business reality is that they are very important in getting goods from often scattered locations to customers. This is real work.
We manufacturers also hold a proportion of large clients that we deliver goods to directly, often in the hospitality industry, or large corporates, who aren’t buying the soap for their washrooms from stores, supermarkets, or wholesalers. Many source directly from the manufacturer.
But today, the thing that saves us as manufacturers is our rapid reactions to alternative and innovative methods to distribute more widely across the country, directly to the end consumer, smaller stores, to estate stores, to the outlets the consumer has moved to, during this transition in our retail infrastructure.
About the Author
Chintan Thacker is the Managing Director & CEO of Vivek Group, which he has developed in just a few years from a trading/repackaging operation with fifteen staff, to a fully blown multifaceted manufacturing operation with more than 150 staff, specializing in Home Care & Personal Care products. Chintan has been named in the Top 40 Under 40 Men of Kenya, and has won numerous awards, including The Company of The Year, for his group’s business, operational, and environmental performance.
For me, this has meant looking beyond conventional sales channels, to direct van sales, door to door selling, to social media and online shops. The point is to make sure our products reach the end user.
As it is, Kenyan manufacturing was blessed by the early and rapid rise of advanced retailing outlets. But now, the time has come once again, to rethink our strategy and develop new and fuller distribution channels. For, at the core of every business success lies sales success, and that means getting goods to where the consumers are, no matter how!
ALUMNI MAGAZINE | 9