Activity-Based Costing for Logistics and Marketing

Activity-Based Costing for Logistics and Marketing

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BPMJ 10,5

Activity-based costing for logistics and marketing
Drew Stapleton
University of Wisconsin La Crosse, La Crosse, USA

584

Sanghamitra Pati
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), USA

Erik Beach
Trane Co., La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

Poomipak Julmanichoti
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Plorida, USA
Keywords Activity-based costs, Logistics, Marketing, Information gathering Abstract Activity-based costing (ABC) is gradually being utilized as more of a decision-making tool than an accounting tool. This paper investigates how, after almost a decade of slow growth, ABC is gaining acceptance as a tool to determine the true costs of marketing and logistics activities. How ABC provides managers with considerable insights into how various products, territories, and customers play major roles in logistic and marketing activities and, consequently, drive total costs is discussed. The advantages of the ABC model in terms of providing the right information to marketing managers with regard to which products, customers, or territories are more important and which could be eliminated without affecting the overall objectives of the firm are presented. The paper concludes by identifying ABC’s shortcomings and the promise it holds for the modern enterprise.

Business Process Management Journal Vol. 10 No. 5, 2004 pp. 584-597 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1463-7154 DOI 10.1108/14637150410559243

Background In today’s competitive environment, consumers are demanding lower priced and superior quality products while, firms are concentrating on ways to best identify their cost drivers and improve profit. Nowadays, repurchase decisions based solely on brand loyalty are becoming a thing of the past as customers do not...

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