Commodity research: goals and objectives methods

Understanding the fundamentals of commodity science is extremely important in the formation of the basic professional competencies of not only commodity experts and experts, but also businessmen and marketers. Orientation in matters of planning commodity resources, analysis of financial and economic activity, production management to technologists, economists, accountants and managers will not be out of place. In a word, to all those who, by the nature of their activities, are associated with the storage, sale, production and transportation of various goods.

The concept of commodity science

Literally, commodity science can be translated as "product knowledge." Obviously, it arose at the same time as the goods themselves, with the development of the sale. As a science, commodity science began to take shape with the beginning of the development of commodity production. All products exist to satisfy personal and social needs. And if earlier this division was natural and unambiguous, today the border between the personal and the public is being erased. An example is airplanes and yachts.

Currently, the object of merchandising are also services. They have certain quality indicators, which are fixed by regulatory documents, are useful, and, therefore, allow the use of the scientific apparatus, technologies and methods of commodity research.

Usefulness and cost of goods

All products are designed to meet the needs of people, which means they must have at least some degree of usefulness. Economic theory defines utility as the satisfaction that a consumer receives from using a product. The utility is based on the choice of goods by the consumer. At the same time, utility is not only the benefit of consuming a particular product. From the point of view of science, it explains the distribution of consumer finances, turns a product of labor into a commodity with use value.

However, the product can be represented as a unity of use value with the exchange characterizing it in terms of the proportions of exchange. The cost of a particular product is also determined by the labor that was spent on its production. Useful value can be described as an assessment of the desirability of the goods, as the maximum benefit brought them to the consumer. It is worth noting that this benefit can be both tangible and intangible.

The usefulness of a product can be potential and real. In the first case, a possible variety of goods is reflected, and in the second, a variety of requests. Distinguish the social use value inherent in goods created for members of society. However, social consumption manifests itself in a personal or family form, because each member of the society buys this or that product for himself or his family.

Product life cycle

According to ISO standards, the cycle of any product is reduced to 11 stages:

1. Marketing.
2. Design and product development.
3. Material and technical supply.
4. Preparation of production processes.
5. Production.
6. Control and testing.
7. Packaging and storage.
8. Implementation.
9. Exploitation.
10. Service.
11. Disposal

When designing, the main properties of the product are laid. However, in order for the project to be successfully embodied in the product, it is necessary to conduct marketing research. And although the merchandiser is not directly involved in the development of the project, it is in its power to influence quality through a preliminary calculation of use value and certification of goods. The manufactured product already has real properties, and commodity science is interested in its potential defects and ways to eliminate them. Packaging is designed to preserve all the qualities of the goods at the stages of storage, transportation and sale of goods and is the subject of knowledge of the merchandiser. Since during the operation of any product develops its resource, commodity science is called upon to give recommendations on its optimal use. Every product that has completed its cycle is subject to disposal, and the responsibility of the merchandiser is to know the modes of processing waste that has expired.

General and special commodity science

Commodity science is based on two parts: general and special. The first examines the general issues of the theory of knowledge and the formation of the use value of any goods. The second includes separate sections corresponding to the generally accepted classification of goods, which, in turn, study in detail general issues as applied to the product class or product group. This, for example, the formation and preservation of quality, methods of product evaluation, the study of the range.

General commodity issues:

• categories of merchandise;
• scientific classification of goods and nomenclature of consumer properties;
• requirements for goods and their quality;
• competitiveness of goods;
• storage of goods and development of their expiration dates;
• physical and mental wear and tear;
• assortment formation;
• identification and identification of counterfeit goods;
• confirmation of conformity and examination of goods.

What tasks are set for commodity science today?

The main objectives of commodity science in a modern market economy are:

• The study and development of the laws underlying the formation of use value.
• A study to improve the principles of classification of all kinds of goods, as well as their coding.
• Further development of principles for managing an assortment of goods.
• Fixing the requirements for the quality of goods and products in regulatory documents.
• Product safety issues, development of technical regulations, national standards, etc.
• The study of the most suitable conditions for the operation of goods.
• Formation of a product service system after its sale.
• Storage modes and features of transportation of goods, as well as their impact on consumer properties.
• Improvement of the examination system.
• Making forecasts about the appearance of new products.
• Consumer rights Protection.
• Modernization of the training system for specialists.

Merchandising Methods

Under the methods used in commodity science, understand the techniques and methods suitable for solving merchandising tasks. They are divided into two large groups - general and specific. General methods reflect generally accepted approaches to the development of consumer properties, the value and quality of goods and services, and are also the basis of basic commodity research. General methods of commodity science, in turn, are divided into positivist, dialectical, structuralistic and synthetic.

Under synthetic methods understand the use of methods of other sciences and disciplines to solve issues of commodity science. This allows you to overcome existing unilateral approaches, but at the same time is a source of risk of loss of their integrity.

Positivistic method

It is connected with the philosophy of positivism, which recognizes the specific empirical sciences as the main source of knowledge. Its features are:

• Phenomenalism.
• Verification
• Pragmatism.

Of considerable importance for the positivist approach are formal logical methods of a universal nature. The most characteristic of them:

• instrumentalism, or the transformation of scientific concepts into analysis tools;
• operationalism, which can be expressed in the description of operations that are carried out with certain scientific concepts;
• explication, or description of phenomena through formalized mathematical models;
• situational analysis, or the study of specific situations.

This method in commodity science has the widest distribution. It is used for quality control, in mathematical modeling, solving specific situations, etc.

Structuralistic Method

The cornerstone of this method is the identification of the structure (internal structure) of the system and the relationship of its elements to each other. Its features are:

• focus on the ordering of elements;
• the structure of the system is more important than the content of its elements;
• the objectivity of the phenomenon can manifest itself only when it is included in the structure;
• "backsides of the system" are not considered.

The structuralistic approach uses mathematical logic and modeling with might and main. In commodity science, it manifests itself, for example, in the classification and grouping of goods; in the separation of indicators of their quality. For example, merchandising of food products divides food into grocery and gastronomic groups. The main drawbacks of the structuralistic method are the danger of schematism and detachment from real phenomena that do not always fit into theoretical models.

Dialectical method

In a general sense, dialectics are interested in the general laws of the development of nature, society and the characteristics of thinking. She focuses on the development process. Her special methods are:

• Ascent from the abstract to the concrete, which can be considered as a way to systematize and reproduce the whole.
• The unity of the logical and the historical, which manifests logic in the real historical development process.
• A systematic approach that identifies the diversity of relationships and brings them together.

All these principles are implemented in various technologies of commodity research. For example, when developing a new product, as a whole, the interconnection of engineers and economists, artists and technologists is necessary, bringing their single contribution to the common cause.

Specific methods

They mean specific tools and techniques that allow you to explore certain aspects of commodity science. They are:

• analysis and synthesis, which are manifested in the division of the product into its characteristic properties, and the subsequent combination of consumer properties in a given quality;
• induction and deduction as selective batch quality control for a single sample;
• abstraction, assumption, generalization, and the like.
  

Food Classification

The most important part of commodity science of food products is their classification, or distribution into groups according to characteristic features. Such signs may be the origin or chemical composition of the products, the degree and quality of processing of raw materials, their purpose and other signs. The trade classification distinguishes the following groups: wine, vodka, confectionery, tea, water, coffee, dairy, fruit and vegetable, fish, meat, juices, tobacco, and bakery products.

In addition, food commodity science highlights groceries and gastronomy. The first group includes cereals, flour, pasta, tea, spices, vegetable oils and other products, and the second - meat and fish gastronomy, butter, cheeses, canned food, etc.

Assortment Management

The main principles of managing an assortment of goods are:

1. Compatibility The assortment should correspond to the direction of activity and development of the organization.
2. Customer focus. In order for a product to be sold, it must meet the needs of the buyer.
3. Development. The assortment of goods should not only change to meet the new needs of the buyer, but should foresee them.
4. Professionalism. Assortment management should be carried out by a person who knows the basics of commodity science of food products (or other areas of trade), has the skills to put them into practice, and has analytical thinking.
5. Efficiency. The main goal of assortment management is to increase company profits.
   

Under the assortment strategy is understood the process of formation with the development of the assortment of goods, which is built taking into account the prospects of the organization in order to increase revenue. Strategies are offensive and defensive.

Assortment formation rules

The organization of merchandising at a particular enterprise is impossible without applying the following rules for the formation of the store’s assortment and its development:

• It must meet the needs of target and secondary customers;
• assortment must meet not only basic, but also related needs;
• prices should be set, not only focusing on purchasing power, but also ensure the profitability of the store.

An effective assortment is the key to the active development of a trading company and customer loyalty.

Product Group Formation

Under the product category refers to a group of products perceived by customers as capable of interchangeable. The name of a product category should reflect its range and be clear to the buyer. The following product groups can be cited as examples: picnic products, products for newborns, etc.

An important step in the formation of a product group is the compilation of a variety of matrices:

• assortment, reflecting the list of goods;
• role describing the role of all products in this category;
• price, representing a list of goods with their prices;
• correlation, containing information on the relationships of sales of various goods (allows you to determine interchangeability);
• summary, including key indicators for a specific product category.
  

Types of trade organizations

Classification of trade enterprises can be on numerous grounds. However, the most interesting is their ranking by type of retail. This concept includes the classification of trade enterprises by retail space and customer service.

Most often there are retail stores of the type "Department Store", a store "Products", "Fabrics" and others. Also, retail trade is carried out through pavilions, vending machines and tents.