Berbagai perantara pemasaran digunakan dalam mentransfer produk dari tangan produsen ke konsumen akhir atau pengguna industri. Perantara pemasaran ini membawa nama alternatif seperti grosir, distributor, pengecer, dealer waralaba, jobbers, dealer resmi dan agen. Perantara pemasaran seperti itu membahayakan saluran distribusi. Saluran distribusi ini meminimalkan kesenjangan antara titik produksi dan titik konsumsi, dan dengan demikian menciptakan utilitas tempat, waktu dan kepemilikan.

Peran dan Signifikansi/Pentingnya Saluran Distribusi

Saluran Distribusi memainkan peran penting dalam keberhasilan distribusi dan pemasaran semua produk . Mereka memiliki berbagai kontak, keahlian dan pengetahuan yang lebih luas tentang produk. Pasar yang berkembang pesat dan meningkatnya kompleksitas distribusi telah meningkatkan permintaan dan kebutuhan saluran distribusi.

Peran saluran distribusi dapat diringkas sebagai berikut:

1. Saluran distribusi menawarkan keahlian menjual: Saluran distribusi menawarkan peran penting dari agen penjualan. Mereka membantu dalam menciptakan produk baru di pasar. Mereka berspesialisasi dalam penjualan dan promosi produk dari mulut ke mulut. Mereka menjamin layanan pra-penjualan dan pasca-penjualan kepada konsumen. Karena saluran ini berhubungan langsung dan teratur dengan konsumen, mereka melakukan penjualan dengan sangat baik dan pada saat yang sama memberikan umpan balik yang benar dan berharga kepada produsen.
2. Saluran distribusi meningkatkan efisiensi distribusi: Saluran perantara memudahkan proses penjualan karena berhubungan langsung dengan pelanggan. Mereka mempersempit kesenjangan antara produsen dan konsumen baik secara ekonomis dan efisien. Perantara ini mengurangi jumlah transaksi yang terlibat dalam membuat produk tersedia dari produsen ke konsumen. Misalnya, ada empat produsen yang menargetkan menjual produknya ke empat pelanggan. Jika tidak ada saluran distribusi yang terlibat, maka akan ada enam belas transaksi yang terlibat. Tetapi jika produsen menggunakan saluran distribusi, maka jumlah transaksi yang terlibat akan berkurang menjadi delapan ( empat dari produsen ke perantara dan empat dari perantara ke pelanggan), dan dengan demikian biaya dan upaya transportasi juga akan berkurang.
3. Saluran-saluran tersebut menawarkan produk dalam berbagai pilihan yang diperlukan: Sama seperti produsen yang memiliki keahlian dalam memproduksi produk, perantara juga memiliki keahlian mereka sendiri. Pedagang grosir mengkhususkan diri dalam memindahkan dan mentransfer produk dari berbagai produsen ke pengecer dalam jumlah yang lebih besar. Demikian pula, pengecer memiliki keahlian dalam menjual berbagai macam barang dalam jumlah yang lebih sedikit kepada lebih banyak pelanggan akhir. Karena adanya saluran distribusi (grosir dan pengecer), konsumen dapat membeli produk yang dibutuhkan pada waktu yang tepat dari toko yang berlokasi strategis (secara geografis lebih dekat) daripada memesan dari pabrik yang berlokasi jauh. Dengan demikian, perantara ini memecahkan sebagian besar dan memenuhi jumlah permintaan pelanggan yang lebih sedikit.
4. Mereka membantu dalam merchandising produk: Ini sebenarnya merchandising oleh perantara yang mempercepat pergerakan produk dari meja toko ritel ke keranjang pelanggan. Ketika seorang pelanggan pergi ke toko ritel, dia mungkin terpesona oleh tampilan menarik dari beberapa produk baru, mungkin ingin tahu tentang produk baru itu, dan dia mungkin beralih ke produk baru itu meninggalkan produk regulernya. Dengan demikian kegiatan merchandising perantara berfungsi sebagai penjual yang tenang di toko ritel.
5. Saluran membantu dalam melaksanakan mekanisme harga antara perusahaan dan pelanggan akhir: Perantara membantu dalam mencapai tingkat harga yang dapat diterima baik oleh produsen maupun konsumen.
6. Saluran distribusi membantu dalam penyimpanan stok: Perantara melakukan berbagai fungsi lain seperti membiayai produk, menyimpan produk, menanggung risiko, dan menyediakan ruang gudang yang diperlukan.

Dengan demikian, saluran distribusi merupakan konstituen penting dari strategi pemasaran perusahaan yang komprehensif. Mereka membantu dalam memperluas jangkauan dan ketersediaan produk, serta meningkatkan pendapatan.

Anyone who has considered college recently has been shocked by the levels to which tuition has risen. Few are able to pay for it without assistance. If you are trying to find a way to afford an education, a student loan can help.

Be sure you know about the grace period of your loan. Each loan has a different grace period. It is impossible to know when you need to make your first payment without looking over your paperwork or speaking with your lender. Be sure to be aware of this information so you do not miss a payment.

Always keep in touch with all of your lenders. Always let them know anytime your personal information changes, because this happens quite a bit when you’re in college. Be certain that you immediately review anything you get from your lender, be it an electronic notice or paper mail. Do whatever you need to as soon as you can. You can end up spending more money than necessary if you miss anything.

If you have extra money at the end of the month, don’t automatically pour it into paying down your student loans. Check interest rates first, because sometimes your money can work better for you in an investment than paying down a student loan. For example, if you can invest in a safe CD that returns two percent of your money, that is smarter in the long run than paying down a student loan with only one point of interest. Only do this if you are current on your minimum payments though and have an emergency reserve fund.

If you choose to pay off your student loans faster than scheduled, make sure that your extra amount is actually being applied to the principal. Many lenders will assume extra amounts are just to be applied to future payments. Contact them to make sure that the actual principal is being reduced so that you accrue less interest over time.

Learn the requirements of private loans. You should know that private loans require credit checks. If you don’t have credit, you need a cosigner. They must have good credit and a good credit history. Your interest rates and terms will be better if your cosigner has a great credit score and history.

Keep good records on all of your student loans and stay on top of the status of each one. One easy way to do this is to log onto nslds.ed.gov. This is a website that keep s track of all student loans and can display all of your pertinent information to you. If you have some private loans, they will not be displayed. Regardless of how you keep track of your loans, do be sure to keep all of your original paperwork in a safe place.

Select the payment option best for your particular needs. The average time span for repayment is approximately one decade. There are other ways to go if this is not right for you. Examples include lengthening the time it takes to repay the loan, but having a higher interest rate. You may also have the option of paying a percentage of income you earn once you start earning it. Some loans are forgiven after a 25-year period.

You should consider paying some of the interest on your student loans while you are still in school. This will dramatically reduce the amount of money you will owe once you graduate. You will end up paying off your loan much sooner since you will not have as much of a financial burden on you.

You aren’t free from your debt if you default on your loans. There are various ways that your finances can suffer because of unpaid student loans. A couple of tactics they use to collect the money you owe is taking some tax return money, Social Security and even wage garnishment at your job. They can also tap into your disposable income. Generally speaking, you will be far worse off.

To get the most out of your student loan dollars, spend your free time studying as much as possible. It is good to step out for a cup of coffee or a beer now and then, but you are in school to learn. The more you can accomplish in the classroom, the wiser the loan is as an investment.

If you are in a position to do so, sign up for automated student loan payments. Certain lenders offer a small discount for payments made the same time each month from your checking or saving account. This option is recommended only if you have a steady, stable income. Otherwise, you run the risk of incurring hefty overdraft fees.

To make the student loan process go as quickly as possible, make sure that you have all of your information in hand before you start filling out your paperwork. That way you don’t have to stop and go looking for some bit of information, making the process take longer. Making this decision eases the entire situation.

Contact the lender quickly if you suspect you will find it difficult to make your payment on time. The financial place is going to be likely to help you work with keeping an account as current as possible if you take the steps to contact them. You may even qualify for a deferral or reduced payments.

To get the most out of your student loan dollars, consider commuting from home while you attend university. While your gasoline costs might be a bit higher, your room and board costs should be significantly lower. You won’t have as much independence as your friends, but your college will cost much less.

If your credit score is less than perfect, taking out federal student loans is preferable to taking out loans from private lenders. Unlike the federal government, many private lenders require you to have a cosigner. If you are unable to meet your payment obligations, the burden falls on your cosigner. This in turn can have an adverse impact on their credit score.

While student loans can help make college affordable for a number of people, they must be repaid. Lots of folks borrow for college blindly without considering how the loans will eventually be paid back. Using this advice you can get your advanced education without going bankrupt.