6.3 Assignments
6.3.1 Comment on the figures given in the text
6.3.2 Look through the text again, find and translate the sentences which give:
the definition of conventional retailers;
the definition of mass-merchandisers;
the definition of convenience stores.
6.3.3 Answer the following questions, basing your answers on the text:
What is retailing?
Why is retailing important to all of us?
How do retailers differ?
What philosophy have conventional retailers?
What is the main idea of the mass-merchandising concept?
What kinds of retailers focus on convenience?
6.3.4 Support or challenge the following statements:
Retailers are not involved with final customers.
There are 416.000 retailers in the United States.
Most conventional retailers are large self-service stores with many departments.
Mass-merchandisers have a “buy low and sell high” philosophy.
Convenience stores don’t expand their assortment.
Door-to-door selling means selling products through vending machines.
6.3.5 Find English equivalents for the following word-groups used in the text. Make up sentences with these word-groups:
- продажа товаров;
- непосредственно связаны;
теряет покупателя;
широкий ассортимент;
- отвергать эти идеи;
- придавать особое значение текстильным товарам;
- под одной крышей;
- бесплатный междугородний разговор.
6.3.6 Judging by the context, say what the word-group “soft goods” means
6.3.7 Translate paragraphs 3 – 8 of the text without using a dictionary
6.3.8 Make a list of the words used for describing conventional retailers’ and mass-merchandisers’ concepts
6.3.9 Work in pairs. (Tell your fellow-student about the difference between conventional retailers’ philosophy and mass-merchandisers’ concept using your list of the terms from task 6.3.8)
State which sentences of the text can be omitted without breaking the understanding of its main idea. Write a summary of the text
Render the text using your written summary
Find English equivalents given below for the following Russian word-groups. They will help you understand text B
-
- имеет дело с;
- коммерческие потребители;
- выше и ниже их;
- сортировка;
- но имейте в виду;
- товарный ассортимент
- оптовик-покупатель;
- отличительная черта;
- владеть товарами;
- оптовые предприятия, оказывающее покупателям разные услуги, связанные с продажей.
-
- distinguishing characteristic;
- above and below them;
- profit margins;
- grading;
- to take title to products;
- service wholesaler;
- is concerned with;
- merchant wholesaler;
- but keep in mind;
- commercial users;
- product line.
6.4 Text B. Wholesaling. (Scan the text and say in which paragraph you can find:
the definition of wholesalers;
the functions of wholesalers;
the main characteristics of merchant wholesalers;
the definition of agent middlemen;
the information about the basic kinds of merchant wholesalers)
1 Wholesaling is concerned with the activities of those persons or establishments which sell to retailers and other merchants, and/or industrial, institutional, and commercial users, but who do not sell in large amounts to final customers.
2 Wholesalers are firms whose main function is providing wholesaling activities. Wholesalers may perform certain functions for those above and below them in a channel of distribution. These wholesaling functions really are variations of the basic marketing functions - buying, selling, grading, storing, transporting, financing, risk taking, and gathering market information. But keep in mind that these functions are provided by some but not necessarily all - wholesalers. Wholesalers typically specialize by product line. But they do provide different functions.
There are many types of wholesalers.
3 Merchant wholesalers are the most numerous and account for just over half of wholesale sales. Their distinguishing characteristic is that they take title to (own) products. They often specialize by certain types of products or customers. They also tend to service relatively small geographic areas.
4 Agent middlemen are wholesalers who do not own the products they sell. Their main purpose is to help in buying and selling. Agent middlemen - like merchant wholesalers - normally specialize by customer type and by product or product line.
There are two basic kinds of merchant wholesalers: 1) service (sometimes called full-service wholesalers) and 2) limited-function or limited-service wholesal-
ers. Their names explain their difference.
6.4.1 Correlate the following groups of words and phrases on the left to the marketing terms on the right:
1) the most numerous; over half of wholesale sales; to take title to products.
2) buying; selling; grading; storing; transporting; financing; risk-taking; gathering market information.
in buying and selling.
4) activities; to sell to retailers; establishment; merchants; commercial users; final customers. |
|
6.4.2 Change the following sentences using the verbs do or did. These verbs are used for emphasis
Model: Wholesalers perform certain functions.
Wholesalers do perform certain functions.
The customer returned the product to the store.
The customer did return the product to the store.
Merchant wholesalers take title to products.
The producer used direct channels of distribution.
Usually retailer stands between wholesalers and final customers.
The retailers charged 25 percent more that the price they paid for the item.
Restaurants, hotels, and cafeterias purchase about $80 billion worth of food a year - mostly from merchant wholesalers.
We buy goods and services from retailers.
Agent middlemen help in buying and selling.
6.4.3 Translate the following sentences into English:
Оптовая торговля связана с деятельностью тех лиц или учреждений, которые продают товары розничным торговцам.
Оптовики могут выполнять определенные маркетинговые функции.
Существует много типов оптовиков.
Оптовики-покупатели владеют товаром, который они продают розничным торговцам.
Агенты-посредники не владеют товаром, который они продают.
6.4.4 Complete the sentences:
Wholesaling is concerned with …
Wholesalers are firms …
The wholesaling functions are …
Merchant wholesalers are the most …
Agent middlemen are …
Retell text B in short
Summarize the general ideas of texts A and B
6.5 Text C. (Read the text and say what information about retailing and wholesaling is old and what information is new to you)
Retailers are directly involved with final customers. Retailers differ in terms of the product assortments they sell. There are about 1.5 million retailers in the United States compared to about 416,000 wholesalers and 355,000 manufacturers. As consumers, we spend $ 1.6 trillion a year buying goods and services from retailers.
Wholesalers are firms whose main function is providing wholesaling activities.
Merchant wholesalers are the most numerous. Their distinguishing characteristic is they take title to products.
Agent middlemen are wholesalers who do not own the products they sell.
Many wholesalers are now modernizing their warehouses and physical handling facilities (погрузочно-разгрузочные средства). Products are marked with bar codes (защитный код) that can be read with hand-held scanners - so inventory, shipping (перевозка) and sales records (торговый учет) can be easily and instantly updated (корректировать).
6.5.1 Study Exhibit 10 and speak about the difference between the channels of distribution.
direct channel of distribution
Consumer
Producer
indirect channel of distribution
C
onsumer
Retailer Wholesaler
Producer
Exhibit 10 Channels of distribution
6.5.2 Put five special questions to the text
6.5.3 Check if you remember the active vocabulary of the unit. Choose the Russian equivalents for the English ones:
-
sales volume;
direct mail;
survival;
soft goods;
wholesale sale;
related products;
turnover;
vending machine;
production line;
retailer;
door-to-door selling;
single-line store;
to take title to (products);
credit card;
wholesaler.
торговый автомат;
розничный торговец;
кредитная карта;
владеть(товаром);
продажа вразнос;
продавец;
специализированный магазин;
конкурент;
оптовый торговец;
производственная линия;
возможности;
почтовая реклама;
покупатель;
текстильные товары;
ассортимент;
выживание;
сопутствующие товары;
объем реализованной продук-
ции;
оборот;
оптовая продажа.
7 Unit
The Problem Area of the Unit: Grammar:
What is Physical Distribution (PD)? Participle II, Past Indefinite
7.1 Pre-Text Exercises
7.1.1 Memorize the following words and word-groups from the texts of the unit:
-
physical distribution
storing
to deliver
warehouse
invisible
cost
costs
utility
trade-off
value
to add
to ship
economies of scale
freight
short production run
to keep stocks
товародвижение
хранение
доставлять
склад
невидимый
стоимость; себестоимость
расходы; издержки; затраты
полезность
компромисс; уступка
стоимость
добавлять
перевозить любым видом транс- порта
экономика, обусловленная масшта- бами производства
фрахт; груз
небольшая партия изделий
держать запасы товаров
7.1.2 Guess the meaning of the underlined international words in the following
word-groups. State the parts of speech they belong to:
individual firm; PD activity; the cost of the transporting; to minimize the cost; to be coordinated as one system; economies of scale in production; the finished product; basic model; the best transporting alternative; production line.
7.1.3 Translate the following groups of nouns:
Model: production line – производственная линия;
customer service – обслуживание покупателей.
- distribution decisions; - target customer; - target customers’ needs; - service level; - customer service level; - production run; |
- potato chips; - snack bar; - possession utility; - channel system; - repair parts; - copy machine repair parts. |
7.1.4 Connect each pair of synonyms:
- to demand; - target; - goods; - need; - to focus; - transporting; - customer; - producer; - rapidly. |
- manufacturer; - to concentrate; - quickly; - buyer; - to require; - objective; - commodities; - want; - moving; - expensive. |
-
costly;
7.1.5 Some English words can operate in a sentence both as a verb and a noun. Provide a proper word from the boxes in the following sentences:
-
verb
noun
help – помогать
mean – значить
need – нуждаться
help – помощь
means – средство
needs –нужды
Transporting can _____ achieve economies of scale in production.
Marketing managers should meet their customers’ _____ .
Many companies usually rely on ____ from a Marketing Information System.
The marketing concept _____ that an organization aims all its efforts at satisfying its customers’ ____ at a profit.
Computer is a good ____ of communication between a customer and a firm.
What does this really _____?
7.1.6 a) Translate the following sentences. Pay attention to the use of the same form both in the function of an attribute and as predicate
The firm delivered the repair parts rapidly.
The cars delivered by the firm were made in Japan.
The firm provided both time and place utility.
Place utility provided by the firm required PD decisions.
Marketing managers made most PD decisions.
Decisions made by the marketing managers were really good.
b) Translate both sentences into English:
Фирма разработала новый товар.
Товар, разработанный фирмой, будет дороже.
7.2 Text A. Physical Distribution. (Read the text and try to understand it to be able to do the assignments that follow)
Choosing the right channel of distribution is crucial in getting products to the target market’s Place. But that alone is usually not enough to assure that products are available at the right time and in the right quantities. Whenever the product includes a physical good, place requires physical distribution decisions.
Physical Distribution (PD) is the transporting and storing of goods to match target customers' needs with a firm’s marketing mix – both within individual firms and along a channel of distribution.
Customers don’t care how a product was moved or stored. Rather customers think in terms of the PD customer service level – how rapidly and dependably a firm can deliver what they – the customers want. What does this really mean? It means that you want your Lay’s potato chips to be whole when you buy a bag at the snack bar - not crushed into crumbs from rough handling in a warehouse. PD is – and should be – a part of marketing that is “invisible” to most customers.
Nearly half of the cost of marketing is spent on PD activities. They are very im-
portant to the firm – and to the macro-marketing system. Possession utility is not possible until time and place utility have been provided.
Usually we don’t think much about physical distribution. This probably means that a lot of individual marketing managers have made good decisions in this area. But it doesn’t mean that the decisions are always clear-cut or simple.
Most PD decisions involve trade-offs between costs, customer service level, and sales. Providing a higher service level will increase PD costs. The higher cost of PD may result in a higher price to the customer.