Supply Chain
Delivering Effective Route To Market Strategy
By Michael Nzule
In my world , we deliver exceptional services for out of gauge cargo . This is part of project cargo solutions , generally within the Eastern Africa region . The destinations are as exciting as the jobs , and usually very remote . This requires meticulous planning , and execution with precision supported by the right equipment . And of course , the exact skills and people .
The teams will always provide route planning to the destination way in advance , taking care of the cargo dimensions , weight and route limits , traffic simulations and site planning to final sign-off , with successful positioning of the cargo into the hands of the customer . All this is supported by effective health , safety and environment considerations .
This got me into thinking , just how logistics and supply chain management is critical in delivering excellent route to market strategy , whether in service industry or delivery of goods for customers and consumers . Simply defined and for the purpose of this article , routeto-market ( RtM ) strategy refers to the strategy adopted by companies to define and select the distribution channels to use to deliver its products and services to its target customers .
Strategy is all about winning and growth and competitiveness , at least for commercially oriented organisations . In such environments , the faster one gets the product to the customers and consumers , the better , at least for building the winning blocks . Therefore , to continuously conquer and acquire market share , companies must craft product delivery strategies that are aligned to the overall strategy .
This is where the logistics of designing cost effective and winning route-tomarket strategies comes into play . We are deliberately avoiding the go-to-market strategy to focus on the route-to-market strategy , which are incidentally not the same . Go-to-market strategy has activities that start long before the product is designed and aligned to identified customer / consumer need . RtM serves the demand side and fulfilling the need for moving the product or service to the
Route To Market strategy involves activities that assist in crafting strategies leading to the choice of sales channels , managing logistics and supply chains , and defining supporting marketing and promotional activities . This further covers a deep understanding of market dynamics , distribution channels and consumer behaviours .
customers and consumers .
RtM strategy involves activities that assist in crafting strategies leading to the choice of sales channels , managing logistics and supply chains , and defining supporting marketing and promotional activities . This further covers a deep understanding of market dynamics , distribution channels and consumer behaviours . An effective RtM covers all logistical and operational considerations to deliver to the target markets and customers . The RtM strategy must always be aligned to the overall strategy of the company .
The components of an effective strategy include considerations around manufacturing , inventory management , logistics execution and warehousing .
Choice Of Manufacturing Location
The manufacturing options adopted greatly impact the channels selected for distribution . Geographical locations affect the proximity to the customers and have a huge bearing on the costs of delivering products to the customers . The choice of manufacturing location must balance the benefits to the financial cost implications . Locations and production sites can be localised , regional or even global . The location chosen determines access to customers and response to the target market needs .
Other factors to consider in the choice of manufacturing location includes economies of scale in production and complexities involved in distributing the production over a large region . This is particularly critical where regional manufacturing sites are chosen over localised ones . Costs and responsiveness to customer needs become moderately complex as compared with localised
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