Abstract:

Just as consumers purchase goods from a retailer so do wholesalers and retailers buy products from a manufacturer. This paper takes the concept of penetration and repeated purchase, previously developed for use with consumer panels, and applies it to the relationship between the manufacturer and his direct consumer, that is the trade. Because of the size and complexity of the data each trans- action with the manufacturer is examined using computerised inspection of booked orders, and counts are obtained of initial purchase of a product and subsequent repurchase.