The Organization of Distribution

A BETTER title would perhaps have been 'The Disorganization of Distribution'. Indeed the organization of distribution, in the sense of its rational arrangement, is more of an aspiration than a reality, something which 'is not yet but is to be'-in a future which is perhaps indefinitely receding. The theoretical efficiency with which the function of distribution might be carried out is as much greater than the efficiency of existing arrangements as a jet airliner is more efficient than a sailing boat for crossing the Atlantic. In referring to distribution I do not wish the term to be confused with 'marketing'. Marketing is something of vital importance to producers, who need their output drawn away from their factory door or farmgate by the suction of steady and adequate demand. To achieve this they must 'market' their product which involves paying fees to market research men to find out what people will want if you are prepared to spend enough money to persuade them that they want it; gearing product design and an advertising campaign to these findings; setting prices, not only the manufacturer's own selling price, but, if he chooses to avail himself of his present legal right to do this, the prices at which the product will be resold at various subsequent stages; selecting the channels of distribution to be used; and mounting and deploying a sales force of personal persuaders to push the product through the selected channels. Marketing is thus a product-centred concept, of interest to particular manufacturers. Distribution, on the other hand, is about the channels through which particular products go. But these channels cannot be assessed only from the point of view of individual products. This is because the functions of distribution include not only taking truck loads of individual products from farm or factory or port and breaking down the bulk they are in to units that are suitable for the ultimate consumer; they also include taking truck loads from many different farms, factories and ports and carrying out a process of sorting and selection on them, so that the ultimate consumer can go on a shopping expedition and come home with a basketful of a selection of goods from many different places of origin suited to her own particular needs. Because distribution carries out this process of sorting and selection we have to look at it as a whole along this horizontal dimension of the variety of goods it handles; but we must also look at it as a