What does distribution mean?

Distribution is the third part of the manufacturing supply chain, which is also the last part of the supply chain. As the last major part of the supply chain, it is the step in which the final product is delivered to the customer by the manufacturer or supplier.

Therefore, many different sales and supply methods can be regarded as distribution. Whether it is small-scale retail or large-scale wholesale, it can be regarded as distribution.

Extended information:

Distribution can be divided into two types: retail and wholesale.

Retailing means selling products to consumers. Generally speaking, compared with wholesale, retail has smaller scale, quantity and amount involved. Retail can also be divided into two categories: "store" and "no store".

Store, that is, the final product is sold to customers through the retailer's store. In the past, retailers were mostly small family stores, but in recent years they have been replaced by large chain stores.

No store, also known as direct sales, means selling products directly to customers without going through a store. Direct selling can be divided into single-level direct selling and multi-level direct selling. Although direct sales does not have the burden of intermediate channels and sales fields, it increases the information search costs of both parties.

Wholesale means that manufacturers or suppliers sell products in large quantities to retailers. Compared with retail, wholesale has larger scale, quantity and amount involved.

Mass selling is a more eclectic approach compared to retail and wholesale. It has large stores and usually warehouses, and is close to the main traffic arteries outside the urban area. It has both the above-mentioned retail and wholesale properties.

The entire distribution step can be further subdivided into several steps. Sometimes there may be more complex steps, such as a supplier selling a product to another supplier, and the customer reselling the final product to another customer, etc.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Distribution