lemented Web strategies, but the effortsmust be well-synchronized with existing sales and marketing channels to be successful. Mr. Kaynes, owner of Bron-Shoe Company feared his intermediaries would feel threatened by his Web so he watched the statistics carefully of his Web customers. He says between 2% and 3% of the people who visit his site end up ordering something; that is good by Web standards. And he says they are new customers too, not just buyers diverted from other marketing channels. Disintermediation can present problems for companies who elinimate their intermediaries in favor of the Internet as their direct marketing channel. It can be a double whammy for both the producers and intermediaries: Producers who don't develop new indirect channels risk remaining competitive, and traditional intermediaries must find new ways to add value to the supply chain or risk being cut-out.Hybrid - Multichannel DistributionWith the proliferation of customer segments and channel possibilities, more companies have adopted multichannel distributions systems especially by adding an eCommerce piece to the marketing strategy. Hybrid channels offer advantages to companies facing large and complex markets, but they're harder to control and generate more conflict as more channels compete for customers and sales. IBM added 18 new channels in less than 2 years. As they increased their product mix they had to consider their go-to-market strategies. Their traditional sales force channel was no longer enough. They now use a comprehensive network of distribution and value added resellers, the Internet, specialty stores and retailers. Cisco Systems uses direct marketing for sales and hybrid channels for distribution. Cisco has hundreds of distributors in its supply chain to implement the network equipment they sell through their sales force and online. More than 80% of their $1 billion in sales per month of network equipment is sold through the Inter...
