Supply and Distribution of the Ballpoint Metal Pen, Essay Example

The sector of luxury products is characterised by the stability of demand. Consequently, the successful sales largely depend on availability, branding, timeliness of products delivery and functional distribution chain. In this regard, the aspect of supply and distribution chain becomes the most crucial. The aim of this paper is to outline supply and distribution chain for ballpoint metal pen sold at the price of 400 CHF per unit.

One crucial consideration of luxury brands supply and distribution is the factor of globalisation that makes the logistics of supply and distribution even more complex than before. In this regard, depending where the product is manufactured and what the target market is, the cost might vary significantly (Hines 75). For the target Swiss market, if the product is manufactured in the country or within the EU, then a smaller number of products can be ordered to the desired market within a short time.

On the other hand, if the product is manufactured in the developing countries for the purpose of reducing costs of production, then larger quantities of product would have to be delivered to the warehouse or headquarter in Switzerland and then distributed to the consequent stores. In this regard, particular attention would have to be paid to the timeliness of the delivery and consideration of potential delays (Hines 79). However, if the manufacturing takes place within the EU, the time of delivery might take from a day to a few hours. From the perspective of supply and distribution, the closer is the place of manufacturing to the target market the better (Hines 81).

In terms of distribution, the strategy would largely depend on the company’s potential and the nature of the product. In this regard, if company manufactures other luxury stationery products and thus has its own brand stores across the country, then the primary requirement would to higher reliable and well-qualified delivery company to distribute products across the company’s brand stores (Hines 83). On the other hand, in the case the company is specialised just in production of ballpoint pen and nothing else and does not have brand stores across the country, then the company should negotiate with other brands stores that sell office-related luxury products.

For instance, the company can work with the famous leather bags or professional suit tailors. In this regard, from the logistics perspective, the company could economise on the hiring of the premises for its unique product and can achieve further distribution with correlated luxurious products. Within such scenario, the primary task is to make a deal with the sellers regarding their presentation of the ballpoint pen brand, according to the company’s advertising campaign (Hines 80). Consequently, the connection between revenue and customer service had to be emphasized.

Strictly from the point of vertical control of supply and distribution, the company will have to sign contracts with delivery firms that have a strong, successful profile in their field of specialisation. Although due to the significant profit margins, necessity of investment into distributing networks and  costs related to entering global markets, attention need to be paid to the control over costs, for the brand to preserve its luxurious and reliable status, investment in global delivery and distribution contractor is essential (Hines 76). Consequently, it is advised to work with a bigger supply and distribution companies that are presented in various areas, rather than with a few small ones, since malfunctioning of a larger number of small companies can result in the increased uncertainty of the entire supply and distribution network.

Work Cited

Hines, T. Supply Chain Strategies: Customer Driven and Customer Focused. Oxford, OX: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinermann. 2004. Print.