Question

Which of the following is a function of the wholesaler?
(A) After-sale service
(B) Assortment of goods
(C) Deal in one item in large quantities
(D) Packaging

Answer 1

Hint: The term "wholesale" literally refers to selling in large amounts. The job of wholesalers is that they carry out the business of marketing products in significant amounts and at cheaper rates, usually for the products to then be resold at a profit by retailers. To find out which option is correct we need to know the meaning of each of the processes mentioned in the options.

Complete answer:
A wholesaler is an enterprise or sometimes a person that purchases large amounts of goods from the original producers who make the goods, or from other traders, suppliers, or vendors. They buy mostly for resale or commercial use.

Wholesalers warehouse these goods and market them to other companies or retail stores.
Wholesalers are dealer intermediaries that mostly market to retailers, other traders, commercial, industrial, or institutional consumers. The wholesaler's business model is built around acting as an agent. They serve as a bridge between a product's producer and other companies that wish to market it.

Now we can take a look at each option and see which process fits the functional definition of wholesalers:
Option (A) After-sale service; this means the handling of consumers after a purchase or sale has been made. It includes the basic customer service that comes into play only after the sale has taken place so it is not a wholesaler’s function since wholesalers are all about buying and selling products, they do not handle the services after-sales. It is an incorrect option.

Option (B) Assortment of goods; the literal definition taken by this phrase is that a store's assortment of products is the variety of items it sells. This is a strategy that is significantly used in retail shops because they get buyers who require a variety of items. Since wholesalers are not exposed to a variety of buyers they do not have the need for assorting goods. This is an incorrect option.

Option (C) Deal in one item in large quantities; a wholesaler is someone who buys massive volumes of merchandise and sells them in smaller businesses like to the stores. By definition of wholesale itself, we know that they are responsible for purchasing large quantities of only minimalized number of items, so yes they deal with a single product in large quantities. So this is the correct option.

Option (D) Packaging; this refers to the sealing or packaging of goods in order to protect them from degradation during shipment and holding. It keeps a product healthy and commercially viable. But when companies purchase something in bulks like done by wholesalers, they do not focus on the quality but rather are more interested in the quantity. Hence wholesalers do not carry out the function of packaging. So this option is incorrect.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: Wholesale and retail are two types of marketing procedures that make up a significant portion of the distribution network. When the products are made, they are sold in enormous sums (wholesale) to wholesalers, they then sell or market these products to retailers, who are the people who then sell these products to the final consumers like us.