Chap 5

Assuming that the company’s goal is to maximize profits, the current cost system is not an appropriate tool for strategic planning. The ambiguity of the overhead costs per product makes it difficult to accurately analyze the cause and effect relationships of changes and/or improvements to specific product line.

Review of ABC Company and the directions it is targeting. The strategy of the company is to lift the expected sales in an aggressive fashion, with the expected end target being to triple the current levels. The plan is to push sales into the targeted range of $3 million within 3 years versus the current amount which sits at $1.2 million. We will identify the perceived risk factors that may impact this aggressive strategy and its successful execution. The following will be those risk factors:

The week four individual paper addresses the implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC) by Super Bakery, Inc., a virtual corporation founded by Franco Harris. Specifically, management strategies, the reasoning behind an ABC system, and the alternatives of a job order cost system or a process order cost system are assessed for this enterprise.

z. P2) High profits are the signal that consumers want more of the output of the industry.

How should this market be segmented? Identify the key segmentation variables that are relevant for this market.

Draw upon market data which is available, to support your conclusions on “Market Structure” with in this industry sector.

As previously mentioned, the use of activity-based costing gives Kemps an advantage when competing for customers in an ever more competitive and growing market. However, the ability to succinctly distinguish how many small changes, when taken together, can have a large impact on cost savings (and therefore profit), is necessary in order to convince customers who may not be familiar with the many benefits of ABC. Mainly, management would want to demonstrate how the cost savings that they enjoy are ultimately passed on to their customers, perhaps by showing some of the improvements that have been made to their own company as a result of implementation, specifically focusing on advancements that would have a direct impact on the customer’s business.

Blue Ridge’s competitive strategy appears to be cost leadership, focusing on a narrow product type and offering for sale only in the southeastern states. Blue Ridge’s limited offering of products, only a sports towel for limited use and distribution, give it an edge in determination as there are only so many materials, designs, and processes required for this one type of product. Though Blue Ridge does focus on just the sports towel, there are still some aspect of differentiation which causes the firm’s competitive strategy to also deviate a bit towards product differentiation. Blue Ridge offers variations of its sports towels aside from its three customary sizes (regular, hand, and midrange),

Essentially, with the current cost system, the managerial analysis is highly flawed due to a lack of crucial in-depth cost information, as indicated by:

1. Think about size, growth, locational aspects and segmentation 2. Market Structure 3. Performance metrics used 4. Trends

3. Which is the most attractive customer segment for MBC to target? Explain your reasoning.

Bhimani, A., Horngren, C., Datar, S., Rajan, M. et al. (2012) Management and Cost Accounting. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Prentice Hall, p.369 - 378.

Blocher E., Stout D., Juras P., Cokins G. (2013). Strategy and Master Budget. Cost Management. (6th ed., pp. 350-406). New york: The McGraw-Hill Companies. DOI:www.mhhe.com/blocher6e

Oak City is an interdisciplinary case that involves cost allocation and determination issues in a