NE-165 Case Study: The Fresh Company

"Koninklijke Ahold nv" (Royal Dutch Ahold) was the leading food retailer in The Netherlands in 1990 with an approximately 36% share of the food and grocery market. Moreover, its four U. S. companies (Giant Food Stores, PA.; Bi-Lo, NC.; Finast, OR.; and Tops Friendly Markets, NY) ranked it number ten among the largest U. S. food retailers . Despite this dominance and obvious knowledge of food wholesale and retail distribution, Ahold had historically been unable to capture a satisfactory share of the fresh food business in The Netherlands. Yet this business represented approximately $7 billion in current business and, perhaps more importantly, was thought by many to hold the key to future success in the food industry. The case study documents the set of circumstances that led Ahold to experiment with a new food store format that, its management hoped, would allow a more effective penetration of the fresh food business. A project director is appointed with the assignment to build a new fresh foods business. The case describes his initial actions and presents the rather disappointing results after the store had been opened nine months. Part '~A" of the case ends with an outline of the areas that the project director feels merit strategic redirection in order to achieve more acceptable performance. Part "B" of the case summarizes the actions incorporated into a new strategic marketing plan in hopes to salvage the project. New financial results, nine months after the repositioning, are presented.Agribusiness,

Capacity Achieving Code Constructions for Two Classes of (d,k) Constraints

In this paper, we present two low complexity algorithms that achieve capacity for the noiseless (d,k) constrained channel when k=2d+1, or when k-d+1 is not prime. The first algorithm, called symbol sliding, is a generalized version of the bit flipping algorithm introduced by Aviran et al. [1]. In addition to achieving capacity for (d,2d+1) constraints, it comes close to capacity in other cases. The second algorithm is based on interleaving, and is a generalized version of the bit stuffing algorithm introduced by Bender and Wolf [2]. This method uses fewer than k-d biased bit streams to achieve capacity for (d,k) constraints with k-d+1 not prime. In particular, the encoder for (d,d+2^m-1) constraints, 1\le m<\infty, requires only m biased bit streams.Comment: 16 pages, submitted to the IEEE Transactions on Information Theor

Capacity Analysis for Continuous Alphabet Channels with Side Information, Part I: A General Framework

Capacity analysis for channels with side information at the receiver has been an active area of interest. This problem is well investigated for the case of finite alphabet channels. However, the results are not easily generalizable to the case of continuous alphabet channels due to analytic difficulties inherent with continuous alphabets. In the first part of this two-part paper, we address an analytical framework for capacity analysis of continuous alphabet channels with side information at the receiver. For this purpose, we establish novel necessary and sufficient conditions for weak* continuity and strict concavity of the mutual information. These conditions are used in investigating the existence and uniqueness of the capacity-achieving measures. Furthermore, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions that characterize the capacity value and the capacity-achieving measure for continuous alphabet channels with side information at the receiver.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Trans. Inform. Theor

Nucleosynthesis in the Outflow from Gamma Ray Burst Accretion Disks

We examine the nucleosynthesis products that are produced in the outflow from rapidly accreting disks. We find that the type of element synthesis varies dramatically with the degree of neutrino trapping in the disk and therefore the accretion rate of the disk. Disks with relatively high accretion rates such as 10 M_solar/s can produce very neutron rich nuclei that are found in the r process. Disks with more moderate accretion rates can produce copious amounts of Nickel as well as the light elements such as Lithium and Boron. Disks with lower accretion rates such as 0.1 M_solar/s produce large amounts of Nickel as well as some unusual nuclei such as Ti-49, Sc-45, Zn-64, and Mo-92. This wide array of potential nucleosynthesis products is due to the varying influence of electron neutrinos and antineutrinos emitted from the disk on the neutron-to-proton ratio in the outflow. We use a parameterization for the outflow and discuss our results in terms of entropy and outflow acceleration.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures; submitted to Ap

Strengthening the Competitive Position of Commodity Marketers Two Case Study Approaches

Producers and marketers of agricultural commodities are often beset with a similar set of problems that generally may be reduced to the following question: "how can we modify our product or program in such a way as to gain a competitive edge on our competition?" As every commodity marketer knows, there is, unfortunately, no easy answer to this question. Obtaining higher prices and returns for agricultural products is possible, but requires commitment, vision and attention to the ever-changing marketplace. The current monograph contains two case studies that approach this perennial question from different agricultural commodity industries--fresh produce and turkeys--that are surrounded by different sets of basic supply and demand conditions. Yet, in each case, the companies depicted have been particularly aggressive in their approach to marketing and at least moderately successful in their quest for higher producer returns. Both of these cases are based on real companies and current data. In the first instance, TruFresh International (TFI) has been substituted for the company's actual name but the circumstances documented in the case have not been altered, and in the second example, Plainville Turkey Farm (PTF) is indeed the name of the firm. The story of each is instructive in a different way. Simply put, TFI, long an innovator in fresh produce marketing, is confronted with the challenge that several of its competitors are beginning to duplicate certain of its most successful product and market innovations. The case focuses on the strategic alternatives that TFI may have at its disposal to address this problem, typical to so many commodity industries. In the second instance, PTF is faced with a related but narrower issue: the PTF brand of fresh turkey products has been received enthusiastically in Central New York State as a high quality brand and one for which consumers have demonstrated a willingness to pay a premium. The dilemma for PTF is whether, and with what strategy, should it attempt to expand its well established branded line of turkey products to new regions and new markets? Both of these firms are confronted with a set of marketing challenges that will sound familiar to nearly all commodity-based companies. In discussing the events that led to the situations faced by these two companies and the strategic options available to address them, students, executives and industry practitioners will gain an improved understanding of the process involved in adding value to differentiate agricultural commodities.Marketing,

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN GROCERY MANUFACTURER AND DISTRIBUTOR MARKETING PROGRAMS: A SURVEY OF U.S. WHOLESALERS AND RETAILERS

The retail food industry has taken initiatives to improve cost and to return the focus of management to the consumer. Among these initiatives are Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) and category management. A mail questionnaire elicited perceptions on these issues from 95 executives among U.S. food wholesalers and retailers. This study found that ECR category management are being used to streamline costs and to remove logistical inefficiencies. Although it is widely recognized that category management provides a consumer focus, distributors seemingly brush aside tactics that target individual customers in favor of efforts that target logistical efficiency.Agribusiness, Marketing,