformity of mass flow rates, evaporator inlet qualities, and capacities of each circuit. The authors built a transparent distributor following the exact geometry of an original distributor to visualize two-phase flow regimes exiting the expansion device and entering the distributor. We related flow regimes with distributor performance. A high-speed camera is used to capture two-phase flow regimes. After acquiring results for a baseline situation, the authors applied two approaches in an attempt to improve flow distribution: The first is manual adjustment of the resistance of each circuit individually to achieve uniform mass flow rates, and the second is the homogenization of the flow regime before division by adding an orifice in the distributor before separation to four channels. The average deviations of capacity for each branch are 9% for the baseline case, 3.3% for manual adjusting, and only 1.6% for the homogenization approach, stressing the importance of that simple strategy.

IMPLEMENTASI PROGRAM BANTUAN PANGAN NON TUNAI DI KELURAHAN KAMPUNG BALI KOTA BENGKULU

This study aim to find out and to get an overview of the implementation of the program there are some obstacles. The method used in this research was descriptive qualitative in order to provide an overview of the research problem. This research aspect adopts Riant Nugroho’s theory regarding the stages of policy implementation, namely socialization, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The results of the research in the socialization aspect showed that many KPMs did not receive socialization from the relevant agencies and the socialization carried out by the facilitators was only a brief explanation of the program. In the aspect of implementation, the parties who must be involved are not involved, the process of replacing KPM and complaints has several obstacles, the program mechanism is in accordance with the general program guidelines. In the aspect of supervision has several obstacles because the complaint process has several obstacles and in the evaluation aspect it only focused on evaluating e-stall agents and there was no evaluation of the program distributor performance. Implementation has note gone well caused by 1) socialization that has not been evenly distributed and the material provided is only minimal, 2) miscommunication and lack of coordination between parties and the complaint process to the Sosial Service has several obstacles, 3) supervision by related agencies has not been carried out properly, 4) there is no performance evaluation of BPNT (Groceries) distribution officers or program assistants.

Structural Optimization and Performance Evaluation of Blocking Wheel-Type Screw Fertilizer Distributor

In order to solve the problem where the amount of screw fertilizer distributor can only be adjusted by rotating speed and poor fertilization uniformity at low rotational speeds, a blocking wheel-type screw fertilizer distributor was designed. Single factor and L9(34) orthogonal simulation tests based on EDEM software were carried out to optimize the distributor variables at a speed of 20 r/min. The bench verification test was built under the same conditions as the simulation tests to verify the results of the simulation. Finally, the bench performance tests were carried out to evaluate distributor performance. The results of simulation tests revealed that the minimum coefficient of variation of fertilization uniformity (CVFU) was 19.27%, with the structural parameter combination of the inner diameter (17 mm), pitch (45 mm), outlet distance (40 mm), and number of screw heads (1). The verification test results showed that the changing trend and values of the CVFU were almost the same as the simulation tests. The results of the performance test revealed that when the opening width of the blocking wheel was 10–30 mm and the rotation speed was 20–60 r/min, the amount of fertilizer per lap (FAPL) was in the range of 27.74–38.15 g/r; the maximum CVFU and the coefficient of variation of fertilization stability (CVFS) were 29.43% and 2.18%, respectively, which met the requirements of the industry standard. This research provides a good reference for optimizing the screw fertilizer distribution and for researchers in the field of precision fertilization.

Pengaruh Persepsi Keadilan terhadapKinerja Distributor PT X dengan Ketergantungan sebagai Variabel Moderating

Abstract: PT. X companies engaged in the national cement productionsector which are the market leaders in Indonesia which control the islandsof Java, Bali, Kalimantan and parts of Eastern Indonesia. The result of thisproduct tends to be a commodity product. So, to maintain market control isto maintain the level of availability of cement products. With suchchallenges, PT. X must maintain good relations with its distribution network.One important factor in maintaining good relations between suppliers andbuyers is the Perception of Organizational Justice that exists in both. Thepurpose of this study was to analyze the effect of perceptions oforganizational justice on the performance of the distributors of PT. X withdependence as moderating variable. This research is a quantitative studywith a total population of all distributors of PT. X. This study concludes thatorganizational justice has a positive effect on distributor performance, andthis influence is not moderated by dependency.Keywords: distributor performance, procedural justice, distributive justice,interactional justice, organizational justice, dependency.

Naturo products – sales and distribution management

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the factors that go into the assessment of a distributor performance; understand the criteria that may be useful to distributors while choosing distributorship of a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company; understand the various parameters that define a distributor performance; and understand the critical aspects that sales force consider while staying with an organization on the long term. Case overview/synopsis This case is about how a FMCG Company in India – Patanjali Products is handling its sales and distribution management strategies. The FMCG segment in India is very competitive and is dominated by big multi- national players such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble as well as other Indian players such as Marico, Dabur, Cavinkare and Himalaya herbal. This industry is characterized by frequent product launches and the trade/ distributors play a key role in providing reach and visibility to the end users. Patanjali Products is a relative new entrant but has rapidly found success in this category. Through a product range that is positioned on “naturalness”, the company has achieved a turnover of US$735m in a span of six years. The case is written from the perspective of Anil Gupta, one of the distributors of the company. He is currently faced with the challenge of evaluating whether he should continue with the distributorship or go back to his old company Himalaya herbal. With this background, the case intends to elaborate on the specific aspects of distributor management and sales management. Some key questions discussed in the case are as follows: What are the aspects that determine the performance of a distributor? What are the parameters that a distributor needs to take into account while selecting a company? How does one calculate the financial return on investment for a FMCG distributor business? What are the elements that contribute to sales force loyalty? Complexity academic level Undergraduate and Post Graduate students of management Sales workshops Corporate training on sales management Particularly it can be taught under the course “Sales and Distribution Management”. The other courses where it can be a part of are: Retail Management, FMCG Sales and Marketing, Channel Management Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code Marketing

Distributor performance in a bubbling fluidized bed: Effects of multiple gas inlet jet and bubble generation

This study considers the role of the distributor effect during the bubble generation, growth and interaction within a bubbling fluidized bed. To characterize this effect, short-term and long-term dynamics are explored in time and frequency domains. Controversy occurs when inspecting what is actually known of the gas distribution mechanism in bubbling fluidized beds. To sustain discussion, classical and innovative techniques, such as Digital Image Analysis, DIA, and Wavelet Analysis WA, are used. As a result, the conclusion is that the distributor not only has no effect in the averaged long-term dynamics but also has no effect on the general bubble generation characteristic frequencies. The analysis performed on the bubble generation region concludes that the distributor design has a great influence at the short-term scale such as during the bubble generation process controlling the spatial distribution of the bubble nucleation sites over the distributor plate.

A mixed methods approach to evaluating community drug distributor performance in the control of neglected tropical diseases.

BackgroundTrusted literate, or semi-literate, community drug distributors (CDDs) are the primary implementers in integrated preventive chemotherapy (IPC) programmes for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) control. The CDDs are responsible for safely distributing drugs and for galvanising communities to repeatedly, often over many years, receive annual treatment, create and update treatment registers, monitor for side-effects and compile treatment coverage reports. These individuals are ‘volunteers’ for the programmes and do not receive remuneration for their annual work commitment.MethodsA mixed methods approach, which included pictorial diaries to prospectively record CDD use of time, structured interviews and focus group discussions, was used to triangulate data on how 58 CDDs allocated their time towards their routine family activities and to NTD Programme activities in Uganda. The opportunity costs of CDD time were valued, performance assessed by determining the relationship between time and programme coverage, and CDD motivation for participating in the programme was explored.ResultsKey findings showed approximately 2.5 working weeks (range 0.6–11.4 working weeks) were spent on NTD Programme activities per year. The amount of time on NTD control activities significantly increased between the one and three deliveries that were required within an IPC campaign. CDD time spent on NTD Programme activities significantly reduced time available for subsistence and income generating engagements. As CDDs took more time to complete NTD Programme activities, their treatment performance, in terms of validated coverage, significantly decreased. Motivation for the programme was reported as low and CDDs felt undervalued.ConclusionsCDDs contribute a considerable amount of opportunity cost to the overall economic cost of the NTD Programme in Uganda due to the commitment of their time. Nevertheless, programme coverage of at least 75 %, as required by the World Health Organisation, is not being achieved and vulnerable individuals may not have access to treatment as a consequence of sub-optimal performance by the CDDs due to workload and programmatic factors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1606-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Relationship between Manufacturer and Distributors: Knowledge Transfer and Performance

This study explored the relationship between knowledge transfer from manufacturer to distributor. The research question is related to knowledge transfer from the manufacturer to distributor and potential improvement in the performance of the last. This issue is important for companies that are expanding their markets. A survey was conducted in business units that belong to the transport equipment sector. The study's sample comprised 199 companies. Measuring instrument followed a rigorous sequence of methodological procedures. Measurements were validated by confirmatory factor analysis, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results suggested positive effects of the manufacturer's performance monitoring and knowledge transfer on the distributor's performance. By having formal and informal mechanisms to follow distributor activities, it is possible to identify operational activities performed by the manufacturer that might improve distributor performance.

The impact of flow distribution on column performance: A computational fluid dynamics study

In this manuscript, the band broadening contribution of a generic flow distributor and collector has been calculated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The effects of distributor design and operating conditions on distributor performance have been studied. The non uniform flow fields in the distributor cause band deformation and an increase in volumetric band variance (σv2). This volumetric band variance was calculated to be about 0.2 μl2 at the inlet of a 4.6mm ID column and 0.3μl2 at the outlet for a flow rate of 2ml/min. For a 2.1mm column the volumetric band variance is about 0.002μl2 for a flow rate of 0.41ml/min. For current column performance the measured contributions are negligible in practice, probably because designs have been empirically improved together with improving column performance. None the less, the simulations show that bad distributor design can be detrimental for column performance.

Experimental Investigation on the Liquid Distributor Performance for the Falling Film Evaporation Process

In this paper, the liquid distributor performance for the falling film evaporation process was tested, and the relationship between the liquid height and flow rate were studied in the experiment. The results showed that the liquid height of liquid distributor is proportional to flow, liquid distributing hole diameter and flow, but inversely proportional to liquid distribution aperture. Overflow may be present at a high flow.

Enhancing relationship value between manufacturers and distributors through personal interaction

PurposeRealizing the importance of personal interaction in business relationships between manufacturers and distributors, this study aims to explore the role of personal interaction in relationship value, and subsequently in distributor performance, in a transition market, Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 472 distributors in the south of Vietnam was surveyed to test the theoretical model. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.FindingsIt was found that personal interaction drives product support, information support, and delivery performance perceived by distributors. In addition, product support, information support, and delivery performance are key factors that nurture the value of relationships between manufacturers and distributors. Finally, relationship value is a determinant of distributor performance.Research limitations/implicationsA key limitation of this study is the heavy reliance on the hypothetico‐deductive approach. Business relationships of firms in transitional economies, due to differences in cultures and economies, might exhibit some differences in value drivers. An inductive approach may be a suitable alternative method to explore relationship value and its determinants in transition economies like Vietnam.Practical implicationsThe results of this study suggest that manufacturers should invest more time and efforts in personal interaction with their key distributors to enhance the value of their relationships with those distributors.Originality/valueThis study is the first of its kind in Vietnam, which explores the role of personal interaction in relationship value in Vietnam.

Developing causal relationships for an industrial distributor performance index

A distributor's performance has direct linkage with the supplier's performance. In this paper, taking the system dynamics approach, the causal loop diagram is developed to capture the dynamic interaction among various variables that determine a distributor's performance. A Distributor Performance Index has been proposed that includes the performance 'enablers' and 'result' variables. This paper also proposes a two-dimensional typology of distributors and discusses the implications to the manufacturer.

A new method to assess liquid distributor quality

Liquid distributors are a key component to optimal performance in packed distillation columns. Their design is commonly based on the drip point density. For modern baffle plate distributors, however this is not appropriate, because the liquid is delivered to the packing in form of drip lines rather than drip points. This problem can be eliminated by analyzing the liquid distribution below the first layer of packing. The ratio of wetted to total geometrical surface is used as a quantitative measure (Wetting Index) to describe distributor performance. It allows comparing different distributor systems, e.g. those with conventional drip points and those with drip lines. The Wetting Index depends on the geometry of the outlet system, the orientation of the distributor relative to the packing and the packing geometry.

Social exchange in supply chain relationships: The resulting benefits of procedural and distributive justice

Social exchange theory is used to model the outcomes of procedural and distributive justice in supply chain relationships. In this study, we examine how the enacted procedural and distributive justice policies of a firm influence its partner's attitudes and behaviors within a sample of 290 supply chain relationships. Findings indicate that the perceived procedural and distributive justice of a supplier's policies enhance the long-term orientation and relational behaviors of its distributor, which, in turn, are associated with decreased conflict and increased satisfaction, that influence the distributor's performance. The authors discuss the importance of the results for academics and practitioners.

Strategic Repositioning in Industrial Distribution

Changing conditions and rising customer expectations necessitate a reexamination of industrial distribution. In this paper, we examine the strategic challenges facing industrial distributors, and provide insights into their strategic repositioning. The environment-strategy-structure-culture framework is described, along with research propositions regarding industrial distributor strategic repositioning and performance. A case study of a large industrial distributor illustrates how the framework and propositions relate to a company that is trying to reposition itself from a traditional distributor of industrial parts, to a value-added provider of products and uptime services and solutions. This study is especially relevant to companies and researchers interested in the competitive dynamics of the industrial supply chain, and the challenges of distributor viability and evolution.

Modelling distributor performance index using system dynamics approach

Previous research in the area of distributor performance proposed different scales, mostly in western, developed country context. These studies also lacked the consideration of dynamic interaction between variables, which determine the distributor’s performance. This paper proposes a composite Distributor Performance Index (DPI) to evaluate distributors’ performance based on at the “Enables” and “Results”, taking a system dynamics approach. The model results have been discussed and validated, in business marketing channel. The context of this study is India, an emerging market.

Supply source selection criteria: The impact of supplier performance on distributor performance

In drawing attention to certain important gaps in the purchasing literature, the study reports on a systematic examination of supplier performance in purchasing decision criteria of U.K. distributor firms of information technology (IT) products. An attempt is made to explore the presence of dimensions underlying supplier performance in buying decision elements and identify potential differences in distributor performance with regard to supplier performance in important purchasing decision criteria. Based on a survey sample of 237 distributors, the results suggest significant differences between highly performing and poorly performing distributors in relation to their suppliers' performance in four buying decision criterion dimensions: reliability, competitive pricing, service support, and technological capability. The implications of the findings for business practitioners are highlighted, and directions for future research are identified.