History and scholarship
Zola's novel Au Bonheur des Dames (1883) depicted department-store merchandising. Fisher (1997, HBR) matched supply chains to functional vs innovative products; Kök et al. (2008) reviewed assortment planning; Iyengar and Lepper's (2000) jam study showed too much choice can reduce buying; Anderson (2006) described the long tail.
What the job involves
Trend analysis, product planning and sourcing, vendor negotiation, pricing and promotion, stock and sales data. Scope and required skills vary by company and industry; check actual job postings and NCS job descriptions.
Hiring and careers
Retail, fashion, food and e-commerce firms hire; the Distribution Manager cert may be preferred.
FAQ
- Is MD a sales job?
- Some firms make it sales-heavy.
- Is Excel important?
- Usually yes.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Zola, É. (1883). Au Bonheur des Dames. Charpentier.
- Fisher, M. L. (1997). What is the right supply chain for your product? Harvard Business Review, 75(2), 105–116.
- Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995–1006.
- Anderson, C. (2006). The Long Tail. Hyperion.
- Kök, A. G., Fisher, M. L., & Vaidyanathan, R. (2008). Assortment planning: Review of literature and industry practice. In N. Agrawal & S. A. Smith (Eds.), Retail Supply Chain Management. Springer.
- Levy, M., Weitz, B. A., & Grewal, D. (2014). Retailing Management (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
- 국가직무능력표준(NCS). https://www.ncs.go.kr
- 고용24 직업정보(고용노동부·한국고용정보원). https://www.work24.go.kr