Improving Palm Chemist Systems To Cope With The Expansion Needs Essay

Improving Palm Chemist Systems To Cope With The Expansion Needs - Essay Example Through its continuous growing demand in the products required by its clients, the company is building a big pharmaceutical store which will be conducted in three phases. With this demand, it is no doubt that the firm requires a technological system that is secure and efficient to ensure timely distribution of its products. The firm therefore requires a secure system that connects the entire departments and track sales of all the products. The first phase of the Palmcy chemist was a detailed demonstration of electronic messaging through the use of the GSI system within its supply chain management. The demonstration showed the successful application of bar coding and messaging of various departments of ordering, packing, dispatching and receipting of various products as manufactured by the company. Some of the benefits which were recorded during phase one included reduction in the time of receipt time by 25%, embracement of technology by the staff members and enhanced accuracy. The second phased focused on the broadening of the first phase through the expansion of the project implementation scope, project team, and reduced difficulties during the implementation. The areas of implementation of the system were mainly identified in the second phase. They were mainly driven by some of the learning in the first phase, which includes - Identification and the bar coding of various pharmaceutical; and related products as manufactured by Palmcy chemist.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Toyota Highlander Hybrid - Essay Example Prices of inputs rise for the firms hence increasing their costs of production. This reflects into the prices which they charge from the consumers. The consumers are finally faced with high prices which puts a negative impact on their disposable income. Besides this, fuel prices also affect the household’s buying patterns as the consumers’ transportation expenses are directly linked with gasoline prices. Dijk and Yarime therefore rightly say in their journal that the consumers are constantly looking for cheaper fuel alternatives. Hybrid technology was introduced globally in late 90s. The history however dates back to the 20th century. Honda launched its Insight in the year 2000 after Toyota’s Prius hit the market in Japan in the year 1997. Nersesian rightly puts that there is a growing concern of rising costs amongst the consumers because of which, the demand of fuel efficient cars is rising. Besides this, governments are increasingly encouraging consumption of greener alternatives of oil as a fuel. The importance of hybrid cars is increasing day by day as not only it is cheap, but also fuel efficient and is environment friendly. It meets the concern of both the consumers, businesses and the environmentalists (N ersesian, 2007). 2 Supply And Demand 2.1 Role and Impact of Independent Variable The independent variable here in the Demand factor is the price of fuel. As Hybrid cars and fuel price are close substitutes, price of one changes the demand of the other. The price being the Independent Variable, Toyota Hybrid’s demand is solely dependent on the prices of fuel. As Diamond suggests that as oil becomes expensive, the consumers look for cheaper options to the extent, that they may dispose their low mileage vehicles and trade-in for more fuel efficient vehicles. The oil prices therefore, Khusid, stand as major independent variable which influences the demand of Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Besides its impact on demand, the producers also experience a rise in their costs of production because of which, they have to reduce their supply, which in turn increases the overall market price. However, as consumers switch to Hybrid cars, the demand curve shifts to the right, hence balancing off the price increase (Diamond, 2006; Khusid 2010). The price of the car itself however, remains the independent variable for the suppliers. As price is the motivating factor for both the household and the businesses, it remains the independent variable and hence, the major influence on both the demand and supply. Besides this, there are also hybrid conversion kits available in the market which makes it a lot easier for consumers to switch to cheaper alternatives (Nersesian, 2007). The price of hybrid conversion kits available in the market also influence how consumers respond towards Hybrid cars with fluctuations in prices of these conversion kits. If the prices fall, the demand of Toyota Highlander Hybrid is most likely to get inversely affected as the consumers will switch to a cheaper alternative. Therefore, another of the independent variable is the price of hybrid conversion kits. However, the price of conversion kits does not have a direct effect on the supply of hybrid cars as none of the factor s which affect the supply gets influenced. This independent variable only has an impact on the consumer demand and therefore, the supply remains uninfluenced. The tax-rate on hybrid is also a pressure on both the supply and demand of Hybrid vehicles. The tax-rate on fuel efficient and eco-friendly cars is usually low as in incentive from the government for both the consumers and the suppliers to switch to the

The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul

The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, also more generally know with his abbreviated name of V.S. Naipaul, is an English novelist who also indulged into writing essays throughout this life which he primarily spent in the United Kingdom. Originally, Naipaul comes from Trinidad where he was born on August 17, 1932 while also inhibiting Indian descent. Digging into his personal life, Naipaul was married to an English woman by the name of Patricia Hale for a duration of 41 years before she died with cancer in 1996. During his time with his Patricia, he was spotted numerous times in prostitution centers in London while also having a rather casual affair with Margaret Gooding, an Argentinean woman who was from Angolan descent. Today, he shares his life with his current wife, Nadrina Naipaul, who is a Pakistani journalist. Turning more towards his professional career as a writer, Naipaul has won numerous awards for his great strides in literature. In 1964, he won the Hawthornden Prize, in 1971 he captured the Booker Prize and in 2001, he was honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature. As he drew most of his attention in his writing towards realism and post-colonialism, his most gifted and notable works in his fiction creations were A Bend in the River, The Enigma of Arrival and A House for Mr. Biswas while turning to his non-fiction establishments, he was known for An Area of Darkness, India: A Million Mutinies Now and A Turn in the South. The novel, Enigma of Arrival, indulges us into the lone and calm English town of Wiltshire where the narrator, commonly perceived as Naipaul himself, rents out a small little cottage with rather large fields surrounding it and on the side, a river where the water flows so elegantly. Coming from Trinidad, he is rather unwary and has no idea what there is to expect in these new surrounding of his life. In the first section of the book labeled as â€Å"Jacks Garden,† Naipaul describes a garden full of life and subtleness and greets a man called Jack who is the owner of this property. Throughout the chapter, he realizes that Jack has not always lived there and that Jack has created this beauty with his bare hands which influences the narrator to believe that the surrounding of a home indicates the persons characteristics. As Jack dies in the dampness of his cottage and garden as he gets old, new people move in which indicates a change of guard. The story also takes a rather twist ed turn as the garden turns into a farm under the leadership of the new owners. Naipaul is rather modest and conservative though, living life by himself in this rather rural but arguably, comfortable place while taking in the acceptance of change. In the second chapter, â€Å"The Journey†, he focuses more on his experiences and thoughts when he first set foot in England. He recalls being quite oblivious to the English culture and that he was only this young, immature teenager who received a scholarship to attend Oxford. He indulges into a rather intense autobiography about how he reflects on the English who have changed him in a way that needed him to change his cultural grid. What furthermore comes to his mind is his experiences in a boarding house that he stayed in England and how he lived in Trinidad before occupying this subtle cottage in Wiltshire. He also reflects on his development as a writer and soon he realizes that however badly he wanted to leave England, he couldnt, because his audience and employment were rested in this country. Surely enough, he comes to the point where he summarizes all the great work he has completed to that date and looks deeper into the differences between two gazes – colonial and imperial. He notices that the colonial relates to the book 1984 by Aldous Huxley and how the Big Brother surveillance was something that he couldnt understand while on the other hand, his imperial view led him to control his characters in his stories while also indulging him into his narrative energy which couldnt be interfered with. Next up is the chapter â€Å"Ivy†, where Naipaul makes a vast and first appearance with his landlord who drives by him in his flashy and elegant car. Naipaul views him as a man with high social privileges and compares him to a man with a fringe what he previously sees who is the exact opposite as he writes about how life has begun differently for these two men, how one values something more than the other and how culture has created each man to who he is today. He comes back to talking about â€Å"Jacks Garden† again and how his visual interpretation leads this garden to be a state of art as he compares it to two painters, Constable and Giorgio de Chirico. The gardener, Pitton, is also mentioned as he one of the servants for the house and is someone who cant be bothered to look for another job since he is settling for less than he could possibly achieve in life. This makes Naipaul think and it throws him back to memories of how he has dealt with failure in his writing and as a human being. He relates to how important it is to be accepted by other people and how a true home can lead to someones well being. All in all, he creates a certain amount of hope as he looks into the future and sees time catching up with him. In the last two chapters, â€Å"Rooks† and â€Å"The Ceremony of Farewell†, the narrator talks about Alan, the ‘other writer in this novel who is a native towards this culture and understands the concept of the English. The most important part is the painting of Chirico which is identical to the name of this novel and how habituation is what creates vision and imagination. It also talks about how the journey of getting to a place creates the arrival and the thought of the place as Naipaul states that living in Wiltshire is another surprise in his life, however has gave him the power to accept chance. The story ends with the tragic death of Naipauls sister in Trinidad and the description of the Hindu ceremony that follows to honor her life. In a quote in the first chapter Naipaul states: â€Å"This idea of winter and snow had always excited me; but in England the word had lost some of its romance for me, because the winters I had found in England had seldom been as extreme as I had imagined they would be when I was far away in my tropical island.† (5). The seasons of a country do reflect the setting that it portrays and since England is mostly known for being rainy and gloomy, it might be looked at as a rather disliked place for tourists. However, coming from tropical islands, Naipaul experiences the cold weather as this influences his cultural grid to the change in climates. On the other hand, he expected more of the English winters and somewhat sounds disappointed in the adaption that he has to make. He tends to compare his old home with his new one and talks about the lack of romance that he has with this place. A certain ingredient of a lovely home is missing in England. In the second chapter, Naipaul recalls himself traveling to New York as he takes out his pencil: â€Å"When you licked the pencil the color became bright; dry, the color was dull. I had bought the pad and the pencil because I was traveling to become a write, and I had to start.† (106). Many different people travel for different things such as adventure, business, leisure, etc. That said, Naipaul was on a mission to capture the world with his own two eyes and mark down everything he saw which was new to him. He wanted to expand his cultural views and then felt the need to reflect on how he could relate to it in his own mind. Experience through travel is arguably stronger than the highest possible education as it indulges someone into a visual and emotional first person perspective on how the rush of the city lights can frighten you or how the background music in a bar can remind you of home. Naipaul travels for his own reason, for his profession of creating a diary which will keep memories of life, safe and sound. Soon enough, Naipaul starts to appreciate his surroundings as he recalls: â€Å"Whatever my mood, and how ever long or short my separation from the cottage, whether I had gone on an overseas assignment of many months of had simply done to Salisbury or had done for my afternoon walk, the first sight of the cottage on my return, breaking in upon me at the end of the short, dark lane from the public road, never failed to delight me.† (193). This quote shows a certain increase of maturity and respect over the years that he has been living in the house for. As he comes back to his home, sweet home, which at first sounds rather gloomy, he embraces it as it catches his eyes for being what it is. He appreciates the simplicity and recognizes the beauty of his surroundings as he is always content that nothing has changed, that it has been left untouched. It shows a rather strong character of the author since he doesnt look for tremendous wealth or a preppy public. His peace with the wo rld is calm and collected as he enjoys the way of life, the beautiful creation of mankind. In the other book that was written by Naipaul, An Area of Darkness, he does a rather good job in discriminating the things he doesnt like about a country. I see him doing that in this book too even though it is his country of residency. He complains about a few things, however I like how he appreciates the simple and important things in life. I feel like he has a great insight on what it means to be simplistic and not spoilt as he focuses on the values of a home, the people that surround him and in the meanwhile, he gives us a very passionate descriptive image of the cottage, the people and his life towards all those factors. I adored the fact that he recalled most of his past journeys in life as I could relate to every single one of them well since Ive done some extensive traveling myself, all over the world. I see him as someone to look up to, someone who talks from experience and who has seen the world. His perspective and opinions do get in the way of his narratives and novels a t times and this book was a rather slow and mellow read. However his grace of writing enhances people to expand their knowledge and culture to the world and shows them that traveling can make them brighter people. On another note, he dedicates this book to his loving brother, Shiva Naipaul, who died from a heart attack. His family values are never forgotten which inspires me. References Naipaul, V.S. The Enigma of Arrival. New York: Viking Press. 1987. Print.

Korea Two Pieces of a Puzzle :: essays papers

Korea Two Pieces of a Puzzle Korea is a nation that is rich with culture and corruption. Korea has been a unified nation for over 1500 years and in that time they have been persecuted and then divided. Before all this happened the Koreans were becoming a very culturally enriched society. Around the same time as the fall of the Roman Empire the Koreans were coming up with new ideas on architecture, art, science and even a central government. The Korean people lived in peace for 500 years under the rule of Choson (Yi) dynasty. After Japan defeated China in 1895 and then the Russians in 1905, Korea was then under complete control by the Japanese. This is when the Japanese entered the scene. When the Japanese took over they first annexed Choson in 1910 and then began their attempt to destroy the Korean culture for the next 35 years. The Korean government was taken over; every upper level government position was taken from the Koreans. The Japanese went as far as to outlaw the Korean language and even tried to b an Korean family names. Not until the end of World War II, was when the Koreans finally overcame Japans rule. At the end of World War II is when Korea became a divided country. The United States, Great Britain and the former U.S.S.R defeated nazi Germany and then went on to take out Japan. After Japan was out of the picture the U.S., U.S.S.R. and Great Britain decided that Korea should become their own nation once again. The U.S. was to accept the Japanese defeat south of the 38th parallel and the Russians were to accept the Japanese defeat north of the 38th parallel. This was the first step into dividing the Koreans as a people. All forces and all foreign military were to be evacuated from Korea; this is what was supposed to happen. What actually happened was a result of the Cold War tensions. Because of the Cold war the Russians imposed a Communist government on all Koreans north of the 38th parallel and the United States imposed a nationalist/capitalist democracy south of 38th parallel. After the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. imposed their own style of government on Korea came the formation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korean in the north and in the south was the Republic of Korea, in 1948.

Amsterdam Company Essay

Question 2 Presented below is information related to Rembrandt Inc.’s inventory. (per unit)SkisBootsParkas Historical Cost273.79152.7576.37 Selling Price312.70208.95106.27 Cost to distribute27.3811.533.60 Current replacement cost292.52151.3173.49 Normal profit margin46.1141.7930.62 Determine the following: Question 3 Matlock Company uses a perpetual inventory system. Its beginning inventory consists of 67 units that cost $40 each. During June, the company purchased 202 units at $40 each, returned 8 units for credit, and sold 168 units at $67 each. Journalize the June transactions. Question 4 Amsterdam Company uses a periodic inventory system. For April, when the company sold 700 units, the following information is available. Compute the April 30 inventory and the April cost of goods sold using the average cost method. Question 5 Amsterdam Company uses a periodic inventory system. For April, when the company sold 600 units, the following information is available. Compute the April 30 inventory and the April cost of goods sold using the FIFO method. Question 6 (FIFO, LIFO, Average Cost Inventory) Esplanade Company was formed on December 1, 2011. The following information is available from Esplanade’s inventory records for Product BAP. PurchasesUnitsUnit Cost January 1, 2012(beginning inventory)7628.00 January 5, 20121,5249.00 January 25, 20121,65110.00 February 16, 20121,06111.00 March 26, 201276212.00 A physical inventory on March 31, 2012, shows 2,032 units on hand. Prepare schedules to compute the ending inventory at March 31, 2012, under each of the following inventory methods. Assume Esplanade Company uses the periodic inventory method. Question 7 Floyd Corporation has the following four items in its ending inventory. Determine the final lower of cost or market inventory value for each item. Question 8 Kumar Inc. uses a perpetual inventory system. At January 1, 2013, inventory was $320,786 at both cost and market value. At December 31, 2013, the inventory was $428,714 at cost and $403,231 at market value. Prepare the necessary December 31 entry under: Question 9 Boyne Inc. had beginning inventory of $15,000 at cost and $25,000 at retail. Net purchases were $150,000 at cost and $212,500 at retail. Net markups were $12,500; net markdowns were $8,750; and sales were $196,250. Compute ending inventory at cost using the conventional retail method. Question 10 (Gross Profit Method) Astaire Company uses the gross profit method to estimate inventory for monthly reporting purposes. Presented below is information for the month of  May. Question 11 Previn Brothers Inc. purchased land at a price of $30,400. Closing costs were $1,820. An old building was removed at a cost of $14,850. What amount should be recorded as the cost of the land? Question 12 Garcia Corporation purchased a truck by issuing an $108,000, 4-year, zero-interest-bearing note to Equinox Inc. The market rate of interest for obligations of this nature is 10%. Prepare the journal entry to record the purchase of this truck. Question 13 Mohave Inc. purchased land, building, and equipment from Laguna Corporation for a cash payment of $352,800. The estimated fair values of the assets are land $67,200, building $246,400, and equipment $89,600. At what amounts should each of the three assets be recorded? Question 14 Fielder Company obtained land by issuing 2,000 shares of its $12 par value common stock. The land was recently appraised at $103,700. The common stock is actively traded at $50 per share. Prepare the journal entry to record the acquisition of the land. Question 15 Navajo Corporation traded a used truck (cost $23,600, accumulated depreciation $21,240) for a small computer worth $4,366. Navajo also paid $1,180 in the transaction. Prepare the journal entry to record the exchange. Question 16 Mehta Company traded a used welding machine (cost $10,080, accumulated depreciation $3,360) for office equipment with an estimated fair value of $5,600. Mehta also paid $3,360 cash in the transaction. Prepare the journal entry to record the exchange. Question 17 Depreciation is normally computed on the basis of the nearest A). full month and to the nearest dollar. B). day and to the nearest cent. C). day and to the nearest dollar. D). full month and to the nearest cent. Question 18 Fernandez Corporation purchased a truck at the beginning of 2012 for $54,180. The truck is estimated to have a salvage value of $2,580 and a useful life of 206,400 miles. It was driven 29,670 miles in 2012 and 39,990 miles in 2013. Compute depreciation expense for 2012 and 2013. Question 19 Lockhard Company purchased machinery on January 1, 2012, for $79,200. The machinery is estimated to have a salvage value of $7,920 after a useful life of 8 years. (a) Compute 2012 depreciation expense using the double-declining balance method. (b) Compute 2012 depreciation expense using the double-declining balance method assuming the machinery was purchased on October 1, 2012. Question 20 Jurassic Company owns machinery that cost $1,145,700 and has accumulated depreciation of $458,280. The expected future net cash flows from the use of the asset are expected to be $636,500. The fair value of the equipment is $509,200. Prepare the journal entry, if any, to record the impairment loss. Question 21 Everly Corporation acquires a coal mine at a cost of $501,600. Intangible development costs total $125,400. After extraction has occurred, Everly must restore the property (estimated fair value of the obligation is $100,320), after which it can be sold for $200,640. Everly estimates that 5,016 tons of coal can be extracted. If 878 tons are extracted the first year, prepare the journal entry to record depletion. Question 22 Francis Corporation purchased an asset at a cost of $58,200 on March 1, 2012. The asset has a useful life of 8 years and a salvage value of $5,820. For tax purposes, the MACRS class life is 5 years. Compute tax depreciation for each year 2012–2017. Question 23 Celine Dion Corporation purchases a patent from Salmon Company on January 1, 2012, for $50,820. The patent has a remaining legal life of 16 years. Celine Dion feels the patent will be useful for 10 years. Prepare Celine Dion’s journal entries to record the purchase of the patent and 2012 amortization. Question 24 Karen Austin Corporation has capitalized software costs of $768,500, and sales of this product the first year totaled $390,630. Karen Austin anticipates earning $911,470 in additional future revenues from this product, which is estimated to have an economic life of 4 years. Compute the amount of software cost amortization for the first year. (a) Compute the amount of software cost amortization for the first year using the percent of revenue approach. (b) Compute the amount of software cost amortization for the first year using the straight-line approach. Question 25 Jeff Beck is a farmer who owns land which borders on the right-of-way of the Northern Railroad. On August 10, 2012, due to the admitted negligence of the Railroad, hay on the farm was set on fire and burned. Beck had had a dispute with the Railroad for several years concerning the ownership of a small parcel of land. The representative of the Railroad has offered to assign any rights which the Railroad may have in the land to Beck in exchange for a release of his right to reimbursement for the loss he has sustained from the fire. Beck appears inclined to accept the Railroad’s offer. The Railroad’s 2012 financial statements should include the following related to the incident: A). recognition of a loss only. B). creation of a liability only. C). disclosure in note form only. D). recognition of a loss and creation of a liability for the value of the land. Question 26 Roley Corporation uses a periodic inventory system and the gross method of accounting for purchase discounts. On July 1, Roley purchased $66,000 of inventory, terms 2/10, n/30, FOB shipping point. Roley paid freight costs of $1,210. On July 3, Roley returned damaged goods and received credit of $6,600. On July 10, Roley paid for the goods. Prepare all necessary journal entries for Roley. Question 27 Takemoto Corporation borrowed $93,000 on November 1, 2012, by signing a $95,093, 3-month, zero-interest-bearing note. Prepare Takemoto’s November 1, 2012, entry; the December 31, 2012, annual adjusting entry; and the February 1, 2013, entry. (For multiple debit/credit en tries, list amounts from largest to smallest, e.g. 10, 8, 6. Round all answers to 0 decimal places, e.g. 11,150.) Question 28 Whiteside Corporation issues $629,000 of 9% bonds, due in 14 years, with interest payable semiannually. At the time of issue, the annual market rate for such bonds is 10%. Compute the issue price of the bonds.(Use the present value tables in the text. Question 29 Indiana Jones Company enters into a 6-year lease of equipment on January 1, 2012, which requires 6 annual payments of $37,560 each, beginning January 1, 2012. In addition, the lessee guarantees a residual value of $20,870 at lease-end. The equipment has a useful life of 6 years. Assume that for Lost Ark Company, the lessor, collectibility is reasonably predictable, there are no important uncertainties concerning costs, and the carrying amount of the machinery is $191,722. Prepare Lost Ark’s January 1, 2012, journal entries. Question 30 On January 1, 2012, Irwin Animation sold a truck to Peete Finance for $26,050 and immediately leased it back. The truck was carried on Irwin’s books at $20,800. The term of the lease is 5 years, and title transfers to Irwin at lease-end. The lease requires five equal rental payments of $7,048 at the end of each year. The appropriate rate of interest is 11%, and the truck has a useful life of 5 years with no salvage value. Prepare Irwin’s 2012 journal entries.

99 Supermarket

1. 0Introduction Convenience store (or known as mini-markets) according to Cambridge Business English Dictionary is a store that sell foods and sometime other goods but the size is typically below supermarket. 99 Speedmart is convenience store that based in Malaysia and they have over 300 outlets around Klang Valley. Three distribution centers have been set up to smooth their logistics and the latest distribution is located at Balakong Jaya. However, 99 Speedmart is not a solo-player in retailing market.Connivance stores chains like 7-11 Malaysia, KK Mart and Hypermarket chains like Tesco, Aeon, Giant and Aeon BIG (formerly known as Carrefour). Carrefour has reported in March 2011 that its profit has been dropped by 14. 3 percent to 371 million euros ($463 million). Carrefour recently had quitted in some Asia country such as Thailand in the year of 2010, Singapore and Malaysia in the year of 2012. Action taken by Carrefour recently can be a sign that they does not do well in their op eration in the market mention above. Out of the three, Carrefour Malaysia seems to be the worst.This is a good example that 99 Speedmart has to take extreme careful steps before expanding their business nationwide. 1. 1Objectives * Expanding the Service around Peninsular Malaysia before the year of 2020 * Redesign the Organizational Structure to smooth the administration work * Ensure the Supply Chain is able to cope with the expansion while maintaining â€Å"Near ‘n Save† slogan 2. 099 Speedmart Current Operations Different with 7-11 Malaysia, 99 Speedmart has started to taken back all franchise license issue by phase as the franchisee do not getting the profit as they expected in the year of 2004.Recently, they have started to issue limited franchise licences for selected entrepreneurs. 2. 0. 1Relationship with Suppliers In order to comply with the slogan â€Å"Near n Save†, a lot of effort has been made by Mr Lee Thiam Wah. The first step he has taken is to on ly carry limited product and only high turnover product will be sold in the store and they do not focus much on sales margin. Furthermore, Mr Lee has made the process of ordering and payment easy for suppliers and it will be done within 30 minutes.The payment will be cleared every time if the next order has been place to supplier to get better discount. 2. 0. 2Distribution Centre 99 Speedmart has been setting up 3 distribution centre (figure 1) for smoothing their logistics process in short time frame from the year of 2002 to 2011. There are located at Jalan Meru, Jalan Kebun and Balakong Jaya. The first two is at Klang area while another one is at Seri Kembangan Area which is much more nearer to Kuala Lumpur City Center thus North South Highway. Figure 1 2. 0. 3Stock ReplenishThe distribution centres will be taking batch order from manufacturers or distributors. The ordered stocks will be shipped to distribution centre for further allocation to all outlet based on the report genera ted. Based on the info getting from my local 99 Speedmart store located Kepong Area, they will replenish the stock 3 times a week for both Kepong Store and 4 times for Sri Sinar Store as their sales is higher. Normally Both Kepong store will be sharing one lorry to have their stock delivered on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning directly from distribution center.As for damage product and expired, the rules and regulation is being set to a store can only return a limited box to headquarters. Besides weekly replenish, some of their stock is replenish by third party or directly from supplier. These items are mostly refrigerated goods such as Ramly’s frozen product, Atlas ice cubes, Gardenia Bread and many more. They will take responsible to taking care of their product such as collecting expired and damage goods. The 99 Speedmart currently deploying computer assisted ordering system.A computer assisted ordering system will normally using together with the point of sales syst em, whenever an item is sold, it will be updating the central server in headquarters for compiling into a sheet if the stock down to certain level for re-order. The same process applies to their distribution centres too. 3. 0Expansion of Service 99 Speedmart is a retail service that provides product from groceries to personal care products such as hand soap. It is very important to ensure the end consumer gets what they need when they enters the shop.Currently, 99 Speedmart have around 3000 items (or Stock Keeping Unit) sold and it is not easy to manage it properly. 3. 1Logistics & Geographical Location 99 Speedmart recently have started back their franchise program to limited entrepreneurs and stated expanding beyond Klang Valley. The decision is not made in a hurry but slowly with plans. This can be seen from the newest distribution centre being set at Balakong Jaya which is near the North South highway. It takes about approximately 1 hour to reach Seremban, which is non Klang Val ley shop located.Currently there are 11 stores at that particular area as of 29 November 2012. It is recommended to take the expansion plan in phases instead of covering the service in whole Peninsular Malaysia at a time. The recommended expansion schedule can be as stated on table 1. The priority has been consider the geographical location and the also density of population as well. With proper planning of distribution centres, this will gradually reduce the lead time to supply enough stocks to the end outlet. Phase| Location| 1| Negeri Sembilan & Melaka| 2| Perak & Johor| 3 | Pulau Pinang| | Kedah & Perlis| 5| Pahang| 6| Kelantan| 7| Terengganu| Table [ 1 ] Negeri Sembilan and Melaka is suggested as their destination of expansion for reason that both the state have a close distance to Klang Valley’s distribution centres where even for Melaka , it will not take more than 2 hour to reach from Balakong Jaya distribution centre due to the infrastructure, the expressway is good for both the states (Figure 2). Figure [ 2 ] (Google, no date) Beside the distance of distribution centres, the density of the state’s population also is an added advantage.According to data obtain from Department of Statistical Malaysia (figure 3), both the state have a high density of population compare to Pahang state thus the area fairly smaller compare to Perak. This will let them to set up only a few distribution centre but high in efficiency in terms of centralize item delivery. When the market is mature enough and enough distribution centres is being set near the near target market, they can start proceed to the next phase. Figure [ 3 ] 3. 2Customer Service A business organization main objective is to get profit and a good customer service will ensure customer stay loyal.Based on both Laura and Johson’s (2003) research, the supply chain trend has been moving from supply focus to demand focus but currently 99 Speedmart still does not apply this yet. They will ju st distribute the stock without really over looking into what is the real demand of the particular’s shops demand. As a result, the store room is pack of stocks that does not really sells but some of the items are quickly sold off within few days without any more new stock coming in because of the lead time between the orders being placed.The main reason lies to their computer assisted ordering system’s nature where minimum stock level system being use. Orders will only be place when it reaches certain limit without actually overlook how long it takes to make their stock reach that level. A same item might be taking just few days to reach minimum stock level in one outlet but a few weeks for another outlet as each of the area will have a different buying behaviour that affected by factors such as religion and cultures. 3. 2. 1Computer System SupportInstead of just using only the lowest stock level method, they should also take initiatives to do research on the data sti pulated from time to time. They will have meeting every week on reviewing their sales done. Thus they should also implement a system where cashiers will key in the customer’s estimated age and gender before proceeding to payment flow and headquarters will study the data being sent. A SKU will be eliminate after a continuous weeks of low turnover (Lee, 2001). This is how and why 7-11 Japan is expanding fast and understands the customer demand well.The benefits they can obtain thru this are minimize their space to store stock and also provide the right product to the community. Furthermore the data being collected also useful to do future prediction especially festive seasons on providing enough stocks to full fill demand. This will also gradually minimize the effect of lead time and bullwhip that impacts their operation. 3. 3Warehousing Warehousing is always an important part of supply chain management and a poor warehousing efficiency will cause delay on delivery, damage good s and many unexpected issues. 9 Speedmart is using a paper based checklist when trying to assign all the stocks to destination outlet. This actually is a big issues as 99 Speedmart is currently is expanding fast in Klang Valley and also some experimental outlet outside of Klang Valley. In order to speeding up the process, voice directed picking system is suggested to be apply. A voice directed picking system where computer will give instruction thru headset and workers can make voice command to retrieve the next information.The main benefit is that the workers will have both hands to do their work and maximize the efficiency of distributing the stocks. According to the speaker from Lein Hing Group, currently 7-11 Malaysia has been adopted this technology thus increase the efficiency up to 30% for their speed of assigning goods to designated outlet thus lower down the lead time. 3. 4Supply Chain Figure [ 4 ] : Current Supply Chain Model As stated as section 2. 0, 99 Speedmart outlets are getting stock supplies from distribution centres and some is directly from manufacturer (figure 4).When the operation is expanding, the need to reconsider on how to optimize the supply chain structure as each state it might be having different supplier for same product brand. Figure [ 5 ] : Suggested Supply Chain Model Since some of the item is low in turnover, they have buy in a large batch order to get better discounts from manufacturer or suppliers. So I suggest that they should set a central distribution centres or such items where the item will be delivered in a milk run method from area distribution centre to another area distribution centre.They can either outsource the delivery to third party logistics companies such as Tiong Nam or set up a special team for this if the scale is big as the concern is how to use minimum cost to send the end goods to the outlet. When the service is expanding nationwide, they have to coordinate with suppliers in order to get the nearest so urce on getting their good supplies. Big consumer brand normally will have an area distributor for each area so 99 Speedmart can make full use on nearer source to obtain least cost of transporting goods. Furthermore, they can take 7-11 Japan operation model for reference on building a new logistics systems.This is a very success model where 7-11’s competitors such as Lawson, Family Mart are also emulated their way of operation. Both suppliers and 99 Speedmart can set up a joint service whether items that can be delivering together will be cross docked in same warehouse. The driver is expected to do a milk run to area assigned to them to do daily replenish stocks. 3. 5Organizational Structures When an organization is growing bigger, a good management team must be there to coordinate the business well. Without a good management, they will be facing issues such as delay in order, late payment and others.As referring to figure 6, we can notice that 99 Speedmart is having a flat s tructure to speeding up the decision process. Generally is the current structure is already good enough but some position must be added to meet their objectives of expanding their business as showed on figure 7. Malaysia is a multi cultures society and each part of the area will have different demand for the product they need. In order to understand what they need for each part of the area, the branch operation can further divide their department based as stated on figure 7.Section| State| North Malaysia| Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang & Perak| Central Malaysia| Selangor, Kuala Lumpur & Negeri Sembilan| South Malaysia| Melaka & Johor| East Coast| Kelantan, Terengganu & Pahang| Table [ 2 ] Figure [ 6 ] : Current Organization Chart Figure [ 7 ] : Changes for Cope with Service Expansion 4. 0Conclusion The area of caution has been stated in section 3 start from geographical location to organizational chart and some suggestion has been given to how to overcome the possible issues they might face throughout the expanding rocess. I am quite sure 99 Speedmart will be very successful and to cover up the Peninsular Malaysia before the year of 2020 if they are able to implement the all the suggestion above. Thus the bad economy that happens recently also will impact how they use their money. People to tends to compare the item price between retailers to save their money and in this case 99 Speedmart is very competitive as they are offering their product low in price thus near to residential area. I am expecting they will set up 25~50 new stores in the year of 2013.