Retail Business Concepts - Distribution and Inventory

The method of marking merchandise with prices before it reaches the retail floor.

A bar code system that uses numbers to identify products and stores information about them.

A system that uses visual cues to monitor inventory levels and sales rates, providing a quick and easy way to track stock.

The difference between a company's revenue and its costs.

The practice of exchanging goods or services for a mutually agreed-upon amount of money.

Offering a product's availability in a convenient location to differentiate it from competitors.

A pricing strategy where retailers offer certain products below cost to attract customers and generate sales.

A law that prohibits retailers from using predatory pricing tactics, preventing the unfair use of low pricing to drive out competitors.

A drop shipper acts as a middleman between a manufacturer and a retailer, handling product orders and shipping directly from the manufacturer to the customer without holding inventory themselves.

In an industrial market, the final user is a business that consumes the product as a part of its own operations, such as a hospital using antiseptic soap for its patients.

Using an in-house sales force allows a company to control various sales aspects, including sales strategies, product presentations, and customer interactions.

Direct distribution is the least common channel in both consumer and industrial markets, as it involves selling products directly to the final consumer or industrial user without intermediaries.

Intermodal transportation combines various modes like trucks, trains, ships, and planes to efficiently move goods, maximizing the advantages of each method for speed, cost, and reach.

Centralized buying occurs when a national chain makes purchasing decisions for all its branches from a central location, achieving cost savings due to bulk discounts and presenting a uniform brand image.

Extra dating is a payment term that allows buyers to delay payments on purchases, providing them more time to sell the products and generate revenue before needing to settle with the suppliers.

A perpetual inventory system tracks stock levels constantly, updating balances after each purchase, sale, or adjustment. It gives real-time data, while a physical inventory system involves physically counting stock at specific points in time, leading to potentially inaccurate snapshots.