Sales and Distribution are a Massively Underutilized Resource

Sales and distribution channels represent one of the largest expenses for most high-tech companies, often consuming 10-50% of the final sales price. Yet, this resource is frequently squandered through mismanagement and strategic misalignment.

The waste is not just about spending too much money; it's about the enormous opportunity cost of what that resource could have been doing.

How the Resource is Wasted:

• Misdirection: The most common form of waste is asking sales and distribution channels to sell the wrong product to the wrong customer.
• Wasted Time: When a salesperson's time is wasted on a failing product (like the Apple Lisa), those hours are lost forever. They could have been spent selling other, successful products.
• Damaged Channel Relationships: A failed product launch not only wastes the manufacturer's resources but also the distributor's or retailer's. They invest in inventory, training, and advertising for no return, which damages trust and weakens the channel for future products.

If a company wastes half the time of its sales and distribution resources, its sales will be cut almost in half. The failure to effectively deploy this expensive and powerful resource is a primary cause of corporate underperformance.