Read Case 13.1 "When Your Best Customer Retires..." in the textbook on pages 365-366. Answer the 3 questions at the end of the case and submit in Moodle in a Word document 23rd by 10:30 p.m. (10 points) Questions to answer: 1. Besides lowering price, what actions can Rebecca propose to improve contribution margin? 2. What are some strategies she could take to defend the higher prices? What evidence or information would you need to support your ideas? 3. What type of relationship did she have with Jack? What did she do or fail to do that may make the future more difficult with Farmer's, now that betty is in charge?
Read Case 13.1 When Your Best Customer Retires.." in the textbook on pages 365-366. Answer the 3 questions at the end of the case and submit in Moodie in a Word documen 23 rd by 10:30 p.m. (10 points) Questions to answer: 1. Besides lowering price, what actions can Rebecca propose to improve contribution margin? 2. What are some strategies she could take to defend the higher prices? What evidence or intormation would you need to support your ideas? 3. What type of relationship did she have with Jack? What did she do or fail to do that may make the future more difficult with Farmer's, now that betty is in charge? Rebecca Foumier len the party a ittle early, more than a little worried. The event was a retirement party for Jack Kerc, CO for Farn-to-Market, or Farmer's as everyone called it. After all, Jack had been one of her better customers and she was able to grow the business with Farmer's by 50 percent over the past three years. Jack not only gave Rebecca more business, he also recommended her to his friends, and Rebecca was able to win at least two or three new accounts a year as a result. But she really didnt know anyone else at Farmer's, so she was knocked for a loop when Jack introduced to her to his replacement, Betty Ovilla, at the party. Rebecca knew Betty-she had been Rebecca's nemesis at her previous employer, Frankin's Manufacturing. Betty liked to have different vendors and play them off each other to get lower prices, free add-ons, and special services. Rebecca's company, Cypress Point, provides IT services to small and medium-size businesses. Everything from accounting software to CRM software to website design and cybersecurity, Cypress Point does it all. And Farmer's used Cypress for just about all of it, including the company's website and digital promotions and social media strategy and execution But she smiled and put her concern aside when Jack called her over to introduce her to Betty "Yes, we aiready know each other', smiled Rebecca. "Yes, we do," Betty smiled back "Tve had a chance to review our business with you, and I see your company has done a greatjob for us But my experience at Franklin suggests we may be overpaying " Jack squirmed, but didn't say anything. "But well do a deep account review with you, as we will with all of our larger vendors, so that I can get up to speed on everything. Do you think you could prepare a presentation on your company's performance for two weeks from now? Rebecca nodded, and said she'd have it ready, as weil as bring in the service manager for the account She then asked Betty about her goals and objectives for the company's online sales division. Page 366 "A key issue for us," she replied, "is profitability" She went on to say that the CEO had mandated that she find ways to improve contribution margins of her department by 10 percent this year. "That's why we'll be taking such a close look at price: Rebecca knew she was in trouble. Her prices to Farmer's were 5 to 10 percent higher than her compettors', and while she had been able to save them money through streamlined operations, what she had done in the past wouldnt matter going forward. As she drove to the office the next morning, she thought about the Farmer's account She knew Farmer's was looking at some analytics solutions to support its online promotional campaigns and she had planned to bid on that. in fact her quota for the year was based on increasing sales at Farmer's, not decreasing them! Questions - Besides lowering price, what actions can Rebecca propose to improve contribution margin? What are some strategies she could take to defend the higher prices? What evidence or information would you need to support your ideas? What type of relationship did she have with Jack? What did she do or fail to do that may make the future more difficult with Farmer's, now that Betty is in charge
