07-01.
Co-operative wholesale society
Pattern description
A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. According to co-operative economist Charles Gide, the aim of a co-operative wholesale society is to arrange “bulk purchases, and, if possible, organise production.” In other words, a co-operative wholesale society is a form of federal co-operative through which consumers co-operatives can collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices, and in some cases collectively own factories or farms.
Inventive problems
The company should constantly keep in touch with customers to attract them and to encourage customers to re-purchase.
The company should minimize communication with consumers in order to reduce costs.
The company should be large and have a complex structure to perform a large number of diverse operations for the development, production, and delivery of a complex product to the customers.
The company should be small and have a simple structure in order to:
- reduce the variety and complexity of the company activities;
- focus on a small number of core operations;
- have a small stuff;
- minimize the cost of development, production, sale, and delivery of products to customers.
The produce suppliers should build relationship with each individual customer, so as to best meet the customer's needs.
The produce suppliers should build relationships with large groups of customers in order to reduce costs.