Now you have all the component costs, labor costs, capital costs and indirect costs (non-direct labor and consumables). This provides the cost accounting group with everything they need to produce a simple financial model that will give you a high level picture of the project. It is not the final analysis, but the first analysis that will tell you whether you should look deeper or not.  If the analysis looks favorable you will look deeper, if you will look elsewhere for savings.

The financial models we have used are a set of nested spreadsheets. Below is a gross oversimplification of a typical analysis, but demonstrate the principle.

Compound(or formula) cost spreadsheet. The compounding operation takes 2 laborers so you spread those costs across the total product of compound. For example you will produce 1MM kg of compounds with 2 laborers( $100K) so the labor costs are $0.10/kg. This spreadsheet feeds to SKU spreadsheet. Cost accounting should also add anyother know variable overhead.

SKU spreadsheet includes amount of compound needed per SKU, the package and closure, carton, pallet, etc. The remaining 4 laborer cost are spread over the unit volume as appropriate for each package type/size. The $50K  is consumables is spread appropriately where it belongs. Every piece that going into the product as a palletized, shrinkwrapped pallet in your warehouse. Again,variable overhead should also be added.You now have a total unit cost to compare to your out-sourced, or purchased complete cost. This will feed the spreadsheet that will generate the cost saving for that particular SKU.

You have a total cost for the SKU both in-sourced and out-sourced and know the volume of that SKU. This generates a savings number for that SKU. You do this for two compounds (formula) and 6 different SKUs of two different package type.  Package type A is 7% cheaper to produce in-house, and package type B is 10% cheaper to produce in-house. This feed the spreadsheet for the entire product line.

This is where the assumed proportionality is used.You sell $5MM of package type A and $5MM of package type B  for a savings of  $350K and $500K respectively for a total on $850K annual savings.

The next part vary depending on how your finance group handles thing, but in general a 2 year or less payback is consider acceptable.  So we have $850K savings and $850K capital for a 1 year payback. If it is looked at on an after tax basis and you are in a 50% tax bracket( if there is such a thing), you would have a two year payback.

Looks like any interesting project- requires a more in-depth analysis. This analysis should be able to be completed by an experienced and committed group in 1-2 months. The assumed proportionality takes a huge amount of time and detail out of the process. It is also where the anal retentive will have the most difficulty.The purpose of this analysis is not to provide the last analysis, but a quick and reliable way to get a big picture view of a project.

How detailed the final analysis will be up to the you.

At this point, you will invariably have some SKUs that didn’t fit into the model.  Different package type that you will not be capable of filling, or compound (formula) of such low volume that you will not be making them. The next part will try to deal with what is left.

You have a large outsourced product line of formulated products that you would like to consider for bringing in-house. You may know the formulae for the compounds, you may not. You may have some of the manufacturing process already (e.g. filling and packaging) but need to install the mixing operation. Or you may have none of them. It is a product line with 10 unique formula with 200 SKUs, but all made by the same vendor on the same processing equipment. Assume formula integrity across the lines, that is the same branded product has the same formula in it no matter which package size or type. You will almost invariably have several large chunks with commonalities, then a small amount of low volume, low sales stuff. How do you start such a daunting task?

All you need to start is:

1) a working knowledge of the product’s formulae and the process for manufacturing them(cleaning product, adhesive, sealant, etc).  You don’t need to have the exact formulae to do a front end assessment and will apply the concept of assumed proportionality to extrapolate a small amount of detail calculations across the entire range of product.

2) A knowledgeable manufacturing manager/engineer who can set up the process on paper and cost out the components and installation. He should also be able to staff the process(es) appropriately.

3) A motivated cost accounting/finance guy who can build a simple model and understands how the company treats capital expenditures.

For the formulae part you will be surprised how closely you can model formulae without needing to hit a formula exactly. For example, for an adhesive you will need to know what the resin is, what the major fillers are, and a general idea of the additives used(crosslinkers, stabilizers, surface active materials, etc). The resin and fillers generally account for 90% of the cost, so if you get that right you can’t be off by that much. Put down model formula and the component costs. Then make changes to the resin/filler content to see how the cost changes- you will find that once you have the generalities down, it is hard to get large swings in cost within the ranges of what you know and what is practical.  Get comfortable that you cannot be off by much and where uncertainty exists, err on the high side.

You will not need to cost all the formulae- cost out the top two in volume.  You will not need to cost out every SKU. Group them into package type and pick 2-4  highest volume packages and cost out these component (e.g. a blister carded tube packed 6 to a carton or a 16 fl oz PET bottle with closure X packaged 12 to a carton.

You job is to get all the component costs for all the formula components and packaging components. From this information 4-8 of the highest volume SKUs will be explicitly costed with as much detail as possible. My experience is that the formulae/package cost will make up 80-90% of the total of all the variable costs used in the modelling process. If the raw component costs aren’t way below your outsourced prices stop now.

Part 2 will address the manufacturing contributions to the process.

SITUATION

In the late 1980s, a leading CPG firm was a Wall Street darling based upon consistent earnings growth, high-margin core brands in slow-growth categories, and a steady stream of high-growth product introductions in emerging market segments. Numerous other products in an extremely diverse portfolio enjoyed more modest growth or profit margins and competed strongly for resources and the attention of a multibrand sales organization. 

One such brand – a boxed salty snack – had launched with great success 25 years earlier and almost immediately begun a downward slide as PepsiCo’s FritoLay behemoth introduced an approach to packaging and inventory management that was more appealing to grocers.  In order to maintain distribution, the marketing plan had become routinely focused on trade discounts designed to protect shelf space, encourage short term price promotion, and incent impulse buying by consumers.

Fortunately, the brand enjoyed both 80% gross margins and widespread consumer awareness and goodwill as Baby Boomers – who discovered the brand in their childhood – became adults.

ACTION PLAN

Based upon aggressive targets for corporate-wide growth in case volume and operating profits, our founding partner led a team that aggressively challenged the priority of trade discounts, tested the viability of demand growth vehicles such as:

• consumer-direct cable television advertising,
• additional SKU development (versus only two existing flavors),
• international distribution,

…and built a capital investment plan for the incremental production capacity necessary to support accelerated growth.

RESULTS

All three incremental growth vehicles were funded and case volume / market share accelerated due to:

• increased distribution,
• improved shelf turns of existing SKUs,
• incremental volume from new SKU introductions, and
• expansion into additional international markets.

Tiada gunung terlalu tinggi

Buat kami daki di awan panas

Tiada lembah terlalu dalam

Tuk kami turuni di malam kelam

Hutan rimba, padang ilalang

Kususuri jalan nan jauh…

I have a feeling there won’t be many of these days left here in Ohio…

… bara för att den spelas på Spotify just nu för att ära Denise!

Dagen börjades i kyrkan med välkomstmässa för Josephine samt konfirmanderna fick sina biblar. Vi ungdomar fick vara med på handbeläggningen på Josephine.  Sen blev det saft och bulle, diskussion om SKU med Josephines far, anmälningar till 16+ lägret och Josephine har fått för sig att vi ska festa på nån nation på Lunds universitet på fredag, får väl se vad som händer med det!

IKEA med mor där jag köpt förvaringslådor med lock som ska ta upp tomrummet under sängen (bortsett från dammråttorna då) och en liten svart tavla som jag ska hänga upp vägen en dag och kladda med färgkritor på.

Nu spelas Spotify flitigt för att öka motivationen med att städa och ta mina förvaringslådor i bruk. Har 3 veckor hemmastudier och behöver sitta minimum 4 timmar om dagen för att hålla tidsplanen. Imorgon börjar Amadeus!

Jag saknar folk, vart är ni?

Está saindo este mês a sexta edição do estudo Top Brands Força de Marca conduzido pela Quest Pesquisa de Mercado e encomendado pela ABA (Associação Brasileira de Anunciantes) e Top Brands Consultoria e Gestão de Marcas.

Não tenho detalhes da pesquisa, mas algumas tabelas já começaram a pipocar pela internet. Exemplo ao abaixo:

Difícil fazer uma análise profunda sem todas as informações, mas um estrategista procura sempre destrinchar os números que tem em mãos e fazer perguntas que podem impactar seu negócio (ou de outros).

Tem várias coisas que saltam aos olhos, mas vamos nos concentrar em uma parte apenas. Porque os números de Top of Mind são tão baixos para Provedores de Internet, Biscoitos e Supermercados?

Biscoitos: quantidade infinita de SKUs (stock keeping unit, ou tipos diferentes de marcas/tamanhos/sabores/embalagens/etc) faz com que a força individual de cada marca seja diluída. Porque? Bem, é simplesmente impossível ter um posicionamento focado, forte e relevante se cada marca tenta representar tantas coisas para o consumidor.

Supermercados: Bem, aqui parece que o problema a falta de diferenciação entre os grandes concorrentes. O número de jogadores não é grande neste mercado, mas a grande maioria foca em preço como posicionamento. É realmente difícil separar o joio do trigo.  O mais impressionante é que mesmo o Pão de Açúcar que tem um balanço de comunicação mais focado em “não-preço” não salta aos olhos. Talvez seja uma sentença de como a diferenciação feita não seja relevante ou bem implementada.

Provedores de Internet: aqui realmente é um problema de posicionamento e comunicação relevante. Pouquíssimos jogadores e mesmo assim eles não conseguem se diferenciar… precisam de ajuda urgente!

O meu objetivo aqui não foi analisar profundamente os dados ou dar uma sentença definitiva, mas dar uma idéia de como um estrategista pode rapidamente pensar sobre números jogados a sua frente, e talvez começar uma discussão interessante.

Caso não concordem ou queiram adicionar algo, sintam-se a vontade.

SKU, bagi para pembina dan adik-adik kita terkadang adalah hal yang merepotkan. Bagaimana tidak, isinya sungguh berat, padahal mereka sudah banyak dibebani oleh pelajaran-pelajaran di sekolahnya. Belum lagi kalau mereka juga ikut tambahan pelajaran diluar sekolah. Entah bagaimana caranya SKU itu bisa dengan cepat diselesaikan.

Sebagai alat pendidikan di dalam Gerakan Pramuka, SKU semestinya adalah alat yang menyenangkan, suatu alat yang mampu merangsang adik-adik kita berkompetisi meraih kecakapan tertinggi, dan mengasah kemampuan hidup (life skill) mereka. Isinya yang tidak berubah dari sejak pertama kali PP (Petunjuk Penyelenggaraan)-nya dikeluarkan, memperlihatkan bahwa SKU masih tetap relevan dengan tujuan Gerakan Pramuka yang terdapat di dalam Anggaran Dasar Gerakan Pramuka.

Namun, hal itu akan jadi sia-sia tatkala waktu yang tersedia untuk menyelesaikan semua mata uji didalam SKU tidak mencukupi. Mengapa demikian? Karena peserta didik dan pembinanya hanya dapat bertemu satu kali dalam seminggu, itu pun waktu latihan/pertemuan pasukan. Waktunya tentu saja sangat sempit.

Bagaimana mengatasinya?

Tidak ada cara yang mudah, jaman kita sekarang ini sudah terlalu banyak dicekoki segala hal yang serba instan. Sehingga, sangat menyedihkan kalau sampai para pramuka jaman sekarang juga ikut-ikutan instan. Adik-adik kita harus memahami bahwa segala sesuatu itu butuh proses. Persis seperti nama-nama kecakapan umum untuk golongan penggalang, Ramu – Rakit – Terap. Sebelum dapat menerapkan, harus bisa meramu dan merakit terlebih dahulu.

Kami di gugusdepan sepakat, untuk menyeragamkan pengujian SKU. Kami buat Silabus SKU, dengan maksud mempermudah proses penilaian dan pengujian SKU. Hasilnya memang belum memuaskan, tetapi setidaknya adik-adik kita jadi paham, bahwa segala sesuatu itu perlu proses. Penilaian SKU itu seluruhnya dinilai berdasarkan proses.

Pengujian yang paling baik tentunya adalah pengujian yang tidak disadari oleh adik-adik kita. Biarkan mereka berlatih dan berkegiatan. Ketika telah selesai beri mereka hadiah tanda tangan SKU yang sesuai dengan kegiatan yang telah dilakukan oleh adik-adik kita tersebut.

Kemudian peran kwartir sebagai satuan gerak harus lebih maksimal. Karena dengan program yang baik, adik-adik kita insya Allah akan mau menyelesaikan SKU, supaya dapat ikut serta berbagai kegiatan yang diselenggarakan oleh kwartir.

Tidak ada regu terlatih, yang ada adalah regu yang selalu berlatih.

Sekali Memandu! Tetap Memandu!

download Silabus SKU Ramu
download Silabus SKU Rakit
download Silabus SKU Terap

Puh, länge sen jag skrev men faktiskt inte känt för det samt varit upptagen med mitt underbara bondeliv! Henrik tycker inte om mitt nya yrke, tycker han ska uppmuntra lite mer.

So, wazz up? Ny vecka, massor har hänt, ännu mer står på lur!
Fest i helgen at the Big G’s house in Lund. Massvis med folk som strömma in från alla håll och kanter. Började strömma av runt 02, men 03 kom ett helt nytt gäng och satte ny sprätt på folket. Kände inte för att dricka så mycket, sist jag gjorde det så slutade det inte så bra och kände inte för att uppfräscha mitt minne nämre så det resulterade att jag och Denise var nyktrast på festen. Gud vad folk kan hitta på med saker när de är fulla, gratis underhållning till mig och Denise hela natten! Tog första tåget hem på morgonen och var hemma 07 och mamma hälsade mig varmt välkommen hem..

Fram tills igår, tisdag, har jag spenderat mina dagar hos älskpälsk där vi haft myspys, Lilla huset på Prärien-marathon och givetvis arbetade jag hårt som bonde!
Avbrottet blev att jag arbetade igår på Jägersro och det var full rulle i 6 timmar. Alla inkallade, likaså folk inhyrda från bland annat Åby, Halmstad och Göteborg och vi på min avdelning sprang runt som skållade råttor. Att jobba med 4 killar kan inte resultera i annat än kaos och oordning, och ganska snabbt hade en av dem lyckats svämma över hela kaffekokaren! Mamma stod med klubben och sålde lotter tillsammans med Bingolotto-Lotta, och pappa spelade på hästarna och var onykter. Undrar om han kom hem igår på sin cykel..

Så.. har planer hela augusti typ.. får väl göra i ordning mitt schema:
Tors 30/7 – Tvättning och sommarchansen
Fre 31/7 – Packning och hem till pappa med Denise
Lör 1/8 – Bakken
Sön 2/8 – Gislövs marknad och sticker sedan till Älmhult några dagar
Ons 5/8 – Åker troligen hem till Malmö
Tors 6/8 – Hoppas på en tvättid och sedan final i sommarchansen
Fre 7/8 – Packning och sticker till SÅM (Stora ÅrsMötet) i Uppsala för Svenska Kyrkans Unga (SKU)
Sön 9/8 – Älskpälsk fyller år och jag är inte hemma..
Ons 12/8 – Förmodligen hemkommen från SÅM i Uppsala
Fre 14/8 MalmöFestivalen och jag har några programpunkter inbokade i min kalender
Mån 17/8 – Skolan börjar och sommarlovet är slut

Puh, ganska fullspäckat.. men jag har mobilen så bara höra av sig :)

Large SKU Count Retailer vs. Boutique Retailer On The Internet

Recently a broker asked me how I would handle setting up a new Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing position for a large SKU (Smallest Known Unit, or individual parts) count retailer/direct marketer with an existing successful book of business.

This is a different kind of project than someone starting up a website on Yahoo.com or GoDaddy.com. A typical Yahoo shopping cart has from 20-200 individual product numbers.  There are many other vendors of shopping carts, but the cart that Yahoo bought years ago was the strongest for many years. A ‘Yahoo’ type cart is someone who is selling 5 or 20 product lines with a half dozen colors of sizes of each. That kind of site allows for a mentality of treating each SKU or product number as a gem. With a small SKU count you are trying to create a relationship with each individual audience. There is a reason why Suzy likes the large blue one and Ryan likes the small burlap one.  The optimization of effort and concentration on solution is different than a large SKU count retailer.

The large SKU count retailer sees the world from the solutions, not individual but multiple solutions he provides his clients by providing a large selection of products.  His value is not his ability to choose the ‘one’ product a client needs, but in anticipating the multiple needs his clients with the proper products at the moment his client needs them. His job is to find, source, stock and share the information on the products his client needs before his client knows what they needed themselves.  While this retailer is:

• being a mind reader,
• attending tradeshows,
• meeting with vendors and
• separating the flash in the pan products that will haunt him for years with reputation ruining returns or worse from the next wonder product that later will become obvious they are winners,

The retailer has to stock the standards those products his clients count on him to have – the nuts and bolts of the industry. All of this requires a mindset of looking at the bigger picture, but also a process designed to store the data so it can be managed as a whole, as well as individually by item. It needs to be collected, so the addition of new items can be distinguished from current items. A bolt is not a bolt to someone concerned about corrosion on a salt truck holding a snow plow blade or boom on a sailboat crossing the ocean, or a motorcycle on a cross country tour.

The large SKU count retailer needs to 1^st understand how he will manage his inventory and back office system before even considering how he will be selling it out the front end whether through a retail store, phone and mail order catalogue or Internet online sales. The back-end management wags the dog, compared to a boutique retailer where the front end store is the dog.

While much can be written about the tying of back end to front end, and working in partnership, I will focus more on a role directed to improving the front end results through marketing.  By marketing I am referring to all activities with new and existing clients to create:

• greater lifetime value
• higher referral rates,
• greater profit per sale
• reduced cost per acquired customer
• reduced cost per sale

The next few blogs are some of my thoughts on the process I would take to begin the project.

Enjoy 10-50% off at SKU Clothing, street wear for the guys and dolls. Brands like Blac Label, Christian Audigier, Laguna Beach, Rivet De Cru, Miss Sixty, Salvage and Replay. Get ready, it’s time to get your shop on! 

SKU Clothing is located at 1036 Hamilton Street.

Recently, there had been rumors flying around in certain circles of the 360 modding community regarding a new Jasper-based Xbox 360 Arcade console with 512MBs of on board memory. How is this significant, you mutter under your breath?

Clearly, this means that these new units would be able to come preloaded with the NXE update out of the box, saving precious memory capacity for those without HDDs (as shocking as that sounds). Plus, the modders would have a new toy to play with. Who knows what fun could be had with 512MBs of on board memory?

Well, wipe this one from the rumor whiteboard people, because Microsoft is no longer disavowing all information on this model! These new units went into production in April 09 (the first model was sighted in Japan, where the rumors, and pictures of said motherboard first surfaced) and should be on the shelves as we speak. Microsoft has revealed that these will replace the older 256MB on board memory Arcade units as the new standard. This is all part of Microsoft’s strategy to further support NXE integration, as they have stated that they plan to further EXPAND upon the console as opposed to replacing it. (Xbox 480 anyone?)

Here is the official statement from MS on these new units:

The Xbox 360 system software uses some of the included 512MB memory; less storage will be available to users. Additional storage (sold separately) may be needed for game saves, Xbox LIVE Arcade games, content downloads, personal file storage, and additional enhanced functionality. A hard drive is recommended for LIVE, and is required for some features. We want to offer consumers a bit more memory at the same low price so they can enjoy more experiences on Xbox LIVE.

In occasione della GDC09, che si sta svolgendo in questi giorni a San Francisco, Microsoft ha presentato nuovi DevKit per Xbox 360. Per chi non lo sapesse questa versione della console, chiamata anche XDK (Xbox Development Kit), è quella destinata agli sviluppatori per programmare i giochi. La console infatti differisce sull’hardware rispetto alla versione retail: ha per esempio ha una memoria doppia. In ogni caso, quello che ha suscitato scalpore, non è tanto la natura dei DevKit – che vengono aggiornati periodicamente da Microsoft stessa – ma la bellezza di questa SKU.

Leggi tutto »

Diberitakan bahwa mengembalikan suku Rohingya ke negara asalnya bukanlah satu-satunya solusi yang tepat.

Pendekatan humanis adalah cara yang lebih tepat untuk mencari pemecahan masalah pengungsi tersebut.

Untuk menangani masalah ini, pemerintah harus membuka akses bagi UNHCR dalam penanganan suku Rohingya ini.

Hak-hak dasar pengungsi tersebut harus diperhatikan. Bagaimana cara menyelesaikan pengungsi ini juga butuh bantuan dari UNCHR dan bantuan adari LSM dalam dan luar negeri.

Suku Rohingya adalah pengungsi dari Myanmar, mereka tidak mempunyai dokumen, dan kebanyakan bertempat tinggal di daerah Banglades atau Myanmar.

Sponsor :

Anda ingin tambah sukses ?? Bergabunglah dengan bisnis warnet kami. Balik modal dalam satu tahun dan Garansi uang kembali !!!

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Ahhh good ol’ Wal-Mart, known for smashing ma and pa companies and leaving nothing in its path. But, if we forget about the little family owned shop who charge outrageous prices for a light bulb, aren’t we revolutionizing into a larger retailer who can provide us with more affordable and more efficient products? This argument is something I am not sure if I want to start… (But please comment away, I need more readers!!)

Anyways, there is great news for Wal-Mart shoppers, they are going greeeen!

On January 29th, 2009 Craig Herkert, CEO of Wal-Mart Americas, stated that Wal-Mart Canada will bring its “For the Greener Good” campaign to a new private label program. What this means is that Wal-mart will try to have 200private label stock keeping units (SKU’s) that will carry the For the Greener Good label  in 2009. In 2008, Wal-mart flagged sustainable and green item on its shelf and in advertising, and accounted 170 million CAD sales. Obviously this means that consumer want to buy green products, and Wal-mart hopes that by labelling these products, more consumer will be aware of the smarter purchase.

For the Greener Good is a label that allows consumers to have confidence in knowing that the products they are purchasing are sourced and package in sustainable ways. This label focuses on Wal-Mart’s 3 main initiatives:
1. To produce zero waste;
2. To be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy; and,
3. To make more environmentally preferable products available to customers at a more affordable price.

Realistically, as much as I do feel like initiatives 1 and 2 are very important, if the eco-friendly products cost more than the regular products, most consumers will pick the less pricey alternative. So with initiative number 3 in mind…

What does this mean to you?

Wal-mart has stated that they are on a mission to provide their customers with eco-friendly products that are competitively priced against other non-environmentally friendly products. The For the Greener Good label is only available in Wal-Mart stores and is located on products that vary from organic clothing, ethically sourced foods, to health and wellness products. The For the Greener Good label will be across numerous categories and Wal-Mart is looking to add products to this line daily. If you are interested in finding products that are labelled For the Greener Good, look at this link for a full product guide.  So, next time you decide to go to Wal-Mart, look for the green logo above (or some variation), to be placed on your products, therefore, you can be a Smart and Green Consumer!

I will end with this final thought…

President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Lee Scott said “some may wonder, even inside Walmart, with all that is going on in the global economy, should being a socially and environmentally-responsible company still be a priority? You’re darn right sustainability should be a priority.”

If the  President and CEO says that “you’re darn right sustainability should be a priority”, please make it a priority for you. Let’s not get Wal-Mart get greener than us okay?

For more information go to Wal-mart’s For the Greener Good home page