Outofsight Speaker Company (Case Study)
Your company is the Outofsight Speaker Company, a manufacturer of a high quality line of audio speaker systems. Your company has been in existence for four years and sales have gradually been increasing -- 8% annually. Your speakers range in price from $400 to $3,200 per pair.
As a recent graduate of DeVry University, your VP of Channel Relations recognizes the excellent learning that you have gained. She has asked you to qualify a potential new distributor for your line of audio speakers.
That potential new distributor is Washburn Electronics, located in Paducah, Kentucky. Outofsight Speaker Company had received a letter of inquiry from Washburn, in which they expressed interest in becoming a qualified Outofsight wholesale distributor in their state. At this time, you do not have a reseller in this geography and your three primary competitors do. Washburn also represents one of those three competitors and does not represent the other two.
You don’t know too much about Washburn Electronics other than what you found on their web site, information of which is fairly limited. Yet, because you have no wholesale dealer distributors in Kentucky, the visibility of your product line is low. Washburn Electronics is a wholesale distributor and sells a variety of electronic goods to retail stores, most of which are independent stores. Those stores compete with Tweeter and other stores that sell high quality speakers and audio systems.
Assume you have a meeting arranged with Washburn Electronics senior management at their Paducah office. At that meeting you may ask these senior managers any questions you wish.
What questions would YOU want to ask? (NOTE: it is not the answers I seek. Rather, it is to determine the questions you would ask, the answers to which would facilitate your making a wise recommendation to your VP).
Tell me, though, WHY you want to know the information you are asking. What are the things you would want to know about Washburn Electronics that would help you make the "correct" decision whether or not to bring them aboard as a potential distributor of Outofsight speakers?
Demonstrate to me your ability to think tactically and strategically… and to look at the "big picture." Remember that you are looking at this distributor's ability to MARKET your goods and represent Outofsight to your target market.
Note: Emphasis on taking a "big picture" approach that you take that suggests you are asking questions that TRULY help you to understand how bringing Washburn Electronics aboard as your Kentucky wholesale distributor would make sense and would be beneficial to both Washburn and Outofsight.