Marketing PLACE / Distribution

private warehouse

a facility designed to meet the specific storage needs of its owner

railroads

a major transportation mode mainly used for moving heavy and bulky items over long distances that is relatively inexpensive

public warehouse

a storage and handling facility that rents storage space to the public

distribution center

a warehouse designed to speed delivery of goods - main focus is sorting, packaging, and moving goods - not used for storage

distribution

all of the activities involved in delivering the right amount of product to the right place at the right time

marine shipping

barges and container ships that carry loads around the world over waterways

agents

bring buyers and sellers together

intermediaries

middlemen - or businesses involved in moving products from manufacturer to final user

pipelines

most frequently used to transport oil and natural gas

transportation

moving a product from the place where it is made to the place where it is sold

retailers

sell goods directly to the customer

wholesalers

Distributors that buy large quantities of goods from producers and resell them to retailers. They are a type of intermediary/middleman.

storage

the marketing function that refers to holding goods until they are sold

trucking

the most frequently used transportation mode for shipping products - ideal for transporting over short to medium distances

channel of distribution

the path a product takes from its producer to the final user

US Postal Service

the primary way to ship small items and packages

air cargo

time-sensitive, high-value, low-weight items transported by air