The concept of commercial (trading) activities - commerce (trade)

The words "commerce" and " commercial"come from the Latin word commercialium, which means "trade", those. trading or (using the original Russian term) merchant activity.

Commercial or trading activity in its most general form is a set of actions to promote goods from manufacturers to consumers. The totality of such actions, dedicated to a known subject, will constitute the trade turnover of this person; set of trade turnovers of all participants trading activities amount to trade turnover in the macroeconomic sense or commodity market - part of civil circulation, characterized not only by a special kind of subjects (participants) and objects, but also by a special content, as well as an arsenal of legal means used to organize these relations. Namely: trade mediates the relations of isolated commodity producers, characterized by the social division of labor. These relations develop through the market, the sale and purchase of goods.

Ensuring the promotion of goods from producers to consumers, bringing them directly to consumers, trade turnover performs important economic and social functions, ultimately having a huge impact on the entire economic development of the state and society. Renowned German economist Werner Sombart generally considered the "commercialization of economic life", market relations, as the main factor that ensured the unprecedented success of the capitalist system and thanks to which the center of gravity of economic management shifted from direct production to trading operations. Without exaggeration, we can say that the trade turnover (commodity market) is one of the greatest assets of modern civilization. Ensuring and supporting market relations is one of the most important tasks of modern law. Being specified in relation to the law of a particular country, it can be formulated as legal support and support of the sales processes of goods of domestic producers in national and foreign markets.

It should be noted that in the application of the terms "commerce", "commercial", "trade", "commercial", "merchant" mass errors are allowed. First of all, mixing commerce With entrepreneurship(business): these words are considered synonymous, commerce is often called any business, and businessmen - entrepreneurs. So, speaking of commercial banks, commercial clinics, commercial educational institutions, etc., they mean organizations that carry out relevant activities (banking, medical, educational, etc.) as entrepreneurial. On the other hand, the concepts of trade and trade turnover almost universally include all sorts of cases of buying and selling goods between merchants themselves, as well as transactions between merchants and consumers, and even between non-merchants.

There is no basis for any such broad concept of trade.

The traditions of identifying commerce and entrepreneurship, dating back, by the way, to the pre-revolutionary era, resulted, in particular, in such a phenomenon as the separation of Art. 50 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of all legal entities on organizations commercial and non-commercial according to the criterion of the main goal of its activity. If such a goal is making profit and distributing it among its participants, then the organization is recognized commercial(i.e. literally - trading or trading); if not, then non-commercial. In the light of what is in Art. 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation definitions of the concept of entrepreneurship as any activity in general aimed at systematic obtaining profit (not just trade!), it would be much more logical and accurate to name legal entities entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurship is much broader than commerce, since profits can be obtained from the performance of work, the provision of services, from income from property, and not only from the sale of goods.

As for the second limitation of the meaning of the concept of "trade", here it is necessary to bear in mind the following. The unification of all acts of purchase and sale of goods within the framework of the concept of "trade turnover" is carried out, in fact, only because these relations receive a uniform private law registration. They all look like sales contracts, those. the merger is carried out according to an exclusively legal criterion, without taking into account those functions, the real impact that this or that act of trade has on the state of trade turnover in the macroeconomic sense. From the point of view of macroeconomics, for example, there is no big difference in what exactly a citizen does with a product purchased for personal consumption - whether he uses it himself or resells it, say, to a relative or acquaintance. But market behavior of professional buyers and sellers of goods(including - professional resellers and resellers - merchants) is of tremendous importance.

There is, therefore, trade and trade - trade in general and trade as commerce. Between one and the other trade lie, in the words of one of the characters in the comedy A. S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit", "distance huge size". How to describe the trade we are interested in? not just "trade" in the sense of the conclusion and execution of some contract of sale, but trade as an occupation - trade as commerce? It turns out that this is not particularly difficult to do; Strictly speaking, such a description was made by Russian pre-revolutionary scientists (A. I. Kaminka, K. I. Malyshev, II. O. Nersesov, E. A. Nsfedyev, V. A. Udintsev, A. F. Fedorov, II. II. Tsitovich, G. F. Shershenevich), who noted as distinctive features trade-commerce the following:

• 1) Regularity and uniformity of trading operations. Trade as commerce is made up of operations that are performed not just frequently and even not just systematically, but on a daily basis, moreover, these operations - in terms of their subject matter, content, design, technology - are homogeneous, similar to each other. Trade transactions may differ in terms of participants and scale (the number of goods and their price) - all their other conditions (including the condition on the subject - goods) are identical. Such transactions are certainly not made by everyone and everyone - their participants are, on the one hand, manufacturers goods, on the other hand - their industrial (wholesale) consumers; between those and others, in one capacity or another, intermediaries can act - resellers and resellers - merchants or merchants.
• 2) Trading is a systemic activity, not a simple sum of individual trading transactions. Neither macroeconomics, nor (hence) the law, nor, therefore, the merchants themselves (merchants or dealers) can afford to distinguish and single out individual trading operations - specific acts of buying and selling specific consignments of goods. Trade turnover is reviewed and evaluated generally. Within its framework, the profit brought by some trading transactions will most likely be “eaten up” by the unprofitability of others, just as vice versa, the losses incurred on some trading transactions can and should be evaluated only against the background of the profit that the trader received on transactions with other counterparties and other goods.
• 3) Trade is a professional activity, i.e. the exclusive activity of the merchant, the activity by which he hunts- what he lives by, with the help of which he earns his living, delivers his livelihood. Trade in this sense, therefore, implies, firstly, the occupation of oneself in the name of enrichment (making profit), and secondly, the inseparable unity of the acts of buying and selling goods. The first provision requires no special explanation, but two words need to be said about the second. There are no merchants who only sell, as well as there are no businessmen who only buy- Every merchant is a buyer of what he subsequently resells at a profit, and also a seller of what he previously bought at a lower price. Yes, of course, a process can intervene between the acts of buying and selling processing or processing bought - in this case, we are talking not just about commercial but oh industrial enterprise. However, this does not change the essence of the matter: it is impossible to be an industrial enterprise without being at the same time a commercial enterprise in the era of a market economy.
• 4) Trading company. Trade, being a systemic and professional activity, cannot be carried out without its proper property and management organizations. A property complex used exclusively for the purposes of conducting trading activities, as well as a set of rights and obligations created for the purposes and in the process of conducting such activities (rights, property, obligations, corporate, exclusive, personal non-property and labor) is called trading enterprise. The business enterprise assumes property arrangementf Availability persons directly involved in the conduct of commercial affairs(directors, managers), as well as support staff; finally, a trading enterprise cannot work without a well-functioning system planning acquisition and sale.
• 5) Goods (trade item) - the essence in the first place movable things, certain generic traits. A trading enterprise (trading activity) has as its subject primarily generic movable things - goods as well as in one way or another connected with them (one might even say, tied to generic movable things, unthinkable without them, grown on their soil), values. These include documents of title, commodity derivatives, digital products (DPC) supplied on physical media or transmitted via electronic communication channels, as well as services, the provision of which is a necessary prerequisite for extracting their use value from traditional goods. Such a - generic - definition of masses of commodities in trade indicates at least the difficulty, if not the impossibility of investing trade in traditional absolute legal forms, including the form of property rights and limited rights in rem. This, in general, is understandable: a merchant is not interested in either ownership of goods, or even actual possession of them - he is interested in the existence of conditions for the most free disposal of rights to goods and a durable, irrevocable acquisition of such rights. What rights these are and to whom they belong (by whom they will be acquired) - in trade this is a secondary issue, not particularly important.

What needs to be summarized in the following way. For the purposes of studying commercial law, under commercial (trade) activities (trade), we will understand the sale and purchase of goods between merchants (merchants), carried out for commercial purposes, i.e. (1) the sale of goods by their producers, as well as their purchase from manufacturers for use in own production or for subsequent resale and (2) the sale of goods by merchants who have acquired them (resale), as well as their purchase from merchants for the same (commercial) purposes, i.e. for use in own production or for subsequent resale. Trade in this and only this - macroeconomic - sense, trade as commerce with all its inherent features (see above), trading activity as a complex set of relations for the sale of goods needs special legal regulation and is virtually impossible without it. Such regulation is designed to implement commercial law.

The concept of "commercial activity" has become widespread in the Russian Federation in connection with the transition of enterprises to the principles of economic relations generally accepted in world practice in the conditions of market economy. The term “commercial” received official status in the Russian Federation with the adoption of Part I of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (since January 1, 1995)

At the present stage, in official sources, in economic educational literature, there is no consensus regarding the essence and economic content of the category "commercial activity". This category is used to characterize economic activity in a market economy at the micro level, along with such categories as "business", "commerce", "entrepreneurial activity".

commercial activity- this, in accordance with the legislation of Russia, is an activity, the main purpose of which is to make a profit. However, this consideration of commerce does not meet the modern needs of a rapidly developing society. One of the progressive sciences applied today by commercial enterprises is marketing. If we consider any enterprise from the position of marketing, then its goal is the most complete satisfaction of customer needs. Another option for a “targeted” definition of commercial activity is that it is an activity aimed at increasing competitive advantage in the market.

Commerce is a word of Latin origin, which in translation means - trade (kommercium - trade). Perhaps that is why a number of economists equate commercial activity and trading activity.

The term "trade" itself means in one case - an independent branch of the national economy (trade) and in another case - trading processes aimed at the purchase and sale of goods. In this case, commercial activity is associated with the second concept of trade - trading processes for the implementation of acts of purchase and sale for the purpose of making a profit.

The concept of “commercial activity”, as an object of study, was formulated by the Harvard School of Business Administration in 1958. This classic definition says: "Commercial activities exist to profitably satisfy consumer demands."

The main purpose of commerce is to make a profit. However, the profits earned in commercial activities can be used to develop and expand entrepreneurship to better meet the needs of society.

Commercial activities in industrial enterprises are divided into:

• 1) procurement (material and technical support);
• 2) marketing.

In connection with the transition to market principles of activity, the content of the material and technical support of enterprises has changed significantly: instead of the so-called "realization of allocated funds", which is an integral part of the centralized distribution of material resources, enterprises freely purchase them from suppliers and other subjects of the commodity market. Under these conditions, when purchasing material resources, enterprises should be guided by freedom of pricing, maximum initiative and enterprise, equality of partners in commercial relations, take into account economic responsibility when purchasing raw materials and materials, take into account competition among suppliers and be able to choose an economically profitable supplier.

When purchasing material resources, an enterprise must study the market for raw materials and materials, know the price dynamics in this market, delivery costs, and the possibility of effectively replacing one material with another.

Therefore, the procurement commercial activity at enterprises consists of the following stages:

• - market research of raw materials and materials and organization of commercial relations with suppliers;
• - drawing up a plan for the procurement of material resources;
• - organization of purchases of material resources;
• - Conducting settlements with suppliers for purchased products;
• - cost analysis of the procurement sphere.

Marketing sales work is the most important aspect of the commercial activities of the enterprise.

In this regard, a fairly large number of specialists define commercial activity as an activity that mediates and ensures the sale and purchase of goods. These operations are the main content of one of the types of entrepreneurship - commercial entrepreneurship. Thus, commercial activities include wholesale trade as well as retail trade. However, an extended interpretation wholesale trade means that the buyer does not purchase the goods for his own consumption, but for further processing or resale for profit. And retail trade at the heart of its activities is designed to organize the consumption of goods and services by the population. It should also be noted that the concept of wholesale and retail trade and its essence throughout the entire period of development of economic theory is the subject of attention and study. What cannot be said about the category of "commercial activity", which, although they are being studied, there are few works in this area devoted to the study of this issue.

A number of economists believe that commercial activity is the marketing activity of an enterprise.

However, commercial activity cannot be reduced only to marketing or trade-purchasing operations, which constitute only a part, albeit the main one, of this activity.

If we try to generalize the whole variety of tasks covered by it, then commercial activity solves the following tasks at enterprises:

• 1. Development of the goals of the enterprise (strategy).
• 2. Providing the enterprise with the resources necessary to carry out its activities.
• 3. Development of assortment policy.
• 4. Choice and implementation of market behavior.
• 5. Analysis of achieved results and adjustment of strategic goals.

All commercial activities can be divided into three areas: supply, sales and marketing. This division is rather arbitrary, since all these elements complement each other. Each enterprise, to one degree or another, deals with all these problems, but their significance in different enterprises is far from being the same. Supply and distribution have existed since the development of enterprises, the main question is the place of marketing in the company.

We can say that the above areas of commercial activity determine its concept and content in the broad sense of the word.

The economic mechanism of economic associations - enterprises has a certain specificity of commercial activity. The specificity in the field of commercial activity lies in the fact that it contains two main elements: the sale of finished products and logistics.

The implementation of a manufacturing business, that is, the process of manufacturing industrial and technical products and consumer goods, requires the use of a number of factors entrepreneurial activity(labor, objects of labor, means of labor), which are either at the disposal of the entrepreneur or acquired by him through exchange. The function of production, which is decisive for this type of entrepreneurship, ends with the release of goods. To ensure the ultimate goal of entrepreneurship, which is to satisfy social needs and realize one's own material interests (that is, making a profit), a final business operation is necessary - the sale of manufactured products. It is possible to carry out promotion of goods more effectively thanks to the correct organization of commercial activities.

wholesale assortment goods commercial

The organization of commercial activity in market conditions is considered; factors influencing its performance. The role of business entities in the market is characterized. The main forms, methods and tools of commercial activity in wholesale and retail trade are described. The previous edition was published in 2010. For students of the specialty "Commercial activity (commodity science)" of institutions of secondary specialized education higher education, trade specialists, entrepreneurs.

A series: university. For students of higher educational institutions

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by the LitRes company.

1. The essence and content of commercial activities in the market of goods and services

1.1. Commercial activity as an economic category, its essence and goals

The concept of "commercial activity"

It is important to clearly define the concept of "commercial activity" and the relationship with other related categories, such as "business", "entrepreneurship", "marketing", in order to understand the economic meaning and role of commercial activity in the field of business.

Business - a general economic term that characterizes the economic activity of entities in a certain area of ​​business, generating income or providing benefits in the presence of a certain risk.

Entrepreneurship in accordance with the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, represents an independent activity of legal entities and individuals whose product of activity is intended for sale to other persons for the purpose of making a profit, carried out at their own risk, on their own behalf and under their property responsibility.

Marketing in a broad sense, it is considered as a philosophy, a market concept of entrepreneurship and offers tools, methods, techniques with which you can achieve your goals. These tools and methods are used in commercial activities in the market of goods and services to perform their own functions and operations. There is a direct connection between marketing and commercial activities due to the homogeneity of their goals: making a profit through satisfying the needs of customers. But there are also differences: marketing acts as a concept aimed at creating a need, demand, motivation to buy, but does not serve the process of buying and selling itself. This function is performed by commercial activity, through commercial operations that have an absolutely independent value and are not covered by marketing. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a common goal and the desired effect using marketing and commerce in combination.

Thus, commercial activity is an independent type of activity, which is based on market laws and principles, manifests itself in various forms and occupies an important place in the sphere of circulation.

There are various definitions of commercial activity in the economic literature. The term "commerce" (from the Latin commercium - trade) has a dual meaning: firstly, it covers the trade sector, and secondly, trade processes aimed at activating and implementing purchase and sale, accompanied by a commercial transaction, exchange and promotion of goods to the final consumer. In this case, in a market economy, the common medium of exchange is money, and the place of exchange of goods for money is the market, which most fully reflects commercial activity.

On the basis of the foregoing, it is possible to formulate the concept of commercial activity in the market of goods and services, which to the greatest extent reflects its essence and specific features.

Commercial activity in the market of goods and services is an organizational and economic operation that serves the exchange, the commission of acts of sale and purchase in order to obtain profit (benefits) through the best satisfaction of demand.

Commercial activity provides for the implementation of a complex of trade and organizational operations and their management. It is based on theoretical and practical knowledge of the organization and technique of commercial operations.

In order for the exchange to take place, it is necessary to perform interrelated actions arranged in a certain sequence that provide organizational, economic, social and legal aspects of the process. These activities are commercial in nature. These include: market research and determining the need for goods, searching for suppliers, buyers, concluding contracts, ensuring their implementation, etc. Through commercial activities, links are established between manufacturers of goods and end consumers, and exchange is managed. The operations performed in the course of this activity are of a commercial nature and affect the final results of the work. trade organizations.

The economic nature of commercial activity determines the increase in its role in the development of market relations. At the same time, it is necessary to focus on the following important characteristics of commercial activity:

It is carried out in the process of exchanging the products of labor of economically independent subjects;

Promotes the alienation of the products of labor from their owner and for the exchange and satisfaction of other people's needs;

Promotes exchange organized according to the laws of economic expediency.

The foregoing emphasizes that commercial activity should be focused on achieving the desired economic and financial results within the legal framework, and not just on a qualified technical implementation transactions that support the buying and selling process.

The success of commercial activity is determined by its continuous cycle, which involves the implementation of the economic essence:

Optimization of costs when purchasing facilities, equipment, raw materials, involvement of labor, information, financial and other resources in the formation of the infrastructure of business entities;

Formation of profitability potential by reducing all types of costs;

Optimization of sales profits through innovative and efficient technologies.

The interruption of this cycle, the inability to achieve the target tasks identified at each of the listed stages, lead to an increase in commercial risks up to bankruptcy.

Essence of commercial activity

Commercial activity acts as a way to implement commercial relations between market entities, which become dominant in a market-oriented economy. These relations are designed to stimulate production, develop needs, and activate commodity-money exchange. Therefore, commercial activity, being an objectively necessary category of a market economy, has a priority and occupies a leading position.

The essence of commercial activity is an integrated approach to organizing a set of commercial processes and operations aimed at performing commercial functions in the implementation of commodity-money exchange in all its phases.

As noted above, commercial activity includes the processes and operations of organizational, managerial, legal and economic nature. It does not cover technological operations performed along the entire path of movement of goods from production to the consumer, such as loading, unloading, packaging, packaging, storage, sorting, preparation of goods for sale. These operations reflect the technology of trading processes. Commercial activity and technology of trading processes are interconnected, but each of them has its own place and functions.

Without commercial activity there can be no technology, just as without technology there can be no commercial activity. These disciplines form the system of functioning of the trading industry. Commercial activity takes place not only in the trading industry, but also in the manufacturing, service, intellectual property, technology, and securities markets. It is based on the organization and management of commercial processes.

Commercial Process means the consistent execution of operations that provide organizational, economic, social, legal aspects of commodity-money exchange.

The set of specific operations depends on what stage of the exchange the commercial process serves and on what scheme the exchange is carried out. For example, in the presence of intermediaries, the path of movement of commodity-money exchange develops as follows: manufacturer → one or more wholesale intermediaries → retail trade → end consumer, and in their absence: manufacturer → end consumer without intermediaries. commercial operation is an important component of commercial activity, which is a set of techniques and methods that ensure the functioning of different stages of commodity-money exchange. All commercial operations can be divided into main and auxiliary. Some of them have specific features (for example, exchange, auction operations).

Thus, commercial activity consists of commercial processes and transactions that take place in the process of interaction of market entities in order to ensure the efficient exchange of goods and services.

Commercial activity as a function ensures consistency and complexity, integrating the organizational, managerial, financial, economic, legal aspects of the entire exchange system, in order to achieve the greatest efficiency and profit. In a market economy, such a function is a priority, as it is able to secure a foothold in the market, competitive advantages, and prevent bankruptcy. It ensures success not only in the national market, but also in foreign markets, serving international exchange. It is necessary to study the specifics, advanced achievements in this area and use all the best in practical work.

Purpose of commercial activity

The main purpose of commercial activity is to make a profit. It can be implemented in various fields of activity: manufacturing, trading, financial, exchange, intermediary, etc. Most often, entities are forced to engage in several types of activities, diversify them, responding to market changes.

Despite the fact that in the context of the development of market relations, the role of commercialization (profit making) is increasing, the solution of social problems is also important. On the part of the state, a system of economic levers must be determined that ensures the solution of social problems while creating favorable conditions for effective commercial activity. This type of activity should be beneficial to everyone who is engaged in it, ensure the active development of the economy and a sufficient flow of funds to solve social problems.

At the same time, making a profit is also an intermediate goal for both businessmen and the state. Profit is necessary to satisfy certain needs, solve tasks, achieve goals, ensure innovative development. If consumption is activated, then production develops, and the economy as a whole revives. Needs are the driving force behind commercial activity: there is no need - there is no demand, the need for the production of goods; no profit - no investment, no development. That's why commercial success lies in the search and formation of needs and the most effective ways their satisfaction. This is done through the implementation of acts of sale. It is important to track how much profit is received and how it is used. Commercial goals must be achieved not at any cost, but through the implementation of the most effective commercial solutions.

1.2. The role of commercial activity in a competitive environment

Prerequisites for changing the role of commercial activity in the new economic conditions

In a market economy, commercial activities should use more economic methods management focused on making a profit through meeting consumer demand.

The creation of favorable conditions for the development and improvement of commercial activities, which play a significant role in the socio-economic development of the country, is promoted by Directive No. 4 of December 31, 2010 "On the development of entrepreneurial initiative and stimulation business activity in the Republic of Belarus”, providing for the development of fair competition, improving the quality legal regulation and responsibility of business entities, creation of equal working conditions on the territory of the common customs space of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan.

In this case, in order to adapt commercial activities to market conditions, it is necessary to form background, most favorable for the active development of commodity-money relations. The most important of them are:

Legal equality of all forms of ownership;

Economic independence of economic subjects of the market, their responsibility for the results of their work;

Freedom to enter the market;

Demonopolization, denationalization, ensuring the emergence of a large number of competitors on the market, creating conditions for healthy competition;

Free pricing, balancing supply and demand;

Sustainable financial system;

Openness of the economy;

Development of market infrastructure.

Establishing a market mechanism takes a long time to implement reforms. It is important to correctly determine the role of the state in the formation of market relations, the degree and forms of participation. This role should be:

In improving the legal framework that promotes the development of market relations;

Stabilization of the economy;

Using an efficient system of taxation and crediting;

Customs policy;

Protection of competition;

Consumer rights protection;

Formation of a mechanism for managing natural and raw materials, ensuring their efficient use and enhancement.

Directions for improving business activities

As market relations develop, it becomes necessary to improve commercial activities in the following way:

Adapt commercial functions, operations to market conditions;

To form the competitive advantages of the product, to concentrate efforts by improving the methods of sale and service support;

Calculate commercial risks and take proactive measures to reduce them;

Constantly improve the skills of employees of commercial services, providing a creative, innovative approach to solving problems;

Use a strategic approach to the organization of commercial activities, ensuring its dynamic development for a long period;

Effectively satisfy existing needs, form new ones, develop demand, search for additional market segments, create competitive advantages;

Achieve profit through the best satisfaction of consumer demand while reducing costs.

Increasing the efficiency of commercial activities contributes to the use of principles, tools and methods of marketing in its organization. This will orient commercial activity to specific consumers, their requirements for goods, sales. This approach allows you to achieve your goals while reducing costs and commercial risks.

Consider the features of commercial activities based on the marketing concept.

Trading organizations that operate in market conditions are forced to use other methods to make a profit - the main commercial goal. This goal can be achieved primarily by identifying, shaping and satisfying the needs of buyers. To solve this problem, more attention should be paid to marketing research, analysis and use of the information received to justify commercial decisions.

If a trade organization sets itself the goal of achieving profit and a stable position in the market, then it is forced to apply the most effective tools and the methods that marketing offers. The tougher the competition, the more actively and competently it is necessary to do this. Competition forces to constantly improve commercial activities, using an innovative approach.

Commercial activity in market conditions with a high level of market saturation with goods should be aimed at a comprehensive study of the market and consumer requirements for goods and services, effective management commercial processes. To do this, it is necessary to use market mechanisms for managing commercial activities, to economically justify the commercial decisions made that ensure the most complete consideration of the interests of specific consumers and satisfy them at the lowest cost.

In a competitive environment, it is not enough to pay attention only to the product and its quality, it is very important to strengthen the commercial and marketing support of the product, which is active agent competition in the market.

The use of marketing concept tools in commercial activities in the new business environment will improve its efficiency, ensure the formation of competitive advantages, solve strategic objectives. This is precisely the practical significance of marketing when applied in commercial activities in the consumer market in the new economic conditions.

Factors that determine the development of commercial activity

Commercial activity is carried out in a certain environment, under the influence of which the tools and methods used to solve the tasks are changing. This necessitates the identification of factors that have the most significant impact on commercial activity.

Factors that determine the development of commercial activity can be divided into external and internal.

To external factors, independent of trading organizations include:

Economic liberalization;

Economic development trends;

The degree of development of commodity-money relations;

The level of income, the rate of their growth;

System of taxation and financing;

The legislative framework, its stability and loyalty to the business;

The degree of favorable environment for the development of commercial activities;

The degree of diversity of organizational and legal forms of business entities operating in the market, forming a competitive environment;

Trends in the development of foreign economic relations.

Internal factors, which depend on the activities of trade organizations are:

Degree of efficiency and adaptation to real conditions of forms and methods of work with subjects of commercial relations and consumers;

The scale of commercial activity;

The structure of the commercial apparatus, its qualifications, performance;

The effectiveness of the commercial strategy;

Innovative commercial solutions;

The use of modern achievements, best practices in the organization of commercial activities.

1.3. Principles, functions, tasks of commercial activity in modern conditions

Business principles

Principles commercial activities are the main provisions, rules that reflect its nature and emphasize the features of its organization in the market of goods and services. They are based on the laws of the market and are fundamental in organizing the relationship of business entities.

Commercial activity in a market economy is based on the following principles:

Economic freedom of business entities;

Competitiveness;

adaptability;

Risk reduction;

Efficiency.

Principle economic freedom assumes that the subjects of commercial activity are free to choose partners in commercial transactions, forms and methods of interaction with them, independently determine the volume and structure of purchases, terms of supply, mutual responsibility. The implementation of this principle is possible only in the conditions of market relations, when there are no limits, funds, quotas, attachment of buyers to suppliers, plans for the distribution of goods and other administrative measures. The rejection of them forces business entities to expand and intensify their initiative in commercial activities and take responsibility for the validity of decisions made.

Principle competitiveness is that in a market economy there are many sellers with an identical assortment of goods and buyers have a choice, which increases competition. Competitors are forced to fight for their market share, for their customers, which puts them in front of the need to find ways to stand out, using both price and non-price methods, improve commercial activities, perform business operations better than competitors, and secure competitive advantages in the market. The implementation of the principle of competitiveness gives dynamism to commercial activity, makes it necessary to quickly respond to customer requirements and changes in market conditions. To implement it, it is necessary to substantiate and anticipate the results of commercial activity on the basis of deep knowledge, analysis and consideration of market factors. The foundation on which this work is built should ensure the stable development of a trade organization, its stable financial position in the market.

adaptability as a principle of commercial activity expresses its ability to adapt to market conditions, to respond promptly and adequately to its changes. This requires the development of forms and methods of managing commercial activities that correspond to the market environment and changing conditions. A necessary condition for the implementation of this requirement is the decentralization of the regulation of commercial activities, the provision of maximum economic and creative freedom to commercial entities.

Risk reduction is an essential principle of commercial activity. There are many business risk factors. Commercial activity is carried out in conditions of uncertainty, dynamic market conditions, changing legal framework, credit system, taxation and other variables, which the subject of commercial relations often cannot influence, but is forced to look for ways to minimize risks. The search for acceptable solutions is an important component in improving the efficiency of commercial activities, forcing specialists in this field to look for extraordinary, innovative solutions.

Efficiency commercial activity is connected with the need to make a profit by developing new markets, increasing sales volumes, accelerating the turnover, optimizing the assortment, improving the culture of service, building a positive image, making informed commercial decisions. The implementation of this principle should be approached differently: in some markets, immediate results are needed, in others, it is necessary to work for the future, to the detriment of today's results. We must not forget about social efficiency, health, environment, safety, service culture. Ultimately, commercial activity should bring profit to business entities.

Business Functions

As already noted, commercial activity in the new economic conditions is based on the laws of the market, which determines it. functions.

The concept of commercial activity in a market economy implies a clear rationale for its strategy and the development of effective implementation tactics.

Based on this concept, commercial activity should perform the following functions:

Substantiation of the behavior of a trade organization in the market, strengthening its influence on it in order to optimize the assortment and profits, increase competitiveness, and the level of trade services;

An integrated approach to the organization of commercial activities, ensuring the efficient operation of all departments of the trade organization;

Purchase and sale management in order to ensure the economic interest of all participants in the commercial process, the stability of economic relations;

Study and development of potential needs, markets, segments in order to form competitive advantages;

Adaptation of commercial activities to the market environment in order to timely and adequately respond to its changes;

Optimization of costs associated with commercial activities, preparation and execution of commercial transactions.

Business goals

In the process of commercial activity, both economic and social tasks. The goal comes to the fore - to make a profit, which also serves as a means for solving other equally significant tasks, including social ones, and implies a high economic training of a specialist in commercial work.

The main objectives of commercial activities are:

Formation of relations between economic entities on the market on a mutually beneficial basis;

Increasing the role of supply contracts, strengthening contractual discipline;

Development of stable direct economic ties, increasing their efficiency;

Protecting the interests of consumers, ensuring their priority;

Introduction of progressive methods of wholesale and retail trade;

Increasing the level of work on the study of demand, the economic justification of the need for goods;

Improving the mechanism for managing commodity resources, supply and demand, the formation of a competitive assortment;

Promotion of sales of goods, after-sales service, provision of additional services;

Timely and adequate response to changes in the market.

Achieving a positive commercial result requires efforts to increase the advantages of a trade organization in any situation, even if it operates successfully in the market. Commercial work should be carried out actively, ensure a systematic increase in the volume of sales of goods and services while ensuring the profitable operation of a trade organization.

1.4. Subjects of legal relations and objects in commercial activities

Based on the fact that the implementation of commercial operations is a management activity, it is assumed that there are entities that carry out it, and objects to which this activity is directed. The most favorable conditions for the development of commercial activities are the equality of subjects of all forms of ownership, voluntary, mutually beneficial interaction of entities operating in the market, free pricing, economic responsibility for decisions made, fair competition, balance of the role, functions and tasks of the state and business entities.

To understand the mechanism of relations between participants in the market of goods and services, let us consider the main components of this system. These include subjects and objects of commercial legal relations involved in wholesale and retail trade in certain territories. With their help, the circulation of goods in the commodity markets through the sale and purchase, which serves commercial activities, is ensured.

Characteristics of the subjects of commercial legal relations of the market of consumer goods and services

According to the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus (Article 46), business entities by their legal status can be commercial and non-commercial organizations. Commercial are organizations that consider making a profit as the main goal of their activities and distribute it among the participants. non-commercial organizations are considered to be organizations that do not aim at making profit and distributing it among participants (public, religious organizations(associations), charitable foundations etc., which are created to achieve social, environmental, charitable, cultural, educational, spiritual goals).

Legal status organizations is determined depending on who and to what extent is liable for obligations, who has the right to conclude contracts on behalf of the organization, what are the taxation procedures for profits, reporting forms, liquidation procedure and other extremely important issues when establishing business relations with partners in the market.

The subjects of commercial legal relations are the parties entering into contractual relations for the sale of goods or the provision of services.

Let's consider the subjects realizing the commercial purposes.

As subjects of commercial legal relations in trade are legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in trade and registered in the prescribed manner (STB 1393-2003 "Trade. Terms and Definitions"). They are entitled to conduct commercial transactions in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Legal entities - organizations that have separate property in ownership, economic management or operational management, bear independent responsibility for their obligations, can acquire and exercise property and personal non-property rights on their own behalf, perform duties, be a plaintiff and defendant in court, having passed state registration as a legal entity or recognized as such by a legislative act. Legal entities must have an independent balance sheet (Article 44 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Individual entrepreneurs are natural persons (citizens) engaged in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity from the moment state registration as an individual entrepreneur (Article 22 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

The mechanism for regulating relations between commercial entities in trade should be considered as an integral part of the general mechanism for regulating legal relations between economic entities in the market as a whole. It includes the following components:

Legal relations with state bodies of all levels;

Relations of organizations, enterprises with each other;

Legal norms on the organization of economic relations;

Legal relations in arbitration consideration of economic disputes.

The subjects of legal relations of commercial activity can be created in the following organizational and legal forms (Article 46 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus):

Economic partnerships and companies;

Production and consumer cooperatives;

Unitary enterprises;

Peasant (farming) farms.

It is allowed to create associations of commercial organizations and (or) individual entrepreneurs in the form of holdings, associations and unions, state associations.

The main differences between the above forms are the ownership of capital, separate property, which can be owned, economic management, operational management, as well as the appropriation and distribution of profits, liability for obligations.

Business partnerships and societies commercial organizations are recognized with a charter capital divided into shares (shares) between founders (participants). The property created at the expense of the contributions of the founders, as well as produced and acquired by them in the course of economic activity, belongs to the partnership or company on the basis of ownership (Article 63 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Business partnerships can be created in the form of a general and limited partnership.

The partnership is complete in the event that, in accordance with the agreement concluded between them, all participants (general partners) are engaged in entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the partnership and jointly with each other bear subsidiary liability with their property for the obligations of the partnership (Article 66 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Limited a partnership is considered in which, in addition to general partners, there are one or more participants (contributors, limited partners) who bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the partnership, within the amount of their contributions, and do not take part in the entrepreneurial activities of the partnership (Article 81 of the Civil Code The Republic of Belarus).

To business companies include: limited liability companies, additional liability companies, joint-stock companies, subsidiaries and dependent business companies.

Limited Liability Company (LLC) established by two or more persons. The number of participants must not exceed the limit established by legislative acts, otherwise the company is subject to reorganization within a year. The authorized capital of an LLC is divided into shares of sizes determined by the founders. The participants of the company are not liable for its obligations and bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the company, within the value of their contributions (Articles 87–93 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Additional Liability Company (ALC) established by two or more persons. The authorized fund of the ALC is divided into shares, which are determined by the constituent documents. The participants of such a company jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability for its obligations with their property within the limits determined by the constituent documents, but not less than the amount established by the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus. In the event of economic insolvency (bankruptcy) of one of the participants, its liability for the obligations of the company is distributed among the other participants in proportion to their contributions, unless a different distribution procedure is provided for by the constituent documents of the company (Article 94 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Joint Stock Company (JSC) has an authorized fund divided into a certain number of shares with the same nominal value. Shareholders (participants of a joint-stock company) are not liable for its obligations and bear the risk of losses associated with its activities within the value of their shares (Article 96 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus). The following organizational forms of joint-stock companies are possible:

open joint-stock company(JSC) - is characterized by the fact that its participant can alienate his shares without the consent of other shareholders to an unlimited circle of persons. Such a joint-stock company has the right to carry out an open subscription for the shares it issues and their free sale on the terms established by the legislation on securities. In the case of placement of additionally issued shares at the expense of the company's own funds and (or) its shareholders, as well as in other cases provided for by legislative acts, the OJSC may carry out a closed (among a limited circle of persons) placement of additionally issued shares (Article 97 of the Civil Code of the Republic Belarus);

A closed joint stock company (CJSC) is a company whose member can alienate his shares only with the consent of other shareholders and (or) a limited number of persons. CJSC has the right to carry out only closed (among a limited circle of persons) placement of additionally issued shares. Shareholders of a CJSC have a pre-emptive right to purchase shares sold by other shareholders of this company (Article 97 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus);

Subsidiaries and dependent business companies.

Subsidiary a business company is recognized if the other (main) business company or partnership has the strength of the predominant participation in its authorized fund, or the strength of the predominant participation is determined by the agreement concluded between them. In this case, the decisions of the main company (partnership) are decisive. A subsidiary company is not liable for the debts of the main company (partnership). The parent company is jointly and severally liable with the subsidiary for transactions concluded by the subsidiary on the instructions of the parent company. In case of bankruptcy of a subsidiary due to the fault of the main company, the latter bears subsidiary liability for its debts (Article 105 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

addicted a company is recognized as a business company if another business company has a share (shares) in the authorized capital of this company in the amount corresponding to 20% or more of the total number of votes that it can use at the general meeting of participants in such a company (Article 106 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus ).

Production cooperatives (artels) are commercial organizations. Their participants are obliged to make a property share contribution, take personal labor participation in the activities of the production cooperative, bear subsidiary liability for its obligations in equal shares or in the amounts established by the charter, but not less than the amount of annual income received in production cooperative(Article 107 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Unitary enterprise (UE) a commercial organization is recognized that is not endowed with the right of ownership of the property assigned to it by the owner. The property of a unitary enterprise is indivisible and is not distributed among contributions (shares, shares), including between employees of the enterprise. In the form of unitary enterprises, state (republican or communal) unitary enterprises (their property is state-owned) and private (their property is privately owned by an individual or legal entity) can be created. There are unitary enterprises based on the right of economic management and on the right of operational management (state enterprise).

Property republican unitary enterprise (RUE) is owned by the Republic of Belarus and belongs to UE and operational management.

By decision of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, on the basis of property owned by the Republic, a unitary enterprise based on the right operational management, so-called public company, the constituent document of which is the charter approved by the Council of Ministers. The Republic of Belarus bears subsidiary liability for the obligations of a state-owned enterprise in case of insufficiency of its property. A state-owned enterprise may be reorganized or liquidated by decision of the Government.

Property communal unitary enterprise is owned by an administrative-territorial unit and belongs to such an enterprise

Property private unitary enterprise is privately owned by an individual (jointly owned by spouses or a peasant (farm) economy) or a legal entity and belongs to such an enterprise on the right of economic management.

Property subsidiary unitary enterprises is owned by the founder owner and owned by a subsidiary on the right of economic management(Article 113115 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Peasant (farm) economy is recognized as a commercial organization created by one citizen (members of the same family) who has made property contributions for the implementation of entrepreneurial activities for the production of agricultural products, as well as for its processing, storage, transportation and sale, based on his (their) personal labor participation and the use of a land plot in accordance with the legislation on the protection and use of land. A peasant (farm) economy is liable for its obligations with all its property (Articles 115-1, 115-2 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

To improve the efficiency of management of state enterprises, one can resort to the separation of managerial and economic functions by creating associations(including with the participation of foreign capital), associations, unions, financial and industrial groups, holding companies, determined by legislation relating to such groups. The first document that implements the legal regulation of the creation of holdings (holding companies and other business groups) in the Republic of Belarus is the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated December 28, 2009 No. 660 “On Certain Issues of the Creation and Operation of Holdings in the Republic of Belarus”. A holding, unlike business groups, is not a legal entity, it is an association of commercial organizations (holding participants), in which one of them ( Management Company) has the ability to influence decisions made by other commercial organizations - members of the holding (subsidiaries of the holding). Appear cooperatively integrated associations, including the production of agricultural products, their processing and trade (for example, the Grodno Association of Grain Products, the Snov cooperative farm, etc.).

A variety of business entities allows developing market infrastructure and creating a most favorable environment for efficient commercial activity. The subjects of commercial relations can be both public and private, carry out their activities individually and in a collective form.

Subjects state form property (republican and municipal) occupy a leading position, which requires increasing the efficiency of their commercial work providing rapid adaptation to the market situation.

The development of market relations determined the growth of subjects of commercial legal relations based on private property. This process is most active in the trading industry. On the basis of private property, commercial activities are conducted by both individual citizens and their teams (enterprises, organizations).

enterprise a property complex used for entrepreneurial activities is recognized as an object of law. The enterprise as a whole or its individual parts may be the object of sale, pledge, lease and other transactions (Article 132 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Firm - this is a generalized name used in relation to many organizations (enterprises) engaged in commercial activities for the purpose of making a profit. They can have different volumes of activity, or they can be quite small.

Commercial activities can be carried out by those who are not owners. For example, intermediaries operate in the market, who do not take ownership of the goods, do not own property, but extract profit from their activities and appropriate it. They are also participants in commercial activities, performing specific operations.

Industrial enterprises and trade organizations of various forms of ownership and departmental affiliation operate as subjects of commercial relations in the market of the Republic of Belarus.

With the development of market relations, the organizational and legal forms of entities engaged in the implementation of commercial activities are being improved and become more diverse. More favorable conditions are being created for the activation of small and medium-sized businesses. Persons engaged in commercial activities without forming a legal entity may use the right granted by the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus to create simple partnerships. In this case, two or more persons enter into a joint activity agreement, undertaking to combine their contributions and act jointly without forming a legal entity (after registration and obtaining a license, if required by law) to make a profit within the legal field.

Trade is divided into internal and external. Domestic trade carries out the implementation in the domestic market of the country and covers the wholesale and retail.

In the trade sector, commercial activities are carried out by public and private trade organizations.

To public include trade organizations of ministries, departments, committees: the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Communications and Informatization, etc. In the consumer market of the Republic of Belarus, a number of concerns subordinate to the government act as state subjects of commercial operations :

Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Oil Products (Belneftekhim Concern);

Belarusian State Concern for the production and sale of light industry goods (Concern "Bellegprom");

Belarusian State Food Industry Concern (Belgospischeprom Concern);

Belarusian industrial and trading concern of the timber, woodworking and pulp and paper industries (Concern "Bellesbumprom"), etc.

They carry out wholesale and retail trade, including through a network of their branded stores.

Participants of commercial activities (legal entities and individuals) work on the market with private ownership. In the trading industry, their number is increasing. Among them, it is necessary to single out business entities of consumer cooperation, cooperatives, individual entrepreneurs (individuals), organizations and enterprises with foreign capital.

The subjects of commercial legal relations can be business unions. Unlike firms (enterprises), the purpose of their activities is not to make a profit, but to represent and protect the interests of their business groups in government bodies, to promote and support in expanding their activities. They can provide advisory assistance, assistance in training, standardization and certification of products, etc. They are created in the form of unions, associations, federations, etc., they can be sectoral (for example, in the chemical industry) or unions by type of activity (in industry, trade, etc.).

As a rule, associations of entrepreneurs do not act on the market as an economic entity, but nevertheless, on behalf of trade organizations and manufacturing enterprises– members of the union can do it.

The parties entering into contractual relations for the sale of goods or the provision of services may be government bodies(various ministries and departments). They do not consider entering directly into economic relations as the main goal, and in most cases they are representatives and defenders of the interests of their organizations and enterprises and can carry out direct purchase and sale operations on their behalf. Examples include the ministries of agriculture and food, health, and industry.

There may be situations when relationships for the purchase and sale of goods and services enter into public organizations. These can be international organizations of the UN system that act as large buyers of goods, medicines, medical equipment, services, etc., in the implementation of some international programs (for example, when providing assistance to victims of accidents, natural disasters). In addition, such public organizations as the Society of Hunters and Fishermen, the Union of Artists, the Society for the Protection of Nature, the Society of the Disabled, the Defense Sports and Technical Society, the Dynamo Sports Society, the Society of the Deaf, the Association of the Visually Impaired and etc.

The subjects of commercial legal relations of the Belarusian Republican Union of Consumer Societies (“Belkoopsoyuz”) are: own manufacturing enterprises, coopzagotproms, wholesale, wholesale and retail, retail organizations, markets, unitary enterprises.

Own enterprises consumer cooperatives are mostly engaged in the production food products(bakeries, agricultural processing enterprises, sausage shops, mini-factories for the production of drinks, ice cream, etc.).

Koopzagotpromy buy and sell fruits and vegetables, nuts, honey, mushrooms, fur and fur, leather raw materials, etc. Their activities should ensure high level trade services for the rural population in accordance with the Program for the Development of the Village and Rural Entrepreneurship. The interaction of consumer cooperation organizations with personal subsidiary and peasant (farm) farms will form the conditions for ensuring sustainable economic growth of consumer cooperation and improving the quality of life of rural residents.

Active commercial activities in the market of goods and services are carried out by wholesale, wholesale and retail and retail business entities.

AT wholesale trade such entities are wholesale organizations with their own infrastructure (wholesale depots, warehouses, refrigerated warehouses, fruit and vegetable stores, wholesale food markets, etc.).

AT consumer cooperation an important place is occupied by such subjects of commercial activity as republican, regional, inter-district and district wholesale bases, refrigerators, storage facilities, unitary trade organizations and enterprises that purchase goods, seasonal agricultural products, printed products (oblkoopknigotorg) for subsequent wholesale and uninterrupted supply of retail trading network its area of ​​activity.

In the field trade mediation commercial activities are carried out by exchanges, auctions, agency organizations, distributors, consignees, brokers, brokerage houses, leasing, factoring companies, etc.

To wholesale and retail organizations include business entities that combine the functions of wholesale purchases and retail sales of goods directly to end consumers for personal use. For example, the Trading House as a subject of commercial relations is a diversified organization that carries out wholesale and retail trade in a wide range of goods and services. In addition to direct purchase and sale operations, its functions include credit and financial operations, as well as various services.

AT retail commercial activities are carried out by trade organizations through stores of various formats, enterprises Catering, pharmacies, objects selling printed products, etc.

Retail trade organizations of consumer cooperation that carry out commercial activities include district consumer societies, co-op department stores, unitary enterprises, etc.

Trade organizations of consumer cooperation, in addition to purchase and sale operations, may also carry out other activities.

Objects of commercial operations in the consumer market

Objects of commercial operations as managerial activities in the consumer market are goods and services. Let's consider them in more detail.

Product is a product of labor that satisfies any needs of the buyer, intended for exchange in the form of purchase and sale. Thus, any thing that is not limited in circulation, freely alienable and transferable from one person to another under a contract of sale refers to a product.

Service - the result of the activity of the subject of commercial relations, aimed at assisting buyers in making a purchase, delivering goods and in the process of using them, in order to meet the needs of buyers and increase competitiveness and commercial results.

The active saturation of the market with goods and services, their diversity and the strengthening of consumer requirements for them determine the need to improve commercial work.

Managing a product as an object of commercial legal relations involves the systematization of information about it and the use of this information in making strategic and tactical decisions.

Services are very diverse and complex as an object of legal relations in commercial activities. Requirements for them on the part of consumers are systematically growing, they are becoming an important component of the competitiveness of goods in the market. Often a product only together with a service and all attributes (packaging, labeling, design, shape, etc.) can provide a solution to consumer problems and be competitive.

The objects of commercial activity in trade (goods and services) are subject to certain requirements, some of which are determined by international, national standards, current laws and regulations. Another part of the requirements, and what is especially important in the face of increasing competition, is presented by the market, by consumers.

1.5. Description of the main elements that determine the content of commercial activities

Elements of commercial activity

Consider the main elements that reflect the content of commercial activities.

1. Information Support commercial activities. The main source of obtaining the necessary commercial information is a comprehensive study of the market. It is important to know supply and demand, market conditions, information about the product, its consumer properties, quality, purpose. For successful work in the market, it is necessary to study in detail the consumer (number of the population served, its structure, social composition, purchasing power) and competitors (their strengths and weaknesses, potential opportunities and intentions).

2. Determining the need for goods. At this stage of commercial work, based on the necessary information, it is necessary to determine the capacity of the market and its segments, justify the assortment structure of goods, delivery times and sizes of one-time lots.

3. Selection of partners for establishing business ties and distribution channels. This work begins with the study of possible sources for the receipt of goods, the location of manufacturing enterprises, the volume and structure of the goods they offer, the terms of delivery, the forms of payment and methods of shipment, etc. Based on the information received, partners, participants in the movement of goods are selected, functions are distributed between them . This must be economically justified. When choosing partners for establishing economic ties, one should strive to identify the most effective option.

4. Commercial activities to establish economic relations between partners. After choosing partners to bring goods to the consumer, commercial operations are carried out to establish economic ties. This activity involves the definition of the form of economic relations, the development of a draft agreement, the negotiation process to agree on the terms of the agreement, the signing of the agreement.

5. Organization of wholesale purchases of goods. The existence of contractual relations between the supplier and the buyer implies the possibility of choosing organizational forms of procurement, conducting procurement using the most effective of them (wholesale fairs, stock exchanges, tenders). It is important to defend the most profitable terms contracts, correctly execute bulk purchases and ensure the fulfillment of contractual obligations.

6. Commercial activities for the wholesale of goods. At this stage, it is necessary to choose a form of wholesale, justify the feasibility of its use, determine operations that ensure effective sales in warehouse and transit forms, properly execute sales, and monitor compliance with the terms of the contract.

7. Commercial activities for organizing the retail sale of goods. This part of the commercial work is very responsible, since it is in the retail trade network that the process of bringing goods from production to the consumer is completed and the form of value is changed, it is revealed how successful and expedient the whole previous job. The main commercial operations at this stage are the management of the assortment of goods in stores, the rationale for the frequency and size of shipments, the choice of forms and methods of sale, sales promotion, image formation, merchandising.

8. Commodity resource management. Given that the demand for goods is dynamic, and market conditions are changeable, it is necessary to systematically monitor the state of commodity stocks in trade. The presence of goods in sizes exceeding requirements leads to a slowdown in turnover, an increase in the costs associated with their storage and sale. The lack of goods can cause a decrease in sales volumes and a decrease in profits. Therefore, at this stage of commercial work, it is necessary to form commodity resources in accordance with demand, organize a rhythmic, uninterrupted supply of goods in the right batches, systematically monitor the movement of goods, sales deadlines, and make timely commercial decisions to manage them.

9. Work to promote goods on the market, ensuring the formation of demand, stimulating the sale of goods. This work must be systematic and efficient. Achieved through right choice tools and means to ensure their effective use, substantiation of the expediency of their application, performance evaluation. The main task at this stage of commercial activity is to ensure effective advertising and information support of the goods on the market, the formation of a positive attitude towards the buyer and the motivation for action - the acquisition of goods.

10. Provision of services, service support of goods. With the development of the goods market, it becomes necessary to expand the services provided to the population and partners in economic relations. As the market is saturated with goods and competition intensifies, services and their quality can become decisive for attracting buyers and strengthening market positions. Services must accompany the goods along the entire path of its movement. They are in the pre-sale period, at the time of sale and in the after-sale period. The task is to study the needs of buyers for services and offer those that they are willing to pay for.

11. Development of a commercial strategy for a trade organization. It involves analytical work, the use of commercial information, the definition of the mission, goals and objectives of commercial activities, the development of a strategy, the evaluation of its effectiveness, the development of tactics for its implementation, taking into account the potential of a trading organization and market conditions, monitoring performance, timely adjustment when market conditions change.

The relationship of elements of commercial activity

Commercial activity is systemic in nature, as it consists of separate elements (parts) that ensure the implementation of certain functions, combined to achieve a common goal. These elements interact with each other and the environment. The elements that form a commercial system are discussed above. Consistency is confirmed by the presence of the following properties:

Interaction and integrity - suggest that the elements included in the commercial activity are designed to perform different functions, but together provide unity of purpose and commercial focus;

The presence of a close connection between the elements of commercial activity - requires the qualitative implementation of each element to ensure the effectiveness of the system as a whole;

Organization - ensures the work of all elements commercial system in the right sequence and with the necessary result, which contributes to orderliness and organization;

Iterativity - defines an integrated approach to the use of all elements, provides the cumulative effect of a commercial system.

None of the elements of the commercial system can be excluded without compromising the final result. None of the elements, taken separately, can also ensure the solution of the set goals, but together in the system they enhance the positive result.

Commercial activity is carried out all the way the product enters the market. In order to start the promotion of goods, it is necessary to perform a number of commercial operations: calculation and justification of the need for goods for the region both in terms of volume and structure, selection of suppliers and ways of promoting goods, conclusion of contracts for the supply of goods. Only then does the movement of goods begin.

Next, it is necessary to determine the commercial operations that must be performed at the moment when the goods enter the sphere of circulation, to the wholesale link: control over the execution of supply contracts, the formation of an assortment of wholesale depots, the impact on manufacturers of goods on the release of the required assortment, the conclusion and implementation of supply contracts with retailers. trade, development of a commodity supply system.

In retail trade, commercial work involves the organization of the sale of goods to customers: the formation of the product range of stores, the choice of the most appropriate methods for selling goods and the system of payments for them, the activation of sales and sales promotion, the provision of services, after-sales service.

Thus, it is possible to distinguish groups of commercial operations serving various stages of the commercial process (Table 1.1).

To first group include operations that are performed when establishing relationships with manufacturing organizations.

Second group includes commercial work regulating the relationship of wholesale and retail trade.

Third group combines commercial operations related to the retail sale of goods.

Fourth group includes operations that are necessary to varying degrees along the entire path of product distribution from the producer to the consumer.

The number of commercial operations, their sequence and significance are determined depending on the chosen way of goods distribution and the system of economic relations.

Considering that commercial activity is associated with the promotion of goods on the market and its sale, it is a special type of activity that takes place whenever a sale takes place. Forms and methods of its implementation are not the same in different economic conditions.

In the conditions of market relations, the forms and methods of commercial activity are undergoing significant changes and must be improved.

Table 1.1

Commercial operations serving various stages of the commercial process

The focus should be on the interests of the end user. In market conditions, a comprehensive study of the market, the requirements for goods and methods of their sale, as well as for after-sales service, is of exceptional importance. The merchant is obliged to provide effective use of the business management mechanism, which implies:

Deep knowledge and skillful application of the latest achievements by commercial entities in conducting commercial operations;

Efficient combination of main and supporting operations;

Rational use advantages arising from the specific situation in which it is necessary to carry out commercial transactions;

Skillful application of forms and methods of trade in goods, services and management of this process.

The openness of the economy necessitates the unification of the elements of the economic mechanism that regulates the sphere of exchange, forms and methods of conducting commercial transactions.

Features of commercial activity in wholesale trade

Feature of commercial activity in wholesale trade It is determined by the fact that wholesale trade entities purchase goods in large quantities with the aim of their subsequent sale to other business entities, as a rule, in smaller quantities, at a profit for themselves. In addition, there is a need to provide its wholesale customers with various services.

This forces them to search for suppliers of goods and potential wholesale buyers. Efficiency is determined by how profitable the difference between costs and revenues will be for bulk purchases and wholesale sales in the aggregate.

A feature of commercial activity in the wholesale trade is the need to accumulate and create conditions for the preservation of inventory, the transformation of the production range into a trade one, ensuring uninterrupted satisfaction of the demand of its customers both in terms of volume and assortment. In addition, the peculiarity of commercial work in the wholesale market involves the performance of a complex intermediary function between manufacturers of goods and retail trade organizations.

The peculiarity of commercial work is also due to the fact that the commercial services of wholesale trade organizations must have an effective system for collecting, processing and practical use of commercial information in order to actively influence the formation of the product range produced by commodity producers. On the other hand, commercial work in the wholesale market requires close interaction with its customers - retail trade organizations, individual trade facilities. There is a need to provide them with all possible practical assistance of a material, advertising, informational, and advisory nature.

Features of commercial activity in retail trade

commercial work in retail has its own specific features. It is here that the recognition or non-recognition of the goods by the end consumer is carried out. If the consumer comes to the conclusion that the product, its service support, the availability of related products, as well as market paraphernalia (trademark symbols) meet his requirements, he buys it. There is a change in the form of value and compensation for the costs associated with the production and bringing the goods to the consumer. If the product has not found its buyer, then the costs increase every day of its storage. This situation negatively affects the final results of the retail trade organization. Frequent repetition of a similar situation can lead to the financial insolvency of a trade organization.

Therefore, we can conclude that the success of commercial work in retail trade largely depends on how qualified and timely the commercial service can study, take into account and satisfy the requirements of customers. The result of this work is considered positive if the trade organization is able to form a competitive assortment of goods and manage it promptly.

Features of commercial work in retail trade are determined by the forms and methods of sale, their promotion, service policy, the need to take into account the interests of a huge number of buyers whose requirements are changeable, and purchases are small.

1.6. Commercial services of trade organizations, their functions

Commercial services of trade organizations, their functions

Commercial Services depending on the goals and objectives, they have a different structure and functions. In the conditions of market relations, there is a departure from unified organizational structures, since there is a need for their formation, taking into account adaptation to specific goals and objectives.

Can be distinguished different levels business organization and management:

Macro level (national economic);

Meso level (sectoral);

Micro level (the level of a business entity).

On the macro level the task is to coordinate the actions of all participants in commercial activities, to form a mechanism for balancing their interests and a legal framework for effective work. It is entrusted to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.

On the mesolevel Trade management tasks are assigned to the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Belarus, which is subordinate to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. Decisions made by the Ministry of Trade are binding on trade organizations at all levels, for business entities of different systems, legal forms and forms of ownership.

The Ministry of Trade has a vertical structure, including departments (departments) of local authorities. Main functions taking into account modern market standards are:

Carrying out state policy in the field of trade, public catering, consumer services;

Creation of a competitive environment, overcoming monopoly in the sphere of commodity circulation, ensuring equality of all forms of ownership in trade;

Coordinating the activities of all state authorities in the industry, local executive, administrative bodies and public organizations, eliminating regional and departmental barriers to the movement of goods, ensuring the necessary commodity flows to meet the needs of the domestic market;

Monitoring the situation in the domestic consumer market, providing access to the information received by legal entities and entrepreneurs to the information necessary to justify the decisions made;

Strategic planning for the development of trade, identification of priority areas for the Republic of Belarus, development of draft republican programs for the development of the trade industry;

Generalization of the practice of applying the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in trade, ensuring control over its observance by trade organizations of all forms of ownership, regardless of departmental affiliation, sending proposals for its improvement;

Protection of consumer rights and ensuring compliance with guarantees of quality and safety of goods;

Carrying out work on the formation of commodity resources for the country's consumer market, as well as conducting procurement and commodity interventions, accumulation of seasonal goods, determining the list of goods purchased at the expense of the budget on a tender basis;

Formation of modern commodity distribution networks, optimization of logistics flows, creation of transport and logistics centers;

Creation of conditions for the growth of demand for domestic products;

Providing conditions for use modern technologies in the trading industry;

Coordination of development and efficient use innovative technologies and funds allocated for their development, definition modern requirements to the development of formats of retail facilities, the organization of processes for the sale of goods and services, the management of commodity stocks, which ensure the acceleration of turnover, and the reduction of distribution costs;

Carrying out work on the creation and development information systems;

Coordination of exhibition, fair, advertising and foreign trade activities;

Consideration, within its competence, of complaints of citizens, including entrepreneurs, provision of consulting assistance to legal and individuals on trade matters.

The Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Belarus focuses its activities to a greater extent on strategic issues, and local trade authorities, taking the initiative, aim their activities at the effective, innovative implementation of the tasks set.

Commercial services of specific trading organizations perform operational functions related to servicing the sale and purchase process and ensuring the efficiency of commercial activities.

For issues that are not within the competence of the Ministry of Trade, the norms determined by other ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Taxes and Duties, the Ministry of Economy, etc., which regulate issues of their competence related to commercial activities, are mandatory for trade organizations . At this level, the formation of rules for conducting commercial activities that are mandatory for all subjects of commercial legal relations is carried out by forming the legal framework for its functioning and organizing control over their observance.

In the system of consumer cooperation, which is subject to general issues the above structures, the role of the sectoral level is performed by Belkoopsoyuz. Commercial work in Belkoopsoyuz is carried out by the Department of Trade of Belkoopsoyuz, which includes departments formed according to functional and product characteristics. In addition, the marketing department and Belkoopvneshtorg provide commercial activities within the framework of their tasks.

Main functions of the commercial service of Belkoopsoyuz are:

Managing the commercial activities of all business entities in its system and creating an effective relationship with other market entities;

Protection of the interests of cooperative trade in higher bodies;

Development of a strategy for the development of the trade sector of consumer cooperation;

Procurement management of business entities;

Dissemination of best practices, new technologies in the trade sector, including information technologies;

Interaction with the industry in order to protect their own interests;

Definition of strategy externally economic activity;

Determination of the innovation policy of Belkoopsoyuz in the trade sector.

The implementation of the above commercial functions at the regional level is carried out by the commercial service of the regional consumer unions. It is represented by the Department of Trade of the regional consumer union, which has departments specialized in commodity and functional principles, departments involved in marketing and foreign economic activity.

In addition to the above functions, which the commercial service of the regional consumer union implements in the area of ​​its activity, it has to:

Justify the need for goods in the zone of its activity;

Organize work on the formation of commodity resources;

Manage commodity resources, optimally distributing them across the regions of the region, using effective ways and channels of distribution;

Work in contact with industry, including local and own sources of commodity supply;

Develop and implement a commercial strategy for the trading industry based on modern efficient technologies;

Provide a high level of trade service and consumer protection.

In the trading industry, the lowest level, engaged in commercial work on microlevel, are business entities, trading facilities of various formats with different sales volumes and functions. They are very diverse, so it is not possible to unify the structure of these services. What they have in common, however, is the performance of operational commercial functions, many of which are complex, costly and constantly critically evaluated by buyers.

Considering the wide variety of business entities engaged in commercial activities, and the differences in their goals and objectives, we will consider the structure and functions of wholesale and retail trade organizations and trade facilities.

The main functions of the commercial apparatus of a trade organization are distributed as job responsibilities of specialists in the commercial apparatus. These include:

Studying the market situation, the demand of the population in the area of ​​its activity;

Justification of the need for goods for their retail facilities;

Commodity resource management;

Implementation of contract work;

Implementation of advanced technologies at retail facilities, their technical and material support;

Bringing retail facilities up to standard requirements, providing a high level of retail services, the necessary working conditions and the safety of inventory items;

Formation of demand and sales promotion;

Monitoring compliance with the law, regulatory framework, trade rules, consumer rights;

Ensuring cost-effective operation and competitiveness of a trade organization.

In the system of consumer cooperation, these functions are implemented by the district consumer society (RAIPO).

In a retail facility, all employees are engaged in commercial activities. The positive contribution of a particular store to the overall efficiency of the commercial activities of the trading organization as a whole largely depends on the understanding of each of them of their role. But still, it is possible to single out those who are responsible for organizing the commercial work of the store.

Overall responsibility rests with the store manager. In large stores, a commercial service can be created, represented by a sales department, or by individual specialists who will be engaged in commercial work. As a rule, these are merchandisers who perform the relevant official duties. An important role in the organization of the commercial work of the store is also played by the heads of departments, sections, sellers, cashiers-controllers.

The significance of the work performed by these workers lies in the fact that they ensure the completion of the process of moving the product from the manufacturer to the final consumer. It is on them that it often depends whether the sale of the goods will be carried out and whether the buyer will come to this store for a purchase again.

To the most important commercial functions employees of a trading facility (shop) should include:

Studying the demand of the population of its area of ​​activity;

The study of commercial facilities of competitors, their advantages, disadvantages;

Justification of batches and frequency of importation;

Formation of a competitive, cost-effective assortment;

Promotion of goods of a domestic manufacturer, the formation of a positive image of these goods;

Commercial work for the sale of goods and the provision of services;

Assortment management, ensuring its renewal taking into account demand, control over the availability of commodity stocks, compliance with the deadlines for the sale of goods, the safety of their consumption;

Ensuring a high culture of service;

Formation of a positive image of the store.

The commercial functions of wholesale trade are implemented by manufacturers and intermediary suppliers. Intermediary providers can be:

Wholesale organizations and unitary enterprises;

Wholesale intermediaries (distributors, brokers, brokerage houses, agents, dealers, etc.);

Organizers of wholesale turnover (wholesale fairs, auctions, commodity exchanges, wholesale and small wholesale markets, warehouse stores, etc.). Their diversity determines the different tasks and functions that they implement.

The commercial service of the wholesale trade organization reports to the director. Depending on the volume of work, it is possible that this work is managed by Commercial Director. Specific functions are performed by specialists of the sales department. The trade department is divided by functions into specialists involved in wholesale purchases and wholesale, marketing. Departments may have a different set and number of specialists (chief merchandiser, heads of trade departments, leading merchandisers for product groups, sales merchandisers, merchandisers-brackers, etc.).

Functions of the commercial service of wholesale trade organizations can be conditionally divided into three groups:

1) functions that ensure procurement work:

Study of suppliers, selection of the most attractive;

Choice of the form of wholesale purchases (at a fair, exchange, auction, etc.) and participation in their conduct;

Pre-contract work;

Work on the conclusion of contracts;

Organization of deliveries, execution of contracts, control over this process;

Formation of the assortment model of the wholesale base;

Claim work together with the legal service;

2) functions that provide wholesale:

Contractual work with buyers;

Managing the supply of goods to the retail network, uninterrupted provision of stores in the zone of its activity in the required volume and within the agreed time;

Rationalization of importation schemes and the importation system as a whole;

Provision of services to wholesale buyers;

3) organizational and market functions:

Market research, analysis of its conjuncture;

Expansion of the service area, search for new suppliers and buyers;

Influence on production on issues of production of competitive goods in demand;

Formation of a set of demanded services;

Development of a commercial strategy;

Ensuring the profitable operation of the wholesale trade organization and a stable competitive position in the market.

The commercial functions of other wholesale intermediaries and organizers of the wholesale turnover due to their special specifics will be discussed in the section "Commercial activities in bulk purchases and wholesale".

1.7. Requirements for commercial service professionals

The commercial functions of business entities operating in the market are complex and varied. Therefore, specialists engaged in commercial activities belong to a special category of workers who must have a large amount of knowledge and skills to solve complex problems, comply with the legal regime in force in the territory of the respective country.

High qualification implies knowledge of the laws and regulations governing commercial activities, the ability to conduct trade negotiations, formalize relationships when establishing economic ties, defend the most favorable terms for the supply of goods, and ensure the implementation of the contract.

In his activities, the merchant must ensure the growth of the economic potential of the trade organization, increase its competitiveness and the formation of advantages over competitors.

Competitive advantage can be achieved through a unique selling proposition, the use of effective means of promoting the product to the market, merchandising, the service the consumer needs, etc. If the merchant manages to achieve significant competitive advantages, then he can count on successful work on the market.

The commercial service specialist must be able to identify strategic goals and ways to achieve them in order to effectively use all resources (financial, material, labor, information). This is possible with the high competence and professionalism of specialists capable of making informed innovative decisions.

Commercial activity will be successful and civilized if it is built on the basis of compliance with the requirements of business ethics. The ethics of a merchant is a system of social values ​​based on the principles that determine the correct and incorrect behavior in the process of business relations of partners in the market and affect the goals and means of achieving them.

Commercial and legal culture is the basis of a businesslike, civilized conduct of commercial activities, which ensures the formation of a positive image in the business world. Taking a bribe, producing unsustainable products, destroying resources, harming a partner, falsifying documents, embezzling funds are examples of unethical behavior that does not contribute to success. A merchant must follow the rules developed over decades if he sets as his goal a long and fruitful work in the market.

In order to be successful in business, a specialist must:

Possess analytical skills, scientific foresight, innovative thinking, quick and adequate response to the market situation;

Be able to take the initiative to combine raw materials, financial and labor resources into a single process;

Be able to make decisions that bring profit;

Show initiative and innovation;

Assess risks and justify ways to reduce them.

In a competitive environment, when organizing commercial activities, it is important not only to perform a technological function - to bring a product from the sphere of production to the sphere of consumption, but also to ensure its sale and after-sales service at the lowest cost. The most important requirements for commercial professionals are:

Understanding the essence of commercial activity as a market category, its role in the effective management of subjects in the market;

Possession of knowledge in the field of legal regulation of commerce and entrepreneurship in general;

Possession of tools and methods for planning and managing commercial activities for long (strategic) and short-term periods;

Knowledge of modern achievements and technologies and the ability to use them in commercial activities;

Possession of methods of complex market research, its conjuncture, timely and adequate response to ongoing changes;

Ability to identify needs and generate new ones;

Studying the consumer, his requirements for commercial components, the ability to look at his activities through the eyes of the consumer;

Possession of methods and models to justify commercial decisions to determine the need for goods, select suppliers and channels for the delivery of goods, optimize the range;

The ability to assess the effectiveness of commercial activities and risks, timely adjust the tactics of commercial activities, taking into account the real situation on the market.

To meet the above requirements, a specialist in commercial services must have knowledge of many disciplines, a broad outlook, market thinking.

Questions to control

1. What is a commercial activity? How is this concept defined?

2. What is the essence of commercial activity and what is its role in a competitive environment?

3. What tasks are solved in the process of commercial activity?

4. What factors determine the development of commercial activities?

5. What principles underlie the organization of commercial activities?

6. What functions are implemented through commercial activities in modern conditions?

7. Who can act as subjects of legal relations in commercial activities in the consumer goods market?

8. What is the object of management in the implementation of commercial operations in the consumer goods market?

9. What are the main elements that form the content of commercial activity and how are they characterized?

10. What are the features of commercial activity in wholesale and retail trade?

11. What are the functions of the commercial services of the Ministry of Trade and Belkoopsoyuz?

12. What are the differences between the functions of commercial services of trade departments of wholesale and retail trade organizations?

13. What are the requirements for specialists in commercial services in modern conditions?

* * *

The following excerpt from the book Commercial activity (S. N. Vinogradova, 2012) provided by our book partner -

Basic concepts of commerce

Commercial activity is, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, an activity whose main purpose is to make a profit. From this point of view, the concepts of "commerce" and "entrepreneurship" are synonymous. So, for example, in the "Big Economic Dictionary" under the general editorship of A.N. Azrilyana gives the following definition: “Entrepreneurship is an initiative independent activity of citizens aimed at making a profit or personal income, carried out on their own behalf, under their property responsibility or on behalf and under the legal responsibility of a legal entity” . To date, this definition is legally enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

However, it is worth noting some differences between these concepts.

In the narrow sense of the word, commercial activity is a part of any business related to the implementation of commercial transactions, trade and trade and intermediary activities. In the broad sense of the word, commercial activity is a set of main types of commercial activity. If the process of trade in its pure form is nothing more than the exchange of goods and services, accompanied by a change in the forms of value (commodity-money) of these goods and services in the sphere of circulation, then commerce, moreover, not only covers lending and insurance, but also actively penetrates into the spheres of production and consumption with the help of other institutions of market infrastructure.

Therefore, in terms of economic content, the term "entrepreneurial activity" is more general concept, and "commercial activity" - private.

chief object commerce is the act of buying and selling. content commercial activity is a set of operations associated with a change in the form of value (commodity-money).

Through commercial activities, the organization communicates with the end users of its products and services. The commercial activity of the enterprise is carried out between the external and internal environment of the organization. Commercial services work with a specific product, supplier and buyer and function as long as there is a need and opportunity to sell a product or service. In this context, commercial activity is the activity of organizing the purchase and sale of goods and making appropriate calculations in order to maximize profits.

Commercial activity - as part of entrepreneurial activity and differs from it only in that it does not cover the process of production of goods.

economic mechanism industrial enterprises has a specific commercial activity. The specificity in the field of commercial activity lies in the fact that it contains the following main elements: logistics and marketing of finished products. Thus, commercial activity is related to:

- sale of goods and services;

- activities to supply the enterprise with material resources;

- trade and intermediary activities.

Thus, commercial activity (commerce) is an activity that consists in the sale and purchase of goods, services, capital, carried out in the relevant markets, as well as in the areas of production and consumption, closely related to the subjects of the infrastructure complex of these markets, and aimed at obtaining profits based on the full satisfaction of the needs of buyers in the conditions of existing legal norms.

So, the definition of commerce, commercial activity is not reduced by the authors to different interpretations of the concept of trade - the basis of which is the purchase and sale of goods, due to a change in the form of value. At the same time, the sale and purchase of goods, built on a commercial basis, does not exhaust the whole variety of commercial activities. Trade is always based on commercial activity, but it is not limited to the organization and technology of the very act of buying and selling goods. The field of commerce is much wider. The settlement, economic and financial side of the business, its legal basis, pricing policy, commercial contractual obligations, assessment and implementation of commercial risks come to the fore in commerce.

Summing up, we can build the following chain of conceptual categories: "entrepreneurship" - "commerce" - "business". Entrepreneurship involves making a profit mainly due to the intellect and enterprise that allow organizing efficient production (and only then follows the act of exchanging goods for money). In the sphere of commerce, profits are obtained mainly through barter (commodity-money) transactions, and in business, profits are formed mainly through the use of capital in the markets for money and services. Business, as a rule, satisfies the needs of a particular person, and its results may not be used for the development of entrepreneurship, while the results of commerce are used for the development and expansion of entrepreneurship on a new qualitative basis to better meet society's needs for material goods. Entrepreneurship is not just any business, it is a style of management that is characterized by the principles of innovation, constant initiative, orientation towards innovations in the processes of production, marketing, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

Whereas business is a reproductive activity in the sphere of organization, production, distribution and sale of goods and services without innovation, without initiative in the development of innovative processes. This is the implementation or organization from year to year of the same production, marketing, distribution or other activities within the framework of proven technologies, norms and rules to meet existing needs.

Entrepreneurship has a number of characteristic features that distinguish it from other types of economic activity.

The most important feature of entrepreneurship is autonomy and independence of economic entities. Their behavior is based inner urges. Each person, becoming an entrepreneur, independently decides all the issues of the activity of his enterprise based on economic benefits and market conditions.

In close unity with independence is principle of personal economic interest and responsibility. Own benefit is the driving factor of entrepreneurial activity, but the economic entity, pursuing its own interests, works for the public. For example, H. Ford took up the production of cars not at all from charitable motives. He pursued personal gain, but, in order to satisfy his interests, he created an entire automobile empire that flooded the whole world with cars. In modern conditions, the personal interest of the entrepreneur is increasingly intertwined with the collective interest of the firm or company.

Entrepreneurship is unthinkable without innovation, creative search . Only those who provide high quality and constantly update products can work effectively. The ability to make non-standard decisions, a creative approach to assessing the situation has always been highly valued in the business world.

Innovative function of entrepreneurship with is that the entrepreneur carries out activity, aimed at search for everything new is always in creative activity in order to be competitive, introducing the latest technologies, new forms of labor and production organization, while bringing new idea into society and finding means to achieve the goal.

A characteristic feature of entrepreneurial economic relations is economic risk. Risk always accompanies business. Risk forms a special way of thinking and behavior, the psychology of an entrepreneur. The conditions of existence require from him high efficiency and dynamism, the spirit of competition. Ups and downs are inevitable along the way. An entrepreneur must always be mentally prepared for failure. According to experts, out of a hundred new ideas being tested, no more than two find real application. The right to make a mistake obliges to do everything possible to prevent unjustified risk.

Another characteristic feature of entrepreneurship lies in its belonging to a relatively short-term, tactical methods of action. Entrepreneurship in the narrow sense of the word does not directly refer to an economic strategy designed for a long-term period. However, even in strategic projects there may be entrepreneurial ideas and individual pockets of entrepreneurship. So, for example, if a long-term project has as its main goal making a profit, is fraught with risk and responsibility, and is not based on trivial ideas, it is legitimate to consider it entrepreneurial. However, in most cases, entrepreneurial actions fit into relatively short-term transactions.

Summarizing the above, we can distinguish the necessary (basic) and possible (secondary) properties of entrepreneurship. The necessary (basic) ones include organizational and economic innovation and economic freedom. Other characteristics (risk, decision making, ownership of resources, leadership, etc.) are possible (secondary) properties of entrepreneurship.

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S.N. Tretyak
COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY.
PART I

FOUNDATIONS OF THE THEORY AND ORGANIZATION
Khabarovsk: Publishing House of the Far East State University of Transportation, 1999

2. CONCEPT AND CONTENT OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES

2.1. The concept of commercial activity

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 a part of entrepreneurial activity in the commodity market and differs from it by and large only in that it does not cover the 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, from economic fundamentals to the structure of 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 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 to ensure effective commercial activity and thereby contribute to the solution of an important socio-economic task - meeting the needs of customers.

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

The main types of professional activities of a merchant:

• organizational and commercial;
• commodity-expert;
• marketing;
• trade and economic;
• analytical;
• trade and purchasing;
• foreign trade.

For science, it is very important to correctly define the essence of commercial activity. Many problems associated with the study of economic patterns in the sphere of production and commodity circulation are still awaiting their solution. Among them, the most relevant are:

• a system of criteria and methods for evaluating the results of the work of the commercial service of the enterprise;
• a system of payment and economic incentives for the work of employees of commercial services.

A significant problem is the clear definition of the boundaries of commercial activities for tax purposes. Yes, in accordance with the law Russian Federation the main criterion for attributing a particular type of activity to a certain category of taxation is the existence of a statutory goal for the corresponding enterprise or organization to make a profit. At the same time, the form of ownership and organizational and legal form of a business entity does not play a role. From the standpoint of taxation, it is only important to clearly establish the belonging of a commercial enterprise to a specific type and field of activity: the production and sale of any products (materials or raw materials), the provision of production or non-production services, trade and intermediary operations, etc. Income tax rates in different cases differ from each other in size.

All enterprises, organizations and institutions operating in the commodity market can be conditionally divided into two main groups: commercial and non-commercial.

Commercial enterprises include almost all enterprises in the sphere of material production (factories, factories), a significant part of enterprises in the production infrastructure (transport and trade and intermediary enterprises, communications enterprises, etc.) and non-production spheres (household services, entertainment industry, etc.) , almost all subjects of the securities market.

Non-profit activities have traditionally been concentrated in health and education, although in recent times and here the sprouts of entrepreneurship appeared. The activity of any non-profit (“non-profitable” in Western economic literature) entity is based on the principle of maintaining a balance of income and expenditure equality. The tax legislation of Russia clearly defines the directions in which expenses included in the cost price can be incurred.

How business differs from entrepreneurship, how to generate business ideas correctly

In addition, the sources of income generation for a non-profit organization are strictly defined. In the event of a profit, this organization must use it in strict accordance with the requirements of the law or perform a special settlement procedure in the state budget by revising the amount of funding or paying the appropriate taxes. Non-profit organizations also include government agencies (federal and municipal).

The subject of commercial activity is the sale and purchase of goods. However, in the broadest sense of the word, not only produced material objects, but also services, and even objects of intellectual property should be considered as goods. A product as an object of commercial transactions (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 correspondence of its consumer properties to existing requests, i.e. the presence of an internal factor influencing the preliminary choice of the buyer;
• the presence of a sufficient quantity of a potentially useful product in the right place and at the right time, or external conditions for the implementation of 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 relevant sales services are formed, inventories are accumulated, trading and intermediary firms are created.

The main varieties of commercial activity fully reflect its essence. First, it is about supply enterprises with the raw materials, materials and products necessary for it. The work associated with their procurement includes the following main operations:

• material need planning;
• organizing the acquisition of resources and their delivery to the enterprise;
• regulation of the size of inventories;
• organization and control of resource consumption in the enterprise must be carried out by special units.

In typical situations, they (subdivisions) are assigned the following names:

• department of material and technical supply (providing); department of production (industrial-technical and production-technological equipment);
• service of acquisition by the equipment of objects under construction.

In modern conditions, when more and more new terms and concepts are included in the professional lexicon of a merchant, divisions for material resource management and logistics. The procurement service of an enterprise is usually also involved in obtaining the necessary commercial information.

It is necessary to highlight sales finished products (services). The sales function is performed by a special service of the enterprise, which organizes the formation of shipment lots, promotes goods on the market, searches for and formalizes relations with buyers (clients).

In modern conditions, the success of this activity to a large extent depends on the professionalism of the sales staff, and therefore marketing becomes the main technology of the sales service.

In a separate category should be allocated trade and intermediary operations in the consumer and industrial (business) market, meaning, above all, wholesale and retail trade. The participation of an intermediary in the process of goods distribution is in many cases a necessary condition for concluding a sale and purchase transaction, as it provides consumers with wider access to the product. Moreover, in the consumer market, the buyer, almost always, can purchase goods only through an intermediary (retailer), since manufacturers almost never work with individuals.

Commercial activity is always associated with the performance of operations to bring material resources from suppliers to consumers. These operations include:

• from manufacturers – preparation of products for shipment, shipment, vacation and its documentation;
• in the warehouses of intermediary and transport companies in the process of product movement - its acceptance, storage, formation of complete batches, shipment;
• in the warehouses of consumer enterprises - acceptance of products in terms of quantity and quality, storage, bringing the purchased materials to a high degree of technological readiness for production consumption, issue and delivery of materials to workplaces.

In general, all these operations, depending on the specific situation, can be conditionally divided into two categories - marketing and supply. Sales operations and processes are related to the production and delivery of products. The production process ends with the sale of products. Supply operations are associated with the production consumption of material resources, obtaining material resources and providing them to enterprises in the production and non-production sectors.

Article 50. Commercial and non-commercial organizations

1. Legal entities may be organizations pursuing profit making as the main goal of their activities (commercial organizations) or not having profit making as such a goal and not distributing the profit received among participants (non-profit organizations).

2. Legal entities that are commercial organizations may be created in the organizational and legal forms of economic partnerships and companies, peasant (farm) enterprises, economic partnerships, production cooperatives, state and municipal unitary enterprises.

(clause 2 as amended by the Federal Law of 05.05.2014 N 99-FZ)

(see text in previous)

3. Legal entities that are non-profit organizations may be created in the organizational and legal forms:

ConsultantPlus: note.

From January 1, 2019, Federal Law No. 217-FZ of July 29, 2017 amends subparagraph 1 of paragraph 3 of Article 50.

1) consumer cooperatives, which include, among other things, housing, housing-construction and garage cooperatives, horticultural, horticultural and dacha consumer cooperatives, mutual insurance societies, credit cooperatives, rental funds, agricultural consumer cooperatives;

2) public organizations, which include, among other things, political parties and trade unions (trade union organizations) established as legal entities, bodies of public amateur performance, territorial public self-governments;

(as amended by Federal Law No. 133-FZ of May 23, 2015)

(see text in previous)

2.1) social movements;

(Clause 2.1 was introduced by Federal Law No. 133-FZ of May 23, 2015)

3) associations (unions), which include non-profit partnerships, self-regulatory organizations, associations of employers, associations trade unions, cooperatives and public organizations, chambers of commerce and industry;

(as amended by Federal Laws No. 268-FZ of 13.07.2015, No. 12-FZ of 07.02.2017)

(see text in previous)

ConsultantPlus: note.

From January 1, 2019, Federal Law No. 217-FZ of July 29, 2017 amends subparagraph 4 of paragraph 3 of Article 50.

4) associations of real estate owners, which include, among other things, associations of homeowners;

5) Cossack societies entered in the state register of Cossack societies in the Russian Federation;

6) communities of indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation;

7) funds, which include, among other things, public and charitable foundations;

8) institutions to which state institutions(including state academies of sciences), municipal institutions and private (including public) institutions;

9) autonomous non-profit organizations;

10) religious organizations;

11) public law companies;

12) bar associations;

(Item 12 was introduced by Federal Law No. 268-FZ of July 13, 2015)

13) bar associations (which are legal entities);

(Item 13 was introduced by Federal Law No. 268-FZ of July 13, 2015)

14) state corporations;

(Item 14 was introduced by Federal Law No. 236-FZ of July 3, 2016)

15) notarial chambers.

(Clause 15 was introduced by Federal Law No. 12-FZ of February 7, 2017)

What is the essential difference between the categories of business, commerce, entrepreneurship

3 in ed. Federal Law of 05.05.2014 N 99-FZ)

(see text in previous)

4. Non-commercial organizations may carry out income-generating activities, if it is provided for by their charters, only insofar as it serves the achievement of the goals for which they were created, and if it corresponds to such goals.

(Clause 4 as amended by the Federal Law of 05.05.2014 N 99-FZ)

(see text in previous)

5. A non-profit organization, the charter of which provides for the implementation of income-generating activities, with the exception of state and private institutions, must have property sufficient for the implementation of the specified activity with a market value of at least the minimum amount of the authorized capital provided for limited liability companies (paragraph 1 of Article 66.2).

(Clause 5 was introduced by Federal Law No. 99-FZ of May 5, 2014)

6. The rules of this Code shall not apply to relations in which non-profit organizations carry out their main activities, as well as to other relations with their participation that are not related to the subject of civil legislation (Article 2), unless otherwise provided by law or the charter of a non-profit organization.

(Clause 6 was introduced by Federal Law No. 99-FZ of May 5, 2014)

4.2. Commercial organization: concept, purpose and task, organizational and legal forms

Organization (enterprise, firm, concern) - an independent economic entity that produces products, performs work and provides services in order to meet social needs and make a profit. As a legal entity, it meets certain criteria, established by law Russian Federation: is responsible for the obligations assumed, can receive bank loans, conclude contracts for the supply of necessary materials and the sale of products.

The purpose of a commercial organization is to make a profit.

To achieve this goal, organizations must:

Produce competitive products, systematically update them in accordance with demand and available production capabilities;

Rational use of production resources, reduce costs and improve product quality;

Develop a strategy and tactics of the organization's behavior and adjust them in accordance with changing market conditions;

Provide conditions for the growth of qualifications and wages personnel, create a favorable socio-psychological climate in the workforce;

Conduct a flexible pricing policy in the market and perform other functions.

The tasks of the organization are determined by the interests of the owner, the amount of capital, the situation within the organization, the external environment.

AT Civil Code RF classification of organizations as legal entities is based on three main criteria:

The right of founders in relation to legal entities or property;

Purposes of economic activity of legal entities;

Organizational and legal form of legal entities.

Depending on what rights the founders (participants) retain in relation to legal entities or their property, legal entities can be divided into three groups:

1) legal entities in respect of which their participants have binding rights. These include: business partnerships and companies, production and consumer cooperatives;

2) legal entities, on the property of which their founders have the right of ownership or other real right. These include state and municipal unitary enterprises, including subsidiaries, as well as institutions financed by the owner;

3) legal entities in respect of which their founders (participants) do not have property rights: public and religious organizations (associations), charitable and other foundations, associations of legal entities (associations and unions).

The above classification of legal entities is of great practical importance, especially in terms of identifying the first group of legal entities in respect of which their participants and founders have only obligations.

According to the organizational and legal form, legal entities that are commercial organizations, in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, are classified as follows (Fig. 4.1):

Business partnerships;

General partnership, limited partnership (limited partnerships);

Business companies - limited liability companies, additional liability companies, joint-stock companies (open and closed types);

Unitary enterprises - based on the right of economic management, based on the right of operational management;

Production cooperatives (artels).

Rice. 4.1. Organizational and legal forms of a commercial organization

Business partnerships are an association of persons, they can be created in the form of general partnerships and limited partnerships.

A general partnership is an association of two or more persons to carry out entrepreneurial activities with the aim of making a profit, the participants of which personally participate in the affairs of the partnership and each is liable for the obligations of the partnership not only with the invested capital, but also with all his property. Losses and profits are distributed in proportion to the share of each of the participants in the common property of the partnership. The memorandum of association of a general partnership contains the following provisions: names of participants, company name, location, subject of activity, contribution of each participant, nature of profit distribution, terms of operation.

According to the law, it is prohibited for one of the participants to sell their share to a new person without the consent of other members of the general partnership.

The form of a full partnership is not widespread and is applicable only to small and medium-sized organizations.

A limited partnership is an association of two or more persons for carrying out entrepreneurial activities, in which the participants (general partners) are liable for the affairs of the partnership both with their contribution and with all their property, and others (limited partners, or contributor members) respond only with their contribution.

Limited partners, unlike general partners, do not take part in entrepreneurial activities and cannot influence the decision of general partners. A limited partnership operates on the basis of a memorandum of association.

Business companies are an association of capitals, which involves the accumulation of capitals, but not the activities of investors: the management and operational management of organizations is carried out by specially created bodies. Responsibility for obligations is borne by the organization itself, the participants are exempt from the risk arising from economic activity.

There are the following types business companies: joint-stock companies, limited and additional liability companies.

A joint stock company (JSC) is formed by issuing and placing shares, the participants (shareholders) are liable, limited by the amount that was paid for the acquisition of shares. JSC is obliged to publish reports on its activities at the end of each financial year. This form of organization is currently the most common.

JSC is formed on the basis of the charter, which is developed and approved by the founders of the company. The charter determines the maximum amount for which shares can be issued (it is called the authorized capital), and their nominal value.

The authorized capital of a JSC is formed in two ways:

Through a public subscription for shares (open joint stock company - OJSC);

Through the distribution of shares among the founders (closed joint stock company - CJSC).

A share is a security that certifies participation in a JSC and allows you to receive a share of the company's profits. Shares can be of various types: registered and bearer; simple and privileged, etc.

JSC management bodies can have a two- and three-tier structure. The first consists of the board and the general meeting of shareholders, the second also includes the supervisory board. The General Meeting of Shareholders makes it possible to exercise the right of management of JSC members. The meeting is authorized to resolve such issues as determining the general line of development of the company, changing the charter, creating branches and subsidiaries, approving the results of activities, electing the board, etc.

The Management Board (Board of Directors) carries out day-to-day management of the company's activities, resolves all issues that are not within the competence of the general meeting. The Board is responsible for the most important management issues: deal making, accounting, organization management, financing and lending, etc.

The Supervisory Board is the body that controls the activities of the board. A member of the Supervisory Board cannot be a member of the Management Board at the same time. The OA's articles of association may provide for certain types of transactions that require the approval of the supervisory board.

A limited liability company (LLC) is a form of organization whose members make a certain share contribution to the authorized capital and bear limited liability within the limits of their contributions. The shares are distributed between the founders without a public subscription and must be registered. The size of the shares is determined by the constituent documents. A member of an LLC is issued a written certificate, which is not a security and cannot be sold to another person without the permission of the company.

LLC has the following characteristics that distinguish it from other forms and types of business entities:

1) organizations in the form of LLCs are mostly small and medium-sized, more mobile and flexible in comparison with JSCs;

2) share certificates are not securities, respectively, do not circulate on the market;

3) the structure of the LLC is the simplest, business management, transactions are carried out by one or more managers;

4) the number of participants may be limited by law;

5) LLC is not required to publish its articles of association, balance sheet data, etc.

6) LLC operates on the basis of the memorandum of association and charter.

An additional liability company (ALC) is a kind of economic companies. The peculiarity of the ALC is that if the company's property is not enough to meet the needs of creditors, the ALC participants can be held liable for the company's debts with their personal property jointly and severally. However, the amount of this liability is limited: it does not concern all property, as in a full partnership, but only part of it - the same multiple for all of the amount of contributions made (three, five, etc.).

Signs of entrepreneurial (commercial) activity.

A production cooperative (artel) is an association of citizens for joint production or economic activities. Participation of legal entities is possible in a production cooperative. The number of members must not be less than five. Members of a production cooperative shall bear subsidiary liability for the obligations of the cooperative in the amount and in the manner prescribed by the law on the production cooperative and the charter.

The property owned by the cooperative is divided into shares of its members in accordance with the charter. The cooperative is not entitled to issue shares. The profit of the cooperative is distributed among its members in accordance with labor participation. The supreme governing body - general meeting cooperative members.

A unitary enterprise is a commercial organization that is not endowed with the right of ownership of the property assigned to it. The property of a unitary enterprise is indivisible and cannot be distributed among deposits.

The charter of a unitary enterprise contains information about the subject and objectives of the activity, the size of the authorized capital, the procedure and sources for its formation. Only state and municipal enterprises can be created in the form of unitary enterprises.

The property belongs to a unitary enterprise on the basis of economic management or operational management.

An organization based on the right of operational management (federal state-owned enterprise) is created by decision of the Government of the Russian Federation on the basis of property that is in federal ownership.

Any activity has a certain direction and is organized to achieve the set goals. The objectives of commercial activity follow from its very essence as an activity carried out by individuals and legal entities for the production or purchase and sale of goods or the provision of services in exchange for other goods, services or money for the mutual benefit of interested counterparties. Commercial activity operates with the same elements of the market as marketing. However main goal for her is not a study of demand and penetration into sales markets, holding their positions on it, but formation of a system of operational and organizational measures aimed at organizing and managing the processes of buying and selling goods in order to meet consumer demand and make a profit.

At the same time, it is possible to sell products, goods and make a profit only with the use of marketing tools. This is precisely the inextricable link between commerce and marketing, which is determined by the essence of the modern concept of marketing, embodied in the slogan: "You only need to produce what will be bought." The content of this concept lies in the combination of market and commodity concepts, that is, in the creation of a product and a consumer necessary for the market at the same time.

Operations performed in commercial activities are divided into two types: production (technological) and commercial.

Production (technological) operations- these are processes associated with the direct movement of goods, their storage, unloading, transportation, packaging, sorting, packaging. They are associated with the movement of the commodity as use value and are a continuation of the process of production in the sphere of circulation.

Production (technological) operations are the object of study of the special discipline "Organization, technology and design of enterprises", the most important task of which is the scientific organization of the interaction of tools and objects of labor with the labor force, in order to rationally use, on the one hand, living labor, and on the other hand, the material elements of labor, that is, tools and objects of labor.

Commercial Operations- these are processes associated with a change in ownership, that is, the sale and purchase of goods. These include organizational and economic processes that are not directly related to the sale and purchase, but ensure their implementation and the normal functioning of the trading mechanism. Commercial operations are in fact the main functions commercial activities, the main ones being:

– study and forecasting of consumer demand, study and identification of needs for goods and services;

– formation of the assortment of goods, development of the assortment list and assortment minimum;

– assortment management, determination of the level of commodity stocks and their normalization;

- identification and study of sources of income and suppliers of goods;

- economic justification for the choice of suppliers of goods, raw materials, materials;

— organization of rational economic relations with suppliers;

– conducting contractual work, including the development of draft contracts, agreeing on their terms (pre-contractual work), signing contracts, monitoring their execution;

– choice of forms and methods of selling goods;

— organization of service maintenance;

— Evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of commercial activities.

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 that is part of the value chain can be divided into several blocks in accordance with the stages of their implementation, as shown in Figure 5. Each of the stages includes one or more business functions.

Figure 5 - Stages of implementation of commercial operations

Commercial activities must be accompanied by actions and decisions that are based on real market conditions. Taking into account economic factors and the intended purpose of the enterprise, the following are set before commercial activities: tasks:

- the formation of commercial policy is the definition of current and future tasks of commercial activity, ways to solve them. Without clearly formulated tasks, the successful functioning of the enterprise is impossible.

1.1. Correlation between the concepts of entrepreneurial, trade and commercial activities

The main tasks of commercial policy include: strengthening market influence, identifying and filling new market niches, expanding the product range, increasing competitiveness and service levels;

- an integrated approach to commercial work - the formation of commercial units of the organization, which should work as a single and well-coordinated mechanism, closely communicating with suppliers, taking into account the structure of market demand, managing the promotion of goods to the buyer;

- management of the purchase and sale of goods and services on a commercial basis - conducting commercial transactions, commercial transactions, commodity-money exchange;

- development of commodity markets - a constant study of the state of the market, determining the motivation of buyers for the necessary goods, effective demand, the prerequisites for its growth, which makes it possible to identify potential opportunities for expansion (development) of the market;

— adaptation of commercial activities to environmental changes;

- Ensuring the accounting of costs associated with activities is one of the main tasks of organizing commercial work, which makes it possible to reduce the costs of operations to bring goods to consumers.

Commercial activity is carried out on the whole promotion of goods on the market. Forms and methods of its implementation are different in different economic conditions. In market conditions, a comprehensive study of the market, consumer requirements for goods and methods of their sale, as well as for after-sales service, is of exceptional importance.

Control questions and tasks

Define commercial activity. What is at the heart of business.

2. Are the concepts of "trade" and "commerce" identical?

3. What is the difference between the concepts of "commerce" and "entrepreneurship"?

4. What types of processes and operations are carried out in trade?

5. Define the concept of "organization".

6. What does it mean to organize? What is organizational activity?

7. Make a classification of organizations.

8. Name the subjects and objects of commercial activity.

9. Define the term "legal entity".

10. What is the main purpose of economic organizations. What are the criteria for economic organizations to be classified as medium and small businesses?

Name the forms of economic organizations.

12. What is an "enterprise"? Describe the main activities of enterprises? Do you think that the concepts of "organization" and "enterprise" are different concepts or identical? Motivate your answer.

13. Make a classification of enterprises.

14. Define the terms "firm" and "company".

Do you think these are different concepts or identical? Motivate your answer.

15. On what principles is commercial activity based?

16. Name the purpose, functions and objectives of commercial activities. Describe each function and task of the business.

17. Name the main tasks of development and improvement of commercial work at the present stage.

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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 a part of entrepreneurial activity in the commodity market and differs from it by and large only in that it does not cover the 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, from economic fundamentals to the structure of 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 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.

The main types of professional activities of a merchant:

• organizational and commercial;
• commodity-expert;
• marketing;
• trade and economic;
• analytical;
• trade and purchasing;
• foreign trade.

For science, it is very important to correctly define the essence of commercial activity. Many problems associated with the study of economic patterns in the sphere of production and commodity circulation are still awaiting their solution. Among them, the most relevant are:

• a system of criteria and methods for evaluating the results of the work of the commercial service of the enterprise;
• a system of payment and economic incentives for the work of employees of commercial services.

A significant problem is the clear definition of the boundaries of commercial activities for tax purposes. Thus, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, the main criterion for classifying one or another type of activity as a certain category of taxation is the existence of a statutory goal for the enterprise or organization to make a profit. At the same time, the form of ownership and organizational and legal form of a business entity does not play a role. From the standpoint of taxation, it is only important to clearly establish the belonging of a commercial enterprise to a specific type and field of activity: the production and sale of any products (materials or raw materials), the provision of production or non-production services, trade and intermediary operations, etc. Income tax rates in different cases differ from each other in size.

All enterprises, organizations and institutions operating in the commodity market can be conditionally divided into two main groups: commercial and non-commercial. Commercial enterprises include almost all enterprises in the sphere of material production (factories, factories), a significant part of enterprises in the production infrastructure (transport and trade and intermediary enterprises, communications enterprises, etc.) and non-production spheres (household services, entertainment industry, etc.) , almost all subjects of the securities market.

Non-profit activity has traditionally been concentrated in the areas of health and education, although recently there have been sprouts of entrepreneurship in this area as well. The activity of any non-profit (“non-profitable” in Western economic literature) entity is based on the principle of maintaining a balance of income and expenditure equality. The tax legislation of Russia clearly defines the directions in which expenses included in the cost price can be incurred. In addition, the sources of income generation for a non-profit organization are strictly defined. In the event of a profit, this organization must use it in strict accordance with the requirements of the law or perform a special settlement procedure in the state budget by revising the amount of funding or paying the appropriate taxes. Non-profit organizations also include government agencies (federal and municipal).

The subject of commercial activity is the sale and purchase of goods. However, in the broadest sense of the word, not only produced material objects, but also services, and even objects of intellectual property should be considered as goods. A product as an object of commercial transactions (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 correspondence of its consumer properties to existing requests, i.e. the presence of an internal factor influencing the preliminary choice of the buyer;
• the presence of a sufficient quantity of a potentially useful product in the right place and at the right time, or external conditions for the implementation of 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 relevant sales services are formed, inventories are accumulated, trading and intermediary firms are created.

The main varieties of commercial activity fully reflect its essence. First, it is about supply enterprises with the raw materials, materials and products necessary for it. The work associated with their procurement includes the following main operations:

• material need planning;
• organizing the acquisition of resources and their delivery to the enterprise;
• regulation of the size of inventories;
• organization and control of resource consumption in the enterprise must be carried out by special units.

In typical situations, they (subdivisions) are assigned the following names:

• department of material and technical supply (providing); department of production (industrial-technical and production-technological equipment);
• service of acquisition by the equipment of objects under construction.

In modern conditions, when more and more new terms and concepts are included in the professional lexicon of a merchant, divisions for material resource management and logistics. The procurement service of an enterprise is usually also involved in obtaining the necessary commercial information.

It is necessary to highlight sales finished products (services). The sales function is performed by a special service of the enterprise, which organizes the formation of shipment lots, promotes goods on the market, searches for and formalizes relations with buyers (clients). In modern conditions, the success of this activity to a large extent depends on the professionalism of the sales staff, and therefore marketing becomes the main technology of the sales service.

In a separate category should be allocated trade and intermediary operations in the consumer and industrial (business) market, meaning, above all, wholesale and retail trade. The participation of an intermediary in the process of goods distribution is in many cases a necessary condition for concluding a sale and purchase transaction, as it provides consumers with wider access to the product. Moreover, in the consumer market, the buyer, almost always, can purchase goods only through an intermediary (retailer), since manufacturers almost never work with individuals.

Commercial activity is always associated with the performance of operations to bring material resources from suppliers to consumers. These operations include:

• from manufacturers – preparation of products for shipment, shipment, vacation and its documentation;
• in the warehouses of intermediary and transport companies in the process of product movement - its acceptance, storage, formation of complete batches, shipment;
• in the warehouses of consumer enterprises - acceptance of products in terms of quantity and quality, storage, bringing the purchased materials to a high degree of technological readiness for production consumption, issue and delivery of materials to workplaces.

In general, all these operations, depending on the specific situation, can be conditionally divided into two categories - marketing and supply. Sales operations and processes are related to the production and delivery of products. The production process ends with the sale of products. Supply operations are associated with the production consumption of material resources, obtaining material resources and providing them to enterprises in the production and non-production sectors.

“The sale of products is, first of all, the circulation of material resources. However, it does not cover the entire phase of circulation, but its initial stage, associated with the sale and resale of goods. Sales of products is directly related to the production and distribution of goods. The marketing activity of an industrial enterprise is naturally connected with finished products. A finished product is one that has passed technical control, has the appropriate marking, meets the requirements established in state standards, specifications, contracts, and prepared for delivery. Finished products entering the economic circulation take various forms. In the extractive industries, finished products are raw materials and fuel (ore, timber, fuel and energy resources, etc.). In the manufacturing industries, some types of finished products take the form of materials to be further processed (metals, Construction Materials, chemicals), others - take the form of finished products, semi-finished products and components.

So, at engineering enterprises that produce machine tools and equipment, finished products take the form of finished products, since machines and equipment are not subject to further processing. Industrial enterprises also produce finished products in the form of semi-finished products, components and spare parts, which are either processed at other enterprises (stamping, forgings), or are included in other products without processing (functional units and parts of assemblies).

The essence of marketing predetermines the existence of two groups of operations with finished products: tangible and intangible. Production and technical operations in warehouses of finished products in industry, as well as in sales bases and warehouses are a continuation production process and are called material. These include:

• acceptance, sorting, labeling and warehousing of products;
• operations with containers and packaging;
• formation of complete batches;
• dispatch, shipment, release, delivery and promotion of products to consumers;
• implementation;
• after-sales services.

Shipment- this is the sending of products by transport to the consumer or intermediary. In this case, the supplier, as the subject of shipment, usually organizes transportation.

Vacation- this is the delivery of finished products to the consignee, who independently organizes the delivery of products to their destination. Both consumer enterprises and intermediary firms that receive products for further resale can act as consignees.

The concept has an independent meaning supply , i.e. actual release or shipment of products to consumers in accordance with contracts. The volume of deliveries includes shipments of products both from industrial enterprises and from warehouses of intermediaries.

Products to be marketed must go through a stage implementation , since it must be not only sent by the seller, but also paid by the buyer. Under the implementation is understood mainly payment for the cost of products, receipt Money(revenue). We note two aspects of the implementation process: its natural-material and cost aspects. This means the obligatory receipt of products by the consumer in quantity and quality that are sufficient for its use and the creation of a production stock, and in accordance with the concluded agreements.

In order to carry out all operations and processes related to the dispatch, delivery and sale of products, it is necessary not only to organize the work of warehouse workers, but also to determine the scheme for promoting products.

In general, formulating an integral definition, it should be noted that sales of products is a complex of organizational, technical, financial and economic measures related to the supply and sale of finished products . The main requirement for sales from the standpoint of a market economy is the readiness of the enterprise to meet the identified assortment demand of consumers. It is important that this happens while minimizing sales stocks (finished products, goods in transit and goods in warehouses with intermediaries) and distribution costs.

Marketing activity in the industry is organized by product groups - ferrous and non-ferrous metals, petroleum products, timber, chemical products and many types of engineering products.