Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it, and a distributor is a business involved in the distribution stage of the value chain. Distribution can be done directly by the producer or service provider or by using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries. Distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix: the other three elements being product, pricing, and promotion.
Warehouse storing granite in South Jersey, a U.S. East Coast epicenter for logistics and warehouse construction and distribution to market to the Philadelphia metropolitan area and beyond
In an intensive distribution approach, the marketer relies on chain stores to reach broad markets in a cost efficient manner.
A wholesale fish market at Haikou New Port, China
Types of distribution systems
The marketing mix is the set of controllable elements or variables that a company uses to influence and meet the needs of its target customers in the most effective and efficient way possible. These variables are often grouped into four key components, often referred to as the "Four Ps of Marketing."
The 4Ps have been the cornerstone of the managerial approach to marketing since the 1960s
