* Product lines that were not covering their avoidable costs could be dropped. * New product development is likely to receive more focus as the review program identifies areas of increasing demand. * Gourmet is likely to benefit from better monitoring of competitors’ product development, prices, and market share trends. F. This is an open-ended question; the specific steps are likely to vary based on the circumstances and the information found. Analysis for a given product might include the following general steps: * Identify the product to be analyzed by using a quantitative monitoring technique (e.g., size decline in contribution margin or sales) or some other method * Obtain and analyze detailed revenue and cost data prior periods; look for negative trends * Obtain and analyze the correlation of sales for this product with other products; look for potential relationships with other products that might influence a decision to drop the product * Obtain and analyze industry information about the product; look for information about trends in customer tastes, competition,
An activity can have more than one cost driver attached to it. For example, a production activity may have the following associated cost-drivers: a machine, machine operator(s), floor space occupied, power consumed, and the quantity of waste and/or rejected output. (BusinessDictionary.com, 2013)" I think the company would do better with Activity Based Costing (ABC) because this allocation method is more accurate because it takes all cost related factors into consideration. The first way the company was allocating department costs was and even three way split, which was undercutting Fabricating, which needs more funds, and this method was overcompensating Laminating and Assembling, which require less. With the ABC Method, the costs are factored by the different cost drivers, such as machinery, staff, number of parts needed, amount of products made, as well as direct material costs and direct labor hours.
This strategy emphasizes the company’s ability to utilize its existing internal resources and focuses on streamlining operation through proper sizing and cost reduction. Even though this way could create short-term benefits to shareholder, this approach could negatively impact the company’s ability to adjust to external changes, especially rapid market and competitors’ changes. * Outside-in strategy: which is external market oriented strategy. Company makes the business decision according to the customer needs and market trends. It is “outside –in” thinking, which could help company to catch up with the market trend and develop products and services that meet the needs of customers.
Develop and document, on behalf of an organisation for which you do or might work, a detailed process whereby it will be possible to investigate, identify, assess, and include the needs of customers in planning processes. Activity 1.docx How can quality, time and cost requirements be balanced? It's all about the expectations of the customer and what they intend on using it for. If they pay a premium price for a product then they expect it to be of premium quality and a quick turnaround. If the product is of low value, then the quality expectation isn't so great.
Identify the main reasons for reviewing working methods, products and / or services in a business environment. The main reason why a business should review working methods, products and / or services are to ensure that they are keeping in line with other businesses. An example of not keeping up with the times is HMV. Change can cause added pressures to the business. However there are changes that would have a small affect on the business.
M4–Analyse the reasons why costs need to be controlled to budget In this assignment I will analyse the reasons why costs need to be controlled to budge. If costs are not measured by Debenhams then their profits will be badly affected therefore budgeting is one process to regulate costs as it gives the organisation an approximation or a target on what their cost and revenue should be. A business has to budget and control expenditure in order to see what has been received and paid out, otherwise unrestrained spending could occur and decline could happen. One of the difficulties that could occur if costs are not controlled to budget is: high fixed cost per item which decreases businesses profit and ability to compete. Debenhams are very effective at controlling its costs to budget as the results were good for sales revenue throughout 2013.
EGT 1 Task 2: Elasticity Jeffery S. Short #0257373 Element A: The world of business exists because of the consumer. Business owners are concerned if customers will purchase the goods they offer and how they will react to the constant changes that occur in the marketplace. If a business owner can estimate how consumers will react to product offerings or the changes to those products, then they can offer better services while maintaining profitability. Economists study the many variables involved in the marketplace by observing how consumers react to changes in products, pricing, supply and demand in an effort to classify or codify trends. They then develop calculations to categorize these consumer patterns, and then use them as tools to provide insight into consumer reactions and possible future buying patterns.
The outflows of a business will be discussedfurther and how to control the risks that areinvolvedwith different areas. The controls that will be addressed will involve the areas of purchasing, accounts payable, cash disbursements, finance, investments, and payroll. Each area will consider the different transactions that take place and how internal controls can assist in reducing fraud and poor decision making. Purchasing The purchasing department in a company allows a certain amount of power to the employees whowork in that department. Controls need to be in place to prevent fraud and error from occurring.
It depends on how this change would affect not only the company, but how it would affect the brokers? If they did make the change to more subjective assessments and cross-selling, they would have to consider the fact that many brokers may leave because they prefer their pay to be determined based on objective/incentive based measures. With a greater emphasis on cross-selling, this adds more areas the brokers need to become knowledgeable in which could require more time, resources, and training. One the other hand, this also adds a competitive advantage for the company and another area for brokers to make money, which could be a leg up within the bidding wars, especially if they have the opportunity to make more money. Overall, I would say that Bank of America needs to do their research and gather data from not only the brokers but also the customers to help determine their best course of
In addition, there will be the opportunity cost of not having cash available for more useful requirements i.e. supplier discounts, interest income. Therefore, Willow Company needs to hold optimum levels of inventory and increase its sales in order to improve its inventory turnover and cash