Frank Johnson was outbound logistics manager for sudsy Soap.Inc. He had held the job for the past five years and had just about every distribution function well under control. His task was made easier because shipping patterns and volumes were unchanging routines. The firm’s management boasted that it had a steady share in “a stable market” although a few stock holders grumbled that sudsy soap had a declining share in a growing market. The sudsy soap plant was in Akron, Ohio. It routinely produced 100,000 (1.5 Kg) cartons of powdered dish soap each week each carton measured about 16 cm ,and each working day 15 to 20 railcar loads were loaded and shipped to various food chain warehouses and to a few large grocery brokers. Johnson worked with the marketing staff to establish prices , so nearly all soap was purchased in railcar –load lots .shipments less than a full carload did not occur very often . Buyers relied on dependable deliveries and the average length of time it took for a carton of soap to leave the sudsy production line and reach retailers shelf was 19 days. The best time was 6 days (to chains distributing in Ohio), and the longest time was 43 days (to retailers in Alaska and Hawaii). Sudsy soaps CEO was worried about the stockholders criticism regarding sudsy lack of growth, so he hired a new sales manager, E, Gerard beever (nick named “eager “since his college days at a big ten university) beever had a one – year contract and knew he must produce. He needed a gimmick. At his university fraternity reunion, he ran into one of his old fraternity roommates, who was now sales manager for an imported line of kitchen dishes manufactured in china and distributed by a firm headquartered in Hong Kong. The product quality was good , but competition was intense . it was difficult to get even a toehold in the kitchen dinnerware market. Beever and his contact shared a common plight: they were responsible for increasing market shares for products with very little differentiation from competitors products , they both wished they could help each other , but they could not . the reunion ended and each went home . The next week , beever was surprised to receive an e-mail message from his old roommate : We propose a tie –in promotion between sudsy soap and our dishes. we will supply at no cost to you 100,000 each 30 cm dinner plates, 22 cm pie plates, 18 cm bread and butter plates , coffee cups and saucer , each week you must have a different piece in each package , starting with dinner plates in week 1. Pie plates in week 2 and so on through the end of week s of October 3 October 10 October 17, October 24 and October 31 of this year. Timing important because national advertising linked to new television show we are sponsoring. We will give buyers of five packages of sudsy soap purchased five weeks in arrow, one free place setting of our dishes. enough of our customers will want complete table settings that they will buy more place setting from our retailers timing crucial . Advise immediately. Note attached message offering tie-in with dishes .dishes are of good quality. what additional information do we need from dish distributer , and what additional information do you need before we know whether to recommend acceptance ?advise ASAP.thanks                           Questions:- 1-Assume that you are frank Johnson’s assistant, and he ask you to look into various scheduling problems that might occur. list and discuss them .   2- Many firms selling consumer goods are concerned with problems of product liability. Does the dish offer present any such problems? If so, what are they? Can they be accommodated?   3-should the exterior of the sudsy soap package be altered to show what dish it contains? If so who should pay for extra costs?   4- Assume that you are another of Johnson’s assistant and your principle responsibility is managing the inventories of all the firms inputs .finished products, packages, and outbound inventories what additional work will the dish proposal cause

Marketing
20th Edition
ISBN:9780357033791
Author:Pride, William M
Publisher:Pride, William M
Chapter14: Marketing Channels And Supply Chain Management
Section: Chapter Questions
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Frank Johnson was outbound logistics manager for sudsy Soap.Inc. He had held the job for the past five years and had just about every distribution function well under control. His task was made easier because shipping patterns and volumes were unchanging routines. The firm’s management boasted that it had a steady share in “a stable market” although a few stock holders grumbled that sudsy soap had a declining share in a growing market.

The sudsy soap plant was in Akron, Ohio. It routinely produced 100,000 (1.5 Kg) cartons of powdered dish soap each week each carton measured about 16 cm ,and each working day 15 to 20 railcar loads were loaded and shipped to various food chain warehouses and to a few large grocery brokers. Johnson worked with the marketing staff to establish prices , so nearly all soap was purchased in railcar –load lots .shipments less than a full carload did not occur very often .

Buyers relied on dependable deliveries and the average length of time it took for a carton of soap to leave the sudsy production line and reach retailers shelf was 19 days. The best time was 6 days (to chains distributing in Ohio), and the longest time was 43 days (to retailers in Alaska and Hawaii).

Sudsy soaps CEO was worried about the stockholders criticism regarding sudsy lack of growth, so he hired a new sales manager, E, Gerard beever (nick named “eager “since his college days at a big ten university) beever had a one – year contract and knew he must produce. He needed a gimmick.

At his university fraternity reunion, he ran into one of his old fraternity roommates, who was now sales manager for an imported line of kitchen dishes manufactured in china and distributed by a firm headquartered in Hong Kong.

The product quality was good , but competition was intense . it was difficult to get even a toehold in the kitchen dinnerware market. Beever and his contact shared a common plight: they were responsible for increasing market shares for products with very little differentiation from competitors products , they both wished they could help each other , but they could not . the reunion ended and each went home .

The next week , beever was surprised to receive an e-mail message from his old roommate :

We propose a tie –in promotion between sudsy soap and our dishes. we will supply at no cost to you 100,000 each 30 cm dinner plates, 22 cm pie plates, 18 cm bread and butter plates , coffee cups and saucer , each week you must have a different piece in each package , starting with dinner plates in week 1. Pie plates in week 2 and so on through the end of week s of October 3 October 10 October 17, October 24 and October 31 of this year. Timing important because national advertising linked to new television show we are sponsoring. We will give buyers of five packages of sudsy soap purchased five weeks in arrow, one free place setting of our dishes. enough of our customers will want complete table settings that they will buy more place setting from our retailers timing crucial . Advise immediately.

Note attached message offering tie-in with dishes .dishes are of good quality. what additional information do we need from dish distributer , and what additional information do you need before we know whether to recommend acceptance ?advise ASAP.thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions:-

1-Assume that you are frank Johnson’s assistant, and he ask you to look into various scheduling problems that might occur. list and discuss them .

 

2- Many firms selling consumer goods are concerned with problems of product liability. Does the dish offer present any such problems? If so, what are they? Can they be accommodated?

 

3-should the exterior of the sudsy soap package be altered to show what dish it contains? If so who should pay for extra costs?

 

4- Assume that you are another of Johnson’s assistant and your principle responsibility is managing the inventories of all the firms inputs .finished products, packages, and outbound inventories what additional work will the dish proposal cause

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ISBN:
9780357033791
Author:
Pride, William M
Publisher:
South Western Educational Publishing