WHOLESALING

What is Wholesaling?

All the activities involved in selling goods and services to those buying for resale or business use. Wholesaler - those firms engaged primarily in wholesaling activity. Wholesalers buy mostly from producers and sell mostly to:

Retailers, Industrial consumers, and Other wholesalers.

Why are Wholesalers Used?

Wholesalers are Often Better at Performing One or More of the Following Channel Functions:
Management Services & Advice
Market Information Risk Bearing Financing Transportation Selling and Promoting Buying and Assortment Building

Wholesaler Functions

Bulk Breaking

Warehousing

Types of Wholesalers
Independently Owned Business that Takes Title to the Merchandise it Handles.

Merchant Wholesaler

Manufacturers Sales Branches and Offices

Wholesaling by Sellers or Buyers Themselves Rather Than Through Independent Wholesalers.

They Dont Take Title to the Goods, and They Perform Only a Few Functions.

Brokers/ Agents

Types of Wholesalers

Logistics Management:
The planning, implementing, and movement of goods, services, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption.

Importance of Logistics to Marketing

Customer Expectations of Suppliers Logistics Systems: Timely pickups for outgoing orders. On-time delivery. Prompt claim settlement for lost or damaged goods. Accurate invoicing. Interactive Website for tracking & customer service. Well-trained drivers and customer support staff. Process for analyzing and correcting service failures. Centralized, accessible customer service. Good communication with customers. Responsiveness form all supplier departments.

Key Activities in Logistics

Warehousing: Private Warehouses Public Warehouses Distribution Centers Materials Handling: Bar Coding RFID Inventory Control: JIT QR SCM EDI

Order Processing
The objective is to ensure that customers:

Get what they order

When they want it

Are properly billed

Have appropriate support for product use or instillation

Transporting

Railroads carry approximately 40 percent of all U.S. freight. Trucks can deliver almost anywhere, particularly important for customers that lack a rail siding.

Air Freight is tops in speed but highest in transportation cost.

Transporting

Pipelines transport chemicals, gases, liquefied fossil fuels, and petroleum products. Water is a good, low-cost alternative for large quantities of bulky products that must be shipped long distances. Intermodal involves the use of two or more modes of transportation.