Accurate Forecasting Aids Ralph Lauren's Financials, Efficiency & Relationships - Essay Sample

Introduction

If Ralph Lauren can accurately forecast its sales, not only by quantity but also by service or product type and period of the year, it can be sure of having sufficient funds for the organization. The action not only helps it avoid penalties and access loss to essential suppliers but also assists it is relying less on credit as well as decrease the interest payments (Krishna et al., 2018). Moreover, the Ralph Lauren administration can meet with its potential clients and salespeople after every four months to determine its production and sales needs accurately to assist in better management of finances (Jordan & Messner, 2019).

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More Targeted Marketing

Just because sales in Ralph Lauren might be slow does not imply that it can cut back on promotions and advertising. If the company can effectively plot its revenue during the year, it can schedule increased low-cost guerrilla marketing in slow seasons and plan costlier efforts of marketing when it has enough funds (Jordan & Messner, 2019). For instance, if it can establish a quarterly or annual media schedule, it can ascertain that the marketing contractors it depends on are available when needed. The action will make the company not scramble, finding a replacement or copywriter, or stop-gap designer for an essential project.

Enhanced Production Management

The just-in-time inventory method of management schedules production near delivery needs or expected sales to decrease the costs of carrying an inventory. Demand forecasting and accurate sales allow Ralph Lauren to spread its production to ensure that its clients and customers have a product when they need it. However, sales are different from demand in that some of the organization retailers might want to fill their warehouses or stock their shelves before the products start selling (Krishna et al., 2018). While Ralph Lauren might easily produce the last-minute orders, if it cannot get the items shipped during that period because drivers have not been scheduled, it might lose the sale. Therefore, Ralph Lauren forecasting its product needs allows it to plan the production requirements better, including shipping, labor, and materials requirements (Jordan & Messner, 2019).

Improved Staffing

In case some Ralph Lauren outlets might be seasonal, and they know they might be having busy or slow periods during specific times of the year, they may plan on reducing or increasing staff when necessary. The action can help them bring additional staff early enough to train them or utilize contractors in the busy periods rather than hiring short-term employees. Also, the outlets knowing their demand helps them in planning the levels of sales when increasing the capacity of production, or adding another shift might be profitable. Thus, if they can accurately forecast the needs of their office staff, a better organization chart can be created, allowing it to proactively hire staff (Krishna et al., 2018).

S2, Q12: Benefits and Disadvantages of Using a 3rd Party to Sell a Product Versus a Company's SalesForce

Benefits

Expand Brand Visibility

While Amazon's online retail might be the approximately 800-pound gorilla, a big punch is also packed by other websites like Walmart, Amazon Global, and eBay. It might be expensive and complex to fulfill all these sites. When a third party retailer is enacted, the depicted brands can increase their reach with an additional effort beyond production increment (Johnston & Marshall, 2016). Third-party retailers are important when it comes to worldwide expansion. Logistics such as exporting and importing, multi-language packaging, and shipping requirements fall in the third party.

Brands Maintain Healthy Margins

The marketplace of Amazon is well known for a race to zero effect. With numerous sellers fighting for the attention of buyers on Amazon, they can stand out through low prices. The action helps reduce the storage fees and keeps the inventory moving. Between paying all of the fees that Amazon requires and competitive pricing, there is always a thin profit margin (Evonen, 2017). However, when a brand uses a third-party retailer to sell its products, the brand's margin of profit might increase.

Free Optimization

Optimization of product listing will always be offered by many large retailers at no cost since they always reap the benefits. Other retailers also cover paid costs of advertising, which can lead to huge savings for the brand. Depending on the type of brand partners, Amazon might secure important assistance from third-party retailers and increase the recognition of their brands without paying a dime (Johnston & Marshall, 2016).

Disadvantages

Loss of Control Over Brand Image

If Amazon allows a third-party retailer to access its products, it has handed over some control. The action is a bigger concern for various luxury brands that tend to have an aesthetic, high price point, and high integrity, which makes them who they are. Also, the action is a great concern for brands that have price policies (Evonen, 2017). They must always watch before the third party retailers alter their carefully maintained image and reputation.

More Pricing Issues

If Amazon, which has a well-created policy structure, sells to a third-party retailer who does not follow the policies of pricing, the brand can do nothing much. Many brands or organizations have chosen to establish and implement both an online distribution policy and minimum advertised prices. However, the depicted policies cannot protect organizations that go against basic due diligence (Evonen, 2017). The depicted brands will constantly have to review prices that have been enacted by all retailers using the software. Additionally, unauthorized pricing of law-ball can create doubts in customers' minds as they might think the product is counterfeit or there is something fishy with the product.

Ignorance of Less Popular Items

In a perfect environment, third party retailers might buy up products that are struggling along with best-selling products so that both can benefit from increased targeting, promotions, and attention. However, third party retailers often select the products to sell, purchasing only the top sellers from the catalog of a brand (Johnston & Marshall, 2016).

Benefits and Disadvantages of Using a Company's SalesForce

When an organization like Amazon interacts directly with its customers, it will always retain a lot of control over its performance and products. Using a company's sales force allows the organization to distinguish itself from the competition, collect valuable information on the buying habits of customers, get its products to clients promptly, build stable relationships with clients, and avoid profit sharing with third-party retailers (Johnston & Marshall, 2016). However, the drawback of using sales forces is the sizeable costs associated with the distribution. For instance, Amazon might want to buy trucks, rent storage space, or hire drivers. The company might find it challenging to reach its potential clients without the connection provided by an established distributor (Evonen, 2017).

S3, Q13: Importance of Recruitment and Selection in the Sales Department

Finding Quality Candidates

The main aim of every employer is always to find good employees. Creating a job description and advertising it in places where it will reach a specific target audience with relevant skillset is always the primary step. Recruitment and selection help to identify the types of tasks needed to be completed by the recruits and whether or not they can be trained (Ekwoaba et al., 2015).

Proper Selection Saves Training Money and Time

An employer should always go through systematic questions set and skill tests to determine whether the selected candidates can fulfill the requirements of the job. The action helps to create confidence to the employer as they will know that they have logically undergone a recruitment process and have chosen people depending on specifically defined metrics instead of gut feelings (Ofori & Aryeetey, 2011).

Decrease Potential Legal Ramifications

When an employer has a stable systematic process followed for every participant, they can decrease the chances of finding themselves in legal issues related to employment. Sometimes, employers are sued for bias if a participant feels that there was some discrimination level that led to them not getting the job (Ofori & Aryeetey, 2011). The action can be done by maintaining professionalism while asking the interview questions as well as not being personal, which can help curb any misconceptions (Ekwoaba et al., 2015).

References

Ekwoaba, J. O., Ikeije, U. U., & Ufoma, N. (2015). The Impact of Recruitment and Selection Criteria on Organizational Performance. Retrieved from http://ir.unilag.edu.ng:8080/handle/123456789/2423

Evonen, M. (2017). Choosing a Logistics Partner for a Professional Audio Monitor Manufacturer's Web-Distributor: Evaluating Costs, Benefits, and Disadvantages when conducting Direct Sales in the EU Area. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/128207

Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2016). Salesforce management: Leadership, innovation, technology. Routledge. ISBN:978-1-138-95171-6

Jordan, S., & Messner, M. (2019). The use of forecast accuracy indicators to improve planning quality: Insights from a case study. European Accounting Review, 1-23. Doi: 10.1080/09638180.2019.1577150

Krishna, A., Akhilesh, V., Aich, A., & Hegde, C. (2018, December). Sales-forecasting of Retail Stores using Machine Learning Techniques. In 2018 3rd International Conference on Computational Systems and Information Technology for Sustainable Solutions (CSITSS) (pp. 160-166). IEEE. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8768765

Ofori, D., & Aryeetey, M. (2011). Recruitment and selection practices in small and medium enterprises: Perspectives from Ghana. International Journal of Business Administration, 2(3), 45. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.916.5777&rep=rep1&type=pdf