Global Recession: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

 

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DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SALES CHANNELS FOR A DOWNTURN?

by Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha, Sally E. Lorimer, and John DeSarbo

Major economic downturns hit most companies. And manufacturers who sell to their customers through channel partners, such as retailers or value-added resellers, face additional challenges. Undercapitalized partners may be unable to get products to customers—or worse, could go bust. With the current pandemic, the situation appears dire, with even more bankruptcies predicted than occurred during the global financial crisis of 2008–2009.

For manufacturers, success when emerging from a major downturn requires rethinking channel strategy. Manufacturers who simply plot a “return to the way it was” may not fare well. ...