"Distribution Inefficiency" in telecommunication products

by Alan Razmi
During past few days I was reviewing different market places for similar products (in my case, smart phones) and I was surprisingly shocked and confused in terms of availability, services, price, etc. and I've found a great deal of failure in efficient distribution plans and policies...

Nowadays when we purchase a smart phone - in my example - we are not just buying a device but getting other many things extra and beside it such as few accessories like speaker headphones, power adapters, connection cables, manuals, services and also apps pre-installed in to that device. so by purchasing one device we already get more than one item in which some can be replaced, purchased, repaired or removed separately and individually dealt as an extra item. in to that we should add lots and lots of other accessories that are available for one or set of devices as peripherals which in my point of view are as important and required as the device itself, such as bluetooth headsets/keyboard and mouses, speakers, stands and ducks, chargers, cables, cases, batteries, etc. that are produced by the same phone manufacturer and exclusively for it's own products.

So as we see above each manufacturer faces a great value of different products that are somehow related but yet need different considerations in planning, production, distribution and so on... and here is where the problem occurs.
   
What I sow during my review was a huge gap between producing different productions and to make them ready and available in different market places... to illustrate this issue I'll set an example...

I was looking for a smartphone to purchase and also some of it's peripherals like a stand, an extra battery and charger, a USB OTG connector, a protecting case and a high capacity micro SD memory card... and guess what ? I could not get what I wanted in just one market or even I could not get it at all in any market itself despite of having them launched already and it is really annoying.

• First of all, the manufacturer informed about 3 variation of the device with different memory capacities in which they only launched the entry level of it (in where I'm right now) with the least memory size (16 GB) but with a very appropriate price tag so perhaps the other two higher versions would be more expensive in which I prefer to pay and to get them but there is no any trace of them any where so I've tried to contact the manufacturer and request for more further info. and as you know, no proper respond.
• Next I've realized there are even more variations of the same device and it made the case even more confusing with different options, accessories coming with device, apps, networks so on and so forth based on different locations (even if they might be under the same network structure).  
• Further, I've found that in some market areas (locations) which the device is launched, it is not a complete set of prompted devices in terms of specifications/capacities, either they launched just the lower version (like where I am now) or higher one's which results in to even more confusion and customer inconvenience and by the time they start to launch them, the device itself is out dated and old enough to discourage me not to go for it.
• Finally and more importantly is the case of peripherals and their availability in different locations; and believe me that is the one which makes my review full-fledged... in those places that the device is not yet launched I've found a plenty number of genuine peripherals already available and on the other hand lack of extras in the locations that the device is launched and being sold.

I believe what I've mentioned above is what every one of us have experienced, though in different fields and products but mostly in the same level and feel. I think this is just a result of miss planning and targeting in which leads directly into product distribution inefficiency and also into more confusion for customers as it will force them to choose their choices among only few options that are available or are given by the manufacturer for that period of time due to lack of availability and though they are aware of other options that suits them better.

As every body knows, telecommunication devices ranged from mobile phones to the smart phones and newly-come favorite tablets, all are as important as their exclusive or common extra peripherals in which the variety of them and number of productions just shows and tells about their demands.
 

I personally found it not pleasant struggling a lot to get exactly what I want though I know every item of it is ready and launched but I should still search around the world, collecting them just like the pieces of a puzzle and from different market places and with lots of difficulties so I might finally get what I've planed to buy at the first place.

And yet there is not any clear response or answer to this confusion and discomfort, at least not in my case and not from my reviewed manufacturer...

So what do you think about this matter ? and What are the reasons of it in your point of view ? Have you ever experienced the same ?  just share with us what do you think and what can be done ?

by Alan Razmi

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