Commerce

Commerce is the organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale distribution and transfer (exchange through buying and selling) of goods and services at the right time, place, quantity, quality and price through various channels among the original producers and the final consumers within local, regional, national or international economies.

[1][2][3][4][5] The diversity in the distribution of natural resources, differences of human needs and wants, and division of labour along with comparative advantage are the principal factors that give rise to commercial exchanges.

Their purpose is to remove hindrances related to direct personal contact, payments, savings, funding, separation of place and time, product protection and preservation, knowledge and risk.

The broader framework of commerce incorporates additional elements and factors such as laws and regulations (including intellectual property rights and antitrust laws), policies, tariffs and trade barriers, consumers and consumer trends, producers and production strategies, supply chains and their management, financial transactions for ordinary and extraordinary business activities, market dynamics (including supply and demand), technological innovation, competition and entrepreneurship, trade agreements, multinational corporations and small and medium-sized enterprisess (SMEs), and macroeconomic factors (like economic stability).

Commerce drives economic growth, development and prosperity, promotes regional and international interdependence, fosters cultural exchange, creates jobs, improves people's standard of living by giving them access to a wider variety of goods and services, and encourages innovation and competition for better products.

Furthermore, in the mid-20th century, the adoption of standardized shipping containers facilitated seamless and efficient intermodal freight transport, leading to a surge in international trade.

Commerce deals with buying, selling and distribution of goods and services from producers to customers as well as related matters such as marketing, finance, laws, transportation and insurance.

Commerce provides the underlying large-scale transactional environment comprising all kinds of exchanges within which individual business organizations operate for generating profits.

In other words, commerce encompasses a wide array of political, economical, technological, logistical, legal, regulatory, social and cultural aspects of trade on a large scale.

Currently the reliability of international trans-oceanic shipping and mailing systems and the facility of the Internet has made commerce possible between cities, regions and countries situated anywhere in the world.