Nostalgia Marketing - 3188 Words

Nostalgia Marketing The main purpose of this paper is to examine the existing literature and research that has been developed regarding the use of nostalgia as a marketing strategy both in its use in advertisement as well as in products that try to generate a nostalgic response in the customer. The main definitions and causes of nostalgia will be examined and the applications that nostalgia can have to modern marketers. The use of nostalgic motives has been increasing since the early nineties from the re-introduction of the mini cooper by BMW and the launch of the New beetle by Volkswagen, to the recent resurgence of 1980 ´s themes like Transformers and The A – team, as well as the use of pop culture icons and old music in†¦show more content†¦(Schindler and Holbrook, 2003) Holak and Havlena (1998) complement this definition by stating that nostalgia is not a preference for these objects but that is a feeling or mood produced by the association of these objects with their past, a relationship that other objects do not have and therefore they have a preference for the objects that produce the nostalgic responses. Research has been conducted to understand the motives of this nostalgic response to certain objects and experiences, a study by Holak and Havlena (1992) tries to identify the most recurrent motives in nostalgia, through theShow MoreRelatedWhat Factors Govern The Effective Use Of Nostalgia Marketing?1004 Words   |  5 Pagesgovern the effective use of nostalgia marketing? Do you agree with the suggestion that the Beetle nostalgia craze will grow as the ‘baby boomers’ continue to age? Explain. Nostalgia as defined by disctionary.com is â€Å"a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.† Various psychologists have theorized that while nostalgia is triggered by negativeRead MoreGraphic Causes A Great Impact On The Consumers Mind3211 Words   |  13 Pages The previous mentioned tagline and graphic causes a great impact in the consumers mind because it evokes both, a feeling or emotion as well as a relation with time; this strategy is called â€Å"Nostalgia†. Basically, the word Nostalgia means â€Å"a preference towards objects that were common when one was younger in adolescence, childhood or even before birth† (Holbrook and Schindler, 1991, p.330) or in another view it can mean â€Å"when a â€Å"love of home† instinct controls one’s emotions and the individual experiencesRead MoreMarketing Management : Mini Case Study Discussion1720 Words   |  7 PagesMarketing Management – Mini Case Study Discussion Question 1 What factors govern the effective use of nostalgia marketing? Do you agree with the suggestion that the Beetle nostalgia craze will grow as the ‘baby boomers’ continue to age? Explain. Nostalgia as defined by disctionary.com is â€Å"a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.† VariousRead MorePersonal Note On Selling Memories1430 Words   |  6 Pagesassertion that the best way to do this is to bundle the product with an experience that is shared by the consumer and the product or the consumer and the company. Preferably both if at all possible. There are many techniques and strategies employed in marketing, but there is no advertisement so powerful as the one that remembers its customers and their past. Many companies spend billions on advertisements that sell the future, that pedal a clean slate technology, but one of the things that gives the worldRead MoreMarketing Techniques Are Applied All Around Us1085 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction As a consumer, marketing techniques are applied all around us. Some are meant to grab our attention and some are meant to blend into the background whilst evoking our subconscious thoughts. Most products we buy come in packaging in some way or another. Do we occasionally make purchasing decisions based upon the packaging of a product compared to another? In markets with high competition, this may be the deciding factor in a consumer’s choice on which product to go with. The articleRead MoreMarket Orientation Market Environment : Kodak1292 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent One school of thought on marketing orientation is that it is behaviourally orientated, described as â€Å"organization-wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customer needs† (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990). Market orientated companies tend to build anticipation for new releases which is something that can Don has touched on during his pitch to Kodak. During the pitch he highlighted the opportunity to take advantage of nostalgia to â€Å"take us to a place where we acheRead MoreThe Mad Men Marketing Passage Essay2000 Words   |  8 PagesThroughout this essay we will analyse and discuss the Mad Men marketing passage while relating how we believe this quote can be applied to contemporary Marketing and its related theory. First we will discuss Mangers use of marketing theory to focus on competitors, secondly we will outline how the marketing environm ent reflects mainstream society. Then we will examine how through technology advances industries are becoming redundant, followed by consumer behaviour in the contemporary markets. FifthlyRead More9 IMC Message Strategy751 Words   |  4 Pagesdeveloping message strategies. Companies and their marketing communication agencies employ strategic thinking at a variety of levels in the marketing communication process. 3 The Creative Message Brief A creative brief is a document that provides the guidelines for creating brand messages. 4 The Creative Message Brief Creative briefs typically include items such as: ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® ï  ® Restatement of the marketing strategy Restatement of the marketing objectives in terms of the intended message impactRead MoreThe New Beetle Harvard Case Study Solution1174 Words   |  5 Pagesat first as â€Å"the bug of the new millennium†, aligning the tradition and nostalgia of the past with the new technological advances and design trends of the present and also matching the consumer’s needs. All this under 4 main values: Honesty, Simplicity, Reliability and Originality. Also, it would have the goal of constituting 25% of VW’s 1998’s selling goal. This showed to be a big challenge for the marketing team. Marketing Research analysis had identified VW’s a new kind of consumer set. YoungRead MoreMarketing Manager Should Revisit The Platform And Adjust1309 Words   |  6 Pagesproblem. If so, the marketing manager should revisit the platform and adjust. One way to fix this is going back to the basics like Harley Davidson did during their repositioning. Step 4: At this point the brand equity has been evaluated, goals set for repositioning and the delivery tool analyzed. The marketing manager should next use the Customer Based Brand Equity framework for direction on ways to revive outdated basis of brand equity or how to develop new sources to achieve the desired outcome

Choosing Pharmacy Essay Samples Is Simple

Choosing Pharmacy Essay Samples Is Simple Life, Death and Pharmacy Essay Samples This has been shown to be an extremely powerful and quick approach to assist with a writing assignment and find the business done properly. You only have to share an experience. At the close of the day it's up to the pharmacist to be successful independently in this discipline. Being a real pharmacist means having more possibilities of advancing your career, and you'll be sure of obtaining a work anytime. There are not any statistics on employment projections of small small business owners. Their reliability can't be questioned by customers. You don't have to be concerned about your personal details that may be viewed, as we handle the matter on a safe network. A good example of a troublesome transaction is whenever the patient asks you questions about their insurance, which is something I don't understand in any respect. In most instances, script would nevertheless be filled even if there was an issue with insurance customer would just be told to pay complete amount at pickup. Com or over the telephone and they've also added a cell phone app that gives them the exact options as their on-line site. This service demands a lot of clinical interaction with the patient to accomplish the best patient care as they must try and establish any problems they might be experiencing and offer solutions to overcome these problems using their vast degree of knowledge. Data entry completed at drop-off whilst customer was still there made it simpler to verify customer insurance policy information. Our free tips can allow you to get through all types of essay. The absolute most helpful books within this setting would be texts that cover all the aforementioned information. However, you can test yourself by just asking a couple of crucial questions. Another alternative is to leave your readers with some intriguin g suggestions to consider. Moreover, committee members are humans and every one of them interprets the very same admission essay from a personal standpoint. The very first portion of the introduction should involve the usage of a catchy phrase or statement. Don't be tricked into thinking that the personal statement or admissions essay is simply another portion of the application. Although this is quite valuable in the society we are living in now, it is not so rare. The function of the pharmacists has advanced since they are now able to perform supplementary prescribing. I've always wished to follow a career in pharmacy because of I understand that pharmacists play a significant part in people's lives. Pharmacists are an essential feature of society as they're actively involved with patients and can easily be accessible by the community. The pharmacists are extremely knowledgeable and kind. The part of a community pharmacist can be quite clear cut. This skill will be exceedingly beneficial as I complete my education for a pharmacist. Examine your motivation for wanting to be a pharmacist. Pharmacist play key roles in nearly all facets of health care system. Being a real pharmacist means having the capacity to recognize signs and symptoms of diseases that may lead to discomfort to patients. He plays important role in the health care system. He must ensure that they have effective communication with the patient so that they can assess adherence, identify any problems and provide advice. Pharmacists and technicians frequently have a great number of questions from patients. The Hidden Truth About Pharmacy Essay Samples All the needs of medical drug store is proper and in good shape. Writing a pharmacy school admission essay demands thoughtful consideration of those characteristics that will turn you into a thriving student and very good pharmacist after you have completed pharmacy school. The medication needs to be give in the fair price and retail price. Pharmacy is the career I wish to pursue and have been for a few years. Pharmacists have to be sure that they deliver a service which engages with the GP to be sure that the choice is complementary to the GP rather than being contradicted. Although Rite Aid really isn't the market leader within this market, I think they are positioned to keep growing in this industry.

International Financial Reporting System Accounting Standards Board

Question: Describe about the Report for International Financial Reporting System of Accounting Standards Board. Answer: 1. IFRS International Financial Reporting Standard or IFRS is defined as an internationally recognized set of standards used by various business organizations to prepare their financial statements. As per the standards, the assets, income, liabilities of a business organization are recognized; the process of their measurement is indicated; the way in which they need to be presented are also set out in the standards (Greuning, 2006). The related disclosures about these particular items are mentioned in the standards so that there is no confusion about them. The main objective of IFRS is to create a single set of financial standard reporting of very good quality, easily understandable, enforceable and one that can be easily accepted globally accepted on the basis of some concrete and clearly articulated principles (Insights into IFRS, 2008). The board is of independent nature and is supervised by both geographically and professionally diverse members of trustees who are accountable for the work done by them to Monitoring Board belonging to the authorities of the public capital market. An external Advisory Council of IFRS is also present to support IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards, 2003). An Accounting Standards Advisory forum includes national standards setters along with the IFRS Interpretation Committee are present in order to guide IFRS members in the situation where any divergence of practice occurs. The whole process of preparing the report of the financial statements is very open, transparent and participatory (International financial reporting standards, 2011). At each and every stage of the process, the business leaders, investors, global accountancy professionals and regulators are involved with the process of making the financial statements. IFRS takes help from the world wide community of stan dard setting and collaborates with them in order to enhance the process of the preparation of the financial statement (International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), 2005). The IFRS is developed by the IASB and consists of 14 full-time members who hail from 11 different countries and a range of professional backgrounds. The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation are given the responsibility of selecting the best technical expertise available to it along with a wide range of professionals who are experts in international business and have market experience. UASB itself consists of a total of approximately 150 people from thirty different countries all over the world, and its main office is situated in London, United Kingdom (International financial reporting standards (IFRSs) 2004, 2004). Another office of IASB is located in Tokyo that mainly looks over the coordination between Asia and Oceania. During the development of a standard by the IFRS, there are opportunities given to the public at various stages so that they can give their frank feedback and that could be incorporated if it has any relevance. The deliberations of the IASB at the various meetings held by them are also open for the public to observe and are webcast (Mirza, Holt and Orrell, 2006). Therefore it quite clear how the IFRS has taken various steps in order to make the standards set by them understandable and acceptable by all the communities all over the world without any problem (Mirza, Holt and Orrell, 2006). Consultation on Agenda The comprehensive review of the technical agendas are conducted by the IASB every three years but if any urgent issue comes up then will rapidly address to it without much delay. Along with conducting reviews of the work done by it, IASB constantly evaluates each and every request received by it for the interpretation and amendment of the standards set up by it (WoÃÅ'ˆltje, 2008). Research Programme After recognizing a project as a candidate for a possible Standard, the staffs of IASB take the responsibility of conducting a research programme in order to collect information and evidence about the same project and thereby endeavours to identify and define a problem and search for any matter of financial reporting that would help in justifying an effort by the IASB. In the case of major projects the staffs of IASB gathers the evidence and information through soliciting public input by taking the help of a discussion paper or any other document of a similar kind. In this research the national accounting standard setters are also invited so that they can provide their insight on the matter (Zingel, 2006). The result of the research program is either to make a proposal for the project or give a recommendation about not developing a particular standard. Standards Programme In case of the situation where the IASB takes the situation of developing a Standard, the staffs review the result of the research along with the comments that they have received on the Discussion Paper. After going through all the information and data IASB develops the proposed solutions for the problems and issues that have been recognized and identified. Many a time, a working group of experts is appointed by IASB in order to assist in the development of the proposed solution. The Advisory Council and the ASAF are also consulted by the IASB on this matter. The proposals are them published by the IASB in the form of an Exposure Draft where comments from the public are invited. It is through the issue of a new or amended standard that the standards program culminates. Implementation The implementation of new or amended Standards is constantly monitored by IASB in order to recognize and identify if there are any problems occurring because of it. These problems or issues are addressed by IASB through the form of interpretation which is a narrow scope amendment to the Standard. It is the Committee of Interpretation that takes the charge for the development or amendment of a final clearance by IASB. In this case, too, the public comments are invited. 2. Current accounting regulatory framework of Australia Current accounting regulatory framework of Australia is governing by Australian Accounting Standard Board. Therefore, the procedures of detecting, calculating as well as communicating financial information to the interested parties are conducted with the rule and regulation of Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) (Amendment to International accounting standard IAS 19, Employee benefits, 2004). AASB creates the accounting standard for the public organizations, private organizations, and non-profit organization and participates in the making of international accounting standards. Under AASB there are several governing bodies, which are in charge of regulating the accounting services in the country. The entities or governing entities are associated with the guideline and maintenance of different arms of the accounting profession as well as with other professional activities where an accountant maybe engaged are listed below: Regulatory body Entities under the regulatory body Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Auditors and Liquidators via the Corporate Auditors as well as Liquidators Disciplinary Board Financial planners Directors of the Company Tax Practitioners Board Tax practitioners Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Trustees/ Auditors of the Superannuation funds Directors as well as the senior managers of the insurance firm Australian Financial Security Australia Trustee in the case of bankruptcy The co-regulatory accounting framework Ethic is basic to the responsibility and accountability of accounting field of profession as well as its consent to regulate within the wider co-regulatory functions in the country. The procedures of jointly working all the regulatory bodies The co-regulatory atmosphere includes the regulators, the entities, which establish government standards, the professional of accounting field, Ethical Standard Board, and professional accounting bodies; subsequently CPA Australia, CA ANZ as well as Institute of the Public Accountants (Amendment to International accounting standard IAS 39, Financial instruments, recognition and measurement, 2004). Here, the most important are the Code of Ethics. Accounting Professional Ethical Standard Board Limited publishes 110 APES Code of Ethics for Accounting Professionals. The code is enforced from the 1st July 2011 and it takes the place of 110 APES Code of Ethics for Accounting Professionals, published on June 2006 as well as subsequently modified in February 2008. Earlier implementation of the code is allowed (First-time adoption of Australian accounting standards, 2009). Transitional stipulation connecting to public interest Bodies, partner rotation, fees, non-assurance services and relati ve size, compensation along with the evaluation policies implement from the specified date in the relevant transitional provisions (APES 110 Code of Ethics for Accounting Professionals- APESB). The entire members of accounting profession in Australia shall act in accordance with APES 110 comprising at the time of delivering professional services in an honorary capability (Guidance on implementing International Accounting Standard 39, 2003). All the members, who are practicing exterior of the country Australia shall also act in accordance with APES 110 to the level of which they are not restricted to perform by specific needs of domestic laws and regulations. This code is not meant to detract from any accountability, which may be enforced by the laws or regulations (IFRS 8, Operating Segments, 2006). AUASB has published auditing standards as governmental instruments under the Corporation Act 2001. Those auditing standards have lawful enforceability in order to audit as well as reviews under the Corporation Act 2001. To the level of those auditing standards prepare reference to respective ethical needs; the requirements of APES 110 have lawful enforceability owing to the Auditing Standard ASA 102 acquiescence with the ethical needs at the time of performing Audits and Reviews along with other Assurance involvement (IFRS 9, 2013). The code of ethics is vital as the center of the designation of Chartered Accounting or posit ion is a liability to work in the interest of the public. It is similar to social responsibility or contract which provides assurance of ethical practices, supported by principle of reliability and objectivity along with professional capability and the needed care, confidentiality as well as behaving professionally. The professional standards need members in order to achieve technical benchmarks supervised by Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) along with Auditing and Assurance Standard Board (International Accounting Standard 23, Borrowing costs, 2007). The Code of Ethics prescribed by the Australian Accounting Standard Board supports the standard as well as rules and regulations, which contain the compulsory ethical along with professional needs of the entire member of the group establish in the by-laws and regulation. Because of the standard setting entities of the Government like CA ANZ involve with APESB and prepare submissions for the development along with the reviews regarding standards, in order to secure their line up with the best practices in respective global benchmark standard along with regulatory framework development (International Accounting Standard 24, 2009). Progress of the accounting regulatory framework towards standardizing on IFRS The Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) has taken several initiatives in order to improve the standard their accounting regulatory framework so that it can match with the international accounting standard. The accounting regulatory board of Australia wants to keep their accounting standard aligned to the international standard level of International Accounting Standard Board (International accounting standard IAS 1 Presentation of financial statements, 2007). The most important attempt in this matter taken by the Australian Accounting Standard Board is to make a financial reporting standard, which is equivalent of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Australian Accounting Standard Board implements A-IFRS, which is equal to International Financial Reporting Standard. However, there are few significant differences between the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) and A-IFRS as it is made according to the Australian standard. As the international busin ess is increasing due to globalization thus, the requirement of a standard accounting system, as well as an international financial reporting standard, has been felt (International accounting standard IAS 32, Financial instruments, disclosure and presentation, 2003). Therefore, all the countries have adopted standards are in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Australia has also adopted some standards and make few amendments in their existing accounting reporting system so that, they can be able to match with International Financial Reporting Standards. In this way, Australia matches with the international standard. The Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) deemed the issuance of IFRS in Australia, and there are many amendments made to the IFRS in order to make it for Australian accounting standards. The Australian entities or business firms that have still not adopted the modified AASB 3 are needed to carry out some additional works in order to comply with the standards of the AASB 3. This includes that of identifying an acquirer, finding out the fair values of the net assets along with that of the contingent liabilities. The Australian treatment, therefore, may give the consequence of different outcomes in case of the listed company financial reports given to IFRS where the transaction of "business combination" take place before the organizations are split up, floated, demerged etc (International Financial Reporting Standard for Medium and Small -sized Entities, 2009). In case of the Australian treatment, it is bound to affect the future profitability as combinations lead to substantial increase in fair value or goodwill. Alternative accounting policies are being applied by the international entities under the standards set by IFRS. This will contribute to limit the comparability of the financial information present between the Australian Organizations and the international counterparts that they have. The business organization s present in Australia will then need to incorporate more rules and regulations on the basis of the accounting standards while the international entities ore business organization will have the opportunity to apply accounting policies based on the principles and will also be able to argue about substance instead of form and thereby be able to give fair presentation (Teixeira, 2014). Higher cash flows will be disclosed by the Australian entities in comparison to the international entities that have the chance of electing to disclose the dividends paid as a part of the activities that are being operated. It is to be noted that there will be no impact or effect on the total increment or decrement of cash and the equivalent amount of cash that have been disclosed (Vafaei, Ahmed and Mather, 2015). With the step taken towards standardizing on IFRS, the dividends may be paid in a classified manner as a part of the flow of cash that occurs from the various operational activities so that the users can be assisted about determining the ability that an enterprise has about paying the dividends out of the operating cash flows. The differences that exist between Australian entities and international entities can only be eliminated if rules are regulated towards standardizing on the IFRS. This is the reason why the present accounting regulatory framework of Australia is making an endeavor to change the scenario and comply with the international financial reporting standards. References Amendment to International accounting standard IAS 19, Employee benefits. (2004). London, U.K.: IASCF Publications Dept. Amendment to International accounting standard IAS 39, Financial instruments, recognition and measurement. (2004). London, U.K.: IASCF Publications Dept. First-time adoption of Australian accounting standards. (2009). Melbourne: Australian Accounting Standards Board. Greuning, H. (2006).International financial reporting standards. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. Guidance on implementing International Accounting Standard 39. (2003). London: International Accounting Standards Board. IFRS 8, operating segments. (2006). London: International Accounting Standards Board. IFRS 9. (2013). London: International Accounting Standards Board. Insights into IFRS. (2008). London: Thomson. International accounting standard 23, Borrowing costs. (2007). London: IASCF Publications Dept. International Accounting Standard 24. (2009). London: International Accounting Standards Board. International accounting standard IAS 1 Presentation of financial statements. (2007). London, U.K.: IASC Foundation Publications Dept. International accounting standard IAS 32, Financial instruments, disclosure and presentation. (2003). London, U.K.: IASCF Publications Dept. International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities. (2009). London: International Accounting Standards Board. International financial reporting standards (IFRSs) 2004. (2004). London: International Accounting Standards Board. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). (2005). London, U.K.: IASCF. International financial reporting standards. (2003). London: International Accounting Standards Board. International financial reporting standards. (2011). London, U.K.: International Accounting Standards Board. Mirza, A., Holt, G. and Orrell, M. (2006).Wiley IFRS. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Teixeira, A. (2014). The International Accounting Standards Board and Evidence-Informed Standard-Setting.Accounting in Europe, 11(1), pp.5-12. Vafaei, A., Ahmed, K. and Mather, P. (2015). Board Diversity and Financial Performance in the Top 500 Australian Firms.Australian Accounting Review, 25(4), pp.413-427. WoÃÅ'ˆltje, J. (2008).IFRS. MuÃÅ'ˆnchen: Haufe Verlag. Zingel, H. (2006).IFRS. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH-Verl

Inventory Management System free essay sample

He suggests, though, that for the endurance of your business and the future of your applications as a whole, you go with something like PHP that has a good solid community and is in constant development to make it and its features better. The flexibility that PHP offers also means that the possibility for someone to write nasty code that works (for now) goes up greatly. * Adobe Dreamweaver [Heaton (1998)] According to Heaton (1998), he states that,â€Å"I personally recommend Dreamweaver to both learners and seasoned experts’ think Adobe can make is more accessible to people by having various versions of it much like Elements is a poor man’s Photoshop, there should be a cut down version of DW. So in my opinion  no, it is not just an overpriced text editor. Dreamweaver is a powerful and highly applicable tool that every designer should be able to own. * Inventory [Donald Reimer (1989)] According to Donald Reimer (1989), â€Å"Today, maintaining the right inventory levels is a tough challenge. We will write a custom essay sample on Inventory Management System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If not properly managed, your inventory can result in a significant expense. Looking over your shoulder is the lender who is concerned about the cost of carrying too much inventory- which can affect profitability. † * Inventory System [Michael Bernacchi (2002)] According to an author Michael Bernacchi (2002),an inventory systems maintain information about activities within firms that ensure the delivery of products to customers. The subsystems that perform these functions include sales, manufacturing, warehousing, ordering, and receiving. In different firms the activities associated with each of these areas may not be strictly contained within separate subsystems, but these functions must be performed in sequence in order to have a well-run inventory control system. According to Godwin Udo (1993), given such developments, it is little wonder that business experts commonly cite inventory management as a vital element that can spell the difference between success and failure in today’s keenly competitive business world. Writing in production and inventory Management Journal, Godwin Udo described telecommunications technology as a critical organizational asset that can help a company realize important competitive gains in the area of inventory management. He noted that companies that make good use of this technology are far better equipped to succeed than those who rely on outdated or unwieldy methods of inventory control. According to Dennis Eskow (1990), automation can dramatically impact all phases of inventory management, including counting and monitoring of inventory items; recording and retrieval of item storage location; recording changes to inventory; and anticipating inventory needs, including inventory handling requirements. This is true even of stand-alone systems that are not integrated with other areas of the business, but many analysts indicate that productivity and hence profitability gains that are garnered through use of automated systems can be increased even more when a business integrates its inventory control systems with other systems such as accounting and sales to better control inventory levels. As Dennis Eskow noted in PC Week, business executives are â€Å"increasingly integrating financial data, such as accounts receivable, with sales information that includes customer histories, the goal: to control inventory quarter to quarter, so it doesn’t come back to bite the bottom line. Key components of an integrated system are general ledger, electronic data interchange, database connectivity, and connections to a range of vertical business applications. † In the latter part of the 1990’s, may businesses invested heavily in integrated order and inventory systems designed to keep inventories at a minimum and replenish stock quickly. But business owners have a variety of system integration options from which to choose, based on their needs and financial liquidity. At the same time that these integrated systems have increased in popularity, business observers have suggested that â€Å"stand-alone† systems are falling into disfavor. A 1996 study by the international Mass Retail Association, for example, concluded that stand alone Warehouse Management System Packages acquired to perform individual functions will soon become obsolete because they do not integrate well with other systems. Another development of which small business vendors should be aware is a recent trend wherein powerful retailers ask their suppliers to implement vendor-managed inventory systems; these arrangements place the responsibility for inventory management squarely on the shoulders of the vendors. Under such an agreement, the vendors obtain warehouse or point of sale information from the retailer and use that information to make inventory restocking decisions. The move toward automation in inventory management naturally has moved into the warehouse as well, citing various warehousing experts, Sarah Bergin contended in transportation and distribution magazine that â€Å"the key to getting productivity gains from inventory management is placing real-time processing in the ware house uses combinations of hardware including material handling and data collection technologies, but according to these executive, the intelligent part of the system is sophisticated software which automates and controls all aspects of warehouse operations. Another important component of good inventory management is creation and maintenance of a sensible, effective warehousing design. A well-organized, user-friendly warehouse layout can be of enormous benefit to small business owners, especially if they are involved in processing large colymes of goods and materials. Conversely, an inefficient warehouse system can cost businesses dearly in terms of efficiency, custom er service, and ultimately profitability. Transportation and distribution magazine cited several steps that businesses utilizing warehouse storage systems can take to help ensure that they get the most out of their facilities.