Importance Of Efficient Territory Management In Distribution Planning Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2034 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? The current paper is a theoretical approach to the management of territories according to sales force, which has an important role in the realization of distribution. The central element is the way in which agents split their efforts between the activities and routes they are responsible with. A related issue is that of establishing what comes first defining the sales territory or performing the selling. The effects of the interaction between the number of distribution representatives and the delimiting of the territory they cover influence the measurement of the individual elements that contribute to achieving commercial performance. The basic elements of territory delimitation Commercial territories are delimited in order to help agents sell more efficiently. Delimitation is done by allocating a number of existing and potential clients to each distribution representative (DR) acting in a given area, usually, but not always, established on geographical criteria. The reasons for territory delimitation and the criteria according to which this is done may vary a lot from one case to another. Division into commercial territories is not required or useful in all situations. Reasons against these delimitations may occur when it comes to selling to friends or social contacts, or selling with the help of references received from other existing clients, as is the case of insurance or financial investment companies. Another reason against the existence of territories could also be the small size of the market, the reduced number of clients or DR, which does not justify such a division. Where information about potential clients or concerning the way in which a product would be received is not easily available, managers should leave the demarcation of territories for when these aspects will have been clarified. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Importance Of Efficient Territory Management In Distribution Planning Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The companies establish commercial territories out of the following reasons: To cover the whole market. Territories allow for the identification of existing or potential clients in a given area, reducing thus the likelihood of omitting some business opportunity or the overlapping of contacts and, therefore, helping to avoid excessive transport costs. To define the responsibilities of each DR more accurately. This delimitation allows an easier classification of accounts by name, number and frequency of contacts. To better adjust the selling activity to the clients needs. This is possible due to various reasons related to the respective location, such as knowledge of the local conditions and customs. Once more, similarity between distribution representatives and their potential clients may prove to be highly significant. To improve customer relations. The distribution representatives in a given area may find out more about their clients and establish a closer relation with them, visiting them regularly, a thing which represents, by itself, a time-saving source. But excessive contacts and wasting time with too many courtesy visits should be avoided. To reduce distribution expenses. The number of travels and the related costs are much more reduced if they are situated within the same area. For this reason, most of the companies insist that their distribution representatives should live in the area they cover. As means of facilitating performance evaluation. Commercial situations related to previous periods, to a plan or to some measure of the potential are easier to work out and more accurate when they refer to a well-defined territory. Sales managers can also draw comparisons between territories which could help them realize how to improve the activity of the entire sales personnel. To help the distribution representatives work. Demarcating territories supports a better coordination among the different departments of a company, between the concrete marketing and advertising activities undertaken by it, at the same time contributing to sustaining and motivating distribution representatives who thus become managers of the areas they cover. The most convincing reason is that territorial delimitation facilitates the implementation of the concept of marketing, contributing to a better identification of the clients needs and allowing for more specific actions with a view to satisfying them. In the environment in which selling and distribution take place nowadays, the ability to conduct an efficient management of territories is becoming increasingly important, this being the prerequisite for achieving optimum distribution in terms of costs. The widely accepted procedure for establishing commercial territories covers the following five phases: Phase I: Choosing the fundamental unit To better define territories, one chooses a starting point that relies on different preexisting divisions, such as economic regions. The differing population density, income differences and industrial particularities make these divisions unequal in terms of their commercial potential. Where possible, it is recommended that a smaller starting unit be established, because larger commercial areas may be subsequently created by merging several of these divisions. The market features, the distribution systems and the company reputation are factors of greater influence than the simple geographical borders. Phase II: Evaluation of accounts and commercial potential The data systems concerning markets may provide all the information required to make decisions in this respect. In the cases where exact information may be obtained about the market and clients, territory organization can be relatively easy. This involves the classification of all potential clients into different categories, such as yet unverified tracks, existing, past or future clients. The advantages of using computerized systems materialize into the ability of quickly selecting potential accounts according to a series of relevant features. Computers can also be used in storing information about the status of the accounts, their real and potential value. The majority of companies divide their accounts according to a classification of the ABC type: A = highly important accounts, B = average importance accounts, C = less important accounts. Phase III: The analysis of distribution representatives workload The agents workload is an estimate of the time and efforts required to cover the assigned geographical territory. This approximation contains the number of accounts of different types, the frequency of contacts, the time allotted to each of them, the time needed to travel among contacts, as well as the time spend with non-commercial activities. The difficulties which may arise when calculating the value of the workload include: Type of product. Fast-moving consumer goods require less explanations or demonstrations than technological products. The activity in this field is carried out recurrently, according to some well-established, almost routine patterns. There are, however, certain industrial or other special goods whose benefits require a more detailed presentation, making such visits take longer. Type of sales. Distribution representatives may deal with developing and consolidating an account which may take them more time than servicing the existing accounts. They can be faced with having to contact several persons within the same account whereas, in the other cases, they only have to meet with the actual customer. Certain types of sales require some missionary or development activity, while others may need a larger-scale promotional activity. The novelty of the products or of the market. In the case of developing products or markets, it is expected that there should be a need of longer time for each visit and less sales for each account than in the case of existing products or accounts. Accounts take time to develop and a large number of accounts means a greater workload in a developing area than is needed for achieving the same volume of sales in a well-established territory. The market share, the position and the competitive advantage of the company in the respective area. If competitors are already well positioned on the respective market, the work of distribution representatives to maintain each account will be far more difficult and will usually require more time. Most companies have a larger market share at home, that is why the task of distribution representatives is substantially more difficult when they have to work in regions away from the companys headquarters. It may happen that some agents obtain better results even in such circumstances, but this may be given rather by a greater efficiency of the distributors in the respective area than their own dealer qualities. Phase IV: Delimitation of basic territorial units The objective of this phase is to determine the commercial potential of the distribution representative assigned for a given area. This potential is, in its turn, related to the objectives of the sales staff. As in the case of sales forecasts, there are two distinct methods which may be used: the method of calculation by accumulation and the method of decomposition. The procedure is as follows: The number, size and location of customers are established, also taking into consideration their current, past and potential accounts. These accounts can be classified and grouped properly, for example according to size or other criteria. The number of contacts needed for each account, the time and frequency of visits are determined. A calculation is made concerning how many accounts each DR can serve. It is useful to use an ABC classification. Specifically, there will be an average of contacts that have to be made daily, the average frequency for each account and the average time for selling in each case. The demarcation lines are drawn, taking into consideration a realistic amount of work which should be commensurate with the basic geographical unit. The method of calculation by accumulation can be applied with the help of a computerized system. Information about each buyer resulted from the data collected during contacts may be used to maintain a file with information about clients (Vavra, 1992). Such hypotheses are more difficult to sustain in practice. Or, on the contrary, managers may adopt the method of decomposition in territory planning: starting from a nationwide estimate of the market potential and market share, one may approximate the sales potential; this estimate is then divided by the number of people available (or which can be recruited); finally, realistic geographical boundaries are drawn. The disadvantage of this method is that by trying to equalize the territories commercial potential, a difference in workloads occurs which makes geographical borders unrealistic. This issue is further strengthened by the variations in market conditions and the fluctuating efficiency of distributors, so that this quite simplistic method turns out to be, in fact, quite complicated. Phase V: Assigning distribution representatives to territories After establishing the territories, these must be individually assigned to distribution representatives. These may differ in knowledge level, skill and ability, which makes some be more efficient than others. Practice has shown how important it is to find distribution representatives that match the customers but beside this, there are still other factors which allow them to be efficient. The managers responsibility is to put these variables in order of priority, trying at least to improve the situation of each of them if not to find the best solution. Differences in skill, as well as the agents desire or inclination to deal with other areas than the ones they have been assigned to may require the use of compromise which, although not optimal, is still applicable. Time management Most improvements in this respect may be achieved by agents themselves through more discipline and increased professionalism. Among possible improvements, we may mention: The work day should start earlier and end later; Less discussions; Less breaks; Less protocol actions. Efficient time management means: Better work planning; Less visits to undecided or unimportant clients; Better use of travel and waiting time; An increased use of the phone, including for establishing the meeting list. Factors which distribution representatives should take into consideration when managing their duty hours include: Time for elaborating official documents; Duration of each visit; Travel duration; Number of visits; Order of visits; Time given to developing new relations; Time taken by non-commercial activities; Time wasted in making conversations with clients. As recommended as it might be to allow each DR to manage time on ones own, managers have the obligation not only to monitor, but also to stop the incorrect use of time and to promote more efficient practices for making sales. Conclusions An optimal territorial demarcation has the following features: areas are easy to administer; sales potential is relatively easy to estimate; time needed to travel and related costs are reduced to the minimum; there is a homogeneous distribution of opportunities to sell products among existing and potential customers; workloads are equalized. The most important factors to be taken into consideration when establishing territories are the market potential and the density and dispersion of accounts.

The Goal A Process Of Ongoing Improvement - 1468 Words

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Achilles Vs Agamemnon Essay Example For Students

Achilles Vs Agamemnon Essay A monologue from the play by Seneca NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from Senecas Tragedy, v. ii. Trans. Frank Justus Miller. New York: G.P. Putnams Sons, 1917. CASSANDRA: Where am I? Fled is the kindly light, deep darkness blinds my eyes, and the sky, buried in gloom, is hidden away. But see! with double sun the day gleams forth, and double Argos lifts up twin palaces! Idas groves I see; there sits the shepherd, fateful judge midst mighty goddesses. Fear him, ye kings, I warn you, fear the child of stolen love; that rustic foundling shall overturn your house. What means that mad woman with drawn sword in hand? What hero seeks she with her right hand, a Spartan in her garb, but carrying an Amazonian axe? What sight is that other which now employs mine eyes? The king of beasts with his proud neck, by a base fang lies low, an Afric lion, suffering the bloody bites of his bold lioness. Why do ye summon me, saved only of my house, my kindred shades? Thee, father, do I follow, eye-witness of Troys burial; thee, brother, help of the Phrygians, terror of the Greeks, I see not in thine old-time splendour, or with thine hands hot from the burning of the ships, but mangled of limb, with those arms wounded by the deep-sunk thongs; thee, Troilus, I follow, too early with Achilles met; unrecognizable the face thou wearest, Deiphobus, the gift of thy new wife. Tis sweet to fare along the very Stygian pools; sweet to behold Tartarus savage dog and the realms of greedy Dis! To-day this skiff of murky Phlegethon shall bear royal souls, vanquished and vanquisher. Ye shades, I pray; thou stream on which the gods make oath, thee no less I pray: for a little withdrawn the covering of that dark world, that on Mycenae the shadowy throng of Phrygians may look forth. Behold, poor souls; the fates turn backward on themselves. They press on, the squalid sisters, their bloody lashes brandishing; their left hands half-burned torches bear; bloated are their pallid cheeks, and dusky robes of death their hollow loins encircle; the fearsome cries of night resound, and a huge bodys bones, rotting with long decay, lie in a slimy marsh. And see! that spe nt old man, forgetting thirst, no longer catches at the mocking waters, grieving at death to come; but father Dardanus exults and walks along with stately tread.

Langston Hughes Essays (1014 words) - African-American Poetry

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes is often considered a voice of the African-American people and a prime example of the magnificence of the Harlem Renaissance. His writing does embody these titles, but the concept of Langston Hughes that portrays a black man's rise to poetic greatness from the depths of poverty and repression are largely exaggerated. America frequently confuses the ideas of segregation, suppression, and struggle associated with African-American history and imposes these ideas onto the stories of many black historical figures and artists. While many of them have struggled with these confines set upon them by American society, Langston Hughes did not fulfill this historical stereotype due to his personal wealth, education, and recognized success (Early 1). James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. His father, James Nathaniel Hughes was a lawyer and businessman and his mother, Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes was a schoolteacher. The dual income from his parents appropriated him with funds that he used for his education and to begin his poetry career (Langston Hughes 1). This was an advantage unknown to many black Americans at this time. Hughes spoke of the poverty of the black people and struggles that many went through in their lives just to make enough money for their families to survive. Langston Hughes never greatly encountered this first-hand. In "Let America Be America Again", he states "I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart". Hughes was never as poor as the downtrodden he spoke of and was never "fooled and pushed apart" (Presley 1). He also was fortunate enough to obtain a benefactor, which still to this day is considered a rare blessing to aspiring writers. In 1929, he met Charlotte van der Veer Quick Mason, a wealthy widow and for the next four years, was financially supported by this generous woman (Langston Hughes 2). Again in "Let America Be America Again", Hughes pleads "I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years." In comparison to the many African-Americans at the time who were, indeed, struggling with financial burdens, Langston Hughes knew nothing of this uncertainty he spoke of due to his benefactor. The images of poverty that Hughes evokes through his poetry, contribute to the American notion of impoverished black Americans since the days of slavery, however, Hughes' life was very different from the notion he described (Early 3). At this time in history, many Americans were illiterate, especially minorities. Langston Hughes was fortunate to be able to read, and blessed with his talent to write. Due to financial stability, Hughes was able to attend Columbia University and Lincoln University. This level of study was seldom attained by African-Americans. Even though Langston Hughes was highly educated for an African-American of the time, he still used "black slang" and southern dialects in many of his poems. In "Po' Boy Blues", he not only relays the thoughts of black oppression through the factual words of the poem, but through the dialect used. "Weary, weary, Weary early in de morn. Weary, weary, Early, early in de morn. I's so weary I wish I'd never been born." Reading this evokes images of slavery and the meager existence of poor blacks of the South, but Hughes was not one of these. His own poetry tells the story of the repressed black Americans, yet this also furthers the preconceived images in the readers mind that the writer is, himself, a part of this life style, which he is not. Many are born with the talent to write, but few obtain recognition, especially within their own lifetimes. Langston Hughes' success was even more rare as he was black. He was first recognized as a talented writer as early as 1915, in grammar school as was published in his high school newspaper. In 1925, he was discovered by Carl Van Vechten, and The Weary Blues was published three weeks later. "I got the Weary Blues And I can't be satisfied Got the Weary Blues And can't be satisfied- I ain't happy no mo' And I wish that I had died." -The Weary Blues Even though Hughes continued to express the plight of the underprivileged African-Americans, he became more famous and recognized as a poet. The Harlem Renaissance flourished at this time and with it, Hughes' poetry. The Weary Blues' rhythmic and lyric-like style was greatly influenced by jazz music of the time. This connection between music and poetry paved the way for future styles of modern poetry, specifically the beat poets of the 1950's such as Allen Ginsberg

Night Father-son Relationship essays

Night Father-son Relationship essays Elie Weisels memoir Night focuses on Elies harsh life in the concentration camp. One of the important aspects of the books is the change in not only Elies father-son relationship but other father-son relationships in the book. The book reveals a great deal on how humans can change in a harsh environment like the concentration camp. The concentration camp is the cause of the change in the father-son relationship. For the father-son relationship, Elie gets closer. At the beginning of the book Elies father was occupied with his business and the doings of his community. Elies father discourages him to study the Cabbala when Elie asked if he could find a master to guide his studies for the Cabbala. Elies father replies by saying You must first study the basic subjects within your own understanding. (pg 2) From this we see that Elies father isnt willing to give up his time to teach Elie, or to even bother finding a man who will help him with study the Cabbala. In the beginning at the concentration camp, Elie sees his father beaten by Idek who suddenly broke out in a frenzy. Elie watched Idek beat his father while he kept quiet and didnt move. Elie says I was angry with him, for not knowing how to avoid Ideks outbreak. That is what the concentration camp life had made me. (pg 52) Elie does not show any sympathy for his fathers life because he was trying to avoid Idek and he gets angry at his father for not knowing how to avoid Idek. Elie fears that helping his father would result him being hurt. At the end of the book, Elie is incredibly closer to his father. The only thing that was keeping Elie and his father alive was the existence of each other. If one died, the other person probably could not make it, and would die eventually. My fathers presence was the only thing that stopped me... I had no right to let mys...

Moral Saints Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Moral Saints - Essay Example The role that morality should play in our lives is a topic that garnered attention from many philosophers. Wolf (419-439) is among the scholars who focused on the way human beings apply morals on their life. She states that human beings should not strive to live a saintly life as this was be too good to the extent of denying themselves happiness. She advises that human beings should treat others not as a means but an end. The implication of this is that people should strive to be happy and make other happy by treating them fairly and with respect. For instance, they should do as much good as possible, save lives and avoid killing. This coincides with the idea of Mill that human beings should strive to save lives as failing to do so is tantamount to killing (Bendle 36). On this note, there is a concession that good actions should not be in striving to saints but in treating others in a fair manner for mutual happiness. Human beings should weigh their private or personal projects on the way their consequences on others. Wolf (429) agrees with the idea of Mill that rational moral would guide people in their actions with one another. Mill proposed the principle of utilitarianism in determining the morality of actions in the society (Bendle 40). In his argument, human beings should weigh their actions on the consequences they have on the people whom they affect. In the principle of utilitarianism, the best action is one whose consequences do overall good to the society. This is similar to the idea of Wolf that one should do as much good as is possible, unlike the absolute saints who should strive to do good only. On the other hand, this contradicts the idea proposed by Kantianism on the universality of moral laws that bind each person. Kant proposes that each person must do act according to the moral laws. For instance, if lying is bad it remains bad in

Pressure ulcer (critical incident analysis) Essay

Pressure ulcer (critical incident analysis) - Essay Example 2006, 472). There are four stages of pressure ulcer occurrence from stage I to stage IV. Stage I involves an intact skin where an ulceration results that indicates a reactive hyperemia. Stage II involves partial skin loss of the dermis and epidermis while stage III entails full thickness skin loss with extension into the subcutaneous tissue. Stage IV entails a full thickness of tissue loss with extension in to adjacent muscles, bones, tendons and joint capsule (Lyder & Ayello 2005, 281). Pressure ulcers develop in risk prone individuals i.e. those who are immobile especially the sick and elderly patients confined to wheelchairs. However, a number of factors influence the tolerance of the skin, the shear and pressure effect thus increases the risk of pressure ulcer development. These factors include protein calorie malnutrition, wetness of the skin as a result of incontinence or sweating and medical conditions limiting blood flow to the skin such as paralysis or neuropathy (Reddy et al. 2006, 977).They are preventable skin conditions, but their rate of occurrence continue to escalate yet at an increasing alarming rate. Between the period of 1995 and 2008 pressure ulcers incidence increased by 80 percent, and the rate is not expected to decline due to poor patient’s acre in the nursing homes and hospitals (Bennett et al. 2004, 230). About 2.5 million patients develop pressure ulcer each year in the United States, while more than a million patients remain affect ed annually (White-Chu et al. 2011, 245). The rate is expected to increase due to the increase of the population at risk i.e. the obese, elderly, diabetic patients (Bader, 2005, 25). Therefore, addressing and preventing the condition is of utmost importance to the public, as it will prevent patients from further harm and reduce the cost of care (Clay, 2008, 12). Pressure ulcers occurrence