Poor quality of information and forecasting create a number of problems for manufacturing companies, such as poor planning of products and insufficient service levels, which leads to increased inventory and stock holding or stockouts and increased total costs. Cussons (UK) Limited is experiencing precisely these problems. Apart from these problems normally associated with forecasting demand for fast moving consumer goods there is an additional problem of reconciling the Western calendar with the Muslim calendar, and a recognition of the effects that Muslim religious holidays, as opposed to Christian religious holidays, have on demand. Muslim religious holidays rotate backwards with regard to the Western calendar, but in fact they occur at known dates and therefore the effect they have on demand for products can be taken into consideration when attempting to forecast demand. An additional problem that influences Cussons' sales in the market is the seasonal pattern of demand. Due to this, there is an increase in demand for Cussons' products during summer months. From the analysis of both data sets it was identified that the warehouse movement data is less variable and more reliable for business forecasting than order data. In this thesis, these forecasting problems are examined as a case study, focusing on these particular problems. To overcome these problems and to improve business forecasting of Cussons' products in the Middle East market, a forecasting strategy has been suggested which will enable Cusson's to reduce the inventories throughout the supply chain and to improve their customer's service.

This thesis is focused on the objective: How can the city's transport system and land use be coordinated and stakeholder collaboration be developed, to make the proportion of environmentally sustainable shopping trips increase? Trading and transportation in the town has been developed so that consumer’s traffic dependence has increased and the elderly, children and people without cars have got poorer accessibility to basic services. The consequences in terms of increased car use is negative for environmentally sustainable development. The premise of this thesis is three questions; What knowledge is there in Sweden and internationally on travel and shopping habits? What is the individual's behavior and what determines the choice of travel mode when doing purchasing trips? How does corporations and national, regional and local public agencies coordinate their decision-making? The aim of the thesis is to analyze and discuss how trade and the transportation system can be coordinated and developed to contribute to attractive and environmentally sustainable trade structures. Given this aim it was an important focus of the thesis to study and analyze how the forms of collaboration between stakeholders can be developed A review and analysis is made of the theoretical and practical aspects of individuals' behavior and how collaboration in decision-making can be developed and enhanced. The driving forces behind the emergence of today's trading structures are analyzed as well as their ability to influence society's conditions for increased durability. The state of knowledge is reported when it comes to travel- and purchasing-habits in Sweden and internationally, as well as the observed and projected impacts on traffic and the development of sustainability. Case studies from semi-central business establishments in Nacka, Falun and Umeå with 578 interviews of consumers and nine interviews with stakeholders handling trade in the case study locations, is reported. Results from a Web Panel with 1 839 web interviews with the same issues as in the case studies, but across the country, is described. The final chapters discusses the three questions and the objective and in the final discussion is the most important points highlighted regarding the development of trade in a sustainable and attractive city. A methodology for creating a sustainable trade policy in a municipality as well as a detailed account of the current state description, case studies and web-based survey is reported in the appendices. / <p>QC 20151002</p>

Magister Commercii - MCom / The concept of brand loyalty highlights the importance of brands in marketing strategy development because it leads to a stream of benefits for the company (lower marketing costs, less price sensitivity, greater market share and greater profits). Questions thus arise about how brand loyalty is achieved, especially for low involvement product categories classified as fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). Models of how brand loyalty is built have been tested and most agree that brand loyalty is linked to satisfying customer needs. Knowledge about the type of needs (utilitarian and hedonic) is however, not usually determined. How the different types of needs first influence brand trust and brand affect, before affecting consumer satisfaction, also requires investigation. This study therefore tested how brand building efforts for some selected FMCG brands in South Africa impact on brand loyalty, as well as the extent to which utilitarian and hedonic need satisfaction leads to brand trust and brand affect for these low involvement products. The study also examined the extent to which brand trust and affect influence consumer satisfaction, examined as drivers of attitudinal and behavioural brand loyalty. Quantitative research methods were used to collect and analyse the data, appropriate because of the nature of the research (testing relationships between multi-variables), and the fact that standardised instruments were available to test the proven and valid variables. Data was collected from 272 White, Indian, Coloured and Black South Africans living in Cape Town. The respondents were sampled from malls in Nyanga (targeting Black consumers, most of whom represent lower income consumers), Mitchell's Plain (targeting middle income Coloured and Black consumers), and Canal Walk (targeting high income White, Coloured, Indian and Black consumers), all of which either have SPAR, Pick n Pay or Shoprite/Checkers retailers that sell FMCGs. Structural equation modelling was the main data analysis method for this multivariate investigation.

The unceasing ambition of companies to enhance their profitability, capture novel markets, and address the diverse and evolving needs of customers has led to an irrational surge in production and the exploitative depletion of natural resources. This unwarranted increase in production has, in turn, been accompanied by a rise in product returns by consumers, which, upon reverting to their original sources through the supply chain, has compounded the complexities of the supply chains and precipitated new pressures and burdens on the companies and their supply chains, necessitating their adept management. Likewise, the fast-moving consumer goods sector (FMCG) in Sweden has been experiencing an increasing number of product returns, which is a significant concern for both manufacturers and retailers. This thesis aims to investigate the drivers of product returns and their impact on the existing B2B supply chains to provide recommendations for reducing their impact and frequency. The research methodology includes a review of the previous scientific literature related to the topic, participant observations, and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the industry. A qualitative approach has been adopted using a case study method, and thematic analysis was utilized. The results show that the main drivers for product returns between businesses in the Swedish FMCG sector are quality, contracts, customer service, and legislation, all of which contribute to disruptive effects within the existing B2B supply chains. Furthermore, the study reveals four types of disturbances associated with product returns, including logistical, sustainability, operational, and cost and value-related disruptions. This thesis provides insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with product returns in the Swedish FMCG sector and highlights the need for suppliers to adopt a proactive approach to managing returns to remain competitive in the market.

Poor quality of information and forecasting create a number of problems for manufacturing companies, such as poor planning of products and insufficient service levels, which leads to increased inventory and stock holding or stockouts and increased total costs. Cussons (UK) Limited is experiencing precisely these problems. Apart from these problems normally associated with forecasting demand for fast moving consumer goods there is an additional problem of reconciling the Western calendar with the Muslim calendar, and a recognition of the effects that Muslim religious holidays, as opposed to Christian religious holidays, have on demand. Muslim religious holidays rotate backwards with regard to the Western calendar, but in fact they occur at known dates and therefore the effect they have on demand for products can be taken into consideration when attempting to forecast demand. An additional problem that influences Cussons' sales in the market is the seasonal pattern of demand. Due to this, there is an increase in demand for Cussons' products during summer months. From the analysis of both data sets it was identified that the warehouse movement data is less variable and more reliable for business forecasting than order data. In this thesis, these forecasting problems are examined as a case study, focusing on these particular problems. To overcome these problems and to improve business forecasting of Cussons' products in the Middle East market, a forecasting strategy has been suggested which will enable Cusson's to reduce the inventories throughout the supply chain and to improve their customer's service. / Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan, Cussons (UK)Limited.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / A global increase in environmental awareness and concern about issues such as climate change, resource depletion and higher levels of pollution are having a greater influence on the purchasing decisions and product selection of consumers. In a response to this trend and growing demand for eco-friendly products, manufacturers introduced goods suggested to have a less harmful impact on the environment. A growing number of environmental logos and unsupported claims caused consumer scepticism and created a need for certified environmental logos, which led to the introduction of eco-labels. To date, South Africa does not have a certified eco-label in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) non-food category. The application of eco-labels on products would allow South African consumers to identify eco-friendly options and incentivise producers to develop goods that are less harmful to the environment. In order to establish the requirements for a successful eco-labelling scheme, a literature review was conducted. Based on the findings, a consumer survey was carried out to determine whether there is a demand for eco-labelled goods in South Africa and whether an eco-labelling project will have a significant effect on consumer behaviour in the FMCG non-food category. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that consumers are concerned about the environment and that they will support eco-friendly goods, if the quality and performance are as good as regular products. The survey, however, revealed that consumers are of the opinion that eco-friendly products are not as effective as regular products. The analysis also found that consumers are price sensitive and not willing to pay a large premium for eco-friendly attributes. These are the two main obstacles hindering South African consumers to move to more sustainable consumption patterns. In the survey, consumers also indicated a need for an independent third party to verify environmental claims, manage eco-labels and audit producers to ensure that eco-friendly goods meet acceptable sustainability and quality standards.

No description available.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Internal Auditing in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) play an important role in the stimulation of the national economy. However, according to previous research studies, these business entities have one of the worst sustainability rates in the world as approximately 80% of South African SMMEs tend to fail after being in operation for only three years. Taking the weak sustainability rate of these business entities into account, further studies suggest that South African SMMEs operate in a harsh economic environment, which, in turn, creates a breeding ground for risks to realise in, including that of occupational fraud risk. According to scholarly literature, the occurrence of occupational fraud risk is believed to stem from the utilisation of inadequate and/or ineffective internal control activities – South African SMMEs, in general, are believed to make use of inadequate and/or ineffective internal control activities. For this research study, focus was placed on investigating the effectiveness of internal control activities used within South African fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) SMMEs to combat occupational fraud risk. This was achieved by conducting a literature review (see Chapter 2) to assist in the development of a survey to, in turn, conduct empirical research by collecting quantitative data from respondents (see Chapter 3). All relevant quantitative data gleaned were analysed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (see Chapter 4). Based on the analysed data, it was found that although implemented internal control activities in sampled South African FMCG SMMEs were customised, a few internal control activities assisted in the combating of occupational fraud risk while the bulk of internal control activities did not assist in combating occupational fraud risk. Stemming from the study conducted, the inference was made that the occurrence (realisation) of occupational fraud risk may be exacerbated by the implemented internal control activities in South African FMCG SMMEs due to their ineffectiveness.

Varumärkeskapital är det mervärde som ett varumärke ger en produkt i förhållande till om varumärket inte funnits på produkten. Konsumentbaserat varumärkeskapital innebär vidare att det är i konsumentens medvetande som varumärkeskapitalet existerar. Snabbrörliga konsumentvaror kännetecknas av att de köps ofta och att deras kontakt med konsumenten är begränsad, vidare är de ofta lätta att byta ut. Den här studien undersöker genom kvalitativa intervjuer hur företag bygger varumärkeskapital inom en marknad för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror. Åtta varumärkesansvariga på företag verksamma inom en marknad för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror har intervjuats för att få reda på deras syn på byggande av varumärkeskapital inom nämnda kontexten. Hela studien utgår i grunden från fem dimensioner av varumärkeskapital nämligen varumärkesassociationer, varumärkeskännedom, varumärkeslojalitet, upplevt värde samt andra varumärkestillgångar. Intervjuerna har sedan analyserats utifrån dessa dimensioner stött av andra relevanta teorier inom ämnet, analysen har också sin grund i det valda syftet. Resultaten av denna studie påvisar hur varumärkeskapital skapas för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror inom de fem dimensionerna av varumärkeskapital. Den bekräftar också att alla dimensioner är viktiga att jobba med för att bygga varumärkeskapital. Inom varumärkesassociationer så är trovärdighet och unicitet viktiga aspekter. Det är extra viktigt att jobba med varumärkeskännedom då konsumenter ofta spenderar kort tid då ett köpbeslut tas för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror. Att öka konsumenters involvering i varumärket är viktigt för att skapa varumärkeslojalitet. För upplevd kvalitet är det avgörande att arbeta med de sensoriska delarna då en produkt med dålig kvalitet inte blir långvarig, speciellt, inom en marknad för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror. Att ha fungerande distributionskanaler är viktigt för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror då dessa bidrar till exponering av varumärket. Studien visar att de fem använda dimensionerna är av högsta vikt för byggande av varumärkeskapital inom en marknad för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror. Vidare finner studien att en aspekt av andra varumärkestillgångar, nämligen distribution, istället kan tillhöra varumärkeskännedom i denna kontext. Studien visar också indikationer på att dimensionen upplevd kvalitet är den viktigaste för snabbrörliga konsumentvaror inom varumärkeskapital Dessa är tre viktiga teoretiska bidrag som studien gett. Vidare är studien av praktiskt värde då den ger rekommendationer hur företag inom denna kontext kan arbeta för att bygga varumärkeskapital utifrån de fem använda dimensionerna.

Title: A quantitative study extending the understanding regarding the influence of sales promotion on brand knowledge   Background: Sales promotion is a marketing communication activity that aims to promote a purchase, usage or trial of a particular brand. Sales promotion activities can provide significant benefits and incentives that could help the brand to differentiate from competitors and can contribute to the consumer’s brand knowledge. Prior to this thesis, there has been little attempt to integrate research to determine the relationship between the use of sales promotions and brand knowledge, which is why this study intends to extend the existent understanding. Purpose: The aim of this study is to extend the understanding regarding the relationship between sales promotion and brand knowledge and its drivers. Research questions: R1: What influence does monetary promotions have on brand awareness? R2: What influence does monetary promotions have on brand image? R3: What influence does non-monetary promotions have on brand awareness? R4: What influence does non-monetary promotions have on brand image? Hypotheses: H1: Monetary promotions of a brand influence brand awareness H2: Non-monetary promotions of a brand influence brand awareness H3: Monetary promotions of a brand influence brand image H4: Non-monetary promotions of a brand influence brand image   Methodology: In order to test the hypotheses a quantitative research approach was conducted and a questionnaire was used to collect data from Swedish consumers, the data was analyzed in the IBM SPSS program to find out if the hypotheses was supported or rejected.   Conclusions: H1,H3 and H4: May from this study be supported. H2: May from this study be rejected.