Structural Analysis of Wholesale Intermediary Activity in Ukraine

Efficient functioning of the modern economic system depends on a developed market infrastructure, which unites various forms of product movement channels. An intermediary company is a central subject of any channel of distribution of goods and services. Availability and necessity of intermediary organisations is justified by a necessity to solve a fundamental economic contradiction between efficiency of mass production and efficiency of individual consumption. The article analyses the modern state of wholesale trade in Ukraine: it traces dynamics of volumes of wholesale goods turnover during 2005-2011; considers the regional structure of wholesale goods turnover and concentration of companies of wholesale trade in regions; illustrates dynamics of volumes of wholesale goods turnover for one company; analyses the structure of wholesale companies depending on volumes of wholesale goods turnover and dynamics of volumes of storehouse facilities. The article offers a classification of functions of wholesale intermediaries and conducts a morphological analysis of these functions. Volumes of the wholesale intermediary activity in Ukraine have increased during the past years, regional aspect inheres in wholesale trade, leaders in volumes of wholesale goods turnover are the City of Kiev, Donetsk Oblast, Dnipropetrivsk Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast. Commercial functions significantly prevail among all other functions of intermediaries, however, availability and evidence of production, financial and information functions confirm that a wholesale intermediary is a support of a producer, professional activity of which results in reduction of cost and increase of quality of goods, since the producer does not deal with functions not typical for it.