Pathophysiology Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus - 845 Words

Pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes One of the most common medical disorders of pregnancy is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Diagnosing, treating, and managing health outcomes for the mother and baby can be challenging. The impact of GDM can be far reaching past the postpartum period, and can affect both mom and baby for years to come. The purpose of this paper is to review the pathophysiology of GDM, explore the available treatments and discuss the impact and how education is essential in the management of GDM. Pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes A genetic predisposition is associated with type two diabetes, occurring in the coding for beta-cell mass and beta-cell function (Jones et al., 2012). Beta-cells function as the sensors for elevated blood glucose levels, secreting and synthesizing insulin for glucose control (Jones et al., 2012). Jones states obesity is an important cause of type two diabetes, increase cellular resistance to insulin and is present in 60-80% of all type two diabetics (Jones et al., 2012). Wilbur states in type two diabetes, insulin may be unable to affect hepatic glucose production and impairs insulin sensitivity in the muscles, increasing blood glucose levels systemically in the bloodstream (Wilbur, 2013). Type one diabetes affects 0.17% of children, and they often have a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes (Jones et al., 2012). Type one diabetes is further divided into two groups: type 1A, which is autoimmune and TShow MoreRelatedDiabetes And Drug Treatment Of Diabetes799 Words   |  4 PagesDiabetes and Drug Treatments Diabetes represents one of the most challenging disorders facing the United States population. Diabetes can be classified as Diabetes Mellitus type I, Diabetes Mellitus type II, Gestational Diabetes, and secondary diabetes from other conditions. At least 90% of diabetes is type 2, and the complications could be avoided by carefully managing hyperglycemia, hypertension and dyslipidemia (Wilbur, 2013). Therefore, the healthcare industry is spending vast amounts of timeRead MorePathophysiology Of Diabetes Mellitus And Diabetes Essay1189 Words   |  5 PagesPathophysiology of Diabetes Mellitus Diabetes Mellites(DM), is a deficiency of insulin action causing hyperglycemia. The majority of DM have a decreased secretion of the cells, insulin resistance, or counterregulatory hormones( McPhee Hammer, 2010). Insulin is synthesized from the beta cells from the pancreases. Composed from A peptide and B peptide connected to C peptide and disulfide bonds. Insulin is a hormone that aids in metabolism. encourages glucose uptake and the synthesis works mainlyRead More Diabetes Mellitus Essay examples1745 Words   |  7 PagesDiabetes mellitus (DM) or simply diabetes, is a chronic health condition in which the body either fails to produce the amount of insulin needed or it responds inadequately to the insulin secreted by the pancreas. The three primary types of diabetes are: Diabetes Type 1 and 2, and during some pregnancies, Gestational diabetes. The clichà © for all three types of diabetes is high glucose blood levels or hyperglycemia. The pathophysiology of all types of diabet es mellitus is related to the hormone insulinRead MoreDiabetes The Endocrine System Consists Of Elevated Or Inadequate Depression Of Endocrine Gland753 Words   |  4 PagesDiabetes In diabetes the endocrine system comprises of elevated or inadequate depression of endocrine gland with results in alterations in hormone levels. â€Å"Diabetes affect 25.8 million people, or 8.3% the U.S. population, have diabetes and another seven million are estimated to be undiagnosed† (Huether McCance, 2012, P.447). Diabetes Insipidus â€Å"Diabetes Insipidus (DI) is a disorder of insufficient activity of ADH, leading to polyuria (frequent urination) and polydipsia (frequent drinking)† (HuetherRead MoreThe Common Definition Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus1443 Words   |  6 Pages The common definition of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is glucose or carbohydrate intolerance with onset, first recognition or first diagnosis during pregnancy; it is a common complication in pregnancy that typically ends a few weeks after birth (Coustan, 2013; Zhang Ning, 2011; Brown, 2011). Although the causes of GDM are not known, it appears that hormones from the placenta lead to insulin resistance in the mother; this insulin resistance combined with an inadequate insulin secretionRead MoreTypes And Types Of Diabetes Essay1796 Words   |  8 PagesTypes of Diabetes Type 1 diabetes: Type 1 diabetes mellitus is characterized by loss of the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas leading to insulin deficiency. Type 2 diabetes : Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin resistance which may be combined with relatively reduced insulin secretion. The defective responsiveness of body tissues to insulin is believed to involve the insulin receptor. Gestational diabetes: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)Read MoreDiabetes Mellitus ( Dm ) Is A Metabolic Disorder Caused By Pancreatic Disorders1103 Words   |  5 PagesDiabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder caused by pancreatic dysfunction resulting in absence or insufficient insulin secretion. Different categories of DM are as follows; type 1 DM, type 2 DM, other specific type and gestational DM (GDM) (Huether McCance 2012). Type 1 DM is caused by autoimmune where there is no insulin production, type 2 DM happens later in life due to insulin resistance from obesity, low level of HDL(good cholesterol), or polycystic ovary disease (Blair, 2016). OtherRead MoreDiabetes Mellitus : A Group Of Diseases That Affect Your Body Uses Blood Sugar1601 Words   |  7 Pages2056 FT030 Diabetes Mellitus Research Paper Annabelle Anglo 03/17/2015 According to Mayo Clinic, â€Å"Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar (glucose). Glucose is vital to your health because it s an important source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. It s also your brain s main source of fuel.† (Mayo Clinic, 2005) Diabetes Mellitus has 3 types: Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1Read MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Diabetes Mellitus1154 Words   |  5 Pages Evaristo Vazquez MED 2056, VNFT29 Diabetes Mellitus Michela Leytam 12/08/14 Pathophysiology All types of diabetes are related to a deficiency in the hormone insulin, which is secreted by the beta cells os the pancreas. In a healthy person, insulin is produced in response to elevated levels of glucose in the bloodstream and its major role is to control glucose concentration in the blood by letting the glucose enter our cells and lowering its levels. What insulin does is allowingRead MoreEndocrine Research Paper Pathophysiology: Diabetes Mellitus1384 Words   |  6 Pagespopulation)(Diabetes Facts). When people think about epidemics that affect the world today, the first ones that usually come to mind are those that kill of millions of people every year such as HIV, malaria, or the influenza. There are even those that haven’t been as deadly but have gained extreme notoriety such as the H1N1 virus, cholera, and anthrax. For this paper forget about HIV, H1N1, cholera, and the influenza; introducing Diabetes mellitus: a silent epidemic. Diabetes mellitus or commonly

Essay about Huntingtons Disease - 979 Words

Huntingtons Disease Huntingtons Disease is a genetic autosomal disorder which effects the brain. It affects about 1 in 20,000 individuals. The symptoms of the disease do not start to occur until after or around 40 years of age. With the onset of the disease the patient starts to gradually deteriorate intellectually, this deterioration also causes involuntary movements. Scientists have only recently found the section of the gene which causes Huntingtons disease, and this is allowed them to devise pre-symptomatic tests. However, a cure for the disease is yet to be found. Symptoms The symptoms of the Huntingtons disease vary from person to person. They can be grouped in two categories: Abnormal involuntary movements and†¦show more content†¦It is said that Huntingtons disease was first introduced to Australia by a Somerset woman who arrived in Tasmania aboard the Arab ship in 1842. She had thirteen children; eight with her first husband and five with her second. Five of the six females and four of the seven males inherited the disease. Causes of the Disorder This disease is genetically inherited and is a dominant characteristic, therefore unfortunately the offspring of a victim has 50% chance of inheriting the disease. The DNA contains four types base: A (adenine) and T (thymine), G (guanine) and C (cytosine). These four letters make up the genetic alphabet and they spell out the commands for every single cell and organ of the body and also determine all the characteristics of the person. In 1993 it was discovered that a segment of DNA on the arm of chromosome 4 is linked to the HD gene. They found that at one end of the HD gene, the combination CAG is repeated too many times. In people without HD this CAG is repeated 5 to 35 times. In people who are affected by HD, CAG is repeated over and over again between 36 and 121 times. The CAG combination codes for a protein called huntingtin. Why the increase number of CAG causes HD is still unknown. It is thought that too much of the HD protein makes them obtain some new, abnormal property. This is true in twoShow MoreRelated Huntingtons Disease Essay1715 Words   |  7 PagesHuntington’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder affecting movement, cognition, and emotional state (Schoenstadt). There are two forms of Huntington’s disease (Sheth). The most common is adult-onset Huntington’s disease, with persons usually developing symptoms in their middle 30s and 40s (Sheth). There is an early onset form of Huntington’s disease, beginning in childhood or adolescence, and makes up a small percentage of the Huntington’s population (Sheth). Huntington’s disease is aRead MoreEssay on Huntington’s Disease990 Words   |  4 Pagesand mental retardation. (Ridley, 55) Victims of this syndrome rarely live past t he age of seven. The last and most interesting situation occurs when this gene becomes mutated. In this case, the individual will suffer from Huntington’s Chorea, a debilitating neurological disease which will not show its effects until mid-life. Because of this disorder, the gene is known as â€Å"The Huntington Gene,† though it has also been referred to as â€Å"The Wolf-Hirschorn Gene† and â€Å"IT15† meaning â€Å"Interesting TranscriptRead MoreHuntington’s Disease Essay787 Words   |  4 Pagesmuch about Huntington’s disease. After reading this paper and the subsequent ones to come, you surely will. According to PudMedHealth.com, â€Å"Huntington’s disease is a disorder passed down through families in which nerve cells in certain parts of the brain waste away or degenerate.† This can lead to many different complications to a person’s health. In most cases, the disease’s symptoms develop later in life dur ing a person’s mid thirties-forties. There are also instances where the disease becomes on-setRead MoreEssay Huntingtons Disease1113 Words   |  5 PagesHuntingtons Disease Background Huntingtons disease is inherited as an autosomal dominant disease that gives rise to progressive, elective (localized) neural cell death associated with choleric movements (uncontrollable movements of the arms, legs, and face) and dementia. It is one of the more common inherited brain disorders. About 25,000 Americans have it and another 60,000 or so will carry the defective gene and will develop the disorder as they age. Physical deterioration occurs over a periodRead MoreResearch Paper on Huntingtons Disease1268 Words   |  6 PagesHuntington’s disease is a hereditary brain disorder that is progressive in neurodegeneration; which means, there is a loss of function and structures of one’s neurons. In the long run it results in the loss of both mental and physical control. The disease affects muscle coordination, cognition and behavior. It used to be known as Huntington’s chorea because it is the most common genetic disease that is the cause of abnormal twitching. Huntington s has an intense effect on patients, as individualsRead More Understanding Huntingtons Disease Essay1032 Words   |  5 PagesUnderstanding Huntingtons Disease Diagnosis of Huntingtons Disease Today, a blood test is available to diagnose a person displaying suspected Huntingtons symptoms. The test analyzes DNA in the blood sample and counts the number of times the genetic code for the mutated Huntingtons gene is repeated. Individuals with Huntingtons Disease usually have 40 or more such repeats; those without it, 28 or fewer. If the number of repeats falls somewhere in between then more extensive neurologicalRead MoreEssay about Huntingtons Disease1557 Words   |  7 PagesHuntington’s Disease is a brain disorder affecting movement, cognition, and emotions (Schoenstadt). It is a genetic disorder generally affecting people in their middle 30s and 40s (Sheth). Worldwide, Huntington’s disease (affects between 3-7 per 100,000 people of European ancestry (Schoenstadt). In the United States alone, 1 in every 30,000 people has Huntington’s disease (Genetic Learning Center). Huntington’s Disease is a multi-faceted disease, with a complex inheritance p attern and a wide rangeRead MoreTaking a Look at Huntingtons Disease1745 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. The cytoplasmic protein affected in Huntington’s disease is Huntingtin, coded for by the Huntingtin gene. The mutated version of the Huntingtin protein has several degenerative consequences on the molecular level. These are mainly caused by the elongated chain of glutamines that abberantly interacts with proteins and diminishes their biological functions. The mutated protein alsoRead MoreEssay on Huntingtons Disease - An Overview1185 Words   |  5 PagesHuntingtons Disease - An Overview Huntingtons Disease is a devastating and progressive neurological disorder that resu lts primarily from degeneration of nerve cells deep in the center of the brain. The condition was first described by George Huntington, a physician in New York, in 1872. Even then, the physician recognized the all-encompassing factors of the disorder when describing it as, coming on gradually but surely, increasing by degrees, and often occupying years in its developmentRead MoreEssay on Understanding Huntingtons Disease2054 Words   |  9 PagesUnderstanding Huntingtons Disease Huntingtons disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. It is passed on to children from one or both parents (though two parents with Huntingtons is extraordinarily rare) in an autosomal dominant manner. This is different from autosomal recessive disorder, which requires two altered genes (one from each parent) to inherit the disorder. So if one parent has it, and passes the gene on to a child, that child will develop Huntingtons disease if they live

Swot Analysis †Wal-Mart Free Essays

Strengths †¢Best positioned global retailer †¢Established business objective philosophy that is understood organization wide †¢Firm focus on the strategy of cost leadership by offering everyday low prices (EDLP) through everyday low costs (EDLC) †¢Efficient procurement and logistics system †¢Strong and stable financial performance and positive cash flows for reinvestment in improving operations Weaknesses †¢Significant dependence on the US market to maintain strong sales performance †¢Wal-Mart’s mass market approach as a retailer creates opportunities for ‘market nichers’ to capture specific market segments which may be overlooked. Wal-Mart’s extensive range of products limits its ability to give direct attention to understanding all its customers as opposed to its more focused competitors. †¢FIFO method of accounting for inventory, in the international markets, may not effectively support the strategy of everyday lo w prices. We will write a custom essay sample on Swot Analysis – Wal-Mart or any similar topic only for you Order Now Opportunities †¢There are opportunities to expand in countries with emerging economies †¢There are also opportunities to resuscitate growth in the US market †¢Innovations in technology present the opportunity to further integrate the value chain for increased efficiency to drive EDLC. Threats †¢The unstable economic climate in the USA will continue to negatively impact on Wal-Mart’s performance †¢Wal-Mart can lose customers to more focused competitors if they (competitors) are able to develop a value proposition greater than the simple offering of everyday low prices. †¢Wal-Mart’s global exposure exposes the organization to currency risk, political influences, and other uncertainties that can affect its operations. †¢Wal-Mart’s cost leadership strategy creates intensive price competition which poses a serious risk to profitability if operational costs are not ffectively managed. Wal-Mart is a large retailer that is keenly focused on the business philosophy of saving people money so they can live better. This philosophy drives the organization-wide quest of achieving EDLCs which are leveraged in delivering EDLPs. Based on corporate information, Wal-Mart has a total of 9700 retail units spread across 28 countries, as at Augus t 2011. This represents approximately 985 million square feet of retail space from which sales are generated. This broad network of superstores, discount stores, neighbourhood markets, suppliers, and customers are interconnected in a value delivery network fuelled by information technology. In this system, suppliers are able to track Wal-Mart’s inventory levels in real-time to ensure that products are available on time, in the right quantities, best quality, and at the lowest possible price. Simultaneously, Wal-Mart is able to track purchasing patterns, brand preferences, register customer feedback, and capture other related information for their sales and marketing programme. When it is all put together, Wal-Mart’s use of information technology empowers it to consistently deliver on its promise of everyday low prices, a reliable supply of its vast range of products, and capture an understanding of its customers and members that it serves over 200 million times per week. This, in turn, drives customer satisfaction and loyalty which is reflected in Wal-Mart’s strong financial performance compared to other global retailers. For the 2011 financial year, Wal-Mart’s sales grew by 3. 4% to US$419b and operating income grew by 6. 4% to US$25b. EPS grew by 12% to US$4. 8 and a total of US$19. 2b was paid out to shareholders through dividends or share repurchases. Between the 2009 and 2010 financial years, Wal-Mart has maintained a ROI of 19. 3% falling slightly to 19. 2% in 2011 due mainly to economic challenges within the US market. For comparison, Wal-Mart’s closest global competitor, Carrefour Group, generated a USD equivalent of app roximately $158b in sales for the 2010 financial year (latest full year results available). At the close of the second quarter of their 2011 financial year (August 31, 2011), Carrefour experienced a 2. % increase in sales at the USD equivalent of $58. 3b. However, underperformance in France, Greece, and Italy, due to struggling economies, resulted in a 22% reduction in operating income at a USD equivalent of $1. 1b. These results cements Wal-Mart’s position as the world’s largest and best positioned retailer with respect to sales revenue. On the flip side, Wal-Mart appears to be dependent on its dominance in the US market which showed a flat performance by generating US$260b in sales for the 2011 financial year, compared to US$259b in 2010. Despite expanding during the year to create more retail space, there was reduced customer traffic due to rising unemployment and a 2. 3% reduction in the income of the middle class according to the US Census Bureau. A 1% increase in the poverty rate to 15. 3% also had a negative impact on Wal-Mart’s performance and highlights the challenges within the US economy. In the international segment, the FIFO approach at inventory management and accounting may not entirely support its established strategy of everyday low prices as it does not allow for cost savings to be quickly passed on to its customers. It may also distort the true picture of the company’s financial performance. Putting it all together, the assessment of Wal-Mart’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identifies the need for a strategic approach towards achieving its objective of 4-6% growth in sales revenue for the 2012 financial year and beyond. Given its dominance in the US market, the company should strategically move to hold/defend its market position by continuing to leverage IT for EDLCs and EDLPs. Aggressive sales promotions, especially through eCommerce, should be used to improve on the flat sales performance for 2011. Wal-Mart should, however, look to the emerging economies for further growth and expansion as they show a faster rate of economic recovery and a growing middle class. China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia are ranked in the top five on the market potential index for emerging markets with respect to market growth rates. China, India, Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia are ranked in the top five based on market size. Pending further PESTEL Analysis, these emerging markets could potentially hold the key for Wal-Mart’s future expansion. How to cite Swot Analysis – Wal-Mart, Papers

Your Land free essay sample

A ; My Land Essay, Research Paper Your Land and My Land There are many differences in a metropolis when compared to a rural scene. One of the largest differences trades with that of the ocular milieus. Cities are filled with edifices, streets traffic and people, while the state is filled with trees, mountains, watercourses and animate beings. With such disturbance in this city-type scene, the natural environment is altered a great trade. Natural wildlife, which runs rampant in the broad great out-of-doorss, is apparently non-existent in urban countries. This, nevertheless, is non the instance by any agencies. It is necessary to look a small closer to happen wildlife on the land of a metropolis. The wildlife that still exists inside the metropolis has learned to accommodate to their environment as agencies of endurance. Pigeons can be found eating breadcrumbs from an old adult male? s custodies in the park. Rat scour the cloacas and back streets for garbages. Squirrels relax in the trees and do their moves for nutrient consequently, while avoiding some jeopardies such as autos and people that surround them. These are all illustrations of how animate beings can accommodate to the scene and survive. In the state or any rural country, nature maps in a different mode. Peoples must larn to accommodate to their milieus, while animate beings and nature continue to populate on peacefully. While driving down a state main road at dark, one must watch carefully for cervid, moose or any other type of animate being that could hold wandered into the center of the route. Roads themselves leave people in the state covering more with nature? s wrath. Snow on a blowy soil route up a mountain becomes much more of a hinderance as Page 1 compared to snow that would be plowed off and kept melted with salt on a level metropolis street. A big tree that could hold fallen in the route out in the state could take yearss to be cleared ; yet in the metropolis such a tree would be removed in an immediate manner. Visiting nature or animate beings while in the metropolis, can be accomplished by a trip to the park or menagerie. Both Parkss and zoos inside the metropolis are really high care, at the same clip dearly-won. In rural country, Parkss have existed everlastingly and upkeep is non the hardest of undertakings to carry through. In the state, even if a park is unavailable, one is still surrounded by a sense of composure while animate beings co-exist with worlds. When sing a menagerie in the metropolis, it is obvious to see that animate beings are non around by their ain free will. Being held confined and surrounded by bars limits the ability for animate beings to roll freely ad live their life the manner it was meant to be. Psychologically, this may hold something to make with the stereotype of metropolis people non being every bit hospitable as state inhabitants, in general. In the bunco and hustle of the metropolis, many people have a inclination to acquire so wrapped up and trapped in t heir typically fast-paced life, go forthing small chance to wind off, loosen up and fundamentally rest the encephalon. Appreciation of nature would besides hold to be one of the biggest differences. One who lives in the state or rural country that is surrounded by nature twenty-four hours in and twenty-four hours out, might non appreciate what they have around them. Yet o Nes who lives in the metropolis and escapes to a park, menagerie, or even holidaies to a privy country ; enjoys every minute of the peace and repose. Respect is kept by a city-dweller for the land that remains unharmed by world and its every turning population and industrialisation. For without such rural countries, one wouldn? Ts have a topographic point to travel ease the head. This goes to Page 2 demo how people can so easy take things for granted. Another major difference that is easy noticed is the many sounds heard. In a state field one can set his or her ear to the air current and listen to grass blowing, birds peeping, H2O fluxing in a nearby watercourse and possibly the swoon rumbling of your neighbour? s tractor. Those small quivers from that tractor are a fraction of the noise people are capable to everyday in every metropolis. Motors running, horns blaring, 100s upon 1000s of people speaking, and your ain encephalon seeking to take in everything are perfect illustrations of the loud sounds heard in the mean urban country. Many people who live in metropoliss accept this and travel on about their lives. Other people would be driven insane within a affair of yearss. This is an illustration of how a individual? s environment during the class of his or her life straight shapes who that individual is. This following difference focuses on a different sense. When person takes in a large breath of fresh air in the mountains or the wide-open farming areas that individual will be able to open up the lungs and about smell the esthesis of cool clean air. Pine trees, strawberry Fieldss and of class, cow manure are some common aromas in the rural scene. In a metropolis there is besides a broad array of olfactory properties one can smell. Unfortunately, one of the first that comes to mind is the exhaust exhausts from the ever-increasing sum of autos and trucks on the route. Another instead unpleasant odor is the rubbish that sometimes does non acquire picked up early plenty. There are nevertheless, many appealing odors in a metropolis every bit good. Visualize a hungry tourer walking down a busy street. One could be overwhelmed by the odors of many different sorts of culinary art. Indian nutrient, Italian nutrient, Turkish nutrient, and Chinese nutrient are merely a few picks one has in a m etropolis. In a barely populated country, it? s Page 3 either Joe? s Diner or your deep-freeze for the mundane dining experience. Either manner you look at it, there are pros and cons to each of the described scenes. All in all, the busier metropolis life has entree to more picks, more action, and more overall exhilaration. The downside to that life style is the emphasis, noise and air pollution, and other unsightly scenes and odors. The rural, or countryside country, on the other manus, has other intangible advantages such as the composure, easy modus operandi in a laid back society. The natural sounds and openness of this ambiance seem to allow free a feeling of repose that is excessively hard to depict in words. Although there are many things that are difficult to get and assist in certain state of affairss may be difficult to come by, the rural countries decidedly have a quality all to themselves. In the terminal, a good quotation mark to populate by is? To each his ain? . 32b

5 Great SEO Tips for Copy Writers

5 Great SEO Tips for Copy Writers 5 Great SEO Tips for Copy Writers Every modern business has a website. And if you have a website, you need an SEO strategy to help customers find you online. But how exactly does this work in terms of writing website copy? In this post, we run through a few SEO tips that you can use when writing online content. 1. Picking Keywords SEO is all about keywords. These are terms that people search for online to find your website, so it is crucial to use the right keywords in the right places. And this means working out the keywords your target customers are searching for online and building online content around them. A good starting point for this is using a keyword research tool. Alternatively, you can check competitors’ websites to see which terms they use. 2. Integrating Keywords How you work keywords into your copy is also crucial. For instance, you should try to: Use the main keyword(s) in the title of the page Include the main keyword(s) in the first paragraph of the copy Use keywords in subheadings within the copy Highlight keywords with bold or italic formatting where appropriate Include variations of keywords within the copy These may be small touches, but they make a big difference to SEO results. 3. Humans Are More Important Than Computers Keywords are good, but not if they come at the expense of readability. This is because, ultimately, the best way to boost SEO is to write good content that people want to share online. In the old days, you could get away with loading a webpage with keywords and search engines would still find them. This was known as â€Å"keyword stuffing.† But now, if you use too many keywords on a single page (more than 5% of the word count), Google may reduce the ranking of your website. Consequently, you should always focus on writing good content for human readers first. This also means making sure your website is error free, so don’t skip the proofreading! 4. Writing a Good Meta Description Getting your website to rank on search engines is only part of the battle. You also need people to click through to the site when they see the search results. And this is where the meta description is key. The meta description is the text that search engines use to â€Å"preview† a page in a list of results. It should therefore provide a brief summary of what the page is about. To do this: Keep it short (ideally between 155 and 320 characters) Explain how the page will resolve the reader’s problem For example, for this page, we could write: Check out our SEO tips for copy writers to boost your page ranking. Simple solutions for increasing traffic to your website. Perfect for businesses seeking a competitive edge online. In three short statements, we’ve made sure the reader will immediately know what the page is, what following our advice will achieve, and who we’re targeting with the page. 5. Strategic Linking One of the most important SEO tips is to work hyperlinks into your copy, including both internal links to other pages on your website and external links to other sites. Internal links should direct readers towards relevant information on your site. External links, meanwhile, can make your site more authoritative and boost its reputation. And if another site sees that you have linked to them, they might do the same in return, which will boost your SEO results significantly. However, don’t link to sites that rank higher than you for the same keywords, as this will be counterproductive. Focus instead on links to sites that cover related topics. Summary: 5 SEO Tips for Copy Writers When writing website copy, you need to think about SEO. This may include: Researching keywords and picking the right ones for your site Working keywords into the page copy effectively Making sure your work is easy to read for humans as well as computers Writing a strong meta description so people click through to your site Using internal and external links in your copy Applied well, these SEO tips should help boost your website traffic.

Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Example

Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Example Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Instructions This questionnaire is a tool that you can use to collect information about your business that will be useful for tailoring the R/3 System to your business needs. You will need Microsoft Word for Windows to work with this document. Enter your answers in the fields after the questions, using the TAB key to move from field to field. You may save and later change your answers in this questionnaire just as you would with any other Word document. 1 Enterprise Structure 1. 1 SD – Corporate Structure What selling entities (Sales Organizations) are responsible for establishing terms of sale? To what markets (distribution channels) do you sell? (Retail, Wholesale, etc). What product divisions (product lines) do you have? What sales offices do you have? A Sales Office is a physical location responsible for sales within a given geographical location (optional). What sales groups do you have? These are groups of people responsible for processing sales of certain products or services (optional). Do you have more than one sales person responsible per customer? What warehouses, production sites (Plants) do you have? What are the storage locations at each Plant? Within each plant, what are the areas  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 1 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire from which you ship? For example, different loading docks that ship different types of materials or a Federal Express drop-off. (Shipping Point) 2 Master Data 2. 1 Logistics Business Partners What kinds of business partners do you have? Sold-To Ship-To Bill-To Payer Prospective Customers Competitors Sales Partners Forwarding Agent One Time Customers Do customers have multiple ship-to’s and payers? If yes, how do you choose? Do you have vendors that are also customers? Please define the structure of your current customer numbering: Yes Invoice-To partner No Payer partner Yes No 2. 2 SD Business Partners SAP Customer Hierarchies define complex buying structures within a single company and allow different pricing for each hierarchy. Do your customers have multi-level complex buying structures within their own company? Yes No Define the following optional Marketing information that can be attached to your customers. Industry Sectors for Customers? Customer Classifications? Nielson IDs?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Legal Status? Define the following optional Sales information breakdowns that may be used for reporting. Customer Groups: Sales Districts: Define the following optional Delivery information. Delivery priority levels. Also, explain the allocation process: Customer Calendars: Customer Goods Receiving Hours: Define the following information that will pertain to your billing documents. Define your Billing Schedule: Customer Terms of Payment and cash discounts you offer: Customer Incoterms? These are delivery terms you offer your customers (i. e. FOB): Do you record contact-person information for your customers? Do you record sales employee information in your customer table? Do you record customers who are placed on a â€Å"Table of Denial†, thereby denying deliveries to them? Yes No 2. 3 Logistics Material Do you record status information on your material records that would suggest a material should be blocked from sales stages? For example, blocking a sales order because the material is  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 3 Yes No Sales and Distribution Questionnaire discontinued, or blocking a delivery because the material is still in development. If yes, list the various status codes: Define the Length and Format of your material numbering scheme: Define your material groups: This key allows you to group together several materials and services that have the same attributes. This grouping can be used for reporting and pricing. Define the product divisions that allow you to organize your sales structure around groups of similar products or product lines: List your Storage Conditions for Material: List your Temperature Conditions for Material: List your Container Requirements for Material: Do you wish to set up a product hierarchy structure for reporting and pricing? If so, what are the hierarchy levels? Up to 9 levels can be used. Yes No 2. 4 SD Material Today, what information does your material master feed to the sales order process? Do you use Bills of Materials? If yes, do you price at the header or component level? Yes Header No Component  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 4 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire If yes, do you perform transfer of requirements and inventory movements on the header or component level? Do you have Configure-to-Order materials? Do you sell any of your material in batches? Header Component Yes Yes No No 3 Basic Functions 3. 1 Pricing Condition Processing What Master Data combinations do you base your pricing on? Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Sold-To Party / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Ship-To Party / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Price List Type / Currency / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Sold-To Party / Material Group Describe all other combinations: To calculate a price, will R/3 have to read any information stored on an external 3rd party or in-house system? If yes, please describe: What pricing information do you capture for statistical purposes? I. e. , it does not alter the price) For example, material costs, profit margins, or subtotals to print on an invoice. If you process Electronic Data Interchange orders, do you accept the  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 5 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire expected order price per item or the expected order value? If you process Inter-Company orders, d o you charge the inter-company based on a specified amount or on a percentage of the item price? Do you allow manual adjustments to the Gross Price automatically generated by the SAP R/3 system? Do you manually alter prices for an entire sales document at the header level? Do you use â€Å"Interval Graduated Scales† pricing? Example: For the first number of items purchased, the customer is charged a certain price. Additional items above a certain quantity level are sold at a lower price. Do you have multiple prices and discounts for a customer, and require the system to search the combination of all-eligible prices and discounts and give the customer the â€Å"best† or â€Å"lowest† price? Do you require the system to accumulate the amounts for certain conditions (like discounts) and deactivate the discount once a specified maximum value has been reached? Tracking Cumulative values) Do you require the functionality to create user-defined indexes in the pricing tables? This will enable you to search for your prices using companyspecific search criteria such as what operator input what prices on a certain day. Do your prices include Sales Tax? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 6 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you ever base the price of an item on the cost to manufacture or purchase the materials? Do you offer discounts to your customers? If so, what are they based on? Yes No Customer Material Customer / Material Customer Group / Material Customer Group / Material Group Customer / Material Group Ship-to Location Customer Hierarchy Pallets Mixed Pallets Describe all other combinations: Do you offer discounts to your customers that are based on a Sales Promotion? If yes, please describe your Sales Promotion and Sales Deal structure. Are these deals customer-specific or are they related to the product? Are these deals off-invoice or accrued (or a combination of both)? What date is pricing based on? Sales Order date Requested Delivery date How do you calculate and charge Freight? What subtotal information would you like to record on your pricing procedure? Will you need to pass pricing information to the Sales Information  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Valid: When selling an automobile, any options for number of doors, color, engine size, and music package will help determine the price to be charged. Do your customers have large, complex buying structures that you wish to price and discount according to? For example, a large retail company might send out purchase orders from different buying offices, so that you could set up a â€Å"customer-hierarchy† and offer discounts and prices based on the level to which the buying party belongs. Do you calculate your prices by the use of formulas? What is your method of taxation? Yes No Yes No Yes US Non Jurisdiction US Jurisdiction Output Taxes No Canadian Mexico Other 3. 2 Account Assignment How do you determine which General Ledger account should be posted for Revenue? Sales Org, Cust. Grp, Mat. Grp, Acct. Key Sales Org, Customer Group, Account Key Sales Org, Material Group, Account Key Do you also post to Business Areas (product groups) for internal reporting? Yes No Sales Org, Account Key Other  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 8 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire If yes, how? Please list the revenue accounts: What accounts do you use to post sales deductions (discounts)? What account do you use to post freight? What accounts do you use to post tax? What account do you use to post rebates? What accounts do you use to post rebate accruals? Do you require the interface link from SD to COPA? y Plant / Division by Sales Area Yes No 3. 3 Availability Check Do you perform an availability check against on the basis of â€Å"Available to Promise† quantities? If yes, for what types of material? Yes No Do you perform an availability check against on the basis of planned independent quantities? If yes, for what types of material? Yes No Do you normally include replenishment lead time in y our available check? Do you block a sales order if the availability check fails? For your different types of materials, decide what to include in your availability check: Stocks to include: Yes No Yes No safety stock stock in transfer stock in quality inspection blocked stocked  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 9 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What Inward and Outward Movements should be included? purchase orders purchase requisitions planned orders production orders reservations dependent reservations dependent requirements sales requirements delivery requirements 3. 4 Output What master data fields do you use to determine what output to send? Sales Org / Distribution Channel / Customer Group Sales Org What type of output do you send? Printed Fax Collect print out (samples) of the following documents: Sales order Customer master Material master Picking list EDI Other: Shipping documents Invoice Top 5 sales reports Customer Other: 3. 5 Material Determination Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. If a product is packaged differently for a special event (e. g. , Thanksgiving), do you want the system to automatically substitute the special packaging when the product is ordered? If yes, how does the substitution occur? For example, what master records do you perform the substitution based on? Not Used Yes No Customer Material Customer Material Country Code Another grouping?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 10 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What are the different reasons you would substitute one product for another or one packaging for another? Do you want the originally ordered product or the substituted product information to be printed on the output? Do you want the product substitution to occur automatically or should Data Entry personnel be offered a selection screen for substitutable products? Do you want Data Entry personnel alerted when a product is automatically substituted? Do you want the substituted product to be listed as a sub-item to the originally ordered product or should the substituted product completely replace the original product? Do you want product substitution to occur when the original ordered product is not available? Original Substituted automatic offered a selection Yes No sub-item replace Yes No 3. 6 Material Listings Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you require that certain products or customers must be pre-specified on a â€Å"Material List† before a customer can place an order for the material. What Master Data fields will make up the key index for the â€Å"Material Listing† table? Not Used Yes No Customer / Material Customer Group / Material Ship To Location / Material Specify Others:  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 11 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire 3. 7 Material Exclusions Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you require that certain products or customers must be pre-specified on a â€Å"Material Exclusion† table to block selling that material to the customer? What Master Data fields will make up the key index for the â€Å"Material Exclusion† table? Not Used Yes No Customer / Material Customer Group / Material Ship To Location / Material Other: 3. 8 Credit Processing Describe how your credit will be monitored: One department (Credit Control Area) will monitor the credit for all Company Codes. Each Company Code will be monitored by its own department. (Credit Control Area) Other: What categories of risk will you monitor against your customer? Check all that apply. During which stages of the sales cycle will you perform a credit check? In the case of new customers, will orders be accepted if the credit data has not yet been maintained? Do you want the credit check performed during entrance of each line item or only when the document is saved? Is there a maximum value per Credit Control Area that a sales document cannot exceed? Low Risk Medium Risk High Risk List any others: Sales Order Delivery Creation Yes Post Goods Issue (shipment) No Each Line Item Saving of Document only Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 12 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Should a credit check be performed when one of the following critical fields are changed on a Sales Document (Payment Terms, Additional Value Days, Fixed Value Date)? What is your policy when a customer fails credit? Do you block the order? Delivery? Yes No Cannot save Sales Order Save Sales Order but block Delivery document creation Save Sales Order, but block Shipment (Post Goods Issue) Describe others: 3. 9 Serial Numbers Do you have serial numbers for your materials (e. g. , model number)? When do you want the system to assign serial numbers? Do you want the system to assign serial numbers automatically or manually? Sales Order Delivery Creation automatically manually Post Goods Issue 4 Sales 4. 1 Inquiry/Quotation Processes Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What kind of information is collected for Inquiries? Not Used existing products potential new products qty pricing validity dates delivery schedules Do you currently support quotation processing? What kind of information is collected for quotes: Yes No existing products potential new products qty pricing validity dates delivery schedules Does a quotation apply to one or many one many  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 13 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire customers? Other additional information on Quotation processing: 4. Sales Order Processing How do you receive orders? EDI FAX Phone Do you presently separate your standard orders by any variables (e. g. , document type, sales organization, sales representative)? Do you convert sales orders from inquiries or quotations? What information do you capture on a sales order? How do you determine/select a customer at sales order entry? List the reasons for a Sales order to take place : What reasons would an order or line item be rejected? Does the line item detail of an order vary from line to line? For example, does one line have a different ship-to than the next? Do you send letters of order confirmation? If so, what forms of media do you use? For sales documents, what information do you consider required and would like to appear on an in-completion log if missing? Document Date Purchase Order Number Document Currency Incoterms Material Order Quantity Net Price Plant Shipping Point PO# Sales region manually by number person taking order Additional information: by name  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 14 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Pricing Date Payment Terms Sold-To Party List all others: Would it be valid to â€Å"save† the document if this information is missing? Product Proposals: If a customer routinely orders the same product or group of products, do you have a process that helps you simplify your order entry? If so, how does that process work? For example, do you record the product proposals by Customer, Customer group, or another grouping? Do you have company-defined status codes that are tracked on a sales document? If, so what do these status codes represent? Do you record â€Å"Minimum Delivery Quantity† on your materials? If so, what happens during a sales order if a violation occurs? Do you process backorders? What types of text do you require on your sales documents? Are they required on output? What information fields do you require on your sales order lists? Commitments and checks at order entry: Do you use replenishment lead times to determine availability date at order time?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Nothing Warning Error Yes No Yes No Depends on the Material 15 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you include transit time to calculate the delivery date? When you schedule a delivery, how is it specified (Day, Week, Month, Posting Period)? List your sales order types: 4. 3 Scheduling Agreements Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you need to schedule requested deliveries per line item out into the future? Are all customers and sales areas eligible for scheduling agreements? For Scheduling Agreements, is the delivery schedule for serial parts or replacement parts? Do you schedule the requested deliveries by day, week, period, or month? Should an availability check take place for Scheduling Agreements? How often do you receive changes to your delivery schedules? (hourly, daily, weekly) How do you receive the changes (EDI, telephone)? Do you receive Schedule Agreements from External Service Agents or directly from the customer (or both)? Not Used 4. 4 Contracts Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Not Used  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 16 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you negotiate contracts to use as a basis for sales orders? Do these contracts contain dates and quantities that must be adhered to? Is a distinct order type needed to indicate that the sales order references a contract? Is an availability check needed? If a contract already exists for a customer, do you want data entry personnel to be notified when a sales document is entered for this customer? Do you offer special prices or discounts for contracts? When a contract is created, do you want to have a follow-up activity automatically created? If so, which type of activity (Sales Call, Telephone Call, Sales Letter)? Are contracts for a set time period or do you offer renewals? Do you offer rental contracts? Do you utilize resource-related billing for contracts? (Periodic or Milestone) invoices are sent periodically payment is expected when major milestones are reached 4. 5 Third Party Orders Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you sell goods that you purchase from a vendor? Are these materials always purchased or just on certain orders? Do competing vendors make competitive bids on purchased products? Do you compare bids by  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 17 Not Used Sales and Distribution Questionnaire price, quantity, quality, or what other criterion? Do you send rejection letters to vendors losing bids? Are quotes selected for purchase order creation? Will shipping notification create expediting documents? Are dunning reminders sent? How long is the wait period? Do goods receipts have storage location determination? Is there blocked stock quality inspection, or other types of received stock? Do you charge third-party accounts right away or make separate postings? Is a 3-way match required to post the invoice? Do you bill the customer for the amount shipped from the vendor? Do you bill the customer after your invoice is received from the vendor? Yes No Yes No 4. 6 Consignment Orders Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you allow customers to keep your material in stock while you retain ownership? Does the customer place the orders for material or do you ship on a regular basis? What method will be used to determine when to bill the customer for consumed material? Not Used  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 18 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire How will you be notified when your customer has sold the product? Are unused or unwanted materials returned to your location from a consignment location? Are customers allowed to place material back into consignment stock after it has been issued? (Consignment Return Delivery Processing) For Consignment orders, is freight charged to the customer or is it a cost that is absorbed by your company? How and at what point in time do you reduce inventory when a customer delivery has been made? 4. 7 Free of Charge Orders On certain types of orders, do you not charge for material? Do these orders require separate order types (for example, samples and donations)? Do they require different account postings? 4. 8 Rush Orders Are there occasions when the delivery should be created as the order is created? Should an availability check take place? Will you price differently for rush orders? 4. 9 Cash Orders Do customers place and pick up orders  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 19 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire at your location and require immediate receipt of a printed invoice? Will you price differently for cash orders? . 10 Credit Card Orders Do you accept credit cards as payment verification when a customer places an order or receives a delivery? 4. 11 Subsequent Free-of-Charge Do you send replacement or add-on materials free-of-charge? Must they reference an existing order? 4. 12 Returnable Packaging Returns Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you give credit if the goods have not been physically returned? Do you accept returns without return goods authorization? What return documents are provided to customers? Do you track packing material at the customer location? (e. g. Skids, containers, etc. ) Do customers notify you when they intend to return the packing material? Do you require an authorization number to accept returned goods at the warehouse? Is a confirmation of receipt required by the customer? Yes No Not Used Yes No Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 20 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire When goods are received, do they require inspection? Yes No 4. 13 Warranties Is warranty tracking a requirement? What materials provide warranty agreements? How is it done today? Automatic or manual? Yes No 4. 14 Royalties or License Fees? Do you use royalties or license fees? How do you track them? How do you pay them (credit note, check. )? 4. 15 Stock Transfer Processing Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What locations store materials for transfer? Are these multiple stock locations? What type of stock is inventoried? Are you using SAP R/3 Warehouse Management? Do you have special storage conditions for materials? Do you have contracts or open purchase order arrangements for stock transfers? Is stock reserved prior to movement? How can you break the reservation? Do you forecast the expected transfer?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Yes Yes Yes No No No Not Used 21 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Should stock transfers be generated automatically? Is planning done for all materials? Is planning done for an individual material? (MRP Individual MM) Are multiple transfer order types used? What type of transfer is taking place? Will shipping notification create expediting documents? Are dunning reminders sent? If yes, how long is the wait period? Is this a transfer from one storage location to another or from plant to plant? Are shipping papers required? Who will process the delivery due list? How will picking and goods issue be posted? What movement type should be used? How will the transfer appear in the stock balance? Yes No Yes Yes No No 4. 16 Make to Order Production Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. In the production planning process, what is the strategy for consuming inventory? Are the bills of material simple in structure (having one level) or are they complex (having multiple levels)? Do you plan at the top level or at the lower levels? (Processing of Rough-cut  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 22 Not Used Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Planning Profile) What are the assembly steps taken in manufacturing? Routing Processing) Do you have sub-levels in your routings? (Reference Operation Set Processing) With your routings, do you note what may be needed in the assembly process? (Production Resource) Within your routings, are there trigger points within one routing that may setoff other operations? (Standard Trigger Point Processing) How does the product look and act in the sales order process? Do you state how components can be used within the configuration of a product? (Maintenance of Object Dependencies) Does an engineering change affect the configured production that has been ordered but not yet delivered? If so, is this a manual process or automatic and how does that process work? What are the options and features that your products have? (Characteristic Processing) For the features and options of your products, do you group them in any manner? (Class Processing) Do you pass your sales plan to demand management? Do you forecast? For example, history, forecast or formula? (Sales and  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 23 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Operations Planning). Where does the sales forecast come from? 5 Delivery Processing If you have multiple plants, how do you Customer determine what plant a product is Location delivered from? Product Location Do your customers accept partial deliveries? Do your customers allow the combination of multiple orders into single deliveries? Do you check the availability of product during delivery time? Are deliveries created individually or collective? What documents do you use to complete the delivery process, e. g. , picking list, packing list or bill of lading? Do you track Over Delivery or Under Delivery tolerance percentages for your customers? What picking process activities do you perform? How is packing done? Are you currently using any 3rd party software for packing? Do you have material that: Must be Picked Can Be Picked Cannot be Picked Depends on the Material Type Print pick list Picking confirmation Bar code labels requirements Yes Combination Other: No Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 24 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you confirm your picking process? Do you have material that: Yes No Must be Packed Can Be Packed Depends on the Material Type Cannot be Packed Depends on the Material Type Are you using bar code labeling? How? Do you have routing (truck stops)? How are freight charges handled? What shipping documents are generated? Is backorder processing supported? How? Do you assign priorities to back orders or is it first-come-first-serve based allotments? Do you have a standard lead time in days for the customers requested delivery date? When you schedule a delivery, is it specified per: Do you allow items to be added to a delivery without inclusion on the Sales Order? If so, what kinds of items? What are the reasons you would ever block a sales document from delivery? For the delivery document, what information do you consider required and would like to appear on an incompletion log if missing? Document Date Purchase Order Number Document Currency Incoterms Pricing Date Payment Terms Sold-To Party Material Order Quantity Net Price Plant Shipping Point List others: Day Week Yes Month Posting Period No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 25 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What should happen when the Delivery Quantity exceeds the Order Quantity? Nothing Warning Error Depends on the Material Ship Point, Weight Other How do you determine your Pick/Pack time? Not Determined Ship Point, Route, Weight Not Determined Ship Point, Route, Loading Group Not Determined Route Not Determined Route How do you determine your Loading time? Ship Point Other: How do you determine your Transit time? How do you determine your Transportation Lead time? What types of text do you require on your Delivery Documents? Are they required on output? What informational fields do you require on your Delivery Lists? What informational fields do you require on your lists of orders ready for delivery (Delivery Due List)? How and at what point in time do you reduce inventory when a customer delivery has been made? What are your methods for tracking the cost of these materials? Do you ever group deliveries together? Do you require to print Freight Lists by combining deliveries that meet defined criteria? Other: Other: Yes Yes No No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 26 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire 6 Transportation Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you interface to any third party transportation systems? If so, which ones? What carriers do you use for the transportation of goods? Is freight charged to the customers or is it a cost that is absorbed by the company? How do you determine the itinerary for your shipments? Do you have Individual and/or Collective Shipments? Do they use one mode of transport or multiple? What are your methods of shipping? (i. e. Truck, Mail, Train, Sea, etc. ) How are your transportation legs determined? No legs are determined According to departure point and itinerary Prelim. legs according to loading point, final legs according to Shipto point Determine preliminary and final stages by delivery Not Used Yes No Do you use Freight Forwarding Agents? 7 Foreign Trade 7. 1 License Skip this section if you do not utilize  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Not Used 27 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire this functionality. Define your legal regulations for each applicable country? For each legal regulation, define the applicable license types? Is the Export License specific to a certain customer? Is the Export License specific to a certain sales transaction type? Is the Export License specific to a certain type of products? Is the Export License specific to a certain destination country? Is the Export License limited by a dollar amount? Is the Export License limited by a quantity amount? When do you wish to check for the export license? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Delivery Sales Order Delivery 7. 2 Foreign Trade Reporting What declarations to the authorities must you make? EU: NAFTA: Japan: Switzerlan d: Intrastat AERP Export Yes Extrastat HMF Import Kobra 8 Billing/Invoicing Do you centralize or decentralize invoice processing? Please explain: Frequency of invoice creation:  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. per shipment weekly 28 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire daily monthly Do customers have a predefined time when they receive invoices, billing schedule? Do you consolidate invoices: by order by date by customer ship to Other: Do you split invoices? For example, if a single invoice is for multiple product divisions, will multiple invoices be generated by separating on the divisions? How are the billing documents generated, by delivery document, soldto, or some other variable? What invoice documents are created? Are pro forma invoices required? Printed EDI Other: EDI Fax Do you utilize periodic billing by for rental contract type documents? Periodic allows a specified amount to be billed over a certain time period. Do you utilize milestone billing for make to order type documents? Milestone billing allows you to bill once a certain work level has been reached. 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 29 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire How do you recognize price changes that occur between the Sales Order and Billing time frame? Copy manual changes, re-determine other Copy prices unchanged, redetermine freight charges Re-determine taxes only Re-calculate all prices including tax and freight Other: What are the reasons you would ever block a delivery from creating an invoice? For the billing document, what information do you consider required and would like to appear on an incompletion log if missing? What types of text are required on your billing documents? Are they required on output? What informational fields are required on your billing document lists? What information fields are required on your lists of deliveries due for billing (Billing Due List)? 8. 1 Rebates Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What % of customers are given rebates? How are rebates calculated? by Material Customer Customer/Material product group O ther: Not Used Is there a time commitment or not? Do you accrue the payment liability? How is payment done? via credit/debit check cut via AP  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 30 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you allow partial settlements on the rebates? If so, how often do you reimburse the customer (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly)? Do you offer Lump Sum rebates (not dependent on sales volume)? 8. 2 Credit/Debit Memo What types of adjustments are made: unit price quantity freight charge adjustment list other reasons for adjustment What adjustment methods are used? Are you able to trace it currently? How are output documents generated? Do your debit and credit memos need to go through an approval process? free standing tied to order/invoice printed faxed 9 Reporting Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What are the critical reports generated in each of the following areas: Sales order processing: Pricing: Shipping: Billing: What on-line (screen) reports are used for daily work (daily reporting)? What general statistical reports are being used by managers and executives?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 31 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire How often do you update your data for statistical reporting? Do you plan to utilize the Executive Information System? 10 Sales Information System Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Not Used Please mark the Standard Information Structures you will use: Customer (S001) (Sold-To, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division , Material) Sales Office (S002) (Sales Org. , Group, Office, District, Dist. Channel, Division) Sales Organization (S003) (Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division, Sales District, Material) Material (S004) (Material, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel) Shipping Point (S005) (Ship Pt. , Route, Fwd. Agent, Dest. Country) Sales Employee (S006) (Employee, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division, Sold-To, Material) Variant Configuration (S128) (Class Type, Material, Int. Characteristic, Characteristic Value, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division, Sold-To, Plant) Will you need to create your own UserDefined Information Structures? If so, what fields will be used as the index key? For your information structures, what time frame should the data be accumulated? For reporting purposes, do you need to combine SAP data with information from a legacy or 3rd party software package? Daily Weekly Monthly Period  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 32 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What exceptional conditions do you have that you would like to receive warning about (Early Warning System)? Should these exceptional conditions be reported on a periodic basis or run on demand? Should these exceptional conditions be printed out or mailed to an employee’s in-box? Do you need to generate a Sales Plan (Budget)? On what organizational levels do you budget? On what sales figures do you budget (example: quantity, dollar volume, returns)? Do you need to transfer your Sales Plan to Demand Management? Would you like to aggregate statistical information on any sub-totals from your pricing procedure? If you have created any custom business partners, do you need to aggregate statistical information on the new partners? Do you need to perform statistical analysis on Inquiries or Quotes? Do you wish to track service level statistics by comparing requested delivery date with the actual delivery date? Do you need to combine information from multiple applications (i. e. , SD and MM) on a single report?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 33 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire 11 Sales Support System Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you record information on competitors or competitor products? Do you track information on prospective customers? Do you perform the following for a sales promotion? Direct Mailing Address List Other: Not Used Do you perform the following sales activities? Sales Call Telephone Call Sales Letter Other: 12 Sales Commissions If you are calculating sales person commissions, how will you calculate them? How are commissions determined in your company? Is a customer assigned to a specific sales commission object (representative, district, etc), or are commissions determined at an order level? Not Using Sales Information System Rebate Partial Settlement functionality Other: Customer specific Customer / Material specific Order specific Other: 3 Electronic Data Interchange Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What 3rd party translator do you plan to Not Used  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 34 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire use? Which data format will you use? ANSI EDIFACT What inbound messages would you like to use? Request for quote Purchase Order Purchase order change request What output messages would you like to use? Quote P urchase Order acknowledgment PO change acknowledgment ODETTE VDA Planning schedule w/ release capability Shipping Schedule (call-off) Dispatch Advice Delivery note Invoice 4 Data Transfer Do you require to transfer your open orders from your legacy system? Identify the file structure of open orders on your legacy system. Do you require transfer of your current prices from your legacy system? Identify the file structure of prices on your legacy system. Yes No Yes No 15 Service Management Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you serialize products that need to be tracked after the delivery? Do you plan to record individual data for each piece of equipment (for these serialized products)?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Not Used 35 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire For example, tracking maintenance and service activities and scheduling maintenance visits. Do you schedule the installation and dismantling of equipment at a customer site? Do you need to track any permits related to the service of the product? Will you use external or internal numbering for serial numbers? At what point do you want to assign serial numbers (e. g. , picking time)? Do you need to track any special tools, such as calibration equipment, and plan for their use? Do you grant a warranty for certain products? Do you check the warranty to see what services the customer is entitled to? Do you place serialized products on a service contract? Is there periodic billing associated with these contracts? Are there follow-up activities that need to be done on a service contract? Do you have standard task lists (steps that need to be performed) when a product is serviced? Do you need to track the reason for service calls in both code and text format? Do you need to track the resources used to service a product? (Resources Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 36 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire include labor and material. ) Do you need to perform planning for these services? Do you need to settle the cost of a service order to a work center, general ledger account or other cost object such as a service contract? Do you need to bill the customer for the resources used during service of the product? Should this invoice consider warranties? Are there contractual price agreements? 16 Recap Identity any major areas of your business which have not been addressed in this questionnaire.  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 37

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Jake Barnes as a Hemingway Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Jake Barnes as a Hemingway Hero - Essay Example Brett and Barnes had a past relationship. However, World War I rendered Barnes sexually impotent through a battle wound. Barnes wants a relationship with Brett, but she cannot give up sex, even for love. Throughout this novel, Barnes is the shoulder for Brett to cry on. He is her friend, confident, and admirer. She is engaged to Mike, but cheats on him with Cohn and Romero. While carrying on with these men, she still confides in Barnes. The pathetic part of Barnes and Brett’s relationship was Barnes knew exactly what she was, but still did not care. Barnes thought: Barnes, aside from his feelings for Brett, wanted to find the meaning of life. He knew that loving Brett was not making him happy, but could not quite grasp what would make him happy. In order to pursue the meaning of life, Barnes decided to go back to the basics with a fishing trip in Spain. By imposing the basics on his life, Barnes wanted to find peace through order. Even though ideally he thought if Brett would love him, then the meaning of life and happiness would fall in line, Barnes found that peace came with order. When Brett suggest they could have been happy together, Barnes replies, â€Å"Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?† (Hemingway 248) This shows that Barnes realizes that although his desire to be with Brett is nice to think about, peace is only found with order, not confusion. Jake Barnes loved an unworthy woman and searched in vain for happiness. Both of these things make him a Hemingway hero. His survival of unrequited love and journey through life makes him an everyday hero. Barnes faced reality. The ultimate conclusion that only the need of basic essentials to create order in his life allowed Barnes achieve a separate peace. Barnes found what every person needs to know to gain peace; happiness does not come from others, but only from within. Barnes found his separate peace from within. This is what makes him not only a Hemingway hero, but a memorable

Describe a time when you experience a classroom as a community. How Essay

Describe a time when you experience a classroom as a community. How did the teacher create it How did it feel to belong to this - Essay Example The place was like a community to me as the bringing together of people with different backgrounds and ideologies was really worthwhile. The teacher ensured that the students in the classroom were able to interact with each other and probably learn more from the older group. This act by the teacher exposed the flaws of the education system where students are put in the same class with students of their peer group. The teacher created this community in such a way that the students were given the opportunity to acquire skills that would make them integrate easily into the society. The teacher made the students to have a deep sense of belonging as that act gave the students the opportunity to interact socially with other members of the academic community (Koch 28-31). It is true that schools shelter students from the opportunities of enlightening that exposure to wider social, ethnic and mixed age groupings might afford them as they would be restricted to the knowledge that is within th e school. The teacher made us aware in the classroom that the real lessons of life are not learnt within the walls of a school, but in the community or the society as the case may be. The teacher adequately prepared us for the challenges of a larger community and the society as a whole.

Red Bull Company Description Commerce Essay

Red Bull Company Description Commerce Essay An Austrian Company created Red Bull back in 1987. Red Bull is an energy drink and is also the worlds most popular energy drink, having sold 4.6 billion cans in 2011. The drink was first sold in Thailand and then modified to suit the tastes of people in the United States. A single can of Red Bull has the same amount of as a cup of coffee. Depending on the country, the level of caffeine in a can of Red Bill can vary, as some countries have restrictions on how much caffeine is allowed in drinks. The product is marketed through advertising events such as sport team ownerships, celebrity endorsements, and music. Unfortunately, Red Bull is not market approved in France, Denmark, and Norway. But Red Bull is legal in 164 countries around the world. Due to the potential health risks associated with the drink, Red Bull has been heavily criticized. We will further discuss in detail the health risks associated with the energy drink in the contents of our paper (redbull.com). Mission Statement According to Red Bull, [Their] mission is to be the premier marketer and supplier of Red Bull in Asia, Europe, and other parts of the globe. [They] will achieve this mission by building long-term relationships with the people who can make it become a reality (redbull.com). The company also has a vision statement that focuses on 5 aspects of their company values: People, Portfolio, Partners, Profit, and Productivity. Red Bull wants to be a great place to work; where people are inspired to be the best they can be. They want to bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverages that anticipate and satisfy peoples desires and needs. Red Bull wants to nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers; together we create value. They want to maximize a long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of [their] overall responsibilities. Red Bull also wants to be a highly effective, lean, and fast-moving organization (redbull.com). Situation Analysis Industry Analysis Trends In the drink market, energy drinks are arguably the fastest growing and most creative group. Since 2004, the mar has annually increased volume growth by about 14 %. Geographically, the most consumers are in Asia, followed by North America and Western Europe. According to the 2010 Global Energy Drinks Report, Australia and Latin America are two regions that have recorded strong double-digit growth in energy drink volumes. Availability is the key drive of sales and energy shots are quickly becoming the next fab (rcciinsight.com). Competitors In the energy drink market there are numerous companies and a select few vying for Red Bulls top spot. Rockstar, Monster, 5-hour energy, full Throttle, NOS, Pepsi Co., and Coca-Cola Co. are the main competitors. Monster energy drink with the logo of three claws in the shape of a M is distributed by Hansen Natural Corporation in Corona, California. With a fairly tolerable taste, this drink sparks you up and packs quite a vicious punch. Rockstar was formulated in 2001 and is one of the fastest growing drinks in the market. This brand also has products that figure in the list of energy drinks with alcohol. Full Throttle is produced by the Coca-Cola Company and debuted in late 2004. They are well-known for their great flavors (buzzle.com). Consumer Profile Demographic shifts, as well as changing consumer attitudes, will also have an impact on energy drink sales. Younger consumers have been the primary consumers due to their taste and image characteristics. From a consumption standpoint, energy drinks have benefited from their use as a mixer with spirits. However, promoting the use of an energy drink to younger consumers or as a mixer has led to negative publicity for some energy drink brands. According to Mintel principal trends analyst Richard Cope, People are working longer into retirement and there is a greater need for products geared towards vitality and health in the senior workforce. At the moment energy drinks are marketed towards the youth market, he said, but they will become more about getting people through the day at an older age (rcciinsight.com). Technology Technology, or more specifically the internet, has created another link between Red Bull and consumers. When visiting their website, people are able to view various aspects of the company. There are links for: products and company, videos, photos, music tracks, just epic, games, ted bulletin, redbull.tv, and red bull signature series. This technology does an excellent job of promoting the brand in many different ways (redbull.com). SWOT Analysis Strengths Red Bull has numerous strengths. The company was founded in 1984 and by 1987 it launched its first product in a completely new category of drinks. Today Red Bull is sold in 164 countries around the world. Since its debut 25 years ago, Red Bull has sold 30 billion cans, with more than 4.5 billion last year. Due to their success both domestically and internationally, the company has expanded to over 8,000 employees worldwide (redbull.com). Their leadership within the energy drinks market is sub-none. They are by far the most popular company. Top-seller Red Bull posted $2.3 billion in sales, which is a 14.3 percent increase, according to Symphony IRI data (bevindustry.com). According to Red Bull, Numerous scientific studies on the product and the individual ingredients prove that Red Bull Energy Drink: increases performance, increases concentration and reaction speed, improves vigilance, stimulates metabolism, and makes you feel more energetic and thus improves you overall well-being (redbull.com). Weaknesses Despite having numerous strengths and worldwide popularity, Red Bull still has a few weaknesses. To begin with, Red Bull is in the above average price range of the energy drink market. Secondly, there is a substantial lack of innovation. Red Bull only offers a few products where as some of their competitors offer more. Third, Red Bulls recipe is not patented. This could potentially lead to another company producing a very similar or exact product with just a different name. Fourth, Red Bull is not yet a large corporation as they still have less than 10,000 employees (Tyagi). Threats The biggest threat to Red Bull is Red Bull itself. The ingredient mix that their products contain is not FDA approved. On top that, government and scientists are finding that high amounts of caffeine, sugar, and taurine are extremely unhealthy and potential fatal. France and Denmark have gone to such measures as to ban Red Bull as a cocktail of death. High amounts of sugar have been found to cause serious health problems. A small amount of taurine, which is still a vastly unknown ingredient, is thought to be beneficial, but scientists are beginning to find health risks it causes. Red Bull energy drinks also contain a highly dangerous chemical called Glucuronolactone. The US Department of Defense developed this product during the Vietnam War as a hallucinogenic drug to stimulate troops morale. According to reports, their effects in the organism were so devastating, that is was discontinued of the high index of cases of migraines, cerebral tumors, and liver diseases that occurred in th e soldiers who consumed it (Helmi). Red Bull must carefully watch its larger competitors, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, who would like nothing more than to obtain Red Bulls consumers. Also, healthy organic energy drinks are starting to enter and become competitive in the market (Tyagi). Opportunities Red Bulls greatest potential lies in its opportunities. Sales of energy drinks have taken on the energy of its products compared to a year ago. The energy drinks category increased 15.7 percent for $6.9 billion in sales, according to Symphony IRI Group, Chicago, for the 52 weeks ending May 15 in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Wal-Mart (bevindustry.com).To begin with, since they only have a few products, Red Bull has the opportunity to create new products. Second, they have an unlimited ability to advertise and promote their brand. Currently, Red Bull is the major player in the action and outdoor sports advertising. However, if they were to continue doing that, but also enter into another market such as UFC, boxing, or even mainstream sports such as football or baseball, this would create a potentially exponential consumer base. Third, if Red Bull could partner with a popular company such as Facebook or Apple, this wo uld create more everyday exposure via social media (Tyagi). Marketing Objectives A marketing objective is a statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities. The goal of Red Bull is obviously increasing sales more than last year. Red Bull leads an energy drink industry so far; however, Monster has been catching up greatly in the past a few years. Therefore, they need to have a good marketing objective to keep the position of number one seller in an energy drink industry and increasing their sales. In order to accomplish their marketing plan, they need to cover several criteria of marketing objective such as realistic, measurable, time-specific, and compared to a benchmark (redbull.com). Red Bull refused to publish their earnings, profits and specific marketing goal; however, increasing their profit than past years is clear and accurate their goal of every year. They also compute their annual profit end of a year every year. In 2011, Red Bull sold 4.631 billion cans worldwide. It represents an increase of 11.4% against 2010. Company turnover increased by 12.4%, from 3.785 billion Euros to 4.253 billion Euros. Therefore, their key areas such as revenues, sales, productivity, operating profit, and the figures recorded were the best in the history of the company so far. According to industry marketing reports, The main reason for such progressive figures include exceptional sales, especially in key markets such as the USA (+11%) and Germany (+10%) and also in other markets such as Turkey (+86%), Japan (62%), France (+35%), and Scandinavia (+34%) combined with efficient cost management and ongoing brand investment. The result of these figures indicate Red Bull continue i ncreasing sales and accomplishing the goal. Red Bull is successfully growth because of their marketing plan that increasing their profit than past years and computing their annual profit end of a year are realistic, and time-specific (redbull.com). In order to increase a profit of the company, advertisement is one of very important elements. Red Bull builds up unique marketing campaigns and many different kind of activities such as mountain biking, snowboarding surfing, skateboarding, freestyle motocross, and Formula 1 racing. They just succeeded in the marketing campaign Red Bull Stratos. Felix Baumgartner jumped at 128,000 feet above the Earth that reached a high speed of 833.9 miles per hour. People cannot get a picture of Felix without the Red Bull logo and that is their marketing strategy. Red Bull considers that marketing is not just department (Chun). Their extreme sports activities contents represent the symbol of their brand; therefore, they launched Red Bull Media House service. Red Bull Media House is a multi-platform media company with a focus on sports, culture and lifestyle. They provide and distribute the videos, which are precious, cool, and adventurous; therefore, people are able to get thrills from the movies. The marketing plan of Red Bull Media House is making profit from its services. They also expect the service serve a function as an advertisement and help to increase sales of Red Bull. According to Red Bull founder and CEO Dietrich Mateschitz, he states, In long term, we expect that Red Bull Media House to be profitable. Therefore, their marketing objective of Red Bull media House is not clear. There is a realistic to achieve their goal when they consider long term to get profits from its Red bull media house services because especially the attentions from young people to extreme sports are increasing. Red Bull Me dia House also needs to become more popular to be profitable. Their goal is not measurable and time-specific because Dietrich just mentions Red Bull Media House will be profitable in the future. Their plan is too vague and they do not determine the date of their achievement such as December 31, 2015. However, at the same, they also consider Red Bull Media House is part of marketing content and desire that the services and the video of Red Bull Media House assist sales of Red Bull. Therefore, we can see the logotype of Red Bull on the players helmets, caps, and shirts in the movies from Red Bull Media House. They are excited to launch Red Bull Media House and provide the services; even though, they might not be able to make profits the first a few years because they tend to consider the loss of profits as expenditure of marketing (Iezzi). Marketing Strategy Target Marketing Strategy A target market is a group of individuals that is most likely to buy a firms product based on similar characteristics, preferences, and lifestyles. From the beginning, Red Bull has set out to associate itself with youth culture and extreme, adventure-related sports. Red Bulls target market is mainly Generation Y, aged anywhere between 18-35, who enjoy extreme sports and an active nightlife. This active group of individuals does not respond well to the typical, classic marketing strategies of most companies. Red Bull relies heavily on a strategy that has become known as viral marketing, or word-of-mouth, to spread the popularity of the drink, rather than traditional methods. Red Bull is trying to be as close as possible to its consumers in its distribution strategy and likewise in its promotion strategy by having a street marketing strategy. They have put themselves in the center of their target market and made themselves an icon in a wide variety of sports such as mountain biking, mo tocross, BMX, windsurfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, kayaking, cliff-diving, surfing, rally, Formula 1 racing, NASCAR, desert racing, and even breakdancing. This may be a wide selection, but it is great for Red Bull because each sport is focused around Generation Y, which gives them a broad fan base. Marketing Mix Product Red Bull is arguably one of the most publicized and well-known organizations in the action sports community, which is phenomenal considering they essentially only have one product. This one product was the first energy drink of its kind, and has basically remained the same ever since. They have added a few variations of the original, Sugar Free and Total Zero, along with Red Bull Editions that give a slight variety of flavor. Red Bull was developed specifically to increase mental and physical exertion, increase performance and concentration during times of stress, and improve reaction speed, which is where their slogan Gives You Wings started (redbull.com). Place/Distribution Red Bull distributes their product through a few different distribution channels. The first is the Direct Channel where the producer interacts with the consumer. They set up booths or have the Wings Team drive their Red Bull cars to events and hand out their product to consumers first hand. The other distribution channel is the wholesaler channel in which Red Bull sells their product to a wholesaler, who then sells it to a retailer such as gas stations and convenience stores, who then sell it to the consumer. Red Bull is also involved in the bar scene and has strict rules about mixing the right drink and a bar. The barmen are instructed to give what remains in the can to the consumer to further Red Bulls visibility of the product (Louvet). Promotion Red Bulls promotion strategy began with the Wings Team, who were attractive female students, whose role was to establish a relationship with the consumers, to have them discover the product, and see what consumer opinion was. Red Bulls first target was college campuses, because this is where they felt they could make the biggest impact, on students who were seeking an extra boost of energy. Red Bull would consult with the Student Brand Manager at school to ensure that Red Bull was present at every strategic moment on the social calendar such as sporting events and big parties. The strength of Red Bull is an ability to instill a genuine passion for the brand in the Wings Team and the Student Brand Managers. Thus, these committed people are more likely to promote a good image of the brand and to have a greater positive impact on targeted consumers (Louvet). Since this, Red Bull has expanded drastically and changed their promotion strategy. Red Bull explicitly states that they do not involve themselves in print advertising such as newspapers and magazines; instead, they rely on television, social media, and outdoor media to advertise. Since 1992, Red Bull has created cheap cartoons with simple but recognizable drawings, telling funny and simple stories. These were a huge benefit for them because they were easily adaptable to markets all across the globe. Red Bull also displays outdoor media at every even possible with huge tents and exhibits, inflatable cans and arches; as well as custom painted helmets, racecars, helicopters, and airplanes for all of their athletes. Social media has become Red Bulls best way of advertising. It is an easy way to get one simple picture, video, or message around the globe in less than a few seconds. They are famous for their viral videos, which are spread entirely by fans and followers. Red Bull currently has 34.5 million likes on Facebook, 480 thousand followers on Instagram, 843 thousan d followers on Twitter. With all the advances in Internet and social media Red Bull has found a perfect niche market where the consumer spreads the word faster than the producer (redbull.com). Price Red Bull sees themselves as a high quality company that offers a high quality product, which is why they have a strict pricing policy. Their product is the most expensive amongst competitors because they are prestigious and have customer loyalty (redbull.com). Implementation, Evaluation, and Control Marketing Research Red Bull has managed to revolutionize the world of energy drinks. It has permeated globally and hopes to expand into even more countries. Their success can be traced to a well-established marketing plan. Since their inception into the market, Red Bull has relied on their research to follow a successful path. According to Lamb, marketing research can help managers in several ways, it improves the quality of decision making and helps managers trace problems (pg. 292). By having a well-established marketing strategy a company can be very profitable. Red Bull has chosen to reposition themselves by targeting a specific market. They opt for targeting younger individuals involved in action sports and with a very active lifestyle. Red Bull has a very unorthodox way of marketing; they rely heavily on buzz marketing or word of mouth. It is amazing that a world renowned company reached such success simply with an effective marketing strategy and by word of mouth advertising. Another concept ent ailed in marketing research is, the ability to understand the ever changing marketplace. This is another factor that has contributed to their success because they are aware of the changing trends, especially amongst the younger population or in other words, generation Y (redbull.com). Organizational Structure and Plan According to Lamb, many of the historic sources of competitive advantage-technology, innovation, economies of scale-allowed companies to focus their efforts internally and prosper (pg. 7). In other words, Red Bull has been able to become successful because it has followed through the many factors that instill competitive advantage amongst other brands in the market share. Red Bull really takes into consideration the three factors that allow for a proficient organizational focus. These are customer value, customer satisfaction, and building relationships. Firstly, customer satisfaction is customers evaluation of a good or service in terms of weather it has met their needs and expectations (Lamb, pg 9). Customers that purchase Red Bull already have an opinion and know what to expect from the product. Secondly, building relationships, which is attracting new customers or maintain its current customers. Companies can expand market share in three ways: attracting new customers, increasing business with existing customers, and retaining current customers (Lamb, pg. 9). Thirdly, relationship marketing, as a strategy that focuses on keeping and improving relationships with current customers. All these components contribute to customer relationship management. In which, the company designs a business model to reduce costs and increase profitability by strengthening customer satisfaction and loyalty. Red Bull does a great job of implementing all of the three components in maintaining a good relationship with its customers. For example, a young person who is interested in extreme sports has loyalty to the product, because Red Bull is associated with the sport and it probably sponsors the popular athletes (redbull.com). Financial Projections Red Bull has made a few projections regarding its finances and advertising strategies. One of their strategies was to become more aggressive in their strategies, some were introduced at the end of the 2011 fiscal year. According to their website, In 2011, 4.631 billion cans were sold worldwide. That is an increase of 11.4% since 2010. In all key areas such as sales, revenues, productivity and operating profit, the figures recorded were the best in the companys history so far (redbull.com). In other words, as of the end of 2011, Red Bull employed 8,294 people in 164 countries. The companys marketing plan for 2012 stated that, Market Share Red Bull anticipates through the following year to be able to increase its market share by 10%, raising it to 58% of the market share. Through various media channel , Red Bull has set a goal to set itself further ahead from all competitors and build an undeniable brand loyalty among a different demographic (redbull.com). Implementation Timetable In this section, the company implements the marketing strategy and establishes company goals. As explained previously, Red Bull hopes to generate more sales resulting from their new marketing plan. The company plans to advertise, on the web, trial, sponsorship, promotion, viral and on television. However, for the years to come they hope to shift their target market from young individuals to 35-65 year olds. The company also stated some goals for this year. They want to increase revenue by, the following year, Red Bull has set a goal to increase revenue by 20% $6.22 billion . By gaining customers in a new demographic, as well as releasing a revamped campaign, Red Bull believes this is possible (redbull.com). This is to say that, the company has established goals that can be attained if their marketing plan is successful. It is very likely that it can accomplish those goals, simply because even after many years, it remains the top name in energy drinks. Positives, Negatives, and Recommendations Positives The worlds most recognizable and profitable energy drink Red Bull posted revenue of more than $5.1 billion in 2010, and sales of the product are continuing to increase each year. Red Bull spends an unbelievable 30-40% of their revenue on marketing. The majority of Red Bull energy drinkers are between the ages of 18-34 year old males. The drink grabbed the attention of their target user and flawlessly grew, and become the brand marketing strategy that translated into We are with you and one of you. The recent 2011-2012 focus of Red Bull energy drink is trying to increase awareness among the 35-65 crowds, both male and female. The reason for Red Bulls remarkable marketing strategy relies solemnly on the following four concepts (Andy): 1. Consumer engagement through sportsmanship 2. Videos of extreme athletic accomplishments posted on YouTube that go viral. 3. Brand recognition through logo saturation. 4. Attainment of widespread brand recognition and loyalty first among a core demographic, then building a credible bridge to achieve it. Because Red Bulls targeting audience is the Y Generations, the company has developed a Wings Team to develop and establish a relationship with the consumers and to discuss with consumers about their appreciation or dissatisfaction of the product. One of Red Bulls strategies is to be present at school events, big parties, sporting events, and school/social calendars. One of the many strengths of Red Bull is their genuine passion for their brand and consumers who are committed to their energy drinks. These committed people are likely to promote a good image of the brand and have a greater impact on targeted consumers (Louvet). Negatives Even though Red Bulls marketing strategy is proven to be the best, they are facing a negative publicity about the health risks that the drink leads to. Because of the many health risks associated with the energy drink, countries such as Denmark and France have banned the drink from their markets. The energy drink contains high level of sugar and caffeine and taurine, therefore causing a variety of health risks such as heart problems, vertigo, hallucinations, damaged tooth enamel, and other permanent problems. Some studies that were conducted showed that the product is linked to heart disease and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, the product has not been thoroughly clinically tested as of yet. A disadvantage of Red Bull is that the product is expensive compared to other caffeinated beverages. Due to these issues, Red Bull has recently developed Red Bull Cola, which is an all-natural, containing no synthetic preservatives or flavors energy drink (Louvet). Recommendations As a group, we concluded that Red Bull should try to decrease their pricing in order to maintain their target market of the young generation. If the energy drink continues to increase in price, it might push the product out of its prestige position in the market. Red Bull is known for campaigning at school events, extreme sporting events, etc. but this must be kept unchanged if the product wants to continue their strategic marketing plan. For the long run of Red Bull, the company should be thinking about some ethical aspects of the product, such as the negative health risk associated with the drink.