The main object of commercial activity is the product. Classification and characteristics of goods

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

For an average person who is not related to business, the concept of an object of commercial activity is unfamiliar. However, this term indirectly applies to all spheres of our life. According to the theory, objects of this kind include everything that can be bought or sold, that is, property of any purpose, including goods. Let's find out what is meant by this concept. In addition, we will reveal the main characteristics of the product and its classification.

Members

There are not so many types of commercial objects involved in any business process. The main ones are goods, services, securities, money and intellectual property.

The product is used to meet human needs and is characterized by three important features:

1. Provides a benefit to the acquirer.
2. Has tangible (material) characteristics andquality.
3. Supported by related services such as service, delivery, warranty.

Services are non-manufacturing activities. However, it also meets the needs of the population.

Money, securities or capital as an object of commercial activity can have two meanings:

1. Funds invested by an entrepreneur in a business, that is, authorized capital, shares, property in the form of buildings, structures and equipment, profits redistributed for any commercial purposes.
2. Value that can generate even more income.

In this case, funds can be divided into own and borrowed. The way to increase capital as an object of business activity is turnover. Which in a simple way can be called the exchange of a produced product or service for money.

Main Business Activity

This is how both novice entrepreneurs and commercial sharks define a product in business. If you study the terminology, then a product is a product of labor that is produced for exchange for another product or for sale and receiving money in return.

Since the goals of the seller and the buyer are absolutely opposite, it is important for the first to receive benefits in the form of income, and for the second - to purchase a useful product that satisfies any needs.

Price

Distinguish between exchange and use value of goods. If the first is expressed in the ability to exchange for somethingthe other, including money, the second is determined by the ability to satisfy human needs. This means that the usefulness of an object is evaluated in terms of use value. And the determination of the possibility of acquiring another commodity instead of one is referred to as exchange value.

Consumer consists in the usefulness of the goods for an individual and satisfies a person as a commodity for personal consumption or as an instrument of production. It is believed that it is production that creates use value, which constitutes the we alth of society. Of course, it does not express relations within any social group, but its meaning changes depending on external and internal conditions.

If a product of labor is made for oneself, then it is valued only by those who produced it. If the commodity is made for others, then it can be expressed in terms of social use-value. It is worth noting that in addition to this quality, the product must be able to exchange for another.

What creates the value of a product? It is known that this is the materialized labor of producers spent on its manufacture.

As for the exchange value, it is designated as the property of a product to be exchanged for others in certain proportions. The relationship between two goods is usually based on patterns, but it can also be random.

It happens that an object has a large use value, but a very small exchange value. An example is ordinary water, which is undoubtedly very important for any person, but to exchange it for somethingalmost impossible. On the contrary, a diamond does not satisfy almost any human need, but is a rather expensive commodity, that is, it has a large exchange value and negligible use value.

Classification

There are several signs by which you can share the entire product. Consider them in more detail:

1. According to the duration of consumption, short-term goods and durable goods are distinguished.
2. By material tangibility, it can be distinguished as an object or as a service.
3. By acquisition frequency: everyday, special or passive demand, advance, impulse or emergency selection.
4. By type of trade: food and non-food products.
5. By demand: active and passive demand.
6. By novelty and popularity: old, new, improved, popular.
7. According to the place of production: export, import, local.
8. Seasonal: permanent demand (hot item), seasonal, peak sales.
9. By the number of consumers: mass, piece, exclusive.
10. By origin: animal or vegetable origin, raw material or product obtained as a result of processing, mixed.
11. By type of consumption: for personal or public use.
12. According to the technologies used in production: simple and complex technical goods.

Duration of consumption

Non-durable products are those that can be used up at one or more times. An example of this would be productsfood, household chemicals, cosmetics and perfumes.

Durable goods are those that can withstand years of use. These include clothing, household appliances and production equipment.

Acquisition frequency

This indicator is one of the main ones in the formation of the assortment of goods. Objects of commercial activity may relate to everyday products. In this case, the buyer purchases products often, does not think much and rarely compares with analogues. The product has a low cost, is sold in most outlets, and is widely advertised.

Special demand goods are usually purchased because of brand loy alty or because of the maximum satisfaction of growing human needs. Despite the high prices, such products do not change. If everyday goods include food, household chemicals and cosmetics, then this category is dominated by branded clothing, luxury goods and jewelry.

Passive demand goods are very rare, not common, the buyer knows little about them and has no particular interest in them. These products include life insurance or government bonds.

Buyers prepare for the purchase of pre-selection goods for a long time, compare prices, quality and style of different manufacturers. The number of outlets is less than that of everyday products. This category includes household appliances, clothing, furniture and equipment.

Viewtrade

Depending on the type of goods, the type of trade is determined. Russian manufacturers, as well as foreign companies, sell various products. So as to meet the demand of different buyers. This makes it easy for us to purchase domestic and foreign food and non-food items.

The first includes food in processed or natural form, water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, dietary supplements.

In the category of non-food products, there are:

• clothes, shoes and textiles;
• hygienic supplies;
• decoration items;
• cultural and household products;
• transport;
• household goods.

Products of active and passive demand

The first category includes all the products that a person needs with a constant frequency. Passive goods and services need constant advertising, because a person often does not know about them, and if he does, he does not think about acquiring them. An example would be any complex technical products or insurance, land for burial or services of a ritual nature, life and real estate insurance.

New or habitual purchase

It happens that a hostess, for example, acquired a good household cleaner several years or decades ago. She liked it, and the woman enjoys using it. Today, the product can be called old in terms of use by this particular housewife.

However, in timethe existence of the goods has undergone changes. The manufacturer in commercials began to note the presence of additional components, which indicates a change in the composition. In this case, we are dealing with an improved product.

If the release of this product has ceased, and the company began to produce another product of a similar purpose, then it is called new.

It is worth noting such a course of events when the novelty went on sale, but the maximum sales volume remains with the well-known product. In such a situation, the product from the category of the old goes into the category of popular products.

Where produced and why

A product for export is a product that is produced for the purpose of export from the country of origin and sale outside it.

Anything that is imported from another country and sold outside its borders is called imported.

Local goods are sold where they are produced.

Seasonality

This is undoubtedly an important factor both in production and in the sale of products.

A hot commodity is important all year round, but there are subtleties here too. For example, food products are in constant demand. However, we all know that tangerines taste best in winter, so we buy them at this time of the year. Young cabbage is in demand in spring and early summer, although cabbage is constantly purchased as a vegetable. So a product of permanent demand can fall into a seasonal one. Also seasonal can be attributed to clothes, shoes, goods for going out into the countryside, hiking, for sports. A special category is products of peak sales. It's a raisesupply and demand for products of a thematic nature, for example, sales of Christmas tree decorations for the New Year, forms for Easter cakes for Easter, cards and symbolic gifts for Valentine's Day are significantly increasing.

Number of buyers

The market for consumer goods as a set of relationships between sellers and buyers is built on the basis of supply and demand. In this regard, there are several types of products:

• mass, which is necessary for everyone and is sold in large volume (clothes, shoes, food, household appliances);
• piece (original jewelry, luxury cars);
• exclusive (special items made to order in a single copy).

Origin

Russian manufacturers, as well as foreign companies, can have a wide range and range of products or products. Depending on the direction of activity, five types of goods are distinguished:

• feedstock is animal products;
• plant-based production;
• raw materials are mined from the bowels;
• product is the result of processing;
• mixed origin, when several directions are used at once.

What is the difference between nomenclature and assortment

Assortment is a variety of products produced by one manufacturer or sold in one outlet, having a common feature.

The product range is a list of all products manufactured bymanufacturer at home.

Thus, the range implies that products belong to the same group, which in turn may differ by end consumer (children, youth, the elderly, the disabled), by application (clothing, cosmetics, food) or be in the same price range.

The product nomenclature is defined quite differently. This concept is much broader and means everything that is sold in a store or produced at an enterprise. An example is a sports goods store. Here, the nomenclature can be understood, for example, as winter and summer inventory options. In the winter group, the assortment will be represented by skates, skis, sleds, and in the summer - skateboards, bicycles, swimming pools, roller skates and tourist tents.

Any distributor thinks about the formation of a trading range. And if professionals work on this in large retail outlets, then it is much more difficult for individual entrepreneurs. After all, usually a small business is run by one owner or with the participation of two or three assistants (salesman, accountant, cleaner).

In order to correctly form the assortment of goods, a number of factors should be taken into account:

• store type;
• room area;
• technical capabilities and equipment;
• supply security;
• number of customers;
• transport accessibility;
• social status of visitors;
• nationality of served contingent;
• parking and otherconvenience;
• presence of nearby competitors.

Undoubtedly, even the most serious work on the formation of the assortment and attracting customers can be crossed out by the sale of low-quality or expired goods and the rudeness of the attendants.

Type of use and production technology

Goods may be produced for personal or public use. If, for example, hygiene products, cosmetic products and clothing are produced for a specific customer, then subway turnstiles, ATMs, libraries and theaters can be used and visited by all individuals.

Also, goods are divided into simple and complex technical. From the point of view of legislation, complex technical ones are those that have a complex device and are made using special technologies. The list of goods in this category was approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 10, 2011 No. 924 and includes:

1. Vehicles and aircraft powered by an electric motor and ICE.
2. Equipment and machinery used in agriculture.
3. Wireless communication and navigation equipment.
4. System blocks, computers, tablets and satellite TV sets.
5. MFC laser and inkjet.
6. Monitors, TVs, projectors, optical video equipment and game consoles with digital control box.
7. Digital video cameras and lenses.
8. Household appliances.

Features

Goods can not only be classified, but also distinguished by properties and features.

The main product features are:

1. High-quality, distinguished by a certain set of consumer properties of goods within one type.
2. Assortment, which determines the social and functional purpose of the product.
3. Quantitative, when the properties of a product are expressed in terms of units of measurement and physical quantities.
4. Value - determines the priority of the purchase.

What is a code? How is it assigned?

Coding of goods is their conventional designation using numbers or letters. Typically, labeling is assigned to a specific product or an entire group. The need for coding goods arises for their classification, ranking and identification among many other objects.

There are a number of rules to follow for this procedure:

1. Code must follow a certain structure adopted in a particular field of activity.
2. In the process, established characters should be used, the set of which should serve as a sequence of samples.

Under the structure of the code is understood the composition and sequence of certain numbers, letters or other designations. It has alphabet, base, rank and length.

The alphabet in this case is the accepted system of signs. Distinguish between numeric, alphanumeric, alphabetic or dashed alphabet. The basis is the set number of designations. Under the category understand the sequence of numbers, letters or strokes. The length is the number of all characters used, excludingspaces.

Usually, a ten-digit bar code is used in the production process, which is convenient for processing by modern reading devices. Such an identifier consists of dark strips of various thicknesses between which there are white gaps. Also on the packaging of the goods, the code is duplicated in numbers. This means that any product can be identified both by strokes and by signs written under them.

Certificates. What is it and what is it for?

Certification of goods is understood as the process of their verification for compliance with certain requirements by a third party and the issuance of a document of the established form. This means that the procedure confirms the quality of the product and the company's compliance with all production norms and rules.

Certification of goods is carried out with the aim of:

1. Protect purchasers from unscrupulous manufacturers.
2. Safety control of goods for human, environment, property.
3. Help customers choose their preferred product.
4. Confirmation of the quality declared on the product packaging.
5. Creating equal conditions for production and sales for all market participants.

Distinguish between voluntary and mandatory certification.

Voluntary is carried out at the request of a company that has decided to obtain a document on the conformity of products to certain quality characteristics, standards, technical conditions, etc. It is carried out on the basis of the Law of the Russian Federation dated 10.06.1993 No. 5151-1 "On certification of products and services ". The advantages of carrying out this kind of procedure and obtaining a document are reduced tonext:

1. The manufacturer gets the right to participate in tenders and auctions, and the certificate distinguishes him from other participants.
2. Can help with regulators to simplify inspections and licensing.
3. Contributes to obtaining a positive decision when conducting mandatory certification.

However, voluntary submission of an application to check any product or service is unpopular in Russia due to the high cost and length of the process.

Mandatory certification implies a procedure and confirmation of only those product parameters that are required by law. The list of products that require obtaining a document confirming that they have passed the test was approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1013 dated August 13, 1997 and includes the following products:

• for kids;
• for the treatment of diseases and for the rehabilitation of the disabled;
• food destination;
• textile;
• sewing and knitwear;
• household;
• for entertainment and leisure activities;
• fur and fur;
• cosmetics and perfumes;
• domestic;
• sports;
• domestic;
• automotive industry;
• garden destination.

In addition, electrical equipment, electrical appliances and fire safety equipment, as well as services of the following nature need certification:

• repair and maintenancehousehold machines, appliances and radio equipment;
• dry cleaning;
• repair and maintenance of vehicles;
• for passenger transportation;
• hairdressing services;
• housing and utilities.

We hope that now the topic has become closer and clearer to you.