The essence of the commercial activity of a trading enterprise. The concept and essence of commercial activity The concept of the essence and content of commercial activity

ESSENCE OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES

Market and market environment in the system of commercial relations(commercial activity in the market of goods and services)

concept commercial activities

In a market economy, commodity-money relations are dominant. Therefore, almost every product of labor produced at enterprises is necessarily sold and bought, i.e. goes through the exchange phase. Sellers and buyers of goods conclude purchase and sale transactions, carry out sales and purchases of goods, provide intermediary and other services.

Commerce as a type of human activity most of us associate with trade. This is quite natural, since this term comes from the Latin COMMERCIUM (trade). However, such an interpretation of commerce as a term is too narrow and clearly insufficient to clarify the concept and essence of commercial activity.

commercial activity is part of entrepreneurial activity in the commodity market and differs from it by and large only in that it does not cover the very process of manufacturing a product or providing a service. In a broad sense, any organization that offers the products of the labor of its employees to the market, and, therefore, participates in the exchange process, can be classified as a sale entity. It is important to take into account that if this entity assumes the receipt of income from the sale (marketing) of goods or the provision of services that exceed the cost of their creation, then its activity is usually classified as commercial. Similarly, an idea is formed about the activity of acquiring raw materials, materials and products for the production of goods and the provision of services.



The entrepreneur always seeks to acquire resources and use services in accordance with his own commercial interests. The task that the market puts before him comes down to the need to create a quality product and sell it profitably. Therefore, logistics (purchases, etc.), as one of the main conditions for the creation of goods, should be fully attributed to commercial activity and considered as its most important element.

The interpretation of the term “commercial” is primarily of practical importance, since the organization of the work of commercial services involves taking into account many specific features, starting with economic fundamentals and ending with the structure of the workflow. Professional training of commercial workers is carried out in a special way. In addition to traditional knowledge in the field of economics and management, a merchant must have a number of specific skills in the field of business communication and negotiations, be able to make non-standard decisions to identify highly profitable areas of labor application.

The professional activity of a merchant is carried out in the sphere of production and commodity circulation and is aimed at ensuring the functioning of enterprises of all organizational and legal forms in order to rational organization commercial activities, taking into account the industry, regional and nomenclature specifics of the enterprise. The merchant must, on the basis of professional knowledge, ensure effective commercial activity and thereby contribute to the solution of an important socio-economic task - the satisfaction of the needs of buyers.

The area of ​​professional activity of a specialist in the field of trade is the sphere of commodity circulation, i.e. market for goods and services.

Market- this:

exchange of goods and services, organized according to the laws of commodity production and circulation

The mechanism of interaction between buyers and sellers, the relationship of supply and demand.

a set of transactions, acts of purchase and sale of goods and services

Commodity production functions as a result of the action objective economic laws:

The law of value - requires that the exchange of goods be carried out in accordance with the quality and quantity of labor expended on their production;

Supply and demand is an objective law that determines the relationship between sellers and buyers;

· the law on monetary circulation - regulates the amount of money that society needs in a further historical period.

Classification of markets according to the form of competition:

highly competitive,

Monopolistic competition with product differentiation

oligopolistic

monopolized (pure monopoly).

Table 1.1

The most important characteristics of the main types market structures

Subjects of commercial activity.

Subjects trading activities are enterprises and organizations engaged in entrepreneurial activities, consumers of goods and services.

Company- an independent economic entity with the rights of a legal entity ( entity, an organization, such as an LLC) or an individual (an enterprise of an individual entrepreneur) that produces products, goods, services, performs work, and engages in various types of economic activity.

Consumer- a citizen who intends to order or purchase, or ordering, acquiring or using goods (works, services) solely for personal, family, household and other needs not related to business activities .

Characteristics of the forms of entrepreneurial organization

Enterprise activities

The form Members Responsibility Establish. the documents Number of participants Capital, property
Individual entrepreneur(hereinafter - IP) Citizen The sole proprietor is liable with all his property Not 1 member. There is no authorized capital as such. The entrepreneur is liable for his obligations with all his property.
General partnership Individual entrepreneurs and commercial organizations. Participants jointly and severally exercise subsidiary liability with their property Memorandum of association Several participants, if 1 remains, then must be liquidated or converted to another form Each participant contributes to the “share capital”.
Faith partnership 2 types of participants - full comrades and contributors General partners jointly and severally exercise subsidiary liability. Investors risk only their own deposit - “- If there are no investors left, then the limited partnership must be liquidated or transformed - “-
Society with limited liability(hereinafter - LLC) Citizens and any legal faces Participants bear the risk in the amount of their contributions Memorandum of association, charter. 1 or more participants, but not more than 50 The minimum authorized capital is 100 minimum wages, i.е. 10 thousand rubles
Additional Liability Company (hereinafter - ALC) - “- ALC participants are jointly and severally liable with their property in a multiple of the value of their contributions - “- - “- - “-
Closed Joint Stock Company (hereinafter - CJSC) Citizens and any legal faces. Members are called shareholders Participants are not liable for the obligations of the CJSC with their property and bear the risk of losses in the amount of the value of their shares Charter 1 or several participants, but not more than 50, if there are more participants, then it must be liquidated or transformed into an OJSC The authorized capital is formed. The minimum authorized capital is 100 minimum wages, i.е. 10 thousand rubles
Open Joint Stock Company (hereinafter - OJSC) - “- - “- - “- Any number of participants The authorized capital is formed by buying shares. The minimum authorized capital is 1000 minimum wages, i.е. 100 thousand rubles
Production cooperative Citizens. However, the law and the charter may provide for the participation of legal entities. persons Members of a cooperative bear subsidiary liability with their property, the amount and procedure for liability must be established in the charter Charter Number of members production cooperative cannot be less than 5. The property of the cooperative is divided into shares of its members. The share consists of the share contribution and the corresponding part of the net assets (except for the indivisible fund).

Objects of professional activity The merchant's assets are tangible goods and intangible goods and services subject to sale or exchange in the sphere of circulation.

Product is a human product, produced for sale. However, people in the market do not purchase goods, but their functional ability to satisfy a certain human need or need. A product is anything that can satisfy a need or need and is offered to the market for the purpose of attracting attention, acquisition, use or consumption.

Goods and services can be of various uses:

consumer use: durable use (cars, furniture, Appliances, clothing, etc.), short-term use (food, cosmetics, detergents), services (training, tailoring, dry cleaning, etc.);

· industrial purpose: main equipment, auxiliary, components and assemblies, basic materials, auxiliary materials and raw materials, industrial services, etc.

A product as an object of commercial operations (purchase and sale transactions) has potential and real utility.

Potential usefulness of the product(services, etc.) or the ability of any product of labor to satisfy individual specific needs, taking into account affordability, is determined by its two integral characteristics: quality and price. The ratio between them, which has developed in a particular market situation, makes it possible for a potential consumer to solve a fundamental issue - whether he needs and whether this proposed product is available to him ?

Real utility The product appears at the moment of its acquisition by the consumer (sales by the seller), i.e. as a result of the exchange.

The prerequisites for a potentially useful product to become really useful for the buyer are:

the presence of a given product of potential utility, the compliance of its consumer properties with existing requests, i.e. Availability internal factor, influencing the preliminary choice of the buyer;

The presence of a sufficient amount of a potentially useful product in the seller's right place and at the right time or external conditions to implement the choice.

Creating conditions for the realization of the potential usefulness of the product is the most important task of commercial activity. It is for these purposes that the corresponding sales services are formed, inventories are accumulated, trading and intermediary firms are created.

The service is defined as follows: Service - any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything.

Services have four characteristics that must be considered when designing marketing programs.

Intangibility Services are intangible. They cannot be seen, tasted, heard or smelled until they are purchased.
Inseparable from the source A service is inseparable from its source, while a good is material form exists regardless of the presence or absence of its source
Variation in quality The quality of services varies widely depending on their providers, as well as the time and place of provision.
Perishability Service cannot be stored

Purchasing activities

Sales activity.

Sales is a process consisting of a number of functions, and sale is the final part of the sale, when the goods become the property of the buyer.

Sales business activities include the following steps:

Assortment planning;

sales planning;

Establishment of commercial relations with buyers;

conclusion of contracts;

· operational and marketing activities: development of plans - schedules for the shipment of finished products, acceptance of finished products, preparation of goods for shipment to customers, control over the fulfillment of orders, etc.

Sales planning it is advisable to carry out in the following directions: on a well-known market and on a free market. Under famous market refers to orders from government organizations, military orders and supply under long-term contracts. The main thing in planning sales in a known market is the development of a portfolio of orders for the enterprise.

Enterprise Order Portfolio- this is the quantity of products that must be produced in a certain period of time and delivered to customers in accordance with orders or concluded contracts.

When forming a portfolio of orders, supplier enterprises take into account the norms for ordering products and transit norms. Order rate- this is the minimum quantity of a certain type of product, less than which the supplier plant does not produce and does not deliver to one addressee. transit rate- represents the minimum quantity of products that the supplier enterprise ships to one address.

In case of underutilization of production capacities, the enterprise can accept an additional order for the manufacture of products required by the customer.

Forecasting sales of products;

development of sales plans;

selection of the most effective distribution channels;

distribution of sales volume of goods by regions.

Determination of the objective selling price of goods.

Sales forecasting. Market forecasting of sales of products is possible using non-quantitative and quantitative methods. Non-quantitative forecasting methods based on expert assessments of managers top management, opinions sales agents and buyers. These methods have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include: relatively inexpensive, efficiency in obtaining results. Disadvantages: subjective evaluation. For example, the method of expert assessments Delphi. Opinions are collected through a written questionnaire. At the same time, each expert makes his own forecast independently of the others.

Quantitative forecasting methods sales volume: methods of extrapolation, correlation and regression analysis, time series analysis, Box-Jenkins method. For example, the extrapolation method is based on the study of the past and present patterns of development of the studied economic phenomenon and the distribution of these patterns to the future, based on the fact that they can be stable for a certain period of time.

Development of a marketing plan. An important part of sales planning is a system of plans, including planning:

1) assortment;

2) distribution channels;

3) a system of measures to stimulate sales (promotion channels);

4) selling prices;

5) sales of products.

The implementation of sales plans must be constantly monitored, quarterly plans must be adjusted in accordance with the results achieved in previous periods. For example, if by the end of the first quarter it became known that it was impossible to fulfill the plan for the second quarter, then it is adjusted downward, taking into account the current situation. Thus, it is necessary that the marketing plan be flexible.

Choice of distribution channels

Distribution channels(commodity distribution channels, commodity distribution network) - these are all organizations acting as intermediaries or sales participants, taking over or helping to transfer ownership of the goods to another person; it is the path that goods take from the supplier to the final consumer.

The choice of the optimal structure of distribution channels and its management are the primary tasks facing strategic management enterprises. Below is a diagram showing the process of building the structure of distribution channels (Fig. 4.2).

Distribution channel length. Means the number of links or levels that the product passes before it reaches the final consumer. Long distribution channels, as a rule, provide a high saturation of the market with the company's goods, but increase its final cost for the consumer due to a higher trade margin at all levels of distribution.

Distribution channel width. Indicates the number of resellers at each distribution level. The wider the channel, the more market saturation it will provide, but the large quantity the company's customers will have to be served, and the more likely it is that conflicts will arise between its various participants in the distribution structure, which will necessarily affect the company's activities.

The level of the distribution channel is understood as any intermediary who performs one or another work to bring the goods and ownership of it closer to the final buyer. Under the level of the distribution channel is understood (Fig. 4.7):

Zero level channel

Single layer channel


Bilayer channel


Three-level channel


Fig.4.7. Types of channel levels

commercial operations

Through transactions, the normative process of property relations in society is carried out: citizens use the services of consumer services enterprises, retail, transport, communications, dispose of their property. Various organizations enter into relationships related to the supply of goods, construction, transportation of goods, purchases necessary materials etc. At the same time, citizens and legal entities perform a wide variety of actions, as a result of which rights and obligations arise, change and terminate.

Deals actions of citizens and legal entities aimed at establishing, changing or terminating civil rights and obligations are recognized (Article 153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, in Art. 153 of the Civil Code refers not only to citizens and legal entities of the Russian Federation, but also to foreign citizens and legal entities, as well as stateless persons, unless otherwise provided federal law. In addition, transactions can be made by other participants in relations regulated by civil law. Russian Federation, municipalities.

Deal is an action aimed at achieving a certain legal result.

The most common are bilateral and multilateral transactions (contracts) - purchase and sale, rent, insurance, contracts, joint activities, etc. To complete such transactions, it is necessary to coordinate the will of two or more parties.

Depending on the presence or absence in the transaction of an indication of the due date, or the possibility of determining it from its content, transactions are divided into definite-urgent and indefinite-urgent.

In a definite urgent deal the term for the fulfillment of obligations under it is indicated, or can be determined from its content.

Commitment to indefinitely urgent the transaction must be executed within a reasonable time after the obligation arises (clause 2, article 314 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The term is determined taking into account the essence of the obligation and other circumstances that may affect its fulfillment. An obligation not performed within a reasonable time, as well as an obligation, the term for the performance of which is determined by the moment of demand, must be performed by the debtor within seven days from the day the creditor presents a demand for its performance, unless the obligation to perform within another period arises from legislation, the terms of the obligation, or business customs. turnover or substance of the obligation.

Essence and types of contracts.

Treaty determines the scope of rights and obligations of participants in civil legal relations, the procedure and conditions for the fulfillment of obligations, responsibility for their non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment.

1) sale and purchase agreement

2) supply contract

3) barter agreement

4) commission agreement

5) lease agreement

6) property insurance contracts

7) contract for the carriage of goods

8) Contract for the carriage of passengers

9) Storage agreement

Under an exchange agreement each party undertakes to transfer ownership

the other side one commodity in exchange for another. Each party acknowledges

the seller of the goods that she undertakes to transfer, and the buyer of the goods, who

which she agrees to accept in exchange.

Under a commission agreement one party (commission agent) undertakes on behalf of

other party (committent) for a fee to commit one or more

how many transactions in his own name, but at the expense of the committent. The subject of the agreement is

mission is to provide legal services in the field of trade.

Under a lease agreement the lessor undertakes to provide the lessee with the property for a fee for temporary possession and use.

Can be rented out land, businesses, buildings,

structures, equipment, vehicles and other things that are not

lose their natural properties in the process of their use.

Insurance- this is a kind of necessary socially useful activity

the degree to which citizens and organizations insure themselves and their

property from adverse effects by making cash contributions

to a special fund of a specialized organization (insurer) providing

insurance services, and this organization upon the occurrence of these consequences

pays at the expense of this fund to the insured or other person

the stated amount.

Features of the property insurance contract are:

1. the insured has a special property interest in the conclusion

agreement. Such interests include the risk of loss (death), shortage

or damage to certain property (Article 930 of the Civil Code);

2. property insurance is intended to compensate for the

losses, rather than extracting additional income. This is its main function.

When insuring property or business risk, if

not otherwise provided by the insurance contract, the sum insured must not exceed

embroider them real value(insurance value).

Under a contract for the carriage of goods the carrier undertakes to deliver the entrusted

to him by the sender the cargo to the destination and issue it to the authorized

receipt of the goods to the person (recipient), and the sender undertakes to pay for this

transportation the established payment (item 1 of item 785 GK). Conclusion of an agreement

transportation of cargo is confirmed by the compilation and issuance of the transport to the sender of the cargo

tailor's waybill, which simultaneously serves as confirmation of the conclusion

agreement.

Under the contract, the carrier undertakes to transfer the passenger to the point of destination, and in case of check-in by the passenger of the baggage, also to deliver this baggage to the point of destination and issue it to the person entitled to receive the baggage; the passenger, in turn, undertakes to pay the established fare, and when checking in luggage, for the carriage of luggage. This contract, unlike the contract for the carriage of a specific cargo, is consensual, i.e., after purchasing a ticket or a baggage check, the contract is considered concluded, and the passenger receives the right to demand

from the carrier to fulfill his obligations.

Storage agreement belongs to the service contracts. Under the storage agreement, one party (the custodian) undertakes to store the thing transferred to it by the other party (the bailor) and return this thing in safety (clause 1 of article 886 of the Civil Code). Elements of the agreement: The parties to the storage agreement are the bailor and the custodian. The depositor can be any individual or legal entity, including not necessarily the owner of the property, but also another authorized person (tenant, carrier, contractor, etc.). The subject of the contract is formed by storage services, which the custodian provides to the bailor. The object of the service itself is a variety of things capable of spatial movement.

Settlements for collection.

Collection settlements are a banking operation through which the bank (hereinafter referred to as the issuing bank), on behalf of and at the expense of the client, on the basis of settlement documents, performs actions to receive a payment from the payer. For collection settlements, the issuing bank has the right to involve another bank (hereinafter referred to as the executing bank).

Unlike the widespread form of payment by payment orders, when the bank is instructed to transfer funds, the reverse operation takes place here - the person who is the creditor under the agreement instructs the bank to receive funds from the debtor.

Settlements for collection are carried out on the basis of payment requests, the payment of which can be made at the order of the payer (with acceptance) or without his order (without acceptance), and collection orders, the payment of which is made without the order of the payer (in an indisputable manner).

In terms of transactions, these two instruments are very similar. The choice of tool used is determined by:

- Firstly, legislative acts, which define the cases when payment requests (without acceptance) and collection orders should be used;

- secondly, agreements between the payer and the recipient, when they have the right to choose the form of payment and instrument.

Collection orders are used for collection settlements in cases where stipulated by the agreement, and settlements according to the orders of the exactors of funds. The recipient of funds may be a bank, including the payer's bank.

The sequence of operations and document flow when using collection orders is similar to that in the case of settlements with payment requests without acceptance (Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. Scheme of the document flow in settlements by collection orders: 1 - the occurrence of a taxpayer's debt to the budget and / or extra-budgetary fund; 2 - issuance of a collection order addressed to the payer; 3 - provision of a collection order to the payer; 4 - write-off Money from the payer's account and transfer to the beneficiary's bank; 5 - provision of an extract from the payer's account on debiting funds; 6 - crediting funds to the recipient's account with the provision of an account statement

Collection orders apply:

1) in cases where an indisputable procedure for collecting funds is established by law, including for the collection of funds by bodies performing control functions;

2) for recovery under executive documents;

3) in cases stipulated by the parties under the main agreement, provided that the bank servicing the payer is granted the right to debit funds from the payer's account without his order.

When making non-cash payments in the form of a transfer of funds, at the request of the recipient of funds, a payment request or other order of the recipient of funds, drawn up in accordance with clause 1.11 of this Regulation, is applied.

If the recipient of the funds is a bank, debiting funds from the bank account of the paying client, if there is a pre-given acceptance of the payer, can be carried out by the bank in accordance with the bank account agreement on the basis of a bank order drawn up by the bank.

Details, form (for a payment request on paper), numbers of details of the payment request are established by appendices 1, 6 and 7 to this Regulation.

The payment request is drawn up, presented, accepted for execution and executed in in electronic format, on paper.

A payment request may be submitted to the payer's bank through the beneficiary's bank.

A payment request submitted through the beneficiary's bank is valid for submission to the beneficiary's bank within 10 calendar days from the date of its preparation.

Table 1

The main cases of direct debiting

Company Case of direct debiting of funds
Rail transport Collection of fines
Road transport Settlements with consignors and consignees for services rendered, as well as collection of fines
Energy, gas, water supply and sanitation Settlements with consumers (except budget organizations) for electricity and thermal energy as well as water supply and sanitation services
Connections Settlements with consumers for communication services
Nuclear power plants Settlements with consumers of electricity from nuclear power plants
lessor Collection of amounts from lessees

When paying by checks, the client receives a checkbook from the bank with an indication of the amount deposited by the bank, within which he can issue checks (limited checkbook). The checkbook amount may not be deposited in a separate deposit account.

The simplest scheme, reflecting the sequence of operations and document flow using a check from a limited checkbook, is shown in fig. 8.

Rice. 8. Scheme of payments by checks: 1 - submission to the bank of an application for a checkbook; 2 - transfer of a payment order for debiting funds from the current account and crediting them to the deposit; 3 - depositing funds in a bank; 4 - issuance of a checkbook to the checker (limited); 5 - shipment of goods and / or provision of services; 6 - payment for goods and / or services rendered by check; 7 - providing the bank with a register of checks for payment; 8 - presenting a request for payment; 9 - transfer of funds to the check holder's bank; 10 - crediting funds with the provision of an account statement

6. Fair and exhibition trade.

The conclusion of contracts for the supply of goods at wholesale exhibitions-fairs is a fairly effective form of wholesale purchase of goods. The progressiveness of exhibitions-fairs is determined by the fact that wholesale buyers have the opportunity to freely choose and purchase the necessary goods, having familiarized themselves with their samples presented by suppliers; systematize all the necessary information of the commercial plan; promptly discuss the terms of delivery of goods necessary for buyers and quickly conclude single or multiple transactions.

The fair type of wholesale purchases of goods allows you to strengthen commercial contacts between suppliers and wholesale buyers, promptly bring up-to-date information about the emerging market conditions to manufacturers. In the process of discussing interaction issues, the influence of buyers (in some cases, pressure) on suppliers in terms of the release of competitive and high-quality goods increases, and there is an opportunity for a more timely and flexible response to a possible change in consumer demand.

Depending on the period of operation (duration), wholesale exhibitions-fairs are permanent and one-time (that is, auctions held occasionally). Bidding is becoming more and more widespread in the conditions of building up the muscles of the Russian economy. Episodic exhibitions-fairs can be held at different intervals (say 2-4 times a year).

In terms of the coverage of the manufacturing enterprises represented at them and the scale of their activities, wholesale exhibitions-fairs are international, national (national) and regional. Foreign firms and companies can be represented as participants in international wholesale exhibitions-fairs. Domestic manufacturers of goods, as well as other wholesalers - sellers and buyers, can take part in wholesale exhibitions-fairs of a national (national) scale. At these fairs, goods produced in various regions of Russia are exhibited. As for the regional exhibitions-fairs, which are of local importance, then they are transactions for the sale of goods that are produced by local manufacturers.

The development of the domestic economy during the transition to market relations led to a significant restructuring labor resources in the country - most of the active population was employed in the service sector and the circulation sector, a significant part of which is commercial activity.

The term "commerce" comes from the Latin commerce - trade. Therefore, these words are often used as synonyms, and the concept of "commercial activity" in a narrow sense is interpreted as an activity related to trade, purchase and sale of goods.[ 2 ]

Explanatory Dictionary V.I. Dahl defines commerce as "bargaining, turnover, merchant crafts." In a broad sense, commerce is often understood as any activity aimed at making a profit.

In the process of transition to the market, when the role of the commercial activity of trading enterprises increased, a more complete disclosure of the essence of commercial activity was required. Professor F.G. Pankratov traced an objective approach to commercial activity and formulated it as follows: “Commercial activity trade organizations covers the issues of studying the demand of the population and the market for the sale of goods, identifying and studying sources of income and suppliers of goods, organizing rational economic relations with suppliers, including the development and submission of applications for goods to them, concluding contracts for the supply of goods, organizing accounting and monitoring the fulfillment by suppliers of contractual obligations » [ 7 ]

Foreign sources emphasize a strategic approach to solving commercial problems. The concept of commercial activity was formulated by representatives of the Harvard Business School in 1958: “Commercial activity exists in order to satisfy consumer requirements with a profit.” [ 8 ]

Different interpretations of commerce are determined by its many aspects. The category of commerce can be viewed from the standpoint of an entrepreneur, economist, financier, etc.

Consequently, commercial activity is a set of processes associated with the sale and purchase of goods, meeting customer demand, developing target markets for goods, minimizing distribution costs and making a profit.

The purpose of commercial activity is to satisfy the needs of customers and make a profit. This poses certain challenges for commercial services:

  • - formation of relations with partners on a mutually beneficial basis, involving in the turnover the products of manufacturers and other suppliers of various forms of ownership.
  • - increasing the level of work of commercial services for the study and forecasting of market capacity, development and improvement of advertising and information activities using modern marketing tools.

The subjects of commercial activity are legal and individuals who have legal capacity and legal capacity, i.e. have the right to own property, and the ability of a citizen to acquire rights and create legal obligations, to bear responsibility for the commission of an offense by their actions.

The objects of commercial activity in the consumer market are goods and services.

Since commercial activity is a set of operations for the implementation of commodity exchange processes, its content can be determined from the description of these operations. The operations performed in any business process included in the value chain can be divided into several blocks in accordance with the stages of their implementation presented.

Stage 1. Information Support. It is the basis for the successful implementation of commercial activities. Commercial services must have information about demand and market conditions, about the volume and structure of the production of goods and services, and information about the product itself. Of great importance is information about the size and composition of the population served, its purchasing power. In addition, commercial structures operating in the market must have information about the potential of competitors.

The complexity of this work lies in the fact that these many factors are constantly changing and evolving, so their predictive value should be the basis of business activity. After analyzing the available information, proceed to the next stage of commercial activity.

Stage 1. Determination of sales volumes of goods and services. At this stage, the potential sales volume of a particular product or service is determined based on the capacity of the market (segment) in which the commercial firm operates.

Market capacity is the total volume of products that can be purchased by a consumer group (segment) in a certain geographical area for a specified period and in a specific marketing environment with a specific marketing program. There are several methods for forecasting sales volume [8], shown in Table 1

Table 1 Sales forecasting methods

  • Stage 3. Selection of the most preferred business partners. This stage is connected with the study of the market environment. commercial enterprise or, as they say, the microenvironment of the firm. As a result of such a study, the company receives information about potential partners and the opportunity to make the right choice, eliminating the possibility of high risk and increasing the financial security of its activities.
  • Stage 4. Establishment of contractual relations with suppliers and buyers. At this stage of commercial activity, the issue of concluding contracts with suppliers and buyers of goods is decided. This type of commercial activity is the most important stage in the work of a merchant. The further success of entrepreneurial activity in the field of sale of goods and services depends on the correctness of the execution of contracts and transactions. At this stage, all points related to the preparation of a draft agreement and its signing should be agreed. The result of it should be a signed contract for the supply of goods or the provision of services, the implementation of which must be closely monitored. At this stage, wholesale purchases of goods are completed.
  • Stage 5 Carrying out trade transactions. At this stage, a whole complex technological operations related to the receipt of goods, unloading of vehicles, acceptance of goods in terms of quantity and quality, their storage, movement, etc.

Companies selling goods and services to end consumers commercial operations have their own specifics, which is especially true for operations following the bulk purchases of goods. This is due to the need to manage inventory and manage the range of goods. Unlike businesses wholesale trade the specificity of these operations is determined by completely different sizes and structure inventory, the terms of the presence of goods at retailers and other approaches to the formation of an assortment of goods in retail trading network. It has its own specifics marketing activities retail trade enterprises, as well as the services they provide, since they are designed for direct consumers of goods and services - the population.

Since the process of bringing goods from the producer to the consumer is completed in the retail network, commercial activities related to retail, is the most responsible. At this stage, it is very important to offer the consumer a wide selection of high-quality goods, an extensive list of services, use modern methods of sale that are convenient for the buyer, and progressive payment systems for purchases.

Commercial activities of retail trade enterprises should be carried out on the basis of marketing research. At the same time, it is necessary to focus on the interests of the end consumer, otherwise it is impossible to count on a successful commercial result.

Content 1. The concept of commercial activity 2. The essence and content of the CA 3. The objectives of the CA 4. The basic principles of building business management commercial enterprise 5. Factors affecting the development of CD

1. The concept of commercial activity Any activity, including commercial, has a certain focus and is organized to achieve the set goals, which can be called the goals of functioning. Being an attribute of the market, commerce is formed on its principles, which serve as an indispensable condition for its development. The market acts as a system economic relations between sellers and buyers, the basis of which is the sale and purchase of goods, i.e. commercial activity. Its goal is to increase income in trade, subject to the satisfaction of customer demand. In the domestic economic literature, there are various definitions of commercial activity. Here are the most common ones: 1. commerce - “bargaining, trade turnover, merchant crafts” (according to the definition from the Explanatory Dictionary of V.I. Dahl); 2. commercial activity - commodity-money exchange, in the process of which goods from the supplier become the property of a trading enterprise with a focus on the needs of market demand;

3. commercial activity - a special type of activity associated with the sale of goods, on which the final results of a commercial enterprise depend; 4. commercial activity is everything that ensures the maximum profitability of a trade transaction for each of the partners, while taking into account the interests and needs of consumers as a priority; 5. commercial activity - a set of operations that ensure the sale and purchase of goods and, together with trading processes, constitute trade in the broadest sense of the word; 6. commercial activity - operational organizational activity for the implementation of operations for the exchange of inventory items in order to meet the needs of the population and make a profit.

So, commercial activity is a part of entrepreneurial activity in the commodity market and differs from it by and large only in that it does not cover the very process of manufacturing a product or providing a service. The professional activity of a merchant is carried out in the sphere of production and commodity circulation and is aimed at ensuring the functioning of enterprises of all organizational and legal forms in order to rationally organize commercial activities, taking into account the industry, regional and nomenclature specifics of the enterprise. The merchant must, on the basis of professional knowledge, ensure effective commercial activity and thereby contribute to the solution of an important socio-economic task - the satisfaction of the needs of buyers. The objects of professional activity of a merchant are tangible goods and intangible goods and services subject to sale or exchange in the sphere of circulation.

2. The essence and content of the CD. IN modern conditions When the role of commercial activity of trading enterprises increases, a more complete disclosure of its essence and content is required. The essence of the problem under consideration is formulated as follows: the commercial activities of trade organizations and enterprises cover the issues of studying the demand of the population and the market for goods, identifying and studying sources of income and suppliers of goods, organizing rational economic relations with suppliers, including the development and submission of applications and orders for goods, conclusion of contracts for the supply of goods, organization of accounting and control over the fulfillment of contractual obligations by suppliers. At the same time, the authors single out commercial work in trade separately and characterize it as follows: “Commercial work is a vast area of ​​operational and organizational activities of trade organizations and enterprises aimed at completing the processes of buying and selling goods to meet the demand of the population and make a profit” . This approach specifies and predetermines the direction of the functions of commercial activities related to the purchase, promotion of goods from the supplier to the consumer and their sale to the final buyer. There is a broader interpretation of the essence of commercial activity - it is not only directly trading, but also other types of entrepreneurial activity.

In modern conditions, the activity of a trading enterprise is associated with entrepreneurship, commerce, econometrics, economic cybernetics and informatics. This determines a new qualitative level and economic growth of the market. The organizational structure of the management of a commercial enterprise should be built accordingly. Commercial activities of trading enterprises have much in common. However, specific management decisions, developed and implemented by some trading enterprises, cannot always be used by other enterprises. This is due to factors external environment at the stage of transition to a market economy, primarily by changes in the consumer market. In addition, the internal conditions for the functioning of a trading enterprise also change over time. Therefore, the control process must be determined by the parameters environment and their variables within the trading enterprise.

3. Goals of the CD. Commercial activity is associated with the implementation of a set of measures to bring goods from the manufacturer to the buyer. The goals of commercial activity determine its content: 1. establishment of economic and partnership relations with market entities; 2. study and analysis of sources for the purchase of goods; 3. coordination of the connection between production and consumption of goods oriented to the demand of buyers (range, volume and renewal of products); 4. purchase and sale of goods taking into account the market environment; 5. Expansion of existing and prospective development of target markets 6. for goods; 7. reduction of costs of circulation of goods.

Commercial activity is always associated with the performance of operations to bring material resources from suppliers to consumers. Such operations include: 1. for manufacturers - preparation of products for shipment, shipment, release and its documentation; 2. in the warehouses of intermediary and transport enterprises in the process of product movement - its acceptance, storage, formation of complete batches, shipment; 3. in the warehouses of consumer enterprises - acceptance of products in terms of quantity and quality, storage, bringing purchased materials to a high degree of technological readiness for production consumption, issue and delivery of materials to workplaces.

4. Basic principles of building management of commercial activities of a trading enterprise 1. Ensuring consistency between departments (services). Each division (service) of a commercial enterprise has a specific purpose and functions, i.e., they have autonomy to one degree or another. At the same time, their actions must be coordinated and coordinated in time, which determines the unity of the management system of a trade enterprise. 2. Ensuring the interaction between commercial activities and the goals of the commercial enterprise. Commercial activity is formed and changed in accordance with the interests and needs of production. Consequently, the functions of commerce management are implemented taking into account the goals of the trading enterprise. 3. Ensuring the hierarchy of the management structure. A characteristic feature of management is the hierarchical rank. The organization of business management should be focused on vertical and horizontal communications.

4. Security integrated approach in management. From the position of complexity, all factors influencing the management decisions of commercial activities are taken into account. It also provides for the connection of the commercial processes of a trading enterprise with the subjects of the external environment. Ensuring low links in the management structure. Low-link is understood as a simple management structure. But at the same time, stability and reliability of business management must be achieved. 5. Ensuring the adaptability of the management structure. The internal and external environment is subject to constant changes. This is especially evident in the period of the emergence of the consumer market. Therefore, the flexibility and adaptability of the business management structure to changes and environmental conditions is essential. 6. Providing executive information. The development and adoption of managerial decisions are based on executive information. It includes the receipt of initial information, processing, analysis and issuance of the results of the control action. . This task is carried out with the help of modern technical means that allow you to automate the process of information support.

5. Factors influencing the development of CA For the formation and development of commercial activities, certain conditions and specification of the influencing factors are necessary. Commercial positions are formed under the influence of the external and internal environment. The basis of the external environment within the activities of a trading enterprise is: economic trends, social environment, buyers and suppliers of goods, competitors, partnerships, banks, financial institutions, control and inspection authorities (tax services, inspections for trade and quality of goods, prices), commodity and stock exchanges, fairs, exhibitions, current laws and regulations. The internal environment of a commercial enterprise is represented by: production, technical, economic, financial and human resources, functional services, inventory items, trade and technological processes, warehousing, information and computer support.

Tools for analyzing factors affecting the development of an enterprise When analyzing factors affecting the development of an enterprise, the following tools are used: - SWOT analysis, - PEST analysis, - analysis matrix of external strategic factors, - matrix for determining priority external factors, - map of strategic groups, - list of competition analysis, - profile matrix of competitors.

SWOT analysis is used to compare the data of the analysis of the internal and external environment of the organization and bring them into a single whole, which allows you to get big picture reality. PEST analysis is a tool designed to identify political (Policy), economic (Economy), social (Society) and technological (Technology) aspects of the external environment that may affect the company's strategy. The external strategic factors analysis matrix is ​​designed to identify and plan the influence of external social forces on the immediate environment of the company. The strategic group map is used in the analysis of the competitive environment to identify competitors with similar strategies. The main task of the competitor analysis sheet is to determine the impact of political, economic, social and technical parameters the danger of new firms entering the market, the bargaining power of the firm's suppliers, the bargaining power of the firm's customers, the danger of substitute products, and the intensity of competition between firms. The profile matrix of competitors determines the main competitors of the analyzed company, their strengths and weak sides towards her.

References 1. Panktratov FG, Seregina TK Commercial activity: Textbook for universities. - M .: Information and Innovation Center "Marketing", 2000 2. Polovtseva F. P. Commercial activity: Textbook. - M. : INFRA-M - M, 2001. - 248 p. 3. Lapusta M. G. Entrepreneurship account. allowance M.: “Infra. M ”, 2002. 4. Osipova L. V., Sinyaeva I. M. Fundamentals of commercial activity M.: Unity, 1997. 5. Polovtseva F. P. Commercial activity. Textbook. M.: "Infra-M", 2000. 6. Pankratov F. P., Seregina T. K. Commercial activity. Textbook. M.: ITC "Marketing", 2000

What is commerce? The ability to resell more expensive? To some extent yes, but not only that. The concept of "commerce" is much broader, deeper in content and ability to carry it out.

Commerce is a kind of commercial enterprise or business, but a noble business, the business that is the basis of any truly civilized market economy.

Commerce - words of Latin origin (from Latin commercium - trade). However, it must be borne in mind that the term "trade" has a dual meaning: in one case it means an independent branch of the national economy (trade), in the other - trade processes aimed at the implementation of acts of sale and purchase of goods. Commercial activity is associated with the second concept of trade - trading processes for the implementation of acts of sale and purchase for the purpose of making a profit.

The Explanatory Dictionary of V.I. In other words, these concepts involve the implementation of acts of sale with the intention to buy cheaper and sell more expensive. In a broad sense, commerce is often understood as any activity aimed at making a profit.

However, such a broad interpretation of commercial activity is not consistent with the previously outlined approach to commerce as trading processes for the implementation of acts of sale of goods.

Commercial activity is a narrower concept than entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the organization of economic, industrial and other activities that bring income to the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship can mean organization industrial enterprise, rural farm, trade enterprise, service enterprise, bank, law office, publishing house, research institution, cooperative, etc. Of all these types of entrepreneurial activity, only trading is a purely commercial activity. Thus, commerce should be considered as one of the forms (types) of entrepreneurial activity. At the same time, in some types of entrepreneurial activity, transactions can be carried out for the purchase - sale of goods, raw materials, prepared products, semi-finished products, etc., i.e. elements of commercial activity can be carried out in all types of entrepreneurship, but are not decisive or main for them.

Consequently, commercial work in trade is a vast area of ​​operational and organizational activities of trade organizations and enterprises aimed at completing the processes of buying and selling goods to meet the demand of the population and make a profit.

The act of purchase and sale of goods is based on the basic formula of commodity circulation - a change in the form of value:

D - T and T "- D"

It follows from this that commercial work in trade is a broader concept than a simple purchase and sale of goods, i.e. in order for the act of sale to take place, a trade entrepreneur needs to perform some operational, organizational and economic operations, including studying the demand of the population and the market for the sale of goods, finding suppliers and buyers of goods, establishing rational economic relations with them, transporting goods, advertising and information work for the sale of goods, the organization of trade services, etc.

Simply reselling goods for profit, or otherwise "making" money out of nothing, is essentially a speculative transaction that does not constitute a useful commercial activity (noble business).

Tasks and essence of business management

The activity of a commercial enterprise does not proceed independently. It is directed by people, regulated and controlled by them.

Management is a conscious human impact on objects and processes in order to give the enterprise a commercial orientation and obtain certain results.

As the complexity of production, management has become a special category, involving more and more participants. In the management of the enterprise, there are two parties: managers and managed. Those who manage are usually called subjects of management, they include administrators, managers, managers. The objects of management are those who are managed - workers, collectives, and what is managed - the economy, business, the trading process. The interaction of subjects and objects through control actions and feedback allows you to purposefully manage the comprehensive activities of the enterprise. Control actions are represented by laws, decrees, plans, programs, resolutions, standards, recommendations, instructions, material and financial incentives. Feedbacks are the results of direct observations and control by the subject of management, statistical and current reporting, accounting documentation. In the new conditions of economic management of commercial enterprises, many methodological and practical provisions of domestic management turned out to be unacceptable. This is due to the fact that the science of management in our country has been developed with a focus on the interests of the state. Approaches to the formation of fundamental principles and methods were deliberate and were aimed at enterprise management processes state form property.

The market management system has acquired particular importance in Russia in connection with the transition to a market economy. In market conditions, there is a need to expand managerial tasks, the development of new techniques and management methods suitable for a variety of forms of ownership and the development of commercial activities of commercial enterprises. In other words, a constant search for ways to improve management is expected. The process of managing a trading enterprise should be based on market principles and methodology modern management. Foreign management science has come a long way in its development. The prerequisites for this were:

economic laws of the market;

the dynamism of the consumer market;

hierarchical construction of the management structure with a focus on the strategic course in the activities of the enterprise;

the organization of the enterprise, determined by its integration and adaptability to changes in the external environment;

initial and resulting parameters.

A. Fayol created the theory of management social production, which formulated the principles of management based on the use of potential resources of the enterprise. He singled out five initial functions in management: planning, organization, command, coordination and control. The objective need to create a management system consisting of interacting processes is disclosed by M. Kh. Meskon in his work “Fundamentals of Management”: “Management is a process, because work to achieve goals is not some kind of one-time action, but a series of interrelated continuous actions . These activities, each of which is a process in itself, are essential to the success of the enterprise. They are called managerial functions. Each managerial function is also a process, because it also consists of a series of interrelated actions. The management process is the total sum of all functions.

The above theoretical provisions give an idea of ​​the approaches to managing the commercial activities of an enterprise in market conditions. A market-oriented management system means not only the organization of the structure and the interconnected set of involved processes of the enterprise, but also their combination with all external factors. The management of commercial activity sets as its immediate task the introduction of a certain order in commercial and trade processes, the organization of joint actions of the employees participating in these processes, and the achievement of coherence and coordination of actions. At the same time, management is aimed at optimizing the work of employees in order to increase the efficiency of commercial processes and achieve the ultimate goals of the enterprise.

In modern conditions, the activity of a trading enterprise is associated with entrepreneurship, commerce, econometrics, economic cybernetics and informatics. This determines a new qualitative level and economic growth of the market. The organizational structure of the management of a commercial enterprise should be built accordingly.

Commercial activities of trading enterprises have much in common. However, specific management solutions developed and implemented by some trading enterprises cannot always be used by other enterprises. This is due to environmental factors at the stage of transition to a market economy, primarily changes in the consumer market. In addition, the internal conditions for the functioning of a trading enterprise also change over time. Therefore, the management process must be determined by the environmental parameters and their variables within the trade enterprise.

Commercial activity is a narrower concept than entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship - the organization of economic, industrial and other activities that bring income to the entrepreneur. This can mean the organization of an industrial enterprise, and a rural farm, and a trading enterprise, and a service enterprise, a bank, a law office, a publishing house, a research institution, and so on. Of all these types of entrepreneurial activity, only a trading enterprise is a pure commercial activity. Thus, commercial activity should be considered as one of the types or forms of entrepreneurship. At the same time, in some types of entrepreneurial activity, there may be elements of commercial activity, but they are not decisive or main for them.

Thus, commercial activity in trade is a vast area of ​​operational and organizational activities of trade organizations aimed at completing the processes of buying and selling goods to meet the demand of the population and make a profit. Therefore, commercial activity in trade is a broader concept than just the act of buying and selling goods. To carry out such activities, a merchant needs to carry out a number of activities, starting with market research and searching for suppliers and ending directly with the sale and purchase act, as well as, possibly, providing a number of services, both before the sale of goods and after.

The complex of operational, organizational and economic operations for organizing commercial activities is not limited to buying goods from “some” supplier and selling these goods to “some” buyer, but also implies the establishment of a wide range of services related to the sale and purchase act, the establishment of permanent relationships with certain suppliers and with certain buyers.

That is, the goal of commercial activity is to maximize profits while optimally meeting the demand of a specific target segment of buyers. The implementation of these goals is guaranteed by the content of commercial activities: studying the process of forming a market for goods and services, substantiating the directions and scales of development of their production in accordance with the needs of society and individual segments of consumers, bringing goods to consumers and organizing the consumption process itself, commercial mediation and the establishment of contractual relationships in the market for goods and services.

The essence of the commercial activity of a trading enterprise or organization is to study the demand of the population and the market for the sale of goods, identify and study sources of income and suppliers of goods, organize rational economic relations with suppliers, including the development and submission of applications and orders for goods to them, the conclusion of contracts for the supply of goods, organization of accounting and control over the fulfillment of contractual obligations by suppliers.

The subject of commerce is the sale and purchase of goods in the sphere of commodity circulation, taking into account the satisfaction of consumer requests, their receipt in the ownership of a trading enterprise for subsequent sale.

It should be noted that all commercial activities are inextricably linked with the market and with buyers in this market. And any operation, any aspect of commercial activity must be consistent with market conditions and should be focused on the buyer, because if there is no buyer, there is no commercial activity itself.

2 The nature and content of the processes carried out in the trading activities of the online store

By the nature of the functions performed, the processes performed in trading activities can be divided into two types:

· commercial (or purely trade);

production (or technological).

Commercial (trading) processes are the processes associated with the purchase and sale of goods. They imply organizational and economic processes directly related to the sale and purchase of goods, as well as processes that ensure the continuity of the sale and purchase processes (studying needs, searching for suppliers, negotiating, concluding sales contracts, advertising, etc.)

The main commercial processes in trade can be divided into the following types:

study and forecasting of consumer demand, study and identification of the needs of the population in goods and services;

Identification and study of sources of income and suppliers of goods;

organization of rational economic relations with suppliers of goods, including the conclusion of agreements (contracts) for the supply of goods, the development and submission of applications and orders for goods, the organization of accounting and control over the fulfillment of contractual obligations, various forms of commercial settlements, etc.;

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