Research Frontiers in Wholesale Distribution

Abstract

First paragraph: Wholesaling is a distribution function that together with manufacturing and retailing forms part of a sector’s marketing channel. The EU defines wholesaling as involving firms: … exclusively or primarily engaged in the resale of goods in their own name to retailers or other wholesalers, to manufacturers and others for further processing, to professional users, including craftsmen, or to other major users. The goods can either be resold in the same condition or after the processing, treatment, packing or repacking usually carried out by the wholesale dealer. (European Commission 1990) Wholesale activities have remained an important activity in many economies, despite the significant transformation of commercial distribution and supply chain power relationships in the last half of the twentieth century. Wholesalers however, in some supply systems, appear to be under considerable threat and are perceived as operating declining businesses. Traditional wholesalers, as measured in standard industrial classifications, in many countries compete with supply chain focused organisations, which operate different business models but undertake many of the functions of wholesaling. There is thus some ambiguity about the status, parameters, measurement and even requirement for wholesale distribution.