COMPETITIVENESS MANAGEMENT OF WHOLESALE TRADE ENTERPRISES

The article is devoted to issues related to the improvement of the process of managing the competitiveness of wholesale trade enterprises. A critical analysis of existing approaches to defining the essence of the category "competitiveness" was carried out, as a result of which a more complete definition of this category was proposed, due to the ability of an economic entity to compete effectively under the condition of limited resources with other entities interested in the same goal. Based on the analysis and generalization of the approaches of various scientists, the main criteria of competitive advantages are defined as a component of competition that does not have an absolute dimension and expresses a set of characteristics and phenomena that allow the enterprise to achieve a leading position among competitors. Taking into account the dual orientation of the process of managing the competitiveness of the enterprise, the priority tasks of the management system of the competitiveness of the wholesale trade enterprise are defined in the work, such as the implementation of measures related to the maintenance and development of market demand for certain goods and services, the formation of conditions for the implementation of the principle of social orientation of the enterprise's activities in the innovative sphere and building a logically correct management process, focused on increasing the competitiveness of the enterprise as the main strategic task of its development. Based on the analysis of the existing methods of assessing the competitiveness of the enterprise, the work defines basic criteria and groups of indicators that are specific to wholesale trade enterprises. In the course of researching the peculiarities of the functioning of wholesale trade enterprises in modern conditions of a highly competitive environment, the main directions of the formation of their competitive advantages are proposed. In order to ensure the competitiveness of wholesale trade enterprises, the article develops organizational measures, the implementation of which will contribute to obtaining competitive advantages in the market, in particular, the development of an effective logistics strategy, the use of information technologies, the development of the brand and the creation of the company's image, as well as the improvement of the pricing strategy.