Distribution research

Marketing is the exchange function- the process by which goods and services are made available to the public. No society will produce goods or services for any length of time if they cannot be exchanged for other goods or the means of obtaining them.
         The success of marketing effort determines the prosperity of the entire enterprise .The marketing effort consists of a number of elements, particularly: creating awareness, ensuring demand and marketing the goods available in the form, at the place and the time the customer wants them.

          More recently students of marketing have become aware that they are dealing with a total process. the process of making goods physically available is a crucial element in the marketing mix with important implications for all other aspects of their plans.
          As Wills points out: " The traditional marketing viewpoint on distribution that once a channel decision has been made, the means by which goods physically change hands is the legitimate and exclusive concern of others."
It was recently claimed that the movement and storage of goods is now the third highest cost in business, trailing only materials and labour costs.

        In the analysis of distribution two distinct elements can be identified- physical distribution and channel policy. Physical distribution is the movement or handling of goods from the point of departure to the point of consumption or use. Channel policy is the selection , motivation ans support given to the marketing intermediaries the firm calls upon to perform the physical distribution task.