Infrastructure Analysis
As Panera Bread is a chain of bakery-cafes, it is reliant on transportation and infrastructure to deliver fresh produce daily to supply the bakeries with the necessary goods to keep the production of fresh baked goods going. Being the capital of Thailand, Bangkok has a developed road infrastructure. At the same time, Bangkok is a very overpopulated city, with a chronic traffic congestion problem (Assavavipapan and Sathaporn 925). The roads, though numerous, are typically blind alleys, and the area-to-road ratio is only 8%, compared to 20-30% in cities like New York, Tokyo, and Singapore (Assavavipapan and Sathaporn 930). Traffic congestion may cause issues with on-time deliveries of products to bakery cafes.
Distribution Barriers
The primary distribution barrier in Thailand and Bangkok specifically is the relative incompatibility of western-style baking with local cuisine (Tangtatswas et al. 5). Thai kitchen and cooking are very different from the typical menus offered in the US. Unless Panera Bread changes its menu to something more appropriate for the region, the company will struggle to maintain the same number of customers it enjoys in other places, where their produce fits into the cultural paradigm.
International Intermediaries
The company has no reason to sell its products to wholesalers or brokers due to the nature of its services and the overarching business model (Mangan and Chandra 126). Therefore, Panera could either represent its brand in Thailand as a new market, or purchase a local company within the café and fast-food industry, and change it into a bakery-style establishment (Mangan and Chandra 55). The former would require investments to develop the brand name, whereas the latter would start with an already existing customer base. At the same time, it would require time and money to account for operational and leadership changes.
Distribution Channels
Nearly all fast-food café-style businesses operate producing food on site. Therefore, the distribution channel delivering the product to the ultimate customer will engage in direct sales (Mangan and Chandra 71). Panera Bread will open up its cafes across Bangkok, where interested customers would be able to buy and enjoy their pastry in a comfortable setting.
Works Cited
Assavavipapan, Krirkchai, and Sathaporn Opasanon. “Thailand transportation infrastructure performance and the economics.” Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 28, no. 5, 2016, pp. 923-938.
Mangan, John, and Chandra Lalwani. Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Tangtatswas, Ririnda, Puris Sornsaruht, and Paitoon Pimdee. “Fast-food restaurant customer satisfaction in Thailand: A structural equation model path analysis.” African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism, and Leisure, vol. 8, no. 5, 2019, pp. 1-14.