Article at a glance:

Mitigating channel conflict

• Inspired by the rapid growth of Internet sales, many technology vendors are opening their own direct channels.
• In doing so, however, they risk irritating their existing partners, who see Web sales as a threat to revenues.
• While manufacturers shouldn't ignore their partners' complaints, neither should they be hamstrung by this opposition. Instead, manufacturers should reevaluate each partner to assess the relationship's importance.

Note: This brief article from our print edition's Case in Point department reviews how one company handled a critical business problem.