Summer Internship Project Report

On

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE

Under the guidance of- Submitted by-

Prof. Ranjit Tiwari shilpa kumari
Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna
 CONTENT:

Introduction- Wholesale and retail trade

Types of Wholesalers
Importance of wholesale and retail trade in Indian economy
Future prospects of wholesale and retail trade

Reference
 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE
The retailing and wholesaling industries (Distributive trades sector) represent the intermediate steps
in the distribution of merchandise between producers and consumers of goods. Wholesale and retail
trade services are crucial to the efficient and effective flow of goods from producer to consumer.
Together the wholesaling and retailing industries account for significant portions of economic output
and global employment.
• Wholesalers act as marketing intermediaries that neither produce nor consume the finished product,
but instead sell to retailers, other merchants, and/or to industrial, institutional, and commercial users.
• Retailers are organised to sell merchandise (generally without transformation) in smaller quantities
to the general public for personal or household consumption, and to other business and institutional
clients. There are two main types of retailers: store and non-store.
Both the wholesale and the retail services price indices strive to measure the change in the price of
the service and not the price of the product. Wholesale and retail services price indices can also be
used to evaluate different aspects of a product value chain, for example by allowing for the
measurement of value added by wholesale distribution and retailing to the final consumer.
Retail trade services are classified as - Distributive trade services, accommodation, food and
beverage services.
This division is split into four groups according to the type of outlet (nonspecialized stores,
specialized stores, mail order or internet and other non-store outlets). A fifth group provides for retail
trade services on a fee or contract basis
Wholesale trade operations are themselves owned by retailers or manufacturers. Even in these
instances, however, the enterprise's wholesaling branch exists to facilitate the movement of goods
from one area to a market demand in another area

Types of wholesaler:
Agents, brokers, and commission merchants are independent middlemen who do not take title to
the goods in which they deal, but instead are actively involved in negotiating and other functions of
buying and selling while acting on behalf of their.
MANUFACTURERS' SALES BRANCHES AND OF FICES: Some have warehousing facilities
where inventories are maintained, while others are merely sales offices. Some of them also wholesale
allied and supplementary products purchased from other manufacturers.
MERCHANT WHOLESALERS Merchant wholesalers are firms engaged primarily in buying,
taking title to, storing, and physically handling products in relatively large quantities and reselling
the products in smaller quantities to retailers; industrial, commercial, or institutional concerns; and
other wholesalers.
 IMPORATNCE OF WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE IN INDIAN ECONOMY
WHOLESALE TRADE:

 Greater stability of supply and sale of produce: the existence of centralized physical

locations, known and easily accessible to operators, reduces the number of intermediaries in
the distribution pipeline and improves the flow of information between operators, both
upstream (growers and collectors) and downstream (wholesalers and retailers), thus reducing
uncertainty concerning supplies and completion of sales transactions.
 improved market information (especially on prices): the centralization of transactions that
occur in modern wholesale markets enhances the collection, processing and wide
dissemination of accurate market information, hence improving the quality of enterprise
investment decisions as well as promoting efficient resource allocation in the economy in
general and food production and distribution in particular.
 specialization of traders: the separation of wholesale and retail functions in FSDSs
encourages specialization by traders leading to efficiency and lower distribution costs;
 Improved inspection, quality control, sorting according to quality encourage the use of
standard weights and measures and improved standards of hygiene in the sale of produce.
 increased volume of produce marketed and quality differentiation: the reduction in the
number of intermediaries in the food marketing chain and tend to lower distribution costs and
also encourage efficient sorting which facilitates trade in produce of different quality.

RETAIL TRADE:

Customer Convenience: the most important role of bringing the ready to be consumed goods to the
doorstep of the consumer is performed by the retail community.  Consumers benefit from retailing as
retailers perform marketing functions that makes it possible for customers to have access to a broad
variety of products and services.

Research & Information: The retailer provides useful information across the supply chain. He
informs and educates customers about product features and benefits. They provide information to
consumers through advertising, displays and signs and sales personnel. Marketing research support is
given to other channels, members. Retailing in a way, is the final stage in marketing channels for
consumer products. He also provides feedback about consumer requirements to the manufacturers
and wholesalers which help them in planning production and supply

Associated Services: The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the needs
of a large number of individuals, such as a public utility, like electric power. Retailing also helps to
increase the living standards and enable the consumers to possess various goods, services and
utilities.

Supply Chain: Retailers provide the vital link between producers and ultimate consumers. The
width and depth of assortment depend upon the individual retailer's strategy
Mobilizing Finance: Retailing industry mobilize the investment and savings of people, as a small
shop can be set up with minimal investment. They store merchandise, mark prices on it, place items
on the selling floor and otherwise handle products; usually they pay suppliers for items before selling
them to final customers. They complete transactions by using appropriate locations, and timings,
credit policies, and other services e.g. delivery. They influence life style of consumers and help
people to build their identity in a social setting.

Economic Development: Retailing has great impact on economic development of a nation. Nations

that have enjoyed the greatest economic and social progress have a vibrant retail sector. Retailing is
one of the most important industries in the world and plays a predominant role in economic
development of the country. A healthy retail sector growth and speeds up economic development.

Employment: There are a large number of people and companies involved in the production,
distribution, and retail of goods. Globally, retailing is the largest revenue generator and employment
provider next only to agriculture. It provides opportunities to the poorest and unskilled along with the
educated and skilled. As a major source of employment retailing offers a wide range of career
opportunities including; store management, merchandising and owning a retail business.

Social Responsibility: Successful retailers also recognize that people want to see the improvements
in the general level of consumption. Retailers have to enhance their perceived value to the
community by acting as a focal point and through effective public relations. This encourages social
responsibility behaviour by the corporates where public welfare programs get funded by a certain
percentage of purchase prices of company's products.

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE

RETAIL:

Physical stores will not only be a powerful media channel, but also the most manageable and
measurable media channel in financial terms

The future of retail will see complete integration of technologies like augmented and virtual reality,
the internet of things, sensor-driven packaging and connected appliances. This will result in an
exponential impact on e-commerce volumes.  

They'll be exploring a range of new platforms, systems, shipping capabilities and technologies to
dramatically improve consumer confidence in buying these categories online. The whole concept of
how we shop online will also change dramatically.  

 In the future, all but the most convenience-based retailers will begin to use their stores as media to
acquire customers and their media platforms as stores to transact sales.

Put another way, media is now a cost of sales and rent is now a cost of customer acquisition. 

Online merchants can display more products, provide more accurate and robust product information,
and transact seamlessly in one click. Media is not merely becoming the store, it's becoming the
ultimate store.
 Physical stores are going through a very different but corresponding evolution. Brick-and-mortar
stores are no longer simply a channel for the distribution of products. They no longer act as the final
point in the purchase funnel.

Physical stores are becoming a powerful media channel, and very often the first point of contact
between brands and consumers. As consumers become increasingly technologically entrenched,
they'll crave far more and better physical retail experiences. A relationship that can then live across
multiple buying channels.

WHOLESALE TRADE

The unorganized sector accounts for more than 90% of wholesale and retail in India. Future
Market Networks aims to address this opportunity in unorganized wholesale trade by
developing efficient infrastructure backed by a robust supply chain facilities in major cities.

Traditionally, wholesale trade infrastructure was developed for smaller intermediaries in the
old parts of cities which over time resulted in under-developed facilities/services leading to
limited foot-falls from wholesale merchants, retail-end users and higher rentals. As cities
expanded around these locations, the existing wholesale trade infrastructure could not be
upgraded.

Future Market Networks aims to build wholesale markets that:

 Offer a modern shopping-mall like infrastructure

 Serve as information, innovation, exhibition and distribution centres for consumer

goods

 Create an efficient market place where sellers, buyers, merchants, traders and end
customers converge

From the perspective of modern wholesalers like Metro, the GST regime is structured to playing a
transformative role in the Indian wholesale and retail markets. While the unorganised wholesale
business might crack under the pressure of compliance, and the transparency that it brings, the
organised market will be happy to step in and fill that gap, at least in the urban markets. The GST
regime definitely provides us with greater opportunities and we are ready to leverage the same.
Everyone is constantly adjusting to find the most efficient options and wholesalers have to adjust just
as much in order to satisfy manufacturers and retailers.

The Indian retail and wholesale markets offer great potential and prospects for international and
domestic players.

 Consolidation of wholesale trade firms into fewer and larger companies will
contribute to relatively slow employment growth in the future. There is strong
competition among wholesale distribution companies, manufacturers' representative
companies, and logistics companies for business from manufacturers. Cost
 pressures are likely to continue to force wholesale distributors to merge with other
firms or to acquire smaller firms. The consolidation of wholesale trade into fewer,
larger firms will make some staff redundant and reduce demand for some workers,
especially office and administrative support workers. However, due to the diverse
needs and size of clients there will continue to be demand for smaller regional and
independent wholesalers in the future.

 There will also be some opportunities for self-employment, with some managers and
sales workers starting their own manufacturers' representative companies. For
example, brokers match buyers with sellers and never actually own goods, so
individuals with the proper connections can establish their own agency with only a
small investment—perhaps even working out of their home.

REFERENCES
https://collegegrad.com/industries/wholesale-trade
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/the-potential-ahead-for-big-retailers-and-wholesalers-
in-india-is-immense-and-growing/article9912928.ece

https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2019/10/16/2020-wholesale-distribution-trends/
https://www.retaildive.com/news/the-future-of-retail-what-2020-and-beyond-will-bring-to-the-
industry/569615/
https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&sxsrf=ALeKk01Ji
https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&sxsrf=ALeKk02r9iFifOnpp25jCLHd11vZdC8bTw%3