Activity$-$Based Management at BookWeb, Inc.

BookWeb, Inc., sells books and software over the Internet. A recent article in a trade journal has caught the attention of management because the

company has experienced soaring inventory handling costs. The article notes that similar firms have purchasing, warehousing, and distribution costs

that average $13$ percent of sales. Thirteen percent is attractive to BookWeb management when compared to its results for the past year, shown in the

following table.

Book sales revenue totaled $$3,900,000$ and software sales revenue totaled $$2,600,000.$ A review of the company's activities found various

inefficiencies with respect to the warehousing of books and the outgoing shipments of software. In particular, book misplacements resulted in an

extra $550$ moves and software had $250$ incorrect shipments.

a$.$ What is activity$-$based management $($as opposed to cost$-$based management, for example$)$ and under what circumstances is it useful? What is a

non$-$value$-$added activity?

b$.$ How much did non$-$value$-$added activities cost BookWeb this past year?

c$.$ Cite at least two examples of situations that may have given rise to non$-$value$-$added activities at BookWeb.

d$.$ Will the elimination of non$-$value$-$added activities allow BookWeb to achieve $13$ percent as a cost percentage of sales for each of the product

lines? $($Show all calculations to support your answer.$)$

e$.$ Do either of the product lines require additional cost cutting to achieve the target percentages? How much additional cost cutting is needed and

what tools $($or methods$)$ might the company use to achieve the cuts? Briefly describe them.