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Performance measurement involves gaining useful information about performance. The purpose is to develop a conceptual framework to assist wholesale managers in selecting useful information to evaluate operational performance. The proposed framework identifies core operations, measures of operational performance and factors that affect the performance of wholesale organisations.

The research essentially relies on the available literature to develop a conceptual framework and define related components. Research primary data were used to validate the framework components and to implement the framework in wholesale organisations by allocating performance factors to the different components of the proposed framework. Using a semi-structured interview design, ten face-to-face interviews were conducted with managers of ten different wholesale organisations.

The research identifies five core operations that affect the operational performance in wholesale organisations, four measures for evaluating efficiency and effectiveness in every core operation and 28 factors that influence operational performance in wholesale organisations.

Operational performance is monitored by evaluating the achievement of efficiency and effectiveness in operations. The research introduces a performance measurement framework that identifies the required information to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of core operations in wholesale organisations.

Applies the concept of buyer‐seller relationship to long‐term planning of wholesaling operations. Current practices indicate that this kind of relational exchange reduces overall costs more than the traditional market exchange. Aims to help to operationalize this partnership by selecting a stable set of manufacturers and warehouses for an entire planning period. Develops a multi‐period optimization model incorporating constraints necessary for such stable solutions. This model requires a large number of variables and constraints, and is computationally challenging for most practical‐sized problems. Therefore proposes heuristic method to decompose the model into subproblems by partitioning the planning period into blocks of years and then synthesize the subproblem solutions. Such decomposition may also be useful to solve large dynamic location planning problems.

The long‐awaited NEDO report on the distributive trades in Europe is published this month. It sets out to draw the attention of British distributors to the opportunities resulting from UK membership of the European Economic Community. The booklet examines opportunities for direct expansion by British distributors into other member countries, and also outlines ways in which British distributors could form links with similar organisations in other countries to exchange information or to ensure effective representation of their joint interest within the EEC Commission. The report was initiated by the EDC for the Distributive Trades, who set up a Common Market Working Group to prepare it. Members of this Working Group are listed in the panel opposite; the Chairman was Dr. James Jefferys of the International Association of Department Stores. The bulk of the report consists of a detailed examination of the distributive trade structure in each of the nine member countries of the EEC; this adheres to a regular pattern of a brief description of the retail scene, statistics on manpower and sales, comparative share of sales by form of organisation, and lists of leading retail companies. This section is preceded by an overview of the retail trades and the wholesale trades in Europe, and a description of existing methods of collaboration in European distribution. The third part of the report consists of two case‐studies — a UK company which diversified into Europe, and a French company which expanded into Italy. Finally there are ‘Check lists for Action’ — a list of points for consideration by companies contemplating entry into the EEC; and a suggested method of assessment of how changes in prices of supplies may affect distributors' purchasing policy. In the following pages we confine ourselves to a summary of the first — and most significant — part of the report: present situation and future prospects, an examination of the comparative retail and wholesale structures in the EEC countries, and the opportunities for the UK distributor which are presented. The central section of the report — on ‘Country Studies’ — contains a mass of essential data and statistics, much of it not previously available, which does not easily lend itself to condensation.

Seeds to Success naturally grown gourmet salad greens, a product recognized for superior freshness, flavor, and quality, placed a community non‐profit organization in a position where high demand and limited production capacity became a major obstacle at a time when this nonprofit was facing tough decisions. The purpose of this paper is to present this example as a teaching case. The case also represents an example of the funding plight facing many community organizations and how social entrepreneurship can lead to creative solutions.

The information presented in this case is the result of years of participation and observation within the featured organization along with the cooperation of its employees, participants, and volunteers.

The analysis and discussion of facts and events presented are in the hands of the readers and the findings can be many.

This case can be of value for courses of many disciplines, as well as to serve as an example for practitioners involved in non‐profit organizations. As a teaching case, this study provides a unique history of events and description of the situation, as well as a chance to offer and discuss many possible solutions; each with its own potential set of contingencies. The case also allows readers to contrast the decision‐making considerations of for‐profit and non‐profit organizations as this community organization makes business decisions while protecting its social mission.

MSC has published an Equal Opportunities Code for organisations running YTS schemes which aims to give guidance on avoiding discrimination. Chairman Sir Bryan Nicholson says:

This chapter provides insights into the distribution challenges faced by alternative food networks (AFNs) in Japan. Consumers in Japan are showing increasing interest in supporting and buying directly from farmers, reflecting a growing demand for local food production and consumption. This trend parallels the increasing popularity of AFNs which are often touted as distribution models that seek to reconfigure the relationship between producers and consumers. Although AFNs are defined as a bottom-up response to the unsustainable nature of the industrial food system and the exploitative trade relations that are embedded within global food supply chains, there is little in the literature regarding challenges that emerge when scaling AFNs. This chapter focuses on the distribution challenges that emerge for AFN models that exist outside of direct market transactions, by comparing AFN models in Japan with a local wholesale market system that exists within the conventional, mainstream food system. Based on an analysis of the nuances and complexities that AFNs face in coordinating aggregation and distribution, we argue that the promotion of local food systems can also benefit existing conventional food systems, by leveraging the infrastructure of local wholesale markets. The distribution logistics and fundamentals of parity pricing from the wholesale market system would enable AFNs in Japan to establish a more accessible and sustainable food system. Using four case studies, including a local wholesale-market and three AFN models that distribute agricultural products from rural to rural, and rural to urban areas located in the Kansai region of Japan, we deepen the discussion of how small-scale farmers and their involvement in AFNs can better support sustainable food system transformation.

This paper considers a new class of problems arising in the distribution side of supply chains. It considers cooperative market expansion and price negotiation by wholesalers and manufacturers in a class of franchise‐type distribution markets. For wholesalers, expanding the coverage of geographically dispersed markets while retaining profitability of business requires new levels of price discounts from manufacturers. Manufacturers, on the other hand, attempt to limit such discounts to maintain a resale price to retailers. A successful negotiation results in a set of spatial markets with appropriate wholesale prices for each wholesaler. A sequential method is proposed for this purpose, assuming that the manufacturers and wholesalers are co‐operative and they exchange relevant information. The suggested process uses two optimisation models and is illustrated with a case study.

This paper responds to continuing arguments about the necessity for structural separation of the telecommunications local loop. It attempts to strike a balance by stressing that in fact a wide range of questions are yet to be answered. And the onus is fairly placed on the proponents of structural separation to provide persuasive answers proving that the drastic action they call for is necessary. In addition, many of the benefits of structural separation are unquantifiable and, indeed, conjectural, while the costs of this severe measure are more certain and substantial. Moreover, while seemingly simple in concept, there is a formidable range of difficulties relating to the implementation of structural separation.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an artificial intelligence-based framework to support decision making in wholesale distribution, with the aim to limit wholesaler out-of-stocks (OOSs) by jointly formulating price policies and forecasting retailer’s demand.

The framework is based on the cascade implementation of two artificial neural networks (ANNs) connected in series. The first ANN is used to derive the selling price of the products offered by the wholesaler. This represents one of the inputs of the second ANN that is used to anticipate the retailer’s demand. Both the ANNs make use of several other input parameters and are trained and tested on a real wholesale supply chain.

The application of the ANN framework to a real wholesale supply chain shows that the proposed methodology has the potential to decrease economic loss due to OOS occurrence by more than 56 percent.

The combined use of ANNs is a novelty in supply chain operation management. Moreover, this approach provides wholesalers with an effective tool to issue purchase orders according to more dependable demand forecasts.

The last decade has been a period of considerable change for physical distribution in the UK. Major restructuring has been overdue, often because companies have in the past failed to appreciate the importance of distribution in the marketing process, but now there is a new awareness of the crucial role that distribution can play in the success of companies. As a consequence, innovation in distribution is taking place at an accelerating rate.