If product is no longer king, what is? Companies like Dell Computers, Lexus, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com have found phenomenal success by coming up with the answer-channels. The channels by which goods are marketed and distributed have become the new drivers of economic success. From these channels flow customer satisfaction, market share, revenue gains and profitability. It's not so much what you sell today, but how you sell it. And there is no going back.

In The Channel Advantage, Booz?Allen & Hamilton consultants Steven Wheeler an Evan Hirsh write about dozens of companies that have excelled in this channel-driven economy. In one telling example, Wheeler and Hirsch analyze the great success of Dell Computer. While Dell makes top-quality personal computers, it's the company's direct-to-customer sales channel that sets it apart. By building computers to order, Dell keeps inventory low, lets consumers buy exactly what they want, and pushes prices down by cutting out the middleman.

The Channel Advantage examines today's Channel Champions, the companies that have mastered this new environment. Wheeler and Hirsh tell us how Lexus broke into the luxury car business by focusing so intensely on customer service that dealers personally called up customers to report a product recall. The authors also explain how the rise of Amazon.com represents the exploration of an entirely new channel: e-commerce via the Internet.

Wheeler and Hirsh, both partners at Booz?Allen & Hamilton, the leading management consulting firm, base their exploration and analysis on real-world experience working with clients. They've not only identified this change, they've lived-making The Channel Advantage a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what it takes to thrive in today's channel-based economy.

Channels by which goods are marketed and distributed have become the new drivers of economic success. Consultants Wheeler and Hirsh write about dozens of companies that have excelled in this channel-driven economy, such as Dell, Lexus, and Amazon.com. They base their exploration and analysis on real-world experience working with clients. Wheeler and Hirsh are vice presidents and partners at a leading management consulting firm.
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The world's leading corporations are reinventing their sales channels and revolutionizing their industries. This book shows managers how to duplicate their strategies to secure their own companies' competitive advantage.

Wheeler and Hirsh, both partners at Booz?Allen & Hamilton, the leading management consulting firm, base their exploration and analysis on real-world experience working with clients. They've not only identified this change, they've lived-making The Channel Advantage a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what it takes to thrive in today's channel-based economy.

Heute reicht es nicht mehr aus, ein besseres Produkt auf den Markt zu bringen. Die Kunden erwarten einen individuellen Service - nicht mehr und nicht weniger! Moderne erfolgreiche Unternehmen müssen deshalb neue Wege finden, um ihre Produkte den Kundenbedürfnissen entsprechend anzubieten. "Channel Champions" erläutert wirkungsvolle neue Marketing- und Verkaufsstrategien, mit deren Hilfe Sie Marktanteile gewinnen, Kundentreue aufbauen und neue Marktchancen ausschöpfen. Hier erfahren Sie, wie Spitzenunternehmen wie Dell Computers, Levi Strauss, Saturn und Wal-Mart neuen Wind in ihre Branchen gebracht haben: Durch eine Neudefinition ihrer Vertriebskanäle und die Entwicklung von Gewinnstrategien für die drei Kernelemente Informationsfluß, Vertriebslogisitk und Service. Ein außergewöhnlicher Leitfaden, der Ihnen zeigt, wie Sie sich Ihren Wettbewerbsvorteil in Ihren Märkten sichern können.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-205) and index.