The synthetic channel-contribution ledger
The route with the largest revenue share is not automatically the route with the largest contribution. Keep cash, costs, service, conflict, and ownership visible.
| Route | Booked | Collected | Fee | Delivery and support | Incremental acquisition | Contribution | Ownership and decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct | 100 | 96 | 0 | 32 | 18 | 46 | Supplier owns; retain route |
| Reseller | 100 | 82 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 40 | Shared; review renewal control |
| Marketplace | 100 | 88 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 35 | Platform controls data; test scope |
| Referral | 100 | 70 | 10 | 38 | 27 | -5 | Supplier serves; stop or redesign |
Swipe or scroll horizontally if the table is wider than your screen.
Reference & Evidence
Source: Author's synthetic channel ledger grounded in Homburg, Vomberg and Muehlhaeuser (2020) and Sa Vinhas and Anderson (2005). Amounts, cost allocations, ownership states, and dispositions are illustrative, not company economics.
Each line is a claim from the register this journal publishes against, resolved from the register at build time.
- B Channel economics reconciles collected revenue and incremental contribution across a declared route, unit, customer, and period Author framework grounded in CH1R-C1 and CH1R-C2 ·
T11-OWN-C1 - B A route record separates booked revenue, collected revenue, fees, concessions, service, acquisition, conflict, coordination, and ownership Author record design ·
T11-OWN-C2 - B Channel contribution is collected revenue less the declared route fees, concessions, variable service, acquisition, and conflict costs Author formula ·
T11-OWN-C3
Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.
Related exhibits
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Why is revenue share not channel profitability?
From the essay What is channel economics? Revenue share is not channel profit
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What does channel economics mean?
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The synthetic partner-route comparison
From the essay What is partner-led growth? A channel needs a counterfactual