Small Marketing Company (Figure 3). The small
marketing company has five sales agents in Finland.
The sales agents collect orders from retail stores
and industrial kitchens. The long-term contracts
with wholesalers are managed by the owner of the
marketing company. The sales agents fax orders to
the marketing company, where they are then sent
daily to the contract manufacturer.
The marketing company’s main assets are quickness
and flexibility. Retailers get their products
within 24 hours from the time of placing order.
This is possible because the contract manufacturer
holds inventory and makes shipments to retailers.
The cost structure of the products differs from other
customers’ products because the marketing chain
is shorter. In the future, one goal of this firm is to
introduce the electronic data interchange system.
The materials flow of the small marketing company
chain most resembles the lean principles. The
products are stored only by the contract manufacturer
and they are directly delivered to the final
customers. There is also more cooperation than in