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Section 10.3 Place
for production. Another part of the supply chain is the businesses
involved in logistics. Logistics is physically moving products from the
manufacturers to distributors, retailers, or end users. The final part
of the supply chain is selling the product or service to the end users,
either consumers, businesses, or both.
Supply chain management is coordinating the events happening
throughout the supply chain. Effective supply chain management
results in the following benefits:
• streamlined inventories
• lower operating costs
• timely product availability
• increased customer satisfaction
The people or businesses between the manufacturers or producers
and the end users are called intermediaries. There are several
types of intermediaries, including wholesalers, retailers, and agents.
Figure 10-5 outlines characteristics of intermediaries.
Wholesalers purchase large amounts of goods directly from
manufacturers. They store the products and then resell them in
smaller amounts to various retailers. Wholesalers are sometimes
referred to as distributors. A retailer buys products either from
wholesalers or directly from manufacturers and resells them to
consumers. The Internet is also considered an intermediary between
the businesses creating or reselling the products and the end users.
Agents, also known as brokers, are different from wholesalers
because they do not take possession of the product. Instead, they bring
buyers and sellers together. The agent may be hired by the buyer
or the seller. For example, realtors are agents. They may represent
Figure 10-4. The factors
that influence place are
also known as distribution.
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