What role does transportation play in distribution?
What will be an ideal response?
Transportation decisions concern five methods a company should use to move its products: rail, truck, air, water, or pipeline. When contemplating market expansion outside the home country, management's inclination may be to configure aspects of the value chain exactly as they are at home. However, this may not be the most effective solution because the organization may lack the necessary skill and experience to conduct all value-chain activities in target markets. A company with home-market competitive advantages in both upstream activities and downstream activities may be forced to reconfigure distribution activities to successfully enter new global markets. Global firms exist in a "two-speed world." One has a lower rate of growth and high per capita income; the other has much higher growth and low per capita income. These divergent growth patterns have significant implications for a global firm's supply and channel management processes and operations. The challenge of this "two-speed world" is in the need for both flexibility and adaptability in supply-chain creation and management. In light of these challenges, companies are rethinking their sourcing and distribution facilities and partnerships, often looking to "near-shore" production for the added value of providing better service and more innovative products that will allow the firm to charge premium prices.
You might also like to view...
The new entity assumes ___________ for all debts and obligations owed by the original corporations in a consolidation.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
The following data was obtained for a company that makes statues:
Standard Inputs Expected Standard Price For Each Unit of Output Per Unit of Input Direct material 5 pounds $12 per pound Direct labor 1.5 hours $12 per hour During the month of July, the company actually produced 1,000 statutes, which is 100 units less than expected. Direct material purchased and used amounted to 5,500 pounds at a cost of $12.50 per pound. Actual direct labor was 1,450 hours at an actual cost of $13.00 per hour. Required: A) Compute the price and quantity variances for direct materials. B) Compute the price and quantity variances for direct labor.