Does the internet create more distribution problems than it solves Essay

Does the internet create more distribution problems than it solves Critically evaluate with reference to channel conflicts. include relevant examples and theories in your appraisal - Essay Example Bovet and Martha (2000) explained this in their value net, wherein the distribution centre provides bought products on a just-in-time basis. (p58) What this means is that the Internet significantly reduced the cost of distribution, while making the process faster and responsive to the needs and requirements of the consumers. Now, this is the ideal landscape. Several years have passed and a wealth of experience has been collected. There are some sectors who argue that the Internet has created new distribution challenges, which are dominated by the emergence of channel conflicts. This paper will explore this theme. Particularly, the investigation will focus on the tourism industry. For some, the Internet is considered one of the greatest developments in the history of mankind, if not ever. (Katz and Rice, 2002, p2) This claim may have some ring of truth to it since the technology has almost single-handedly reduced the world into a global village, effectively eroding the effect of time difference, geographical location and national borders in the way people interact and consume goods. The platform became popular because it allowed easy and inexpensive communication of one to one, one to many, many to one, and many to many – an achievement that is unparalleled in history. (Sullivan, 2002, p177) It has helped globalization to achieve its purposes and, in turn, is encouraged by that economic phenomenon in a mutually reinforcing relationship. This is the basis of the emergence of the so-called e-commerce concept, a new model that significantly challenged the traditional bricks and mortar model. Through the internet technology, people can sell products and se rvices over the internet network without having to worry about store space and intermediaries. According to Gay, Charlesworth and Esen (2007), the technology allowed the linking of front and back