Concept explainers
Uncertainty and expected costs. Kindmart is an international retail store. Kindmart’s managers are considering implementing a new business-to-business (B2B) information system for processing merchandise orders. The current system costs Kindmart $2,000,000 per month and $55 per order. Kindmart has two options, a partially automated B2B and a fully automated B2B system. The partially automated B2B system will have a fixed cost of $6,000,000 per month and a variable cost of $45 per order. The fully automated B2B system has a fixed cost of $14,000,000 per month and a variable cost of $25 per order.
Based on data from the past two years, Kindmart has determined the following distribution on monthly orders:
Monthly Number of Orders | Probability |
300,000 | 0.25 |
500,000 | 0.45 |
700,000 | 0.30 |
- 1. Prepare a table showing the cost of each plan for each quantity of monthly orders.
Required
- 2. What is the expected cost of each plan?
- 3. In addition to the information system’s costs, what other factors should Kindmart consider before deciding to implement a new B2B system?
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- Carpetland salespersons average 8,000 per week in sales. Steve Contois, the firms vice president, proposes a compensation plan with new selling incentives. Steve hopes that the results of a trial selling period will enable him to conclude that the compensation plan increases the average sales per salesperson. a. Develop the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses. b. What is the Type I error in this situation? What are the consequences of making this error? c. What is the Type II error in this situation? What are the consequences of making this error?arrow_forwardGlobal Reach, Inc., is considering opening a new warehouse to serve the Southwest region. Darnell Moore, controller for Global Reach, has been reading about the advantages of foreign trade zones. He wonders if locating in one would be of benefit to his company, which imports about 90 percent of its merchandise (e.g., chess sets from the Philippines, jewelry from Thailand, pottery from Mexico, etc.). Darnell estimates that the new warehouse will store imported merchandise costing about 16.78 million per year. Inventory shrinkage at the warehouse (due to breakage and mishandling) is about 8 percent of the total. The average tariff rate on these imports is 5.5 percent. Required: 1. If Global Reach locates the warehouse in a foreign trade zone, how much will be saved in tariffs? Why? (Round your answer to the nearest dollar.) 2. Suppose that, on average, the merchandise stays in a Global Reach warehouse for nine months before shipment to retailers. Carrying cost for Global Reach is 6 percent per year. If Global Reach locates the warehouse in a foreign trade zone, how much will be saved in carrying costs? What will the total tariff-related savings be? (Round your answers to the nearest dollar.) 3. Suppose that the shifting economic situation leads to a new tariff rate of 13 percent, and a new carrying cost of 6.5 percent per year. To combat these increases, Global Reach has instituted a total quality program emphasizing reducing shrinkage. The new shrinkage rate is 7 percent. Given this new information, if Global Reach locates the warehouse in a foreign trade zone, how much will be saved in carrying costs? What will the total tariff-related savings be? (Round your answers to the nearest dollar.)arrow_forwardDanna Martin, president of Mays Electronics, was concerned about the end-of-the year marketing report that she had just received. According to Larry Savage, marketing manager, a price decrease for the coming year was again needed to maintain the companys annual sales volume of integrated circuit boards (CBs). This would make a bad situation worse. The current selling price of 18 per unit was producing a 2-per-unit profithalf the customary 4-per-unit profit. Foreign competitors kept reducing their prices. To match the latest reduction would reduce the price from 18 to 14. This would put the price below the cost to produce and sell it. How could these firms sell for such a low price? Determined to find out if there were problems with the companys operations, Danna decided to hire a consultant to evaluate the way in which the CBs were produced and sold. After two weeks, the consultant had identified the following activities and costs: The consultant indicated that some preliminary activity analysis shows that per-unit costs can be reduced by at least 7. Since the marketing manager had indicated that the market share (sales volume) for the boards could be increased by 50% if the price could be reduced to 12, Danna became quite excited. Required: 1. CONCEPTUAL CONNECTION What is activity-based management? What phases of activity analysis did the consultant provide? What else remains to be done? 2. CONCEPTUAL CONNECTION Identify as many nonvalue-added costs as possible. Compute the cost savings per unit that would be realized if these costs were eliminated. Was the consultant correct in the preliminary cost reduction assessment? Discuss actions that the company can take to reduce or eliminate the nonvalue-added activities. 3. Compute the unit cost required to maintain current market share, while earning a profit of 4 per unit. Now compute the unit cost required to expand sales by 50%, assuming a per-unit profit of 4. How much cost reduction would be required to achieve each unit cost? 4. Assume that further activity analysis revealed the following: switching to automated insertion would save 60,000 of engineering support and 90,000 of direct labor. Now, what is the total potential cost reduction per unit available from activity analysis? With these additional reductions, can Mays achieve the unit cost to maintain current sales? To increase it by 50%? What form of activity analysis is this: reduction, sharing, elimination, or selection? 5. CONCEPTUAL CONNECTION Calculate income based on current sales, prices, and costs. 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- Decision on accepting additional business A manager of Varden Sporting Goods Company is considering accepting an order from an overseas customer. This customer has requested an order for 20,000 dozen golf balls at a price of 22 per dozen. The variable cost to manufacture a dozen golf balls is 18 per dozen. The full cost is 25 per dozen. Varden has a normal selling price of 35 per dozen. Vardens plant has just enough excess capacity on the second shift to make the overseas order. What are some considerations in accepting or rejecting this order?arrow_forwardAt Stardust Gems, a faux gem and jewelry company, the setting department is a bottleneck. The company is considering hiring an extra worker, whose salary will be $67,000 per year, to ease the problem. Using the extra worker, the company will be able to produce and sell 9,000 more units per year. The selling price per unit is $20. The cost per unit currently is $15.85 as shown: What is the annual financial impact of hiring the extra worker for the bottleneck process?arrow_forwardVariety Artisans has a bottleneck in their production that occurs within the engraving department. Arjun Naipul, the COO, is considering hiring an extra worker, whose salary will be $45,000 per year, to solve the problem. With this extra worker, the company could produce and sell 3,500 more units per year. Currently, the selling price per unit is $18 and the cost per unit is $5.85. Using the information provided, calculate the annual financial impact of hiring the extra worker.arrow_forward
- Nico Parts, Inc., produces electronic products with short life cycles (of less than two years). Development has to be rapid, and the profitability of the products is tied strongly to the ability to find designs that will keep production and logistics costs low. Recently, management has also decided that post-purchase costs are important in design decisions. Last month, a proposal for a new product was presented to management. The total market was projected at 200,000 units (for the two-year period). The proposed selling price was 130 per unit. At this price, market share was expected to be 25 percent. The manufacturing and logistics costs were estimated to be 120 per unit. Upon reviewing the projected figures, Brian Metcalf, president of Nico, called in his chief design engineer, Mark Williams, and his marketing manager, Cathy McCourt. The following conversation was recorded: BRIAN: Mark, as you know, we agreed that a profit of 15 per unit is needed for this new product. Also, as I look at the projected market share, 25 percent isnt acceptable. Total profits need to be increased. Cathy, what suggestions do you have? CATHY: Simple. Decrease the selling price to 125 and we expand our market share to 35 percent. To increase total profits, however, we need some cost reductions as well. BRIAN: Youre right. However, keep in mind that I do not want to earn a profit that is less than 15 per unit. MARK: Does that 15 per unit factor in preproduction costs? You know we have already spent 100,000 on developing this product. To lower costs will require more expenditure on development. BRIAN: Good point. No, the projected cost of 120 does not include the 100,000 we have already spent. I do want a design that will provide a 15-per-unit profit, including consideration of preproduction costs. CATHY: I might mention that post-purchase costs are important as well. The current design will impose about 10 per unit for using, maintaining, and disposing our product. Thats about the same as our competitors. If we can reduce that cost to about 5 per unit by designing a better product, we could probably capture about 50 percent of the market. I have just completed a marketing survey at Marks request and have found out that the current design has two features not valued by potential customers. These two features have a projected cost of 6 per unit. However, the price consumers are willing to pay for the product is the same with or without the features. Required: 1. Calculate the target cost associated with the initial 25 percent market share. Does the initial design meet this target? Now calculate the total life-cycle profit that the current (initial) design offers (including preproduction costs). 2. Assume that the two features that are apparently not valued by consumers will be eliminated. Also assume that the selling price is lowered to 125. a. Calculate the target cost for the 125 price and 35 percent market share. b. How much more cost reduction is needed? c. What are the total life-cycle profits now projected for the new product? d. Describe the three general approaches that Nico can take to reduce the projected cost to this new target. Of the three approaches, which is likely to produce the most reduction? 3. Suppose that the Engineering Department has two new designs: Design A and Design B. Both designs eliminate the two nonvalued features. Both designs also reduce production and logistics costs by an additional 8 per unit. Design A, however, leaves post-purchase costs at 10 per unit, while Design B reduces post-purchase costs to 4 per unit. Developing and testing Design A costs an additional 150,000, while Design B costs an additional 300,000. Assuming a price of 125, calculate the total life-cycle profits under each design. Which would you choose? Explain. What if the design you chose cost an additional 500,000 instead of 150,000 or 300,000? Would this have changed your decision? 4. Refer to Requirement 3. For every extra dollar spent on preproduction activities, how much benefit was generated? What does this say about the importance of knowing the linkages between preproduction activities and later activities?arrow_forwardAc Gems in the Rough, a jewelry company, the engraving department is a bottleneck. The company is considering hiring an extra worker, whose salary will be $56,000 per year, to ease the problem. Using the extra worker, the company will be able to engrave 8,000 more units per year. The selling price per unit is $16. The cost per unit currently is $11.85 as shown: What is the annual financial impact of hiring the extra worker for the bottleneck process?arrow_forwardThe manager of an automobile dealership is considering a new bonus plan designed to increase sales volume. Currently, the mean sales volume is 14 automobiles per month. The manager wants to conduct a research study to see whether the new bonus plan increases sales volume. To collect data on the plan, a sample of sales personnel will be allowed to sell under the new bonus plan for a one-month period. a. Develop the null and alternative hypotheses most appropriate for this situation. b. Comment on the conclusion when H0 cannot be rejected. c. Comment on the conclusion when H0 can be rejected.arrow_forward
- Artisan Metalworks has a bottleneck in their production that occurs within the engraving department. Jamal Moore, the COO, is considering hiring an extra worker, whose salary will be $55,000 per year, to solve the problem. With this extra worker, the company could produce and sell 3,000 more units per year. Currently, the selling price per unit is $25 and the cost per unit is $7.85. Using the information provided, calculate the annual financial impact of hiring the extra worker.arrow_forwardThe Lockit Company manufactures door knobs for residential homes and apartments. Lockit is considering the use of simple (single-driver) and multiple regression analyses to forecast annual sales because previous forecasts have been inaccurate. The new sales forecast will be used to initiate the budgeting process and to identify more completely the underlying process that generates sales. Larry Husky, the controller of Lockit, has considered many possible independent variables and equations to predict sales and has narrowed his choices to four equations. Husky used annual observations from 20 prior years to estimate each of the four equations. Following are definitions of the variables used in the four equations and a statistical summary of these equations: St=ForecastedsalesindollarsforLockitinperiodtSt1=ActualsalesindollarsforLockitinperiodt1Gt=ForecastedU.S.grossdomesticproductinperiodtGt1=ActualU.S.grossdomesticproductinperiodt1Nt1=Lockitsnetincomeinperiodt1 Required: 1. Write Equations 2 and 4 in the form Y = a + bx. 2. If actual sales are 1,500,000 in the current year, what would be the forecasted sales for Lockit in the coming year? 3. Explain why Larry Husky might prefer Equation 3 to Equation 2. 4. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using Equation 4 to forecast sales.arrow_forwardSyntech makes digital cameras for drones. Their basic digital camera uses $80 in variable costs and requires $1,500 per month in fixed costs. Syntech sells 100 cameras per month. If they process the camera further to enhance its functionality, it will require an additional $45 per unit of variable costs, plus an increase in fixed costs of $1,000 per month. The current price of the camera is $160. The marketing manager is positive that they can sell more and charge a higher price for the improved version. At what price level would the upgraded camera begin to improve operational earnings?arrow_forward
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