Petrol retailing today is characterised by intense competition. In general South Wales is less affected by this than other areas; but the corner of south‐east Wales, containing both an Asda and a Carrefour, is not typical ‐ the innovative influence of these stores has had an effect on petrol...

Two major factors distinguish the pharmacy trade in this country: the increasing conflict between the professionally‐trained pharmacists and the merchandising wizards of the multiples and supermarket groups, intent on developing their business in OTC lines; and the huge preponderance of one...

One in ten housewives faces an out of stock situation in current conditions. For the retailer, this means an immediate or potential loss in two‐thirds of the cases; for the supplier, the sales wastage could be considerable. This was the message emerging from the recent massively‐attended...

Today's problems ‐ and they include stock levels in grocers ‐ are not unique. I doubt if there is anyone in the trade who, during the past few years, has not used or heard many times that over‐worked euphemism “stock rationalisation”. For the plain fact is that no organisation wants to...

Inventory control is not the same as stock control ‐ it means control of each item that goes to make up the total inventory. In this exercise Keith Padden shows how his hypothetical range of crystal balls ‐ by which he means baked beans, soft drinks, instant coffee, or anything else ‐ can...

The customer has become much more volatile than ever before; retailers must react and anticipate accordingly, and suppliers must change their relationship and communications with the customer, by working more closely with the retailer. Suppliers, in Mike Groves' view, are still more concerned...

Booker McConnell's supermarket and food store chain trades under the name of Budgen. In total, however, Booker's UK Food Distribution Division covers a wide range of food distribution activities; its wholesale division delivers to members of the Mace voluntary group and also operates over 50...

Catering for the distribution needs of a wide range of clients, from the smaller retailer and supplier to the major High Street multiple, NCL includes amongst its clients Woolworth, Boots, Carrington Viyella, and Marks & Spencer. Originating from British Railways and a subsidiary of the National...

Depots whose vehicles visit more than one outlet per trip and return to the depot within a known number of working shifts are said to be executing multi‐drop distribution .

Economies of distribution are greatly concerned with drop size. From the taking of an order to the delivering of the goods, there are certain elements of work and therefore costs involved which are dependent solely on the size of that order. The greater the number of packs on the order,...