Blog Post for Nov. 23

Blog Post for Nov. 23

Today's class was another informative marketing class, with a few quirks that I really enjoyed. First off, I liked the quick recap of everything we had done the day before; it really helped me remember what we had learned the day before, and get a quick review session to really grasp and understand the concepts. Also, I liked the worksheet that we got today that we filled in together (with the sales revenue, retail price, wholesale price, etc.) Walking through the worksheet and the math to get to the solution was extremely helpful in understanding the whole idea of prices. Lastly, I liked the cartoons we created. Not only were they a good and funny start to the morning, they also helped me understand the Gaps much, much better.

Today in class, a few of the more interesting things that we talked about were retail price, wholesale price, and Freshpatch sales revenue/CGS/gross margin/etc.
During class, we filled out the price/budget worksheet using FreshPatch as a guide. We first looked at the retail price, which is the price that the product is sold at. Then we looked at the wholesale price, which is the cost of a good sold by a wholesaler. The retail price is 7.99, and the wholesale price is 3.99. We also did out the sales revenue, which is price*units, and the math came out to be 100,000$. The sales revenue came out to be 100,000 for both the 3000 sq ft space and the commercial kitchen. We then did the CGS, which came out to be 38,000 for the 3000 sq ft space, and 25,400 for the commercial kitchen. Lastly, we did the gross margin which came out to be 62,000 for the 3000 sq ft space, and 74,600 for the commercial kitchen. This goes to show that the commercial kitchen would've been a better solution than using the 3000 sq ft space.

A few interesting things that we didn't talk about in class are the several criteria that supply chain managers use to choose a mode of transportation (236), reverse channels and drop and shops (248), and the multiple different types of in-store retailers (261).

The first criteria that supply chain managers use to choose a mode of transportation is relative cost. Relative cost is the total amount a carrier charges to move a product from one place to another. The next criteria is transit time, or the total time a carrier has possession of the products, including everything from pickup, handling, delivery and movement. The next criteria they use is reliability, which is the consistency which the carrier delivers goods on time and in acceptable condition. Another criteria is capability. The capability criteria looks at the ability of the carrier to provide appropriate equipment and conditions for moving specific products. Another criteria is accessibility, which is the carriers ability to move goods over a specific route. The last criteria that supply chain movers use to choose a mode of transportation for their products is traceability, which is the ease which the product can be located and transferred.
Another concept that I found interesting was the reverse channels and drop and shop system. The reverse channel allows consumers to return a product when it reaches the end of its usable life. The retailer or manufacturer then recycles the useless product and uses bits of it to make new products or refurbished and resellable products. Many companies and consumers use this system to reduce environmental impacts and better financial opportunities. Some companies that use this product are Walmart, Apple and Best Buy, and they recycle items such as batteries, tv's phones, etc. A drop and shop system is pretty much the same idea as a reverse channel, but allows consumers to drop off electronics at the entrance of a retailer. I never knew reverse channels and drop and shop systems were a thing, but now that I do, I may return and recycle some old and unused electronics!
Another concept that we didn't talk about in class but I found to be very fascinating was the tens of different in-store retailers. I never really thought about how many retailers there were, but now that I think and read about it, there's a ton! They are department stores, such as Marshalls (a favorite of mine), and specialty stores, such as Famous Footwear (another big favorite). Some others are supermarkets (I usually shop at Big Y), drugstores (I hate CVS, and usually use Walgreens), convenience stores (I don't really have a favorite!). Some other in-store retailers are full-line discount stores (Walmart), supercenters (my mom LOVES Target), specialty discount stores (like Foot Locker, did I mention I love shoes?), warehouse clubs (my mom also loves BJ's). The last few are off-price retailers (Marshalls comes up again!) and restaurants (love Friendly's!!). I  never really thought about the multiple different types of in-store retailers and which stores go into which category, but now that I know all of the different ones, I feel like every time I go into a store, I'm going to try and figure out which category they fit into!