Distribution Circuit Concept

The expression Distribution Circuit can be defined as broadly, like all course or all of the steps taken by the goods and services, through the several economical agents with different tasks, from the place of its production until they are place at the consumers’ disposal. The various agents that can interfere in these circuits are the manufacturers or producers, the carriers and forwarders, importing agents, wholesalers, retailers and still a variety of intermediary agents, such as commission agents, commercial agents, among others.

Many times is considered that distribution channel and distribution circuit are synonyms, in the way that both are composed by organized structures and involved in the process of making the products or services arrive from the producers to the consumers. But, in fact, they are different realities: while in the case of the distribution circuit the perspective is horizontal (towards the procedure), for the distribution channel the perspective is vertical (towards the function).

 

 

Translated from Portuguese by Susana Saraiva, Portuguese-English and English-Portuguese translation specialist. Contact: spams@sapo.pt.