In Carss, 15-20.Mimutes for Teams - As the marketing department for a candy manufacturer (your firm makes high-quality, hand-dipped chocolates using only natural ingredients), you are considering making changes in your distribution strategy. Your products have previously been sold through a network of food brokers that call on specialty food and gift stores. But you think that perhaps it would be good for your firm to develop a corporate vertical marketing system (i.e., vertical integration) - In such a plan, a number of company-owned retail outlets would be opened across the country. The president of your company has asked that you present your ideas to the company executives - In a role-playing situation with one of your classmates / one of the groups, present your idecus to your "boss", including the advantages and disadvantages of the new plan compared to the current distribution method. As a starting point: - Please review the material in the lecture on VMS as compared to the conventional channel method. - The conventional method has many players which all have their own plans, objectives, and agendas. In a VMS system, there is cooperation, mutual objectives, and an attention to reducing costs. - However, the VMS approach reduces control of any individual member. The corporate version has ownership with one major party and, therefore, requires not only knowledge as a requirement but a sizable outlay of cash as well. - Could your company pull this off? Other VMS formats might be considered