Literature Content Analysis: Formulating Different Marketing Plan between Wholesalers and Retailers Supervision System

Abstract

Purpose: Supply chain management is a significant component of marketing strategy to achieve the overall goal of maintaining a competitive edge in the industry. To better understand and compare marketing strategies between two major distribution channels (Wholesalers and Retailers), the present study examines the various critical aspects in developing marketing strategies based on numerous prior studies. Research design, data and methodology: Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing various non-numeric data to establish different concepts or opinions in the data. In content analysis, determining the presence of different themes, concepts, or other valuable texts and their relationships is carried out. Usually, the researchers employ three distinct methods to carry out complete content analysis. Results: Developing the appropriate marketing strategy to manage the supply chain of a business is essential. Marketing strategies should be formulated in a manner that ensures the supply chain is well organized. Applying the marketing strategy in the supply chain management, the current author utilizes the four Ps to integrate strategies for two distribution channels which are essential in ensuring proper management. Conclusions: This study concluded that utilizing the existing marketing strategies and integrating them can help in better management of the supply chain, using communication, decision making, product differentiation, and pricing.

1. Introduction

A marketing strategy refers to a firm's plan to turn prospective customers into consumers for their products or services. The design factors the company values and the goals input concerning the target customers of the specific product or service a company offers. A marketing strategy aims to achieve a competitive edge over the rival companies in the industry through communication and delivery of a sustainable plan in providing products or services. Depending on the type of product or service offered, firms can utilize the 4 Ps of marketing (Thabit & Raewf, 2018; Kang, 2020; Zineldin & Philipson, 2007). The four marketing points factors place, price, promotion, and product-related to the product or service. Smith and his colleagues (2020) found that the site may not always represent the physical location and involve the channel through which a product is delivered; the price is compared with the rival company's pricing and the price offered for substitute goods. Promotions apply the advertising strategies incorporated to ensure the products capture the attention of prospective customers.

In contrast, the product involves the specific features that make the customer or service more preferred over other similar products offered by the competitor (Smith, Kolassa, & Pray, 2020). The 4 Ps are majorly used when evaluating a business venture or optimizing the sales with the target audience. Marketing strategies vary depending on the business model incorporated by the company in the distribution of its products or services (Han, 2020; Lee, 2021).

Marketing strategies vary in wholesale and retail distribution models. The wholesale model utilizes a business-to-business distribution model whereby goods are sold in bulk while the retail model uses business to customer model and targets the final consumer. Wholesale companies employ strategies focusing on retailers other than the final consumer while retailers focus on final consumers. Although both models deal with product marketing, strategies may be similarly related based on the 4 Ps of marketing.

The 4 Ps of marketing may vary depending on whether the business is a wholesale or retail model. Formulating the strategy takes into consideration the business model since they focus on different target customers. Price and promotion used in wholesale may differ from those utilized in the retail model (Goi, 2009). However, place and product marketing strategies may be similar in both models since they distribute the same product. Depending on the business model, marketing strategies are formulated in such a manner to manage the supply chain in the ideal order.

Supply chain management is a significant component of marketing strategy to achieve the overall goal of maintaining a competitive edge in the industry. Supply chains are networks of activities and employees involved in producing a product for the customer. Maintaining a vital link within the supply chain affects the company's costs and profitability (Maloletko, Volkov, Vishnyakova, & Shatsky, 2018). It, therefore, needs proper and well-structured communication to ensure each party is well informed of the role they play in the supply chain. Planning, tracking, and perfecting the movement of products to the final consumer is dependent on the business model utilized by a company.

The supply chain is highly influenced by the business distribution model used by a company. The wholesale and retail distribution model may have a similar supply chain, which differs slightly due to the model's targeted customer. Similarly, Maloletko and his associates (2018) identified that the marketing strategy to manage the supply chain effectively might vary. Based on the above variation, devising a marketing strategy to manage better the supply chain is essential (Green Jr, Whitten, & Inman, 2012). The present study seeks to identify how wholesale and retail businesses can develop marketing strategies to manage the supply chain efficiently based on numerous textual prior studies.

1.2. Research Gap

This research has been conducted for various reasons. The first reason is to help students to have in-depth knowledge of the course study. Most students usually do not have detailed information on how businesses are managed far from the theoretical aspect. Taking part in research provides insightful knowledge that cannot be acquired from lectures. Research offers profound knowledge to the students as well as helps the student to hone various skills which are vital for learning. Some of the skills enhanced include problem-solving skills, analytical skills as well as critical thinking which are advanced in the research process.

The second reason for conducting this research is to offer invaluable information regarding marketing plans between retailers and wholesalers. This research is very unique since it offers information gathered from various sources compiled into one piece hence it is not a duplicate of any piece of research. The information collected in this research paper offers powerful insights into business marketing especially regarding the four Ps of marketing. Most of the critical information which is not available to most current research is the differentiation of the four Ps between retail and business. This is also very important information that will enable business enterprises to better management of their businesses.

Figure 1: The Structure of Emerging Issues

2. Literature Review

The wholesale and retail distribution models are similar to a buyer to buyer (B2B) and buyer to customer(B2C) business model. B2B focuses on selling to critical decision-makers in the industry who deliver the product to the customer, while the B2C model focuses on ensuring the products reach the final consumers. Marketing strategies in both models are similar but focus on different elements in formulating the plan. To better understand the differences in the two distribution model marketing strategies, the present study examines the various critical aspects in developing marketing strategies between the two models.

2.1. Wholesale and Retail Business Models

Wholesale businesses focus on building personal relationships with their clients while retailers establish transactional relationships. Building a solid customer relationship is critical in each model of distribution to ensure continuity in business. Wholesalers focus on building personal relationships with other companies that drive long-term business. Personal relations entail focusing on the work ethic and the morals to exercise in dealing with the client, which separates the business from competitors and helps build the business's brand. Transactional relationship in the retail distribution model focuses on ensuring repeat sales to the company.

Additionally, concerning retail banking (Sayil, Akyol, & Golbasi, 2019), customer relationship focuses on giving customers value to make them feel appreciated and want to return and not opt for the competitor's business. Customer relationships can be used as a strategy by either wholesale or retail distribution to target and maintain their target customers.

Branding in wholesale focuses on the relationship, while in retail, they focus on prioritizing the message to reach the target customer. Branding precisely positions the company's core product in the eyes of the target customers. The prior study founded that branding in wholesale is achieved by consistency in the presentation and delivery of products to the target audience. Brand recognition positions a company in the market and facilitates recognition and lead generation. In retail models, branding focuses on delivering the message to the target audience to create brand loyalty with the customers (Rashid & Barnes, 2018). Specific targeting clients confirms credibility and ensures customers emotionally connect with the product, which motivates turning leads to sales. Brand positioning is a core element of marketing strategies between wholesale and retail that distinguishes various approaches to ensure business flow in either model.

The wholesale is based on ensuring open conversation, while the retail model simplifies the decision-making process. In wholesale marketing, decisions are made to rationally and emotionally support the business in decision making and require open communication to determine if it fits the business (Rashid & Barnes, 2018). During transmission, a business can compare the positive impacts of engagement with competitors to ensure they have the best bargain in the market. The rationality in decision-making focuses more on the company's profitability to analyze if the decision will lead to more business or a loss. In contrast, the emotional aspect focuses on the relationship between the company and its employees. In retail distribution, marketing strategy decisions are formulated to create the need in customers such that they are aware of what product is required to satisfy that need (Tanase, 2020). The decision to represent the need and the remedy product for the requirement is achieved through a simplified decision process where the customer has the information needed on the product. Decision-making is a crucial tool in formulating the marketing strategy, and its focus is dependent on the business model in use.

Target market demographics help wholesale businesses focus on their business niche while retail models follow the funnel. Concentrate on the places helps formulate strategies according to target customer demographics that facilitate lead generation. The leader is later converted into sales through advertising specifically to the audience. Retailers focus on skewing their campaigns to focus on emotional and product-driven campaigns that generate to of funnel leads to the company. Targeting a wide range of consumers ensures the high customer possibility of converting leads to sales in support of the business.

Table 1: Marketing strategies in wholesale and retail models

2.2. Role of Marketing Strategies in Supply Chain

Marketing strategies focus on practical and efficient management of the supply chain to ensure smooth business operation and profitability. Through collaboration, marketing strategies are formulated to impact the demand in the market and generate business flow to the company. Lambert and Cooper (2000) outlined that supply chain management significantly impact the marketing strategy by strengthening the company's competitive position through internal and external operational support efficiency. Through proper supply chain management, communication support fosters collaboration among all parties involved through facilitating customer-centered focus, well-informed stakeholders, and fair pricing and cost distribution.

Marketing strategy help in the proper understanding of the roles of various parties and their contribution to supply chain management. Ardito, Petruzzelli, Panniello, and Garavelli (2019) stated that marketing communication enable suppliers to identify the customers' needs and the specific brand of the product that meets their needs. Additionally, marketing strategies help inform shareholders on various activities and contribute to ensuring the product reaches the customer (Lamberti & Cooper, 2000). Communication through marketing strategies provides proper management of the supply chain in an organization. Key links in the supply chain management are factored in by formulating an appropriate marketing strategy for the organization and helping key players in supply chain management align supply and demand consideration. Sharangi and Pandit (2019) stated that understanding the target market needs and formulating the appropriate channel to deliver the right products gives the company a competitive edge.

Marketing strategies inform the customers of the expertise of their supply chain. Showcasing expertise through proper delivery of the organizations' ability to meet the needs of its customers builds confidence in the company product and encourages repeat sales for the company. Once customers are assured that the company has employed proper mechanisms to ensure their needs are met, they tend to build loyalty with the brand and become its marketing agents. The techniques benefit the company by saving the cost of further marketing and improving revenues within the businesses.

Marketing strategies formulated leverages brand awareness which boosts the business efforts. Supply chain partners require alignment with the company's systems to leverage outreach on prospective customers. Additionally, marketing translates data into important supply chain elements. An understanding of the inner working of the company helps in recommending the links and the appropriate fixes to any challenges that may be present. Integration of supply chain management into the marketing strategies requires clear communication of the consumer and the proposed delivery methodology to ensure satisfaction of customer needs. Focusing on the key players in the supply chain ensures collaboration with the marketing team in efficient meeting of the customer needs (Esper, 2021). Once the consumer is confident that the company is better suited to meet their needs, they develop loyalty and become marketing channels.

3. Research Design

3.1. Qualitative Content Analysis

Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing various non-numeric data to establish different concepts or opinions in the data. Researchers carry out qualitative research in multiple ways, such as in-depth interviews, case studies analysis, and content analysis. Content analysis is a research technique that is primarily applied in qualitative research methods. In qualitative content analysis, determining the presence of different themes, concepts, or other valuable texts and their relationships is carried out. Usually, the researchers employ three distinct methods to carry out complete content analysis. The methods include conventional, directed and summative analysis. Through the practices, researchers derive meanings of texts and therefore interpret accordingly. The following research paper seeks to find out what qualitative content analysis is. The data collection process involved how QCA (Qualitative Content Analysis) should be research designed, and finally, justification of the QCA used by the researchers (Renz, Carrington, & Badger, 2018).

What is the meaning of ‘QCA?’ Many scholars have defined the concept differently, but all definitions systematically describe data after careful categorization and coding (Sung, 2021; Kang & Richard, 2018; Woo & Kang, 2020; Elo & Kyngäs, 2008). Other scholars imply that qualitative content analysis is a systematic way of reducing content, analyzing it paying attention to the context in which it was built while extracting themes and other relevant information from the data (Forman & Damschroder, 2007). Thus, by analyzing data, it is evident that the qualitative content analysis research method involves various systematic processes of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and conclusion making using texts, audio, video, or other appropriate secondary sources.

Qualitative content analysis involves analyzing data from different sources such as interviews, questions, or other communicative sources. To carry out an analysis of data using the qualitative content analysis method, one must first code the information into manageable units (Selvi, 2019). The coding process entails grouping data into different categories depending on their defined characteristics. Qualitative content analysis is used for various reasons, such as identifying the psychological or emotional components of groups in social sciences, revealing different patterns of a given textual content, and describing behavioral responses from data.

The qualitative content analysis is divided into two major groups, namely, conceptual analysis and relational analysis. In conceptual content analysis, researchers determine the frequencies at which concepts appear in a text. A concept to be analyzed is chosen and subjected to examination to determine its presence during the process. The idea aims to establish the idea in a given data (Selvi, 2019). On the other hand, relational content analysis in qualitative research analysis of the concept is carried out by exploring the relationships between different units of study. Relational content analysis is further divided into three subcategories: affect extraction, proximity analysis, and cognitive mapping. After conducting the data collection process using qualitative research, it is vital to check for reliability and validity of data to limit possible errors.

Qualitative content analysis has both advantages and disadvantages. On the advantage side, the method is beneficial since it allows closeness of data during the analysis process. Additionally, it gives credit to valuable historical insights (Han, 2020; Elo & Kyngäs, 2008). On the other hand, it can be disadvantageous to apply QCA in Research since it is time-consuming. Moreover, it cannot be easy to automate or computerize QCA data. In most cases, the qualitative content analysis does not credit the original data source, such as video or text.

3.2. Data Collection Process

To justify the QCA research findings, a researcher must focus on how the whole process is prepared, organized, and reported. Various factors need to be considered in ensuring that the qualitative content analysis is carried out appropriately. Preparation in qualitative content analysis is a process where one assembles all the necessary data that require investigation. On the other hand, the organization refers to establishing categorizing the materials into units, formulating coding rules, applying the coding procedure to the selected materials. Reporting entails presenting the analyzed findings to the readers and other researchers,

One of the factors includes checking for validity of the research. A qualitative content analysis research is valid when methods of measurements applied in the study are accurate, and results correspond to the fundamental characteristics of a social world (Noble & Smith, 2015). Some lead questions such as why the study was conducted, if the sample size corresponds to the findings, methods of data collection help justify the validity of a QCA research. Thus truth in QCA implies that results are accurately interpreted.

Another essential aspect used in justifying the results of a QCA is checking for the transparency aspect. Transparency in QCA research gives freedom to readers to evaluate the data, analysis, and methods used in research practice (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). Transparency in QCA is beneficial since it allows researchers to access data no matter where t is located and ensures that the accessed data is accurate and reliable. Additionally, transparency permits readers to ascertain the interpretation and analysis of the QCA method used. Transparency thus allows readers to validate specific claims in research by analyzing the evidence provided. Data credibility in QCA research enables justification of given research work. Credibility in QCA implies that the researcher accounts for the framework used in the research work. A researcher who acknowledges biasness in a research work renders the work credible. Similarly, it helps researchers link their findings to real-life situations, making them valid for the readers (Noble & Smith, 2015). Credibility also ensures consistency in one's work; hence readers can easily trust the research findings. In most cases, dependability in QCA is determined by the research's availability, reliability, and safety. Therefore, credible research work enables one to justify the qualitative content analysis research.

The transferability aspect in QCA also helps in justifying the research findings. Transferability is the level at which qualitative content analysis findings can be transferred to other contexts by the readers or other researchers. Transferability is important in QCA research since it allows temporary understanding among researchers. It also permits using a single research method to multiple research work and allows modification of results in a given finding to come with a different one with different characteristics. Therefore, when seeking to justify the QCA method applied by a researcher, checking on the transferability aspect is essential. The trustworthiness of a research finding is significant in qualitative content analysis. The level of confidence employed in the research processes such as data collection, interpretation, and analysis to maintain the study quality is the trustworthiness concept (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004).

Figure 2: Data Interpreting Procedure

4. Research Findings

Developing the appropriate marketing strategy to manage the supply chain of a business is essential. Marketing strategies should be formulated in a manner that ensures the supply chain is well organized. Utilizing the four Ps of marketing provides proper integration of the specific marketing strategies in supply chain management. The four Ps of control ensure the focus of the detailed elements of the business model.

The first P is based on the product, which is the core element of the business model. The development in both retail and wholesale models is the same and focuses on how differentiated it is to meet the customer needs. Similarly, the product is the supply chain's core function as it considers movement from raw material to finished product. The process includes planning and managing sourcing and procurement of raw materials and converting them to the final product that meets the customer's need (Choi, Zhang, & Cheng, 2018). Coordination and collaboration among the parties such as suppliers, retailers, third parties involved in the process are worth considering.

Marketing strategies are based on the link between major business functions and the entire supply chain process within the company. Green Jr and his colleagues (2012) identified that collaboration between the marketing strategy and the supply chain enhances cohesion and cooperation to ensure the proper delivery of the product produced within the required specification of the customer needs (Li, Xu, Deng, & Liang, 2018). Wholesale and retails dealing with the same effect can utilize the same marketing strategies to ensure the objective is met. Integration of all teams involved provides proper management of the supply chain within the organization.

The place represents the channel of delivery of the core product of the company to the customer. Based on supply chain management, the place mainly focuses on the key functional areas of the supply chain. These key areas include purchasing, manufacturing, inventory management, demand pricing, warehousing, transportation, and customer service (Wang, Zhu, Tian, & Li, 2019). Marketing strategies should be effectively formulated to ensure each of the functions is appropriately handled. Ideal marketing strategies should ensure that the purchasing function of the supply chain factors the bargain for the company. The aim is to provide the lowest production cost through collaboration with suppliers and achieve discount levels for the company (Panagiotou & Stavrakoudis, 2017). The marketing team should sell the company so that each function is conducted at the appropriate cost to ensure profitability for the company.

Wholesalers source their products in bulk from the companies and sell in bulk to distributors and retailers. To ensure a bargain through marketing strategy, the wholesaler should ensure that the channel and marketing place is beneficial (Li, 2018). The channels of marketing focus on the distributors and retailers and may not focus on the final customer (Lim, 2020). Such strategies involve available discounts on bulk purchasing, among others. Due to the territorial nature of wholesaler models, the supply chain ensures customer loyalty and repeat business. Retail models focus on the final consumer. The strategy mainly focuses on the final delivery. Although the retailers may not influence the entire supply chain, tailoring marketing strategies ensures they get the best from the supply chain (Quix & Van der, 2019). Additionally, the collaboration between wholesalers, retailers, and companies provides the final delivery benefits to all partners involved in the supply chain. Both models have significant control over supply chain management, and therefore strategies should be formulated to ensure collective bargain for the parties.

Pricing strategy development its core component element of supply chain management. Decision on the final price to the consumer factors the suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors to the final consumer (Devlin, Elmaghraby, & Hamilton, 2018). The cost-pricing strategy involves calculating the cost and adding on the profit margin. Other pricing strategies include the penetration strategy adopted when a business introduces a new product in the market or enters new territory. Additional discounted pricing includes marginal cost pricing, free premium pricing but is utilized at different product life cycles (Levius, Safa, & Weeks, 2018). Developing a pricing strategy to manage better the supply chain is based on the stage and the business model. Retail and wholesale business models may utilize any pricing model to manage the supply chain better. Analyzing the product life cycle and strategically pricing the product to the appropriate price that enhances profitability for the company enables the supply chain management appropriately.

The promotion strategies in wholesale and retail encourage logistical planning. Promotion strategies help a company idealize leads into business and retain their existing clients (Chen, Nan, & Li, 2018). Promotion is essential to the ever-changing consumer demand s of the consumer, which is identified by marketing and communicated down through the supply chain. Branding is also influenced by promotion strategies employed in the business model. The wholesale and retail business model needs to use a holistic approach to fulfill key supply chain requirements. Distribution ensures a vital role in the marketing strategy.

Successful implementation of marketing strategies in supply chain management may consider various factors suggested by the prior study (Alvarado & Kotzab, 2001). Wholesalers and retailers should focus on performance by looking at a different provider who gives first importance to products. The purpose of the supply chain ensures the product is given a top ranking in the buying process. Wholesalers focus on the performance of the supply chain in enhancing the delivery of the product at the beneficial consist of the product and differentiating the product to meet the end customer. The process involves the pricing strategy of the models to ensure appropriate management of the supply chain. By sharing the company's vision, each model should provide an ideal pricing strategy for the end customer (Omrani, Tash, & Akbari, 2017). Additionally, the process of delivery should be convenient to the client factor rival products in the market. Properly integrating the supply chain and pricing strategies ensures a company attains a competitive edge in the industry.

Integration of marketing and supply chain management ensures a better bargain for both the customers and the company. Utilizing the business model to focus on straightforward and direct communication of the product specifications is beneficial in both models. Tamilia, Ferrell, and Hopkins (2020) stated to ensure proper integration, partners need to collaborate in providing the place of advertisement factors the product specification to ensure a competitive edge. People are the main focus of any business and are the target consumers of the company (Kang & Hwang, 2017). Various studies can be integrated to come up with a possible solution for the research gap. Using studies conducted on marketing strategies, supply chain, and differences in the retail and wholesale model can help develop a plan for either model that can be used to optimize the supply chain. The key difference between the wholesale and retail model is the final customer. The wholesale model focuses on a business as the customer the retail model focuses on the final consumer.

Utilizing the four Ps to integrate strategies for the supply chain is essential in ensuring proper management. The place aspect can be replaced by the process to ensure the delivery method is ideal for each business model. Wholesale models should integrate strategies to ensure they focus on other businesses by building long-lasting relationships, as outlined in the prior study (Muralidharan & Raval 2020). On the other hand, retailers should provide the delivery process of the product to the final consumer focuses on the satisfaction of consumer needs as indicated in the past study (Lamberti & Cooper, 2000). Focusing on consumer needs ensures the supply chain is tailored to ensure products are advanced and differentiated.

The product element of marketing is similar in both models of business. The supply chain can integrate the development of the product based on the consumer needs and specifications (Tamilia, et al, 2020), the ultimate goal of marketing strategy is to ensure consumers are satisfied, which is achievable through the product element. The wholesale supply chain can integrate the conversation strategy to ensure all partners in the supply chain are aware of the product specification to ensure delivery of the ideal product to the customer. Retailers can also utilize a simplification strategy to provide that all information regarding consumer preferences is communicated to all partners in the supply chain. Through proper communication on the client's specification needs, the supply chain management can be boosted to provide the required product to the customer.

A pricing strategy is utilized to ensure profitability while attaining a competitive edge. According to the prior study (Tsao, Thanh, Lu, & Yu, 2018), pricing strategies differ within the wholesale and retail channels; however, proper integration in the supply chain can ensure appropriate supply chain management. According to the wholesale distribution model niche, pricing provides value additions to the clients and boosts profitability and repeat sales. Identifying the model's place and pricing ensures the entire supply chain is structured appropriately to ensure ideal management. Follow the funnel strategy in retail business ensures the targeted customers are identified and products priced according to their abilities and categories. Communication of this information in the supply chain ensures that the suppliers and manufactures can identify materials to push for better bargains with the suppliers to ensure they can give a product retailing at the set price.

Table 2: Summary of Research Findings

Promotion strategies in the entire supply chain can ensure effective utilization of marketing strategies. The study identified that wholesale focuses on relationship based promotion strategies while retailers concentrate on providing the message to the target group of customers. Promotions incorporating the partners in the supply chain can boost sales as more people identify with the product and are willing to take it as their own since they influence development in one way or the other. Utilizing promotion in all supply chains ensures proper marketing strategies that lead to appropriate supply chain management (Nantharath, Laochankham, Kamnuasilpa, & Kang, 2020).

5. Conclusion and Implication

The present study concluded that utilizing the existing marketing strategies and integrating them in the supply chain can help in better management of the supply chain. The techniques include using methods regarding communication, decision making, product differentiation, and pricing. In addition, the study suggested utilizing the four Ps of marketing in the supply chain, which include pricing, placing strategy, promotion campaigns, and product differentiation.

Integrated marketing strategies in the wholesale factored the four Ps and the specific method for the distribution channel. The study indicated that the Wholesale models should incorporate strategies to ensure they focus on other businesses by building long-lasting relationships by integrating the conversation strategy to ensure all partners in the supply chain are aware of the product specification to ensure delivery of the ideal product customer. Additionally, the wholesale distribution model niche pricing provides value additions to the clients and boosts profitability and repeat sales.

The study identified that wholesale focus on relationship-based promotion strategies while retailers focus on ensuring the message is sent to the target group of customers. The retail model focused on the end consumer and suggested that retailers should ensure the delivery process of the product to the final consumer focuses on the satisfaction of consumer needs. Retailers can also utilize a simplification strategy to provide all information regarding consumer preferences is communicated to all partners in the supply chain (Wieland, 2020). Additionally, follow the funnel strategy in retail business ensures the targeted customers are identified and products priced according to their abilities and categories. Retailers focus on providing the message that is sent to the target group of customers.

Furthermore, the marketing mix marketing strategies ensure value addition to all partners in the supply chain. The ultimate goal of the marketing strategy is to achieve a competitive edge through customer satisfaction; therefore, the entire process in the supply chain should consider the end customer through proper communication of customer need and preferences. The study implied a need for additional research to target various marketing aspects in supply chain management specifically. Adopting the four Ps of marketing can advance further to incorporate the seven Ps and tailor each element to supply chain management. Additionally, various strategies in the supply chain should also factor in the marketing strategies identified by each distribution model.

6. Limitation and Recommendation

This research encountered a few limitations especially regarding the information collected and the process of collecting and compiling that data. These limitations affected the quality of the information collected since the research only utilized one methodology of data collection. Some of the limitations this research encountered include time consumption, limitation of marketing strategies, data collection strategy, and finally the restriction on materials for data collection. Time consumption is one of the limitations of the research. This is mainly because qualitative research is the main methodology of this research hence most of the time was spent sourcing for information from previous research regarding the study. Not only is it time-consuming to delve into numerous books in search of information even the interpretation of the same data is also time-consuming as wells since it requires the decoding of words and compilation of discussions and findings.

The marketing strategies applied in this research serve as a limiting factor to the research. This research only elaborated on the four Ps of marketing that are price, promotion, place, and product. By not addressing the seven Ps instead there were various aspects such as physical evidence, people, and process which were not included. They also offer insightful information on the research. The research should have also included other strategies the research such as tactical and operational strategies.

Another limiting factor was the measure used in data collection for the research. This research applied qualitative methods for data collection such as reviewing various sources of literature regarding the study. The exclusion of quantitative methods for data collection limited the content of the information provided. If some of the quantitative methods of data collection such as surveys and controlled observations would have yielded better results for the summarization of this research. They would have also presented numerical data with concrete facts upon which, finally, the period of research articles to be used served as a limiting factor. Since the considerable time limit is not more than five years of research there was very valuable information from previous years that had to be ignored even articles that offered profound knowledge to the study.

The author would recommend future researchers encompass more methodologies of finding information such as incorporating quantitative methods. Methods such as surveys will offer new information regarding marketing plans between retailers and wholesalers. The kind of information that has not been documented yet. Also, the inclusion of quantitative methods of research will be able to provide numerical data regarding the study. Statistics offer very solid and reliable data which enables the relevant people to make solid considerations from the research.

Another consideration would be encompassing various strategies of marketing for wholesalers and retailers. Earlier the basic principles of marketing include the four Ps of marketing. As years advanced and more research was done, they developed to seven Ps of marketing. Currently, more research offers the twelve Ps of marketing. Although research has not offered profound information regarding the factors, researchers should consider embarking on the research which will be beneficial to the 21st-century businesses which have incorporated very modern business strategies applicable to the modern era.

Lastly, future research should incorporate a bigger period probably research for the last ten-year period. This will enable are vital information to be compiled from a decade. The extension of the period will also incorporate types of research that do not have detailed information in the present years. Past information even if it is ten years ago can also be applicable especially in businesses since like fashion keeps on referring to past trends, business management can also refer to previous business management processes that worked for earlier businesses.