Open Distribution

term from John Hagel

another angle on the Network Economy

Seems focused on dealing with challenges of selling into Rural areas, esp those with less Money and Infrastructure.

His "Innovation Blowback article about Cummins for their Power Generator sales. The company realized that it couldn't afford direct distribution, given the need for low prices. Instead it would have to use third-party distributors, all of them less skilled than its direct sales force and less able to help customize the product for the needs of particular end users. The solution was to create a series of smaller, lower-powered, modularized engines and to combine them with add-ons called "gensets" (generation sets) that could be customized for different segments. By packaging components in ready-to-assemble gensets, Cummins broadened the product's appeal to both customers and distributors. Customers liked the gensets because the product came tailor-made; the hospital version, for instance, had a noise-abatement hood that was omitted from the farm kit, which had dust and dirt guards not included in the hospital version. Gensets also appealed to distributors because they didn't have to source these add-ons themselves-something that would have been beyond their means and skills.

This article discusses applying this

• to cars from Tata Motors.
• to ITC's E Choupal Agriculture market.