FELLOW TRAVELLERS? RETAILING AND MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS IN DISTRIBUTION

In 1978, the International Association of Chain Stores held its fifth conference on warehousing and all aspects of centralised distribution, and this paper formed one of the contributions to this vexed subject. The author examines the complexities of the delivery and packaging problem, and confronts the logistics involved with both breadth of vision and yet an eye for detail. He juggles the variables, the retailers' and the manufacturer's requirements, the unknown quantities involved in trying to assess the implications of experimenting in the distribution and packaging field, and tries to promote unity in an area which all too often involves a conflict of interests.