Faculty of Management Technology

Course specification

Marketing Channels and Distribution – MRKT 714

A-Basic Information
Semester number 8th semester
Semester type Spring semester
Study year Final/Senior year
Department offering the course Marketing Department
Specialization Marketing
Type of course Compulsory
Number of sessions/week Lecture/week, 1 Tutorial/week, 1
Student workload 150 hrs
Credit points (ECTS) 5 CP

B- Pedagogical Information
Course Description:

The course is an important one in conducting marketing projects whilst utilizing e-marketing and
assessing market needs, especially in the marketing consulting business. In general, the course
is intended to make you acquainted with state-of-the-art marketing distribution, e-marketing, and
retailing techniques. All intricacies and strategies related to product/service flow from point of
conception/production till point of consumption will be thoroughly analyzed. Means of handling
conflicts and power nodes that emerge within the channel structure will also be highlighted in the
different channels forms, including e-channels. Expertise on the channel design process,
selection criteria, setting policies using qualitative heuristics and quantitative Key Performance
Indicator analyses/performance metrics as well as forms of channel compensation will also be
among the topics of discussion. New forms of channels in the millennium including e-channels
will be highlighted. The skills covered in this course are thereby applicable to marketing
channels encountered in both consumer and business-to-business markets. These skills are
particularly useful if you plan to go into a consulting or marketing career.

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Faculty of Management Technology
Course specification

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding

o To understand the growing importance of marketing channels, different

channel flows and their relationship to channel management.
o To know the definition of marketing channels and the relevant organizational
entities involved.
o To learn the basic code of ethics in marketing channels.
o To know and understand how marketing channels relate to strategic variables in
the marketing mix.
o To know the specifics of channel design and channel management as well as
comprehend the overlapping interrelationships between them.

Intellectual skills

o To be able to reason through the integration between marketing channels of

distribution and the rest of the marketing mix elements.
o To be able to reason through the complementarity between the different
channel flows.

Professional & Practical skills

o To learn the value of marketing channels to today’s organizations and be able to

devise an optimal channel strategy.
o To learn the different career opportunities related to the course including Trade
Channel managers, Sales Management, Retailing, etc.
o To learn the necessary professional skills relevant to such positions.
o To develop student team work and team management capabilities.
o To learn the basic code of ethics in marketing channels.

General and Transferrable skills

o To be able to relate to previous courses in Marketing and visualize the

relevance of the present course to other courses in the major.
o To learn the basic code of ethics in marketing channels.
o To develop student team work and team management capabilities.
o To learn the importance of group work as reflected in course group article
discussions, case presentations, and empirical project.
o To develop student ability to relate communication channels to products,
services, ideas, and organizations.

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Course specification

Topics covered in the course:

No. of Teaching
Hours
Topic Lecture Tutorial
1 Introduction to Pivotal Marketing Channel Concepts. 2 0

2 Channel Design Sequence and Gap Analysis of Channels of 2 2

Distribution (CoDs)
3 Guest Speaker from Industry – Reflections on Channel 2 2
Design
4 Channel Management and Managing Conflict 2 2
5 Channel Selection Criteria 2 2
6 Channel Selection Criteria (Cont’d) 2 2
7 Customer Satisfaction Requirements 2 2
8 Competitive Analysis and Strategy 2 2
9 Guest Speaker from Industry – Reflections on Competitive 2 2
Analysis and Strategy in CoDs

10 Marketing Channels Macro-Influences and Internal 2 2

Variables

11 Additional Perspective on Marketing Channels: Electronic 2 2

Marketing Channels

12 Revision 2 2

Learning and teaching methods

Class discussion, formal lecturing based on selected texts and readings, open dialogue, critical
analysis, guest speakers, discussions, assignments, case studies, oral presentations, research
reports, and term projects. Five-six teams (of no more than 5 members each) will be formed
during tutorials to develop and resolve a practical case for the project. Every tutorial session will
include two presentations; one presenting a case and applying it to the course content covered so
far, and another presentation relevant to an article on marketing channels chosen by the
instructor.

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Faculty of Management Technology
Course specification

References
Recommended Textbook
 Rolnicki, K. (1998). Managing Channels of Distribution: The Marketing
Executive’s Complete Guide. AMACOM.

Recommended Further Reading

 Coughlan, A., Anderson, E., Stern, L. and El-Ansary, A. (2006),
Marketing Channels, 7th ed., Prentice Hall, NJ.
 Rosenbloom, B. (2004). Marketing Channels: A Management
View, 7th ed., Thomson/South Western.

Additional Readings

 Miscellaneous case studies that will be available online on your intranet

folder or at the copy center.
 The course power point presentations on the university network.
 Additional articles from leading marketing journals on relevant issues to
the course.

Relevant Websites

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Course specification

Assessment
Student Assessment Methods Assessment Weighing
Lecture Guest Speaker Reports 5%
Group Cases and Articles 15%
Project 20%
Midterm 20%
Final 40%

Educational facilities & forms of media

Facilities Required for Teaching & Learning:
Lecture hall equipped with microphone, computer, beamer and white board.
Forms of Media:
Availability of lecture presentations on the GUC intranet that are used for data show and
explanation to students during lecture sessions

C- Administrative Information
Head of the Department
Prof. Noha El-Bassiouny

Course Instructor Contact Information

Course Instructor Prof. Noha El-Bassiouny
E- Mail noha.elbassiouny@guc.edu.eg
Fax +20-2-7581041
Telephone +20-2-7589990-8
Ext 3331
Room number B5-313

Course Teaching Assistant Contact Information

Course TA Soha Abutaleb and Aya Kasber
E- Mail soha.hamed@guc.edu.eg; aya.yasser-kasber@guc.edu.eg
Fax +20-2-7581041
Telephone +20-2-7589990-8
Ext
Room number

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