A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S F O L IA OECONOM ICA 17, 1982
F.möke L e n g y e l *
SH O RTEN IN G TH E W AY O F GOODS IN TH E H U N G A R IA N HOME TRADE
A basic function of bo th producing and tra d e e n te rp rise s is to ensure a continuously developing su p p ly of reliab le goods in an a sso rtm en t m eetin g co n su m er’s dem ands. T he re q u ire m e n ts c re a te d by increasing co n su m er dem and, m ost reasonable ex p lo itatio n of th e lim ited n u m b er of available m anpow er, ratio n aliz a tio n of w ork and a m ore effective u tilization of m eans all necessitate an im p ro v em en t in th e m ethods, te c h -nical-econom ic conditions and organization of conveying goods and m a-te ria ls b etw een producing and consum ing sectors. T h erefo re th e aim is to fo rw ard th e goods from p ro d u cer to consum er w ith th e low est possible cost, in th e sh o rte s t possible w ay.
T he g o v ernm ent decision passed in 1968 served a lre ad y th is p u rp o -se, reg u la tin g th e new o rd er of p ro d u cts’ d istrib u tio n . The system of com pulsory w ays of d istrib u tio n has been abolished and as a re s u lt of th e increased independence of com panies, th e y a re fre e to choose th e ir b usiness p a rtn e rs , su p p liers and custom ers.
1. TH E O R G A N IZA TIO N A L STR U CTU RE O F TH E H U N G A R IA N HOME TRADE
C h aracteristic fe a tu re s of th e H u n g a ria n hom e tra d e a re th e w hole-sale e n te rp rises supplying 2 or 3 provinces, how ever, some of th em m ay su p p ly th e w hole co untry. A m ong th e w holesalers m an y a re big, n a tio n - -w ide en terp rises. Each n e tw o rk of re ta il shops an d of c a te rin g tra d e usu ally covers one province, though th e re a re re ta ile rs confining th e ir a c tiv ity to th e capital and again o th ers h aving shops e v e ry w h ere in th e co u n try .
C e rta in groups of goods a re d istrib u te d by n atio n -w id e e n te rp rise s organized for dem i-gross a c tiv ity (such goods are, am ong others, photo articles, w atches, jew ellery).
The task of th e G eneral C onsum er’s and D istrib u tio n C o-operatives (ÁFÉSZ) a t th e tim e of th e ir foundation w as to provide th e ru ra l pop ulatio n w ith goods. H ow ever, w ith th e liftin g of te rrito ria l lim ita -tions, th e Á FÉSZ p u t up m ore and m ore shops in tow ns and in th e ca-p ital, too.
In H ungary, th e b ran c h control and a d m in istra tiv e supervision of w holesalers, dem i-gross e n te rp rises, nation-w ide re ta ile rs and caterin g com panies are c a rrie d out d ire c tly by th e M in istry of Home T rade.
The b ran c h control of local com panies is also p erform ed by th e M i-n istry ; th e a d m ii-n istra tiv e supervisioi-n, how ever, is exercised by th e co m p eten t go v ern m en tal bodies, th a t is, by th e councils. T herefore, w ith in these com panies th e ju risd ictio n s of b ran c h control and su p e r-vision a re sep arated . The M in istry of Hom e T rade and th e tra d e de-p a rtm e n ts of th e councils m ain tain a continuous contact.
The supervision of co-operative and ca te rin g com panies is exercised by the N ational A ssociation of C o-operatives.
E xam ining th e hom e tra d e organizational s tru c tu re , e ffo rts to w ard a h ig h e r co n cen tratio n can be w itnessed. These effo rts a re ju stified by th e end eav o u r to establish a m ore reasonable o rd er of m ag n itu d e am ong th e com panies. T he com panies’ obligation to self-fin an cin g as w ell as to th e d ev elopm ent of fixed and circu latin g funds calls for an increase in th e size of com panies. The co n cen tratio n , firs t of all am ong w holesalers and gen eral consum er co-operatives, took place h orizontally. Back in 1960, th e n u m b e r of w holesalers a m o u n ted to as m an y as 119, w hich n u m ber, follow ing th e m erg ers dropped to 48 by 1977. A sim ilar te n -d ency can be note-d in th e n u m b er of Á F É SZ -com panies: from th e 1374 co-operatives active in 1960, th e ir n u m b er w en t back to 303 by 1977. A vertical co n cen tratio n is b a rre d by th e tw ofold supervision and o w nership respectively.
As a re s u lt of th e con cen tratio n , th e tu rn o v e r and p ro fits of each rem ain in g com pany increased, w h ereas th e necessary resources for th e com p an y ’s econom y a re m ore easily available.
A co n cen tratio n of th e d isin te g ra te d tra d e is needed not only b e-cause of th e reasonable c e n traliza tio n of m eans, b u t also bee-cause it is th e only w ay for tra d in g com panies to ap p e ar as an „equal p a r tn e r ” vis-á-vis a r a th e r centralized in d u stry . A t p resen t, due to th e lack of such balance, it often occurs th a t th e tra d in g com panies do not m ake use even of th e ir ex isting legal possibilities (like e n te rin g a claim for p e n a lty in case of late d eliv ery on th e p a rt of th e ind u stry ) sim ply
because th e y do n ot w a n t to risk th e ir „ p le a sa n t” con tacts w ith th e in d u -stry . To establish tra d in g com panies b e tte r equipped w ith capital is o nly a p a rtia l solution of th e problem ; th e in d u s try ’s m onopolistic po-sition — a situ a tio n faced v e ry often now adays — should cease.
S c h e m e 1
T h e process an d c h a ra c te ristic sta g e of th e rep la c e m e n t of goods w ith in th e c o n su m er goods tra d e
Foodstuff producers ---Foodstuff imports
---D irect deliveries W hole-_
salers Foodstuff retail shops; superm arkets, foodstuff speciality shops, catering network.
Chem ical industry Foodstuff industry Chem ical imports
W hole-salers C h e m ic a l s h o p s a n d p e r f u m e r i e s ; m i s c e l l a n e o u s g o o d s s h o p s , m i s c e l l a n e o u s f o o d s h o p s Clothing i n d u s t r y ---, Imports --- 1
D irect in d ustrial purchases W hole-salers
Specialized retail shops, g en eral departm ent sto res D epartm ent stores
H ard w are and technical W hole- consum er goods in d u stry ---► salers Im ports ---»
D irect in dustrial purchases
H ardw are and kitchen utensils shops; technical shops;
consum er goods shops
D epartm ent stores
Paper & glass industry; stationery industry Imports
---W hole-salers
Stationeries, glass shops, m iscellaneous consum er goods shops
Furniture industry Imports W hole-s a l e r hole-s A c c o r d in g to d is p o s i t i o n s o f t h e w h o l e s a l e r
Specialized retail shops Department stores
Coal m i n i n g
---ERDÉRT
---Building material industry -
Imports ---A c c o r d in g t o d i s p o s i t i o n« of TÔZÉP c o m p a n ie s T Ü Z E P d e p o s i t s AFÉSZ
2. D IS T R IB U T IO N CH A N NELS O F T H E H U N G A RIA N TRA D E
Follow ing th e in tro d u ctio n of th e new econom y guiding system , in H u n g a ry th e system of goods d istrib u tio n has been m oving m ore and m ore to w ard s a m u lti-c h an n e lle d system of contacts. A c e rtain kind of m erchandise m ay pass a d iffe re n t ro u te from th e p ro d u cer to th e con-sum er, since th e s tric t isolation of functions b etw een w holesale a n d r e ta il has been elim inated. R etail com panies fu lfil v e ry often w hole-s a le rhole-s ’ fu n ctio n ahole-s w ell, or w holehole-salerhole-s, d ihole-sre g a rd in g th e re ta il netw orkhole-s,
seek d ire c t lin k s w ith th e consum er. ,
A n u m b er of w holesalers and re ta il com panies have been e n title d to c a rry o u t th e ir ow n im ports, th u s being able to estab lish d ire c t fo-reig n tra d e contacts, w h a t also h elps sh o rte n the w ay of goods.
In Schem e 1 th e m ost c h a ra c te ristic d istrib u tio n ch an n els fo r each group of a rticle s a re outlined. It show s c le a rly th a t th e d istrib u tio n of even a single group of a rticle s can be m ade by m ore th a n one tra d e channel. It can also be noted th a t besides tra d itio n a l (producer-w hole- sa le r-re ta ile r-c o n su m e r) d istrib u tio n channels th e re a re ty p ical o th er w ays of d istrib u tio n , too, m atch in g best th e n a tu re of goods to be dis trib u te d (for exam ple fooddistuffdis by d ire c t deliv ery , fu rn itu re by tr a n -sit delivery).
3. P R O PO R T IO N S O F TH E D IS T R IB U T IO N CHANNELS
F ro m th e ratio n alizatio n po in t of view , th e pro p o rtio n of th e re le -v a n t d istrib u tio n channel is a n im p o rta n t factor, w o rth to be exam ined. E v ery year, th e hom e tra d e sta tistic s re g iste r th e break d o w n of th e re ta il shops su p p ly of goods according to d istrib u tio n channels, fo r m a-jo r groups of m erchandise. T he figures of T able 1 show a continuous sh o rte n in g of th e w ay of co n su m er goods in th e period u n d e r survey. T he tab le proves th a t, a lth o u g h purch ases from a single selling orga-nization are g ettin g m ore fre q u e n t, still even now 55 p e r c e n t of th e consum er goods reach th e co n su m er th ro u g h th e tra d itio n a l tra d e ch a n n els (pro d u cer-w h o lesaler-retailer).
T he tra d e policy guildelines concerning th e period of th e s ix th five- -y e a r n atio n al econom ic p lan fo recast a f u rth e r c u rta ilm e n t of th e w hole s a hole r’s p articipation, and th e division of th e ir functions b etw een in d u -s tr y and reta ile r-s. The condition of th i-s i-s, how ever, co n cen tratio n of th e sm all re ta il com panies lacking capital. S im u ltaneously, such a re -grouping of funds w ill be re q u ire d th a t w ill allow th e pro d u cers to tak e o v er th e w arehousing and stock-piling jobs.
T a b l e 1 P e rc e n ta g e sh a re of th e re ta il sh o p s’ su p p ly of goods, according to th e n u m b e r
of m a rk e tin g channels. P u rc h a se th ro u g h one a n d tw o m a rk e tin g ch an n els (100 = to ta l supply) Year Organizations Organizations Food stuffs* Clothing Miscella-neous Total
Food-stuffs Clothing Miscella-neous Total
1970 52 26 33 39 48 74 67 61 1971 52 26 33 39 48 74 67 61 1972 53 26 36 41 47 74 66 59 1973 54 25 35 41 46 75 65 59 1974 58 28 35 42 42 72 61 58 1975 59 28 39 44 41 72 61 56 1976 59 29 40 45 41 71 60 55 * D i r e c t p u r c h a s e s i n c l u d e d .
When examining each main group of merchandise, considerable de-viations from the average can be observed: the distribution channel of the clothing articles in the most differentiated, 71 per cent of their tur-nover is even now handled by two trade organizations. The length of the trade channels often leaves its mark on the supply of clothing articles: the trade is frequently unable to elastically follow the de-mand. Inspite of all these, under the present economic conditions — cha-racterized with continuous production and seasonal fluctuation of de-mand and the fact that the producing enterprises are ill-equipped for longer warehousing — the wholesale companies’ warehousing, accumu-lating and assortment-building function is still necessary.
Short distribution channels are more typical in the foodstuff trade, here 59 per cent of the goods reach the consumers through one single trade organization. In this group of goods their perishable nature ma-kes shortening the way of goods even more essential.
4. OBSTACLES TO SH O R TEN IN G TH E FLOW O F GOODS IN TH E H U N G A R IA N ECONOMY
The organizational structure of the Hungarian industrial companies, among them of those producing consumer goods is production-oriented, for the most part the only task of their selling departments is to for-ward the goods produced to the trade, therefore, the sales departments exert no particular influence on the production itself. This results from the traditional attitude making a sharp distinction between the
func-tions of in d u stry and tra d e , th u s sep ara tin g th e production and th e d istrib u tio n in th e course of th e social division of labour.
T his sh a rp sep ara tio n is on ly stressed b y th e p re se n t reg u la tio n sy -stem th a t does not provide enough financial m eans for producing com pa-nies to enable th em to build p ro p er store-houses for finished goods o r to accu m u late circu latin g funds sufficient fo r financing th e ir stocks. Con-seq u en tly , th e in d u stry is not in te rested and does not have th e m eans to tak e over th e w ho lesalers’ functions, to produce w ith o u t orders, to rese rv e raw m ate ria ls and sem ifinished p ro ducts and to su p p ly th e t r a -de d irectly.
A t p rese n t, such financial m eans a re m ostly c o n cen trated in th e w holesale b ran c h and it is th e w h o lesalers’ task to sto re th e finished goods in th e long ru n , to bridge over th e tim e gap b etw een production and consum ption, to build up assortm ents and so on.
The in d u stry and th e state-o w n ed large-scale in d u stry in p a rtic u la r, produce alm o st exclusively on th e basis of o rd ers fro m th e w holesalers, th u s th e risk of selling finished pro d u cts is w h olly borne by th e w hole-salers, and th e in d u stry does not feel d ire c tly th e problem s involved in th e balance of d em and and supply. H ith erto th e d o m in an t facto rs a re such as m onopolistic position of th e producers, fre q u e n t lack of m ate ria ls and capacities and obstacles in the flow of inform ation. T he state-o w n ed large-scale in d u strie s satisfy first th e w h o lesalers’ d em ands and only a fte r m eeting th e ir dem ands or in th e case of decreasing dem and m ake e ffo rts to fu lly m eet th e re ta ile rs ’ req u irem e n ts. It also h ap pens q u ite often th a t p ro d u ce rs lacking basic m ate ria ls or m anpow er o r faced w ith increased e x p o rt obligations, refu se to fulfil th e re ta ile rs ’ orders first.
Also th e p revailing p ro fit m argins do not encourage th e producers to d ire c tly satisfy th e re ta ile rs ’ dem ands, not even w hen th e la tte r w ould be able to give ord ers for econom ical q u antities.
A n o th e r problem is th a t th e p ro d u c e r’s price does not include tra n s -p o rt costs, for -producers th e -place of realizatio n is th e ir ow n -p lan t, and as a resu lt, th e y a re n o t in te re ste d in sh o rte n in g th e flow of goods.
A fu rth e r tro u b le is th a t th e organizational s tru c tu re of th e in d u -stries — as it w as re fe rre d to e a rlie r — is unable to satisfy d ire c t con-su m e r dem ands. T h at is w h y m an y producing com panies do not deal w ith d ire c t sales for th e p o p u lation and especially in th e m ain groups of clothing and m iscellaneous consum er goods th e re a re v e ry few e x am -ples of d ire c t sales, th a t is, for th e ir ow n shops.
5. PA TTER N S OF SH O RTEN IN G TH E FLOW O F GOODS
In order to establish a more efficient economy, the trade policy guidelines envisage a further shortening of the flow of goods for the next five-year national economic plan, too. The aim is — in addition to the traditional trade channels, within the framework of the multi- -channelled distribution system — to increase the share of turnover made through shorter trade channels, many of which have been succes- fully working for several years.
5.1. D E M I-G R O S S T R A D E
At it was already mentioned, even now 55 per cent of the retail tur-nover runs through the wholesalers. Together with the reduction of this rate, the wholesalers will still be needed in the trade for a long time, because there are a lot of trade functions which only those com-panies are able to perform.
Besides using traditional distribution channels, the wholesale com-panies can shorten the flow of goods by reorganizing themselves to demi-gross companies and establishing their own network of shops. Such a form of activity exploits very well the specific professional and territorial features of these companies when purchasing from the indu-stry. It becomes possible to get in direct touch with the consumer, what enables the company to quickly follow changes in the demand and this ability is an advantage for the demi-gross company in its relation to retailers.
Traditional demi-gross companies in Hungary are the OFOTÉRT (Trading Company for Photo and Optical Articles) and the Trading Company for Watches and Jewellry. The trade in building materials and fuels is another good example for this organizational set-up. There are efforts to widen their demi-gross activity in the clothing trade, where a direct link between the wholesaler and the market is of parti-cular importance. It is reasonable to organize the furniture trade also in demigross form because this way the customer can get acquainted with the full range in well-equipped and well-provided wholesaler- -owned shops (like the DOMUS network of shops) that small shops are not able to keep.
5.S. D IR E C T P U R C H A S E S B Y T H E R E T A I L T R A D E
Within the framework of the multi-channelled marketing system, more and more goods directly purchased by the retail trade reach the
customers. The experience of previous years proved that direct pur-chases by the retail trade
— make the physical and administrative way of goods more simple; — improve the supply of goods, widen the assortment;
— the supply of both volume and assortment of the retail trade can be more easily adjusted to the demand, articles in short supply can be produced;
— prompt the wholesale companies to compete with each other, and force the wholesale trade to be more elastic;
— improve the economic results of the retail companies.
The table shows the direct purchases of foodstuffs including direct deliveries, while the group of miscellaneous consumer goods includes; the turnover in fuel and building materials. After „clearing off” this tra-de turnover, direct purchases by the retail tratra-de are shown by the following picture.
In the case of foodstuffs, direct purchases together with direct de-liveries represent already now a considerable share of the total trade turnover. Within this group the way of goods can be shortened further if the technics in the trade are advanced and new groups of goods are drawn into the field of direct deliveries.
Direct purchases by the retail trade during the last decade are shown below (see Table 2, 3).
T a b l e 2 D irect p u rc h a se s by th e r e ta il tr a d e in p ercen tag es
(100 = to ta l tu rn o v e r)
Year Foodstuffs Clothing articles consumer goodsMiscellaneous Average of main groups of goods
1970 54 24 32 39
1975 59 21 39 44
1977 60 28 42 46
T a b l e 3 P e rc e n ta g e sh a re of d ire c t p u rch a ses b y th e re ta il tr a d e fro m th e to ta l tu rn o v e r
(100 = to ta l su p p ly of goods)
Year Foodstuffs Clothing consumer goodsMiscellaneous Average of main groups of goods
1970 8 23 7 H
1975 9 26 19 16
M ore goods can be fo rw ard ed to th e shops d ire c tly from th e p ro d u -cer, w hen
q u a n tity and tim e of deliveries a re s tric tly scheduled; — deliveries a fte r closing tim e a re m ore w id ely used;
— m ore open and closed containers, loading p late s a re applied; — no n -p erish ab le foodstuffs such as flour, su g a r and canned food a re also d eliv ered d irectly.
T he sh a re of tra d itio n a l d istrib u tio n channels is biggest in th e clo-th in g group. A ccordingly, clo-th e need for increasing clo-th e d ire c t p u rch ases by th e re ta il tra d e is th e stro n g e st here. The sta te -o w n ed larg e-scale in d u strie s producing this m ajo r group of goods a re r a th e r c o n c en tra -ted, th e ir capacities a re fu lly exploited by volum inous — m o stly to socialist co u n tries — exports, so th a t th e pro d u cers a re in no need of seeking contacts w ith th e re ta il trad e. In th is field it is r a th e r th e sm a lle r council com panies and cooperatives w hich can be persu ad ed to deal d ire c tly w ith th e re ta il trad e.
Am ong producing com panies, those belonging to th e co-operative in d u stry a re m ore b u oyant, w hile — according to th e re s u lts of a 1974 su rv e y — o ut of th e d ire c t purch ases of clothing a rticles th e s ta te - -ow ned tra d e accounted fo r 86 p e r cent as ag ain st its 86 p e r cent sh a re of th e to ta l tu rn o v e r. O ne should c e rta in ly consider h e re th a t th e s ta te - -ow ned tra d e is m ore co n c en tra te d th a n th a t of th e co-operatives, th e state-o w n ed re ta il com panies a re b e tte r provided w ith capital, th u s being b e tte r p a rtn e rs for th e in d u stry . It is due to sim ila r causes th a t re ta il com panies of th e capital c a rry o ut 77 p e r cen t of th e clo th in g re ta il tra d e ’s d ire c t purchases, a lth o u g h th e ir sh are in th e to ta l tu rn o v e r is no m ore th a n 31 p e r cent (see T able 4). W ithin th e d ire c t purch ases of th e clothing re ta il tra d e , th e d ire c t im p o rt p u rch ases a re ab o u t to increase, th e ir sh are w e n t up from 6 p e r c en t in 1970 to 12 p e r c e n t by 1977.
T a b l e 4 P e rc e n ta g e sh a re of d ire c t p u rch a ses of clo th in g a n d m iscellaneous co n su m er
goods according to sectors a n d te rrito rie s in 1974
Trade
Clothing Miscellaneous
consumer goods direct
purchases turnovertotal purchasesdirect turnovertotal
State-owned retail trade 86 70 80 72
Co-operative retail trade 14 30 20 28
Total 100 100 100 100
Provincial retail trade 23 69 42 72
Retail trade o f the capital 77 31 58 28
The m ost rap id increase of d ire c t purch ases by th e re ta il tra d e in th e period u n d e r su rv e y can be ex p erien ced in th e group of m iscellane-ous consum er goods: th e y have treb led . H ere, too, — like in th e case of clothing a rticle s — d ire c t purch ases a re m ain ly done by state-o w n ed com panies (80 per cent) and th e sh are of com panies in th e capital is though of sm aller e x te n t (58 p e r cent), b u t still bigger th a n th e ir sh are of tu rn o v er.
T his is the group of a rticle s w ith th e m ost significant d ire c t im ports th e sh a re of w hich am o u n ted to 40 p e r cent of th e d ire c t purch ases in 1977. Such im ports usu ally fill a m a rk e t gap, b u t o ften th e y help w iden th e asso rtm en t, too.
If th e re ta il tra d e w an ts to fu rth e r increase its d ire c t purchases, it has to be perfo rm ed w ith th e co n cen tratio n of sm all com panies w ith poor capital, and m ore w holesale com panies should set up a jo in t buying organization along w ith jo in tly operated, larg e sto re com plexes. The re g re tta b le ten d en cy th a t a n u m b er of H u n g a ria n goods are g e ttin g d iffic u lt to sell on th e w orld m ark e t, is exp ected to c re a te a m ore fa
-vourable situ a tio n fo r th e re ta il tra d e because th e p ro d u cers try in g to ex ploit th e ir fre e capacities w ill p resu m ab ly be m ore w illing to in te n -sify th e ir d ire c t contacts w ith th e re ta il trade.
5.3. D IR E C T S A L E S B Y P R O D U C E R S
The sh o rte st d istrib u tio n channel is no doubt w h en th e goods a re m ark e te d by th e p roducer him self, w ith o u t m aking use of th e a ssista n ce of e ith e r w holesalers or reta ile rs. Such a d ire c t lin k b etw een p ro -duction and consum ption e n su res a fa st flow of in form ation and m akes harm onizing su p p ly and dem and possible.
A t presen t, th e re a re 6,300 p ro ducerow ned shops o p e ra tin g in H u n -gary. An overw helm ing n u m b er of th em (4,600) a re food shops and ca te rin g units. R elativ ely low is th e n u m b er of shops ow ned by com -panies producing clothing or consum er goods. M ost of th e ex istin g ones are to p -q u a lity shops, and ow n n e tw o rk of shops is m ain ta in e d only by a few preoducers.
T here a re still a g re a t m an y o p p o rtu n ities to sh o rte n th e w ay of goods, especially in th e tw o above — m entioned groups of a rticles. The op p o rtu n ities a re p a rtic u la rly good fo r pro d u cers w ith a re la tiv e ly sm all ran g e of p ro ducts th e im pact of w hich is, how ever, q u ite big in th e supply. Such producers are, fo r exam ple, th e H ajd u sag W orks p ro -ducing w ashing m achines and electric w a te r boilers, th e L ehel R e fri-g e ra to r F actory, or bo th T V -set m akers, VIDEOTON and ORION.
These p roducers a lre a d y have a few ow n shops, or shops op erated jo in tly w ith one or a n o th e r re ta ile r com pany, b u t th e re a re still no
n e tw o rk s of th e ir shops, th o u g h in d u stria l com panies like those could m uch m ore econom ically m a rk e t th e ir ow n p ro d u cts th a n th e d isin te -g rate d re ta il trad e. H ow ever, th is w ould re q u ire se ttin -g up th e ir ow n d istrib u tio n and m ark e tin g organizations, providing th e necessary fi-nancial m eans and solution of financing stocks.
O p p o rtu n ities fo r o p e ra tin g ow n shops exist not only in th e group of consum er goods. Also in th e case of larg e factories m aking clothing a rticle s it ap p ears to be reasonable to establish such netw orks. T he FEK O N U n d e rw e a r F a c to ry producing m illions of m en ’s and b o y ’s sh irts and p y jam as p e r y e a r and accounting for m ore th a n 50 p e r cent sh a re of th e dom estic o u tp u t of th ese articles, has re c e n tly diversified its pro d u ctio n ran g e and now it m akes w om en’s w e a r as w ell. A t th e sam e tim e FEK O N w idened its ran g e of products, and e n tru s te d a W est G erm an m ark e tin g in stitu te to organize th e fa c to ry ’s m ark e tin g activ i-ty. A card in al p o in t of th e in s titu te ’s proposal w as to develop F e k o n ’s ow n n e tw o rk of shops in m ajo r H u n g a ria n tow ns.
T he w ay of goods can also be sh o rten ed in th e foodstuff and ca-te rin g tra d e on th e basis of th e success of th e ex istin g producer-ow ned shops.
5.4. S O M E O T H E R M E T H O D S O F S H O R T E N IN G T H E F L O W O F G O O D S
All com m ercial m ethods, in th e course of w hich th e physical and a d m in istra tiv e flow of goods gets sep ara te d and th e physical one beco-m es co n siderably sh o rte r, should be considered in sh o rte n in g th e w ay of goods. D istrib u tio n m ethods like th a t can be applied p rin c ip ally in th e field of m iscellaneous consum er goods, especially in th e case of con-su m er durables.
In H ungary, 80 p e r cent of th e fu rn itu re tu rn o v e r is being carried out by tra n sit, th a t is, a g re a te r p a rt of fu rn itu re rea c h th e custom er on th e basis of dispositions from th e shops, a rriv in g from c e n tral w a re -houses, w ith o u t g e ttin g into th e shops. Such a w ay of d istrib u tio n c e r-ta in ly calls for an u p -to -d a te , accu ra te records on th e stocks. This w ork is done in m ost shops by hand, how ever, w ith in th e DOMUS n e t-w o rk th e re is a lre ad y a com p u ter keeping evidence of th e stock.
F o r a few years, th e hom e tra d e has been try in g to w iden th e scope of sales a fte r sam ple, w hich is w orking w ell w ith fu rn itu re and should be introduced in th e field of household appliances. In these b ran ch es th e in tro d u c tio n of such d istrib u tio n m ethod is all th e m ore necessary b e-cause m ark e tin g of the above-said goods — in th e case of tra d itio n al d istrib u tio n — involves losses for both w holesaler and reta ile r. Yet, sh o rte -ning of th e w ay of goods m ight m ake th e ir d istrib u tio n profitable. An
im p o rta n t condition of th e sales a fte r sam ple — firs t of all in th e case of th e aforem en tio n ed h ig h -v alu e a rtic le s — is th a t th e p ro d u cts be fau ltless and of c o n sta n t quality.
O n th e basis of rec e n t exp erien ce th e re still rem ain a few problem s to be cleared and to be solved. T hey are:
— speeding up free d eliv ery (fa u lty devices a re replaced w ith in no m ore th a n 72 hours);
— testin g devices p rio r to d e liv e ry in th e tra d e ’s w arehouse; — continuous su p p ly of goods;
— others.
Sales a fte r sam ple can be connected w ith a n y of th e d istrib u tio n channels; in th e H u n g a ria n d istrib u tio n system it is m ain ly viable w ith th e follow ing m ark e tin g form s:
1. O n th e basis of th e re ta il sh o p ’s disposition (in case of a tra d itio -nal channel) from th e w h o lesaler’s w arehouse d ire c tly to th e cu stom er (sales a fte r sam ple can be sim ila rly c arried out in th e case of shops jo in tly ow ned by th e w holesale an d re ta il trade).
2. A ccording to th e dispositions of shops ow ned by w holesale com panies, o p eratin g in dem igross from , d ire c tly to th e c u sto m e r’s p re -mises.
3. D elivery of goods com ing from d ire c t purch ases by th e re ta il tra d e , from th e ir c e n tral w arehouse d ire c tly to th e custom er, on th e basis of th e shop’s disposition.
4. On the basis of dispositions by th e producing com panies’ own shops, from th e p ro d u ce r’s w arehouse to th e cu sto m e r’s place.
H ow ever, th e m ost efficient m ethod of sh o rte n in g th e w a y of goods in case of sales a fte r sam ple is w h en w arehousing too is perfo rm ed __ even in cases as p e r P o in ts 1— 3 — not by th e tra d e b u t th e in d u stria l com pany itself, and th e d e liv e ry is effected from th ere , on th e basis of dispositions given by th e shops.
The H u n g a ria n In stitu te for M ark et R esearch a t th e re q u e st of th e M inistry of H om e T rade is ju st about to m ake a su rv e y on th e re su lts of sales a fte r sam ple.
Sum m arizing, it can be s ta te d th a t in th e H u n g arian consum er goods tra d e m ore and m ore effo rts a re being m ade to sh o rte n th e w ay of goods. The possibilities for th a t a re afforded by a go v erm en t reso-lu tio n passed a few y ears ago, w hich lifted up th e system of com pulsory d istrib u tio n channels. In spite of this, th e com panies of th e H u n g arian hom e tra d e have not m ade p ro p er use of those o p p o rtu n ities up to now; in m any b ran ch es — first of all in th e clothing and m iscellaneous con-su m e r’s goods groups — th e goods reach th e concon-sum ers on a w ay m uch too long. The reasons, as it w as m entioned ea rlie r, a re to be found not
only in th e econom y of the tra d e , b u t also in th a t of th e in d u stria l com panies w orking w ith them . F inancial m eans a re to be provided fo r th e pro d u cers to enable th em to tak e over a p a rt of th e functions w hich a t p re se n t are p erfo rm ed by th e w holesalers (such as w arehousing, building, up asso rtm e n ts etc.).
A m ajo rity of th e form s aim in g a t sim plification of th e d istrib u tio n m ethods is a lre ad y being applied in th e H u n g a ria n hom e tra d e a n d th e re a re also e x p e rim e n ts u n d e r w ay to p ro p ag ate m a rk e tin g m ethods th a t sh o rte n th e w ay of goods flow like sales a fte r sam ple. Besides in tro d u cin g such p a tte rn s, th e aim is to w idely ex p an d ex isting and w ell proved d istrib u tio n form s such as d ire c t sales by th e in d u stry , d ire c t p urchases by th e re ta il tra d e and others.
E m ö ke L en g yel
W Y SIŁK I Z M IER ZA JĄ C E DO SKR ÓC ENIA DROGI TOW ARÖW W W Ę G IE R SK IM H A ND LU W EW NĘTRZNYM
B iorąc za p u n k t w y jśc ia ra c jo n a ln ą tezę, że p o d sta w o w y m celem sy stem u d y stry b u c ji je st przem ieszczenie d ó b r od p ro d u c e n ta do k o n su m e n ta p rzy n a j-niższych kosztach i m ożliw ie n a jk ró ts z ą drogą, a u to rk a do k o n ała w a r ty k u le an a liz y m ożliw ości osiągnięcia tego celu w w ęg ie rsk im h a n d lu w ew n ętrzn y m . S w o ją u w ag ę sk o n c e n tro w a ła n a a n a liz ie m ożliw ości tk w ią cy c h w s tru k tu rz e o r -g an iza cy jn e j h a n d lu n a W ę-grzech, k a n a ła c h d y stry b u c ji h ą n d lu w ę-gierskie-go oraz w p o k o n an iu przeszkód i sk ra c a n iu p rzeb ieg u to w aró w w gospodarce w ęg iersk iej. P o k a z a ła p ew n e w zorce u m o ż liw ia jąc e re a liz a c ję celu podstaw ow ego. W o p arc iu o p rzep ro w ad z o n e b a d a n ia w y su n ęła szereg u m o ty w o w an y c h w ty m za k resie p o -stu lató w .
