Wholesalers in the business world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Wholesalers in the business world - Essay Example But they have certainly been around for centuries. The role they have played depended largely on the merchandise or service they represented. â€Å"Wholesaling includes all activities involved in selling goods or services to those who buy for resale or business use (Kotler 532)†. There are three main differences between wholesalers and retailers. Wholesalers are not concerned about the location of their establishment, the ambience or about promotion, because their customers are resellers and not the final consumer. The transactions of wholesalers are usually bigger than retail transactions, and they cover a much larger geographic area. Even governments treat wholesalers differently, in that the tax and legal parameters concerning them are different from those for retailers. As we will see later in this paper, there are different types of wholesalers, providing a variety of services. Some wholesalers provide selling and promoting services. These services complement the functions of manufacturers who cannot attend to these functions themselves for whatever reasons. Sometimes manufacturers are compelled to use these services of wholesalers, as local customers are more prepared to trust a local wholesaler, than some far away manufacturer. Wholesalers offer their customers a wider choice. By representing many manufacturers, they are able to offer customers the wares of all the entities they represent. Sometimes wholesalers buy in bulk, and offer their customer smaller units of a product – quantities that customers cannot buy - by approaching manufacturers directly. Wholesalers also offer inventory holding services and transportation. Wholesalers sometimes render financing services by offering credit terms to their customers. They also assist their customers by providing them market intelligence. In addition, they counsel their customers on such topics as inventory management, operational excellence and store layout and displays. There are