Distribution

Abstract

So long as there is a high degree of specialisation in our society so that groups of us produce certain goods leaving others to satisfy our totality of wants, there is an inevitably complex pattern of distribution between manufacturers and consumers. Between the producers and the market-place there will be a collection of bankers and shopkeepers, carriers and wholesalers, insurance companies and advertisers. A study of distribution will include packaging, branding, store layout and changing patterns of consumption. However, here we shall concentrate on the retailing and wholesaling functions, leaving an examination of transport systems until the next chapter.