Eastern Township Sales Ltd$.($Eastern$)$ was established in $1995.$ Its shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in $2016.$ The corporation$$s headquarters are in Trois$-$Rivi$$res$,$ Quebec. It has regional distribution warehouses in Trois$-$Rivi$$res and four other eastern Canadian locations. The corporation buys Canadian$-$made appliances and distributes these to regional retail stores that specialize in providing high$-$quality appliances to customers with higher$-$than$-$average disposable incomes. Eastern has a reputation for purchasing appliances that are innovative and reliable, and backing what it sells through a generous warranty and refund policy.

Eastern is recovering from a regional economic downturn. Demand for its type of appliances has fluctuated over the past few years. The company has two main competitors, both headquartered in the United States. These both focus on lower$-$cost appliances. Though Eastern is still ranked as the number one appliance wholesaler in eastern Canada in terms of total sales dollars, its competitors are gaining ground.

Eastern has maintained very good relations with manufacturers and retailers. Retailers actively promote Eastern products as good value for money, and provide valuable feedback to Eastern about retail customer purchasing trends and requests for new products. Unlike its competitors, the Eastern sales force is well$-$trained. They monitor changing customer preferences for appliances and communicate these back to Eastern management for consideration.

The company recognizes that long$-$term success largely depends on continued promotion of Eastern products by its retail store customers, which means that the chains must be able to continue to earn high gross profit on sales of these same products. However, increased competition from lower$-$priced appliances by Eastern$$s US competitors has begun to cut into sales and profit margins.

Eastern$$s warehouse distribution facilities and processes are state$-$of$-$the$-$art. Once products have been purchased, they are able to be transported from manufacturing plants and to retailers very quickly. Eastern$$s distribution costs are usually lower than competitors because its warehouses are closer to customers and its logistics are efficient. Company management believes costs can also be reduced by leasing rather than owning delivery trucks.

Required:

$1.(8$ marks$)$ Create a a strategy map for Eastern Township Sales Ltd$.$ Show specific cause$-$and$-$effect relationships among the objectives. Identify one objective for each of the four perspectives.

$2.(8$ marks$)$ create a balanced scorecard for Eastern Township Sales Ltd$.$ that flows logically from your responses to part $1.$ Provide one performance measure for each objective.