1. Hirak Sinha
Roll no. 28

2.  The efficiency and effectiveness of any marketing channel
depend very much on the collection, creation, management
and communication of information.
 Channel Information system (CIS) are basically used to
collect, store and interpret information in a manner that adds
value to an organization’s functions.

3.  “Information is data that has been processed into a form that is meaningful
to the recipient and is of real or perceived value in current or prospective
actions or decisions.”
 Channel information systems comprise an information database and the
hardware and networks that help in the collection, processing and
transmission of information. The hardware, software and networks vary
depending on the application requirements of channel members. They vary
for business-to-business applications, retailing applications, business to
consumer applications and interactive applications for consumers.

5.  Channel information systems provide timely information for
decision-making.
 Operational data is the basis for planning the channel and
evaluating the performance of the channel.
 Operational planning includes forecasting and providing the
resources to achieve the forecast.
 Evaluation is concerned with reviewing the results achieved
and to check whether the performance is satisfactory or not.

6. Two major components of a channel information system are:
 The hardware and networks making up the technological
housing of the information system.
 The database of information itself.

7. a) Business to Business Application (B2B): Dedicated electronic technologies are used to
facilitate communication among channel members within a distribution channel.
 Electronic data interchange (EDI): It replaces paper based documents such as purchase
orders, invoices, packing slips, etc., with electronic ones. This increases accuracy and
reduces human labor.
 Shipping container Marking (SCM): It involves labeling shipping containers with barcodes
to identify each carton shipped as well as its vendor, order number and destination store.
 Barcoding: It is used at the point-of-sale to improve inventory control and minimize errors in
pricing.
b) Retail Applications: Information systems are used by retailers to enhance communications
between retail outlets and headquarters

8.  Shipping Container Marking (SCM): It is used to improve the distribution process at both
wholesaler and distribution centre levels for the retailer. The efficiency of ordering and
distribution tasks can be improved by the application of SCM technology in retail
management.
 Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL): It is used in retail supermarkets and hypermarkets to enable
retailers to change prices whenever the need arises without changing labels on the shelf or for
all products thereby saving costs.
c) Business-to-Consumer Online Applications: Online computer services, along with
interactive multimedia technologies form the infrastructure for the “information super
highway” which links consumers have access to internet which is one large non-commercial
network of computers.
d) Interactive Multimedia Applications: Interactive multimedia (IM) for consumer use
refers to electronic technology that stores the characteristics of television, telephone and
computer and brings information, shopping opportunities and multimedia programming to
consumers.

9. A database is a shared collection of logically related data, organized to meet the needs of an
organization. The database management system (DBMS) is a support software used to
create, manage and protect organizational data.
A company can achieve greater accuracy in results in using information stored in a database.
Data stored in a database has to be converted into useful information for distribution channels
to become more efficient.
Data warehousing is the establishment and maintenance of a large data storage facility
containing data on all aspects of the enterprise