Distribution Systems and Distribution Research in the Federal Republic of Germany: A Synopsis

Distribution research was an important field of research in Germany especially in the 1920s and 50s. After that, the major research interests in the area of marketing and internal trade shifted to other topics. Retailing and wholesaling institutions became more powerful and new technologies supporting physical distribution activities began to attract researchers to deal with distribution problems. Distribution as treated in this synopsis covers the areas of retailing, wholesaling, industrial selling and physical distribution.