net, but they use an "ecosystem" of partners for the professional services (installation and deployment of the equipment and software).Intermediaries and the InternetThere are three types of intermediaries: intensive, exclusive and selective. When companies stock their products in as may outlets as possible, i.e., soap, toothpaste, soda and toilet paper, that is intensive distribution (mass distribution). It may seem to be a perfect fit with the Internet because the Internet reaches billions of people worldwide, but it's not practical. Crest may use Webvan.com as an intermediary who in turn would utilize the Internet by offering Crest products to end users. International marketers, like Cisco, face a wide range of channel alternatives from inefficient to complicated in different countries. Direct marketing via the Internet has alleviated some of those barriers and helped companies break into the international market. Some companies, like IBM, use intermediaries who direct market. By outsourcing its logistics, a company can gain a complete pan-European distribution system, for instance, without incurring the costs, delays and risks associated with setting up its own system.Companies that limit the number of dealers and give exclusive rights to distribute the company's products, i.e., Bentley vehicles, DKNY clothing, and Estee Lauder cosmetics, are practicing exclusive distribution. Can the Internet be used for exclusive distribution when it reaches billions of people worldwide? If their existing distribution channels direct market via the Internet then the answer is yes, indirectly. Like Ford, Bentley advertises and communicates its products on the Web and offers links to their dealers.Somewhere between the number of mass dealers and exclusive dealers is selective distribution. Maytag, Whirlpool and General Electric are all great examples of the use of selective marketing channels. They sell their products through such retailers as Se...
