Z94.5 - Distribution & Marketing

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BACKHAUL. Use of a common carrier or vehicle from a private fleet for a return load to source after completion of a shipment.

BACKHAUL. Pricing a product below normal to entice a customer into the store–and then trying to get the customer to trade up to a higher-quality product or brand.

BASE INVENTORY LEVEL. The normal aggregate inventory level made up of the aggregate lot size inventory plus the aggregate safety stock inventory but not taking into account the anticipation inventory that will result from the production plan. The base inventory should be made known before the production plan is made. Essentially, it is that inventory level necessary to minimize the probability of running out of stock–i.e., buffer stock q.v.). 

BENEFIT SEGMENTATION. The breaking down of a market into groups based upon the benefits purchased, the values received, and the needs or wants matched.

BLIND TESTS. Consumer preference tests in which care is exercised to avoid identification of the products or brands involved.

BRANCH HOUSE (MANUFACTURER’S). An establishment maintained by a manufacturer detached from the headquarters establishment and used primarily for the purpose of stocking, selling, delivering, and servicing his product.

BRANCH OFFICE (MANUFACTURER’S). An establishment maintained by a manufacturer, detached from the headquarters establishment and used for the purpose of selling his products or providing service.   Comment.  The characteristic of the branch house that distin-guishes it from the branch office is that it is used in the physical storage, handling, and delivery of merchandise; otherwise the two are identical.

BRANCH STORE. A subsidiary retailing business owned and operated at a separate location by an established store.

BRAND. Identification in the form of a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them which is intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.    Comment.  A brand may include a brand name, a trade mark, or both.  The term brand is sufficiently comprehensive to include practically all means of identification except perhaps the package and the shape of the product.  All brand names and all trade marks are brands or parts of brands but not all brands are either brand names or trade marks.  Brand is the inclusive general term.  The others are more particu-larized.

BRAND INSISTENCE. The final stage of the brand acceptance process, in which consumers refuse to accept substitutes and search for the desired brand.

BRAND MANAGEMENT. Product management as applied to a specific class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer. 

BRAND RECALL. Extent to which consumers can remember and state the brand name used in a previously seen and/or heard advertisement. 

BRAND RECOGNITION. The first stage in the brand acceptance process.  At this point the consumer is simply familiar with the existence of a particular product.

BRAND SWITCHING. Sequential choices by consumers of different brands having the same or similar characteristics and functions.

BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS. A financial evaluation of the profit potential of alternative prices; more specifically the quantity at which total revenue is equal to the sum of the fixed costs and the variable costs associated with that quantity.

BROKER. (1) An agent who does not have direct physical control of the goods in which he deals but represents either buyer or seller in negotiating purchases or sales for his principal.  (2) An agent wholesaler who specializes in certain products and functions by bringing together buyers and sellers.  Comment.  The broker’s powers as to prices and terms of sale are usually limited by his principal.  The term is often loosely used in a generic sense to include such specific business units as free-lance brokers, manufacturer’s agents, selling agents, and purchasing agents.

BUFFER STOCK. That quantity of an item of inventory held in stock for absorbing expected variations in usage between the time reorder action is initiated and the first part of the new order is received in stock. 

BUYER’S MARKET. An economic condition in which an abundance of goods exceeds the demand for the goods.

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