Case Name :      Weikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Channel Management Dilemma

Authors :           Jin-Song Huang, Qing-Qing Deng, Li Zhuang

Source :              Ivey Publishing

Case ID :           9B16A059 / W16700

Discipline :        Marketing

Case Length :    10 pages

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

In spring 2012, the issue of trans-boundary sales arose for China’s Weikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Weikang). Sales of the company’s products were allocated to distributors in different regions, with each distributor enjoying a monopoly within that region. However, issues had been arising with such a rigid demarcation of sales territory. One question was whether introducing competition between sales agents would lead to higher sales, or whether regional teams could co-operate and share best practices. The sales director of Weikang pondered a conflict between two distributors that had aroused great controversy. With each party sticking to its own view, the conflict seemed intractable, and now distributors from different regions were looking for a reasonable solution. It was time for a meeting to discuss the company’s channel management. Faced with such a great difficulty as a cross-border operation, how should the company proceed?