ABSTRACT
The processes involved in the distribution of goods, whether food, consumer goods or capital goods, from their points of production to those of consumption, are managed, manipulated and controlled. This is the case not just with the economies of high mass consumption but it is equally true of the developing and communist worlds. The equation of supply and demand which is the basis of the distribution process is central to both the disciplines of economic geography and marketing and the two subjects have clear points of contact and overlap. Usually supply and demand are spatially separated and the management of the processes which close this spatial gap is relevant to marketing science and geography. Demand structure-the amount and types of good required for consumption-varies through geographical space and this variation again provides central themes in marketing and geography. Government control of marketing activities varies in type both among and within countries, so again geographical variables impinge on marketing decisions.
