Alliance Supermarkets Essay

point of sale system. The POS system is a perpetual inventory counting method that electronically records items immediately upon their point of sale (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). In other words, as a cashier scans a customer 's groceries, each scanned item is automatically recorded in the system and deducted from the store’s inventory. Implementing a point of sale would benefit a business’s inventory management function in several ways. First, the POS system will provide managers with a continuous flow of updated information (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). As a result, the information will provide more accuracy when used for sales forecasts and analysis, which substantially affect inventory decisions. Continuously, this inventory system would also allow greater flexibility in the sense that it can be wirelessly linked to the main company’s inventory system, creating a network of the company’s inventory systems. The POS system is capable of tracking many operations at once and can be modified according to management’s needs (MacCarthy, n.d.). This flexibility would undoubtedly benefit a large company like Wegman’s with many store locations. Lastly, the system is able to help businesses maintain a high level of customer service. Because the system gives customers a receipt with the price and quantity of each item purchased, the customer is able to see exactly what he or she purchased. This practice

By taking a more collaborative approach, major improvement could be made. One way is by embracing the concept of “Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment” (CPFR) which have been developed and successfully employed by leading food retailers. It foresees that data is shared and discussed actively between retailers and suppliers, e.g. by producing joint forecast on annual production volumes, also considering foreseeable flunctuations. With a better understanding of the mutual dependencies, the planning basisi could be improve and complexity reduced. On the short term planning basis, making aviable sales data collected in-store 9from the scanner-equipped cash registers) to suppliers in real time allows suppliers to produce more accuratelty to the actual demand, and thus reducing cost for buffers and excess inventory (Trebilcock 006). Of course, Aldi will have to receive a certain share of these benefits. Going one step further would be to add ”Category Management” to Aldi’s supplier collaboration approach to optimise assortment towards the end of customer needs.

Market segmentation allows marketers to understand customers’ needs and identify target markets (Peter & Donnelly, 2011). Bright Light Innovations will be able to evaluate different segments to determine differential advantages in each of those segments. Furthermore, management will be able to determine any of the particular marketing mix for a more successful strategic plan. Market segmentation can be obtained by researching geographic data (zip code, region, etc), demographic data (age, occupation, nationality, etc), psychographic data (social status, personal type, etc), behavioral data (customer behavior), or any other data that can be beneficial to the research (Kawasaki, 2004).

I’ve selected The Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association. For over twenty years this society has brought light to the future role of the healthcare strategist, not to mention numerous of connections that bridge worlds for the future of healthcare. They have a strong focus in marketing, public relations, communication, strategic planning and many more.

Undoubtedly, the health care industry is a dynamic and ever-changing business environment that requires continuous strategic management. The inevitable changes occurring in this sector is at a very fast pace, and strong strategic planning is critical to the industry's success. This strategic planning should be translated into concrete short-term actions as a vehicle for deciding which markets are important to the organization's success, and which capabilities or resources are necessary to reach those markets effectively (Verity, & Mills, 2010). According to Lierman (n.d), an important part of any good business plan or strategic planning process is the market analysis. This implies that market analysis formed the foundation for which other

In order to market the product into the market successfully, marketers need to have some marketing strategy to enter the desired market and make profit. Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics (Schiffman et al., 2011). Understanding the market size and segmentation is valuable, but the keys to effective targeting is to know just how valuable specific consumer groups are, and being able to quantify the impact of consumer trends ( Berry, 1999).

Key points to remember is that customers are the most important aspect of a healthcare organization. They like to see the strong interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship amongst employees. There is no right or wrong way to advertise a healthcare organization; as stated before, marketing is an art. Short-term marketing goals are to be reviewed frequently by personnel and the marketing team. In addition, long-term marketing goals are to be reviewed annually. Marketing strategies require previous experience and research; it is suggested that healthcare organizations adopt marketing strategies from other sectors. After reading these articles, benchmarking is important for a healthcare organization to determine overall performance.

Krajewski, L. J. & Ritzman, L. P. (2002) Operations Management: Strategy and Analysis, 5th edition [University of Phoenix Print Version]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice

Schroeder, R.G. (2008). Operations Management: Contemporary Concepts and Cases, Fourth Edition. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill Irwin Companies

Broyles, D., Beims, J., Franko, J., & Bergman, M. (2005, April). Academic Mind. Retrieved January 19, 2008, from http://www.academicmind.com/unpublishedpapers/business/operationsmanagement/2005-04-000aaf-just-in-time-inventory-management.html

Barilla SpA, a large vertical integrated corporation that makes pasta and bread products is experiencing rising costs due to extreme variability in demand from its distributors. In order to improve company’s sale margins, Giorgio Magialli, the Director of Logistics at Barilla suggests to implement a Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) system. The JITD system is a continuous replenishment distribution strategy, which the responsibility for determining inventory quantities shifts

Wal-Mart, pioneer in the inventory management, since 1990s, has reduced its overall cost structure, enhanced supply chain efficiency and increasing customer service. In order to continuous improve its receiving and shelving

Store-level data were collected, analyzed and transmitted electronically to see how a particular region, district, store, department within a store or item was performing. This eliminated stock-outs, reduced the need for markdowns on slow-moving stock and maximized inventory turnover. The benchmark information across stores was also a valuable tool to help "problem" stores.

Market Segmentation sole purpose is for a company to identify and target specific consumers to launch and brand

Market segmentation is the process by which a diverse market is divided into a number of distinct sub-markets (Walker and Mullins). The objective is to identify groups of customers with similar needs and characteristics so that they can be served effectively (Jobber, 2007). By grouping together with similar