Materials management is an integrative approach to control the flow of production materials. It has been successfully practiced by numerous manufacturing firms to decrease materials cost and improve the employment of scarce resources. The need for better utilization of resources is also prevalent in service sector industries. This dissertation focused on the public utilities industry and its practices in the materials management area. Major emphasis of this research was to (1) define the state-of-the-art of materials management within the gas and electric utilities in Texas, (2) determine its impact on the corporate structure, and (3) identify opportunities for materials management in the future of the Texas utilities industry.

The general purpose of the study was to determine, analyze, and evaluate the basic nature of the distribution processes involved in the marketing of antique furniture in Dallas, Texas. The study utilizes the marketing mix components as a framework for understanding the nature of the industry. Various aspects of the channels of distribution and physical distribution, the products themselves, pricing mechanisms, and the promotion methods, as well as the market itself and distribution problems, were examined. The primary data were gathered from 29 retail antiques dealers in the Dallas metropolitan area.