Question: This is a cost allocation problem for a merchandising firm. Since merchandising firms do not have overhead, you must allocate support costs instead of overhead

This is a cost allocation problem for a merchandising firm. Since merchandising firms do not have overhead, you must allocate "support costs" instead of "overhead costs." Also, the allocations in this problem are to customer groups, not to individual products or jobs. Nonetheless, the allocation process is the same. Just follow the three steps used in the lectures:

  1. Read the problem and question carefully to determine the cost driver.
  2. Compute the "overhead" rate: budgeted support costs / budgeted driver.
  3. Allocate to the customer group specified in the question: overhead rate X driver for the specific customer group.

Remember that with activity-based costing (Part B), there is more than one driver and more than one rate, and the allocation to a customer group is the sum of several individual allocations. Each part of the problem is worth five points, and you get five tries for each part. ______________________________________________________ Pharmax Distributors specializes in the distribution of pharmaceutical products at the retail level. Pharmax's customer base is comprised of three main retail groups: general supermarket chains, large drugstore chains, and small, single-store "Ma & Pa" pharmacies. To evaluate the relative profitability of each customer group, Pharmax plans to use an allocation system that recognizes the relative demands that these groups place on the company's resources. Parmax's chief accountant examined the firm's support costs and activities and collected the following data for a typical operating period:

Support Activity

Budgeted Cost

Total Cost Driver
Order processing $86,000 2,110 customer orders
Line item processing $63,000 24,460 line items
Store deliveries $75,000 1,520 deliveries
Carton handling $74,000 80,400 cartons shipped

She also gathered the following data for a typical operating period:

General Supermarket

Drugstore Chains Ma & Pa
Customer orders 140 370 1,600
Line items 1,680 5,180 17,600
Deliveries 120 300 1,100
Cartons shipped 33,600 27,000 19,800

REQUIRED [ROUND ALL ALLOCATION RATES TO THE NEAREST CENT AND ALLOCATIONS TO THE NEAREST DOLLAR.] Part A (5 tries; 5 points) If Pharmax uses a single-driver system to allocate its support costs, with number of deliveries as the single driver, how much would be allocated to its Drugstore Chain customers? $58,815

156-1155  This is a cost allocation problem for a merchandising firm. Since

Part B (5 tries; 5 points) If Pharmax uses an activity-based costing system to allocate its overhead costs, how much would be allocated to its General Supermarket customers?

137,249 is not correct

. Tries 3/5

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