- Customer characteristics-this include type of customer,geographic dispersion of buyers ie location to manufacturers,customer buying habits and the outlets they purchase from.
- Product characteristics-this includes perishability,product usage(industrial-direct or household-indirect).
- Company characteristics-this includes a company objectives,financial status ,past channel experiences and the desired degree of channel control.
- Middle men characteristics-this includes financial status,storage capacity,availability and the services they offer.
- Competitive characteristics-for some products,it is preferable to use the channels that are used by other competitors e.g. fast moving consumer goods.
- Environmental characteristics-this includes economic,political,legal,social,cultural and technological factors that may affect the channel selection.
- Nature of the goods ie heavy, bulkyetc
- The number of terminals
- Transportation cost
- The distance to be covered ie water and air are mainly used for long distance products.
- Speed and urgency of the goods.
- The packaging requirements
- Availability of the channel
- Flexibility of the channel to be used ie can it be used in the interior regions?.