Research Frontiers in Wholesale Distribution

Introduction Wholesaling is a distribution function that together with manufacturing and retailing forms part of a sector's marketing channel. The EU defines wholesaling as involving firms: … exclusively or primarily engaged in the resale of goods in their own name to retailers or other wholesalers, to manufacturers and others for further processing, to professional users, including craftsmen, or to other major users. The goods can either be resold in the same condition or after the processing, treatment, packing or repacking usually carried out by the wholesale dealer. (European Commission 1990) Wholesale activities have remained an important activity in many economies, despite the significant transformation of commercial distribution and supply chain power relationships in the last half of the twentieth century. Wholesalers however, in some supply systems, appear to be under considerable threat and are perceived as operating declining businesses. Traditional wholesalers, as measured in standard industrial classifications, in many countries compete with supply chain focused organisations, which operate different business models but undertake many of the functions of wholesaling. There is thus some ambiguity about the status, parameters, measurement and even requirement for wholesale distribution. Academically, a literature search for research on wholesaling and/or wholesale distribution produces very limited current results. The literature, such as it is, is in the main historical and with some exceptions, is rooted in traditional wholesaler notions, approaches and situations. The perception is primarily of a sector that has become less significant, has declined in scale and scope and research about which has effectively ceased. Whilst this may be something of a caricature, it would seem that wholesale distribution is at a crossroads both in terms of operation and intellectual analysis. and the IIIS, academics from around the world and wholesale practitioners from Ireland met and debated the future shape and direction of both wholesaling activities and wholesalers along with academic research on wholesale distribution. The majority of the conference was occupied by academic discussion of accepted papers and the issues they generated for future research agendas. Additionally, in the heart of the conference, over 70 leading Irish business practitioners working in, or with, the wholesale sector came together to hear presentations on wholesale distribution by three leading international academics (Dawson, Rosenbloom, Quinn) and a response by the chairman of Ireland's most successful wholesale business (Musgraves). Lively debate on the future shape and form of the sector and of possible academic-practitioner linkages engaged both practitioners …