Who is a work intermediary? Who is a mediator? Factors influencing the choice of intermediary
A person authorized to perform transactions at the client's expense. An organization that acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of financial instruments.
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INTERMEDIAR
English intermediary] - a subject of exchange, marketing relations, mediating connections between consumers and producers. The main functions of any P. are to reduce the number, streamline and professionalize the contacts necessary to carry out purchases and sales and optimize these actions. The mechanism for reducing the number of contacts is shown in the figure. P. acts as a very unique consumer for the manufacturer, presenting specific requirements and requests: modes and rhythm of deliveries, quality of transport packaging, shelf life, and other product characteristics that ensure the competitiveness of the intermediary in comparison with his colleagues. The most extensive and traditional classification of goods is carried out on the basis of its proximity to the end consumer. There are retailers who work directly with consumers, and wholesalers who interact mainly with other retailers and, of course, with manufacturers. In addition to the actual sale of goods, P.’s functions may include: collecting information about the subjects of supply and demand and their capabilities and requirements; establishing contacts with clients; demand formation and sales promotion; pre-sale service; conducting negotiations with other participants in the trade chain; organization of physical distribution of goods; financial coverage of the costs of distribution of goods; accepting trade and trade-related risks. A more detailed classification of P. is associated mainly with English-language terms, which are often used ambiguously in domestic practice. The signs that apply in this case are: the presence (or absence) of ownership of the goods, as well as physical contact with the goods, the type of contact with the buyer (permanent or one-time, occasional), the size of the goods lot, the possession of premises and equipment for sales, the presence of a warehouse networks, functions performed (including marketing), powers for transactions (including exclusive obligations in relationships with partners, restrictions on the area of action, forms of incentives used for P. As obligations, powers, opportunities and functions increase, the following main categories of P are distinguished. (see also Wholesale intermediaries). A broker (English broker), or, less commonly, a broker (German makler) is a purely information intermediary, most often working on the exchange, not bearing trading risk and not being in contact with the real product (from. lat. agens - acting) - an intermediary bound by long-term obligations with specific counterparties, most often with the manufacturer (sometimes with another intermediary or even with consumers), acting in their interests and carrying out their instructions. A traveling salesman (from the French commis voyageur) is a traveling salesman using samples or catalogs, often included in the staff of a manufacturer or large intermediary, store and working directly with consumers. Commission agent (from the Latin commissio - order) - a merchant on the terms of a commission - an agreement under which one party (commission agent) undertakes, on behalf of the other party (committent), for a fee, to conclude a transaction with a third party on his own behalf, but in the interests and at the expense of the principal . The remuneration is paid based on the results of the sale, but the commission agent is not responsible if it does not take place. Consignee (from the French consignee - consignee, addressee of the cargo) is the first in the list of intermediaries who assumes ownership of the goods and trade risk. This is an intermediary working on consignment terms, i.e. taking on all trading risks, but with deferred payment. A dealer (from the English dealer) is an independent intermediary with various functions and terms of cooperation, acting at his own peril and risk on behalf of and on behalf of any manufacturer. Jobber (from the English jobber) is an intermediary, also acting at his own peril and risk, but with a limited quantity of goods and in the absence of a warehouse; these include the so-called. "shuttles". Distributor (from the English distributor) is a large wholesale intermediary, usually with an extensive warehouse network, realizing its advantages mainly through warehouse services and logistics. Reseller (from the English reseller) is a person engaged in the resale and improvement of goods intended for resale for a commission. The word has two English bases: resale - resale, and seller - seller. Retailer (from the English retailer) is a retailer, usually a large chain one. In the retail industry, there are several types of shopping centers that serve different shopping needs and are classified based on purpose, center size and tenants, as well as shopping concepts and store formats (see Retail Resellers). A.P. Pankrukhin Kotler F. Marketing from A to Z: 80 concepts that every manager should know. St. Petersburg: Neva, 2003. pp. 156-158. Nikishkin V.V. Retail marketing: theory and methodology. M.: Economics, 2003. Pankrukhin A.P. Marketing: textbook. 5th ed. M.: OmegaL, 2007. pp. 375-389.
Everyone has probably heard the word “intermediary”. Here I will talk about intermediaries in trade.
If you are over 15 years old, then you probably know that very rarely goods reach us “directly” from production.
In 90% of cases, there is also a chain of intermediaries between the manufacturer and you. These are people or organizations that “pass” goods through themselves. They resell, transport, supply...
If you have ever been to a presentation of any network company, then you know that the marketing plan begins something like this: “We buy goods in stores, feed the intermediaries, the intermediaries profit from us...”
In presentations of network companies, intermediaries are presented as downright enemies of the people who need to be gotten rid of. And, of course, urgently (right now!) join a network company, purchase goods for 200 points, purchase 10 tickets to a seminar... to the delight of the sponsor... Well, that’s a separate conversation.
Let's figure it out: who is an intermediary? Why at all? What are its functions?
The main argument that haters of intermediaries give is “Intermediaries only buy and produce nothing.”
I will make them happy. But the secretary in the office doesn’t produce anything either. The computer operator produces nothing (except perhaps a pile of pieces of paper). Several thousand more professions produce nothing.
Why do people hate intermediaries?
Aah, tsuki, money is being raked. And they don’t do anything. Well please! Who's stopping you from doing the same? Everything is legal and moral.
Guys, cursing the intermediaries is nothing more than soviet envy, which has not yet been squeezed out of the Soviet people. A Soviet person a priori considers any merchant to be a huckster and an anti-moral speculator. And he himself constantly uses the services of intermediaries.
Who is a mediator?
Since my site is mainly about handicrafts, let me use an example of handicrafts to explain.
There is, for example, a talented handicraft master. He does amazing things. But the problem is that he doesn’t know how/doesn’t want to implement them at all.
Either he doesn’t like sales in general, or he doesn’t have time to do them. Do not believe the phrase “a good thing sells itself” - this is a consolation for losers.
Any thing needs good marketing to reach its consumer. Especially hand-made things!
Here the master has the following development paths:
1. Be offended by the whole world, turn up your nose and, declaring yourself “ “, mutter with your peers over a bottle about what kind of cattle are around and how they don’t understand beauty. A common option.
2. Create “for the soul”, and work at some job for income. Or engage in other income-generating activities, and exhibit the products at the Crafts Fair, VKontakte and wait for your buyers. Also a common option.
3. Get into sales. But remember that marketing is a thing that requires a lot of skill, practiced skills and a lot of time. Most likely, you will have almost no time left to create.
When I started “promoting handicrafts, producing,” I almost stopped creating anything myself - I simply don’t have enough time.
So this option is not suitable for those who want to constantly create.
4. Contact a professional. To the mediator.
A middleman is a person who knows somewhere the source of a large amount of goods or overproduction on the one hand and a consumer hungry for this product on the other hand. And then he becomes a “bridge” between these parties.
It is rare to connect the producer and the consumer directly. The manufacturer usually cannot (due to lack of time and skills) provide the consumer with quality service. Or the consumer himself wants excellent service (that everything is delivered, brought, consulted) and understands that the manufacturer will not do this.
But the intermediary is ready to do just that. If this is a good intermediary, then he will provide service, advice, assortment, delivery, convenient payment methods, and after-sales support to the consumer.
And, of course, for a fee. Who will work for a “thank you”?
And if you seriously want to start selling goods and create a profitable online store, then I recommend you an excellent course - “online store from scratch to results” (you can sign up for its free trial part).
I am ready to become a supplier for you if you want to sell these threads. You can, of course, purchase from the factory itself. But he will only work with large partners, and it will not always be fast. Their service is still poor.
And for me it will be quick and clear.
Handicrafts can and should be turned into income. Do what you like!
Did you like it? Then tell your friends!
Bulletin of the Conflict Management Club, Issue 1, 1991.
P. A. Sergomanov. B. I. Khasan
WHO IS A MEDIATOR?
What primarily distinguishes mediation activity, what are its features? What function is it intended to perform in a conflict? Where do mediation activities differ from other types of activities operating in a conflict? For example, the activity of a third party or an arbitrator who comes into conflict with different fields and at different times?
It is important for us how a mediator should be equipped and organized in order to understand his functions and purpose in a conflict, and not confuse them with others.
So the problem is twofold. On the one hand, this is the isolation and purification of the mediating function as separate and different from others, on the other hand, this is a problem mastery mediation activities.
II
Difference by subject of property
First of all, it is necessary to understand what object in the conflict each (mediator and participant) treats as property.
Mediator. Is the item (content) the property of the intermediary? No! Otherwise, he immediately turns into a participant in the conflict, due to the fact that he influences the development of content, introduces meaningful information into the conflict, and determines it. The owner of the content always solves the problem that lies in the conflict and brought it to life. But it would be absurd to believe that the mediator has no ownership in the conflict. As our teacher likes to say: “Then why is he making such a fuss?”
According to the meaning of the word “intermediary” (in the middle, by means) on the one hand, and the tasks we assign to the intermediary, on the other, his property consists of the activity of regulating the relations of participants to the specific design of the content.
The main goal of the mediator is to ensure a normal (as good as possible) exchange of actions between participants, understood as meaningful information. Figuratively speaking, make sure that the participants “hear” each other through the one in the middle. Thus, the subject of ownership of the mediator is specific activity in the conflict, aimed at re-registration, giving a new form corresponding to the content and purpose of the conflict action .
Thus, it should turn out that the mediator does not allow the contradiction that gave rise to the conflict to “leave” the participants or be replaced by another. We will call one, and in our opinion, the most frequent substitution “Conflict sublimation”. The subject that develops during “sublimation” is the emotional form, the essence of the status and other relationships of the participants. This is due to the fact that the substantive contradiction that gave rise to the conflict cannot be resolved through it in one act, in one incident, due to the lack of means of resolution among the participants. It turns out that the substantive contradiction is replaced by a formal, emotional contradiction that lies in the area of relations between the parties to the conflict.
Participant. Treats the subject of the conflict as property. The participant is the essence of his own(?) content. He defines it, plans the paths for its development, manages it, etc.
Difference in subject and “areas” of responsibility.
Mediator. Responsible for the processes of re-registration, recoding, for the development of content in the sense of performing strictly supporting functions.
In addition, responsibility for the mediator is limited by the time frame of the conflict: from mutual determination - the coupling of the actions of participants to their autonomy.
In most cases, goods from production warehouses reach consumers not directly, but through intermediaries. Why is this happening? After all, nothing prevents the manufacturer from selling its products. It turns out that the intermediary does this better, since he manages to profit from such operations. It turns out that making a product (product, service) is only half the battle.
Mediator: the meaning of the word
If we consider the category in general, then any person who in one way or another contributes to the solution of any issue can fit the definition. In the field of trade, an intermediary is a link between the consumer and the supplier. It is present in almost any scheme for promoting a certain company’s product to a specific consumer.
In relations between two entities in a state of dispute, a mediator is a structure that helps resolve the current situation. In this case, his position in relation to the subject of the proceedings must be neutral. Moreover, in some cases, mediators only provide representation of the parties before the arbitrator. In others, they themselves can act as arbitrators or become a guarantor of the fulfillment of achieved obligations. 
In almost any area of public relations there are controversial situations. Normal practice is to invite an outside observer to solve them. At the international level, a guarantor country can act as a mediator. Negotiators or regulators are involved in resolving disputes between conflicting (warring) parties. Military arbitrators and representatives of commands who evaluate controversial maneuvers or other actions of the warring parties may be involved.
In relation to civil disputes, these functions are performed by arbitrators or chairmen of meetings. Conflicts at the everyday level are often resolved by intercessors, conciliators or intercessors. For communications between government officials, authorities, large corporations and companies with the public, their authorized representatives or press secretaries act as an intermediate link.
When carrying out trade transactions between interested parties, sales agents act as intermediaries, fulfilling their obligations in accordance with the terms of the concluded contracts. In the financial market, the connecting link is dealers, brokers or brokers. In sports competitions, the implementation of the rules is controlled by a referee or judges. To some extent, in card games, these responsibilities are performed by the dealer. 
Mediation
What is the unifying feature for all possible categories of such relationships? In other words, a mediator is an intermediate party (often neutral) who helps to conduct a dialogue to achieve a positive result when concluding a deal (resolving a dispute).
In the relationship between the two families of the future husband and wife, matchmakers are still involved in the preparation for the wedding. Marriage agencies are intermediaries that facilitate the acquaintance of the parties. Unofficially, these same services are provided by pimps (pimps).
When concluding trade transactions, the result for the parties involved should be mutual benefit. In some cases, this may be financial profit from the sale of a product or service. In others, it is a profitable investment. In resolving international conflicts, the main task is to maintain peace and tranquility in the region. At the everyday level, as a result of mediation services, family disputes are resolved, financial and other claims are resolved without the participation of official judicial bodies.
Risks and benefits
What do intermediaries receive for their activities? Obviously, the result of the work of a sales agent, broker or dealer is financial profit. Selling a larger volume of goods is beneficial for the manufacturer. This also benefits consumers if they buy it.
There is also a benefit for the intermediary - he receives income from the difference in price during purchase and sale. In another case, it could be a percentage of sales, a reward for fulfilling volumes, or a guaranteed bonus from their increase. The relations of all categories of trade intermediaries are regulated by the rules and regulations laid down in the terms of the contracts under which they carry out their activities.
On the other hand, a trade or financial intermediary is a subject of relations who also assumes a number of obligations. In some cases, this may only be a search for interested parties and the provision of information services. In others, the goods are received at the manufacturer’s warehouse and delivered to the consumer.
There are other, more complex options, including, for example, service or warranty repairs, return of goods of inadequate quality, etc. Be that as it may, the presence of conditions for the activities of intermediaries is a sure sign of civilized market relations. They bear responsibility and guarantee it at the expense of their own finances or the funds of those authorized to do so.
Mediator, an intermediary firm is a person or firm standing between the manufacturer and consumer of a product and facilitating it trade turnover.
The intermediary exists where there are civilized market relations. By identifying problems and helping to solve them, the mediator acts as a catalyst market.
Trade and intermediary firms include enterprises that are legally and economically independent of the manufacturer and consumer of goods. They act in order to make a profit, which they receive either as a result of the difference between prices procurement of goods from manufacturers and the prices at which these goods are sold to customers, or in the form of remuneration for services provided to promote goods on the market.
Classification of trading and intermediary firms
The experience of developed market economies shows that in product distribution There is a large number of different enterprises, organizations and individuals involved who perform trade and intermediary functions.
Intermediary firms can be classified according to various criteria.
The main feature is functions performed. On this basis the following are distinguished:
information and contact (promote the establishment of economic ties between suppliers and consumers),
informational (pure) - do not have the goods at their disposal and carry out sales according to the manufacturer’s conditions,
search agents (they are called sales agents) are, as a rule, agents of industrial companies who search for buyers in certain regions. They work on the basis of an agreement or instructions, facilitate the conclusion of transactions between the seller (commodity owner) and the buyer, concluding them on behalf of the commodity owner,
attorneys (importing agents) act on the basis of a contract of agency on behalf and at the expense of the principal. Agents enter into agreements that stipulate their powers regarding the technical and commercial terms of the transaction. The contracts signed by the agents are executed by the principals. Agents receive compensation for their services. Agents can be firms or legal entities licensed for this type of activity,
Wholesalers-messengers carry out sales by mail, i.e. send out catalogs for individual product groups, and send orders by mail,
Traveling wholesalers not only sell for cash, but also deliver goods to customers. Usually this is a limited range of non-perishable products (bread, milk, fruits),
wholesale organizers work with such goods, which are characterized by the absence of containers (heavy equipment, timber, coal). They do not have stocks of goods, but, upon receiving an order from a buyer (retail trade enterprises), they find a manufacturer who ships this product to the buyer.
universal intermediaries - perform the full range of services. Ego distributors, wholesalers-merchants;
specialized intermediaries - perform separate functions, so they are divided into:
Types of intermediaries
Based on their subordination and the nature of the transactions performed, intermediaries can be divided into three types:
independent;
formally independent;
dependent (related to production).
Independent intermediaries
Independent intermediaries(both legal entities and individuals) act on their own behalf and at their own expense. In relation to the manufacturer, they act as buyers purchasing goods on the basis of a sales contract. They become the owners of the product and can sell it on any market and at any price.
There are:
Full-service wholesalers who provide inventory storage, lending, product delivery, and management assistance services. They can conduct operations with a variety of assortments;
limited-service wholesalers who provide significantly less services to customers. They can trade on a cash basis, without delivery of goods, with usually a more limited range.
Independent intermediaries form the basis of the system of wholesale structures, since they handle a large number of retail trade enterprises and carry out a fairly wide range of operations. This includes dealers, distributors, jobbers, wholesalers-merchants, wholesale enterprises, trading houses, wholesalers-traveling salesmen, wholesalers-organizers, wholesalers-consignors, wholesalers-messengers.
Dealers- an individual or legal entity that buys goods from industrial enterprises and sells them to customers, taking on service responsibilities (minor repairs, supply of spare parts). Their income is generated by the difference in purchase and sales prices.
Distributors(English - distribution) - an individual or legal entity serving various industries, having warehouses and vehicles and carrying out commercial activities on its own behalf and at its own expense. Most often they are engaged in the sale of industrial products or sell imported goods within the country.
A distributor who purchases goods, warehouses them, stores them, prepares them for final consumption, constitutes a group of “full service” distributors (or regular type).
Distributors of the regular type work according to specialization, have a clear number of positions for each group, so they can use specialized means of transportation, loading, unloading and storage. They are mainly in the mechanical engineering market (computers, televisions, cars).
Another group of distributors is “ irregular type"(with an incomplete, limited range of services) only purchases goods from regular manufacturers and sells them. This is a larger group. They are engaged in the sale of perishable agricultural products or small industrial quantities of a varied assortment on a “buy - take away” principle (“cash and carry”), i.e. no services.
Jobbers- dealers who, at their own peril and risk, independently buy and sell goods (in small quantities).
Jobbers can also work on stock exchanges. These are stock exchange intermediaries who carry out their intermediary activities by buying large quantities of goods and immediately selling them to other jobbers or brokers, while making money on the price difference. They make transactions on their own behalf and at their own expense, influence the price level and bear the risk in full.
Formally independent intermediaries appeared in connection with the desire of manufacturers to include these enterprises in their production and sales cycle through a system of contracts. To do this, the following types of contracts are used:
contract of assignment, which is concluded with attorneys or sales agents;
commission agreement, which defines the powers of commission agents (they find partners, sign contracts with them on their own behalf, but at the expense of the seller or buyer);
simple mediation agreement.
Dependent Intermediaries
Dependent Intermediaries are authorized sales agents (as if by the sales department of the manufacturer) and work on the basis of fixed-term and indefinite employment agreements. Dependent intermediaries do not claim to ownership for goods, working on commission.
Broker- individuals or legal entities (brokerage firms) who find mutually interested sellers and buyers, bring them together, but do not participate in the transaction, either on their own behalf or on behalf of the guarantor.
Their task is to find a buyer for the manufacturer's (seller's) products and a seller for the buyer and facilitate the signing of a contract between them.
Purchasing offices- independent commercial enterprises. Payment for their services is based on a certain percentage of annual sales.
Purchasing offices are similar in nature to brokers (they provide their clients with information on price movements, information about potential partners, and conclude transactions at the direction of their clients).
Rice. 12.2. Types of dependent intermediaries
Industrial agents- independent specialized firms that work with non-competing, complementary goods and have the exclusive right to sell them in a certain territory.
Sales agents- enterprises and individuals performing, under an agreement with the manufacturer, the entire range of functions for the distribution of the entire range of manufactured products.
Sales agents- individuals or legal entities who, on the basis of an agreement with the seller or buyer, have the right to facilitate the conclusion of transactions for a relatively long period. Sales agents act as representatives of sellers and buyers and receive compensation under an employment contract based on performance.
Groups of sales agents:
representatives of manufacturers - individuals or legal entities with whom the manufacturer enters into an agreement, which determines the pricing policy for the purchase and sale of goods, the territory, boundaries of the agent’s activities, the procedure for submitting orders, the service system, the size of commission rates;
distributors;
purchasing agents - representatives of buyers who take responsibility for safety, quantity, quality and assortment incoming goods. They act on behalf of the buyer and fulfill his conditions for purchasing goods. For their work they receive remuneration as a percentage of the volume of goods purchased and delivered.
Commission intermediaries operate on the basis of a commission agreement concluded with the goods owner or buyer.
The owners of the goods for this type of transaction are called the principal. He instructs the commission agent to carry out transactions on his own behalf and at the expense of the principal, who bears all the commercial risk.
Commission agents act as sellers of goods to third parties and are responsible for the safety of products. They are not responsible for third party transactions or payment obligations.
Consignee- a wholesale trader (enterprises or individuals) who receives goods from a guarantor to his warehouse and sells them on his own behalf, but at the expense of the manufacturer by a certain date. He offers non-food products and sets the price himself. He sends a van to the store, and the representative sets up a display of goods in the sales area.
The activity is based on a consignment agreement. Consignment agreement - a special type commission agreement.
Consignees act mainly in foreign trade transactions. The consignor makes payments to the consignor upon the sale of the goods. Goods not sold by the deadline may be returned to the exporter.
Trade brokers operate as regular distributors, but have a narrower profile of activity and are associated with large-sized cargo, the transportation and transfer of which is very labor-intensive.
There are so-called informal intermediaries - As a rule, these are individuals who have personal connections in various fields and act on their own behalf. They rely on their reputation, knowledge, experience and personal relationships. As a rule, they do not bear material obligations, but receive a certain remuneration for their services, and are not bound by legal contracts and obligations.
In recent years, especially in Western countries, a category has emerged "virtual" intermediaries who use the Internet for their activities. The seller or buyer places their websites on the Internet, where they indicate the type of their activity, the goods or services offered.
Factors influencing the choice of intermediary
There are many factors that influence the choice of intermediary. These include:
legal security of the intermediary, i.e. availability of the necessary and legally correct documents giving the right to provide mediation services;
competence of the intermediary, i.e. knowledge of the essence of the problems that he needs to resolve, knowledge of the consumer properties of the goods, the ability, if necessary, to promptly provide assistance in transportation, storage, safety of the goods, timely payment for the goods as agreed;
financial security, i.e. the ability of the intermediary to fulfill its obligations and bear financial responsibility in accordance with the agreements concluded by the interested parties;
the reputation of the intermediary, i.e. the opinion of those who have already used or are using his services, correctness in drawing up and fulfilling their obligations and agreements.
