Activity$-$Based Customer$-$Driven Costs

Suppose that Stillwater Designs has two classes of distributors: JIT distributors and non$-$JIT distributors. The JIT distributor places small, frequent orders, and the non$-$JIT distributor tends to place larger, less frequent orders. Both types of distributors are buying the same product. Stillwater Designs provides the following information about customer$-$related activities and costs for the most recent quarter:

Line Item DescriptionJIT

DistributorsNon$-$JIT

DistributorsSales orders$80080$Sales calls$7070$Service calls$350175$Average order size$6506,500$Manufacturing cost$/$unit$$125$$$125$Customer costs:$$Processing sales orders$$3,080,000$Selling goods$1,120,000$Servicing goods$1,050,000$Total$$5,250,000$

$1.$Calculate the total revenues per distributor category, and assign the customer costs to each distributor type by using revenues as the allocation base. Selling price for one unit is $$150.$ Round calculations to the nearest dollar.

Line Item DescriptionJITNon$-$JITSales $($in units$)$fill in the blank $1$fill in the blank $2$Sales$fill in the blank $3$$fill in the blank $4$Allocation$fill in the blank $5$$fill in the blank $6$

$2.$Conceptual Connection: Calculate the customer cost per distributor type using activity$-$based cost assignments. Round the interim calculations to the nearest dollar.

Line Item DescriptionJITNon$-$JITOrdering costs$fill in the blank $7$$fill in the blank $8$Selling costs$fill in the blank $9$$fill in the blank $10$Service costs$fill in the blank $11$$fill in the blank $12$Total$fill in the blank $13$$fill in the blank $14$

For non$-$JIT distributors by how much can the price be decreased without affecting customer profitability? Round your answer to the nearest cent.

fill in the blank $1$ of $1$$ per unit

$3.$ Assume that the JIT distributors are simply imposing frequent orders on Stillwater Designs. No formal discussion has taken place between JIT customers and Stillwater Designs regarding the supply of goods on a JIT basis. The sales pattern has evolved over time. As an independent consultant, what would you suggest to Stillwater Designs' management?

It sounds like the JIT buyers are switching their inventory carrying costs to Stillwater Designs without any significant benefit to Stillwater Designs. Stillwater Designs needs tofill in the blank $1$ of $4$

increasedecreaseincrease

prices to reflect the additional demands on customer support activities. Furthermore, additionalfill in the blank $2$ of $4$

price increasesprice decreasesprice increases

may be needed to reflect the increased number of setups, purchases, and so on$,$ that are likely occurring inside the plant. Stillwater Designs should also immediately initiate discussions with its JIT customers to begin negotiations for achieving some of the benefits that a JIT supplier should have, such asfill in the blank $3$ of $4$

long$-$termshort$-$termlong$-$term

contracts. The benefits offill in the blank $4$ of $4$

long$-$termshort$-$termlong$-$term

contracting may offset most or all of the increased costs from the additional demands made on other activities.