The Effect Of Distribution Management On Service Delivery A Case Study Of National Medical Stores

Recently, pressures from globalization have reinvigorated the need to ensure food, safety, national quality, customers demand for convenience, variety and quality combined with new possibilities created by the biotechnology revolution have all led to changing attitude in which the industry becomes more directed at creating products that match what is demanded by consumers. This process is known as chain reversal. A change frorri supply based approach to a demand based approach (Muhlenberg, 2002, Omta and foster 2005). Internationally, distribution management is a core activity in an economy so much that it determines its growth rate. In the United Kingdom (UK), a survey showed that 40% of the UK's gross domestic product (G.D.P) was spent on distribution and logistics related activities (department of trade and industry UK 1990) Distribution management (according to But eta! 2000-2003) is concerned with the flow of goods from the receipt of an order until the goods are delivered to the customer. Distribution management relates to the output of moving finished goods from production department to finished goods, stores and through appropriate channels of distribution to the ultimate consumer. Main activities associated with distribution management are inventory, control, warehousing, storage, material handling, production, packaging and transportation. According to Gornley(2008), distribution management encompasses many aspects such as cost cutting, keeping prices low, reaching many customers, flexibility and building sustainable agendas that they value most and focusing on them