Dis/Ordering Distribution: A Short Introduction

“Distribution” can be defined as the delivery of a finished product to a point of sale. As such, it is an indispensable part of every value chain. Distribution requires infrastructures: ships, trains, trucks, communication networks, storage facilities, inventories, and similar. It also requires formats : few innovations have changed the global economy as much as the introduction of the Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit ISO container did, in allowing for the streamlining of trade flows worldwide regardless of the items delivered ( ). And, finally, distribution requires rules : technological and legal standards as well as agreements that secure and stabilize the frictionless circulation of goods. But with regard to the structure and quality of the artifacts in question, distribution appears to be neutral – merely the intermittent stage in the value chain, where the finished product is delivered to the point of sale or the site and occasion of consumption.