Week Three Electronic Reserve Readings

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A paragraph for both topics

 

With shoppers demanding more ecological accountability from the brands they frequent, material designs—from raw ingredients all the way to elements of outer packaging—have been returned to drawing boards for redesign and, ultimately, for product relaunches. New brands on the market, however, have the advantage of knowing what consumers want now, without having to invent the same product twice. So, with little room for error, brands across industries have switched to more sustainable business practices. In the wine arena, the Boisset Family Estates, known for its Pinot Noir and for owning the third largest French winery, pursued eco-friendly packaging recently in preparation for the launch of its French Rabbit Chardonnay. Jean-Charles Boisset, president, turned away from the traditional glass bottle, which, according to Fast Company, would have amounted to 10 times more waste from manufacturing to the ­ finished product, and instead hired Tetra Pak International (www.tetrapak.com), a full systems supplier, to help the brand ­ and its right ­ t (“Spin the Bottle,” June 2008). Boisset opted for Tetra Pak’s aluminum-coated paperboard material, used to house juice, soups or milk products. With only 4% packaging, which Boisset says amounts to a size smaller than an egg, his chosen Tetra Prisma container holds 33% more wine than a 750 mL glass bottle, and reduces packaging by 90%. With the “wine-in-a-box” concept sometimes regarded negatively by nonbelievers, Boisset thought ahead and hired Parisian-based Linea to uphold the sophistication of his brand. Linea designed a sketch of a landscape at sunset, with silhouettes of rabbits bouncing across a vineyard. Boisset also had Tetra Pak produce single-serving versions of French Rabbit, ideal for consumers who picnic. Tetra Pak offers this and other versions of its original packaging design. Some, like the Tetra Brik, come in more standard rectangular shapes (for pasteurized milk or juice), unlike French Rabbit’s stylish octagon, and Tetra Top maximizes chilled products, including yogurts, in various shapes and sizes. Such packaging options are yet another avenue beauty companies could pursue breaking into the nutricosmetics market through beverages or dairy products, without compromising brand image. —Leslie Benson, Assistant Editor

 

 

 

 

 

Ask any business owner and he or she will tell you that an influx of cash at any time - be it from an investor or from a debtor making good on a debt - is always welcome in the daily grind of keeping a business afloat. If cash is king when it comes to managing your company's growth and survival, then managing cash flow - the movement of money into and out of your business - is an essential skill every business owner must possess. Some even say it is an art every business owner must master.

 

Cash flow and money management are critical to the success or demise of any business, says Merrill Lynch financial advisor Keith Latimer, whose clients include small business owners that need advice on how to track their business. "There are a number of cash-flow management software programs on the market," Latimer says. "Shop around and find one that best suits the needs of your small business at a nominal price."

 

A solid and pervasive cash-flow management system will allow a business owner to keep close tabs on when and where cash enters or exits the business. Any basic operating cash-flow system or software will accurately track a business's income and expenditures. Many software accounting programs are equipped with reporting features to facilitate cash flow analysis and management. Free accounting templates often can be downloaded from the Internet or from financial institutions. Software programs that can assist cash flow management include:

 

* Intuit's QuickBooks small-business accounting application

 

* Peachtree Accounting

 

* Spreadsheets, which can be used for cash-flow projections and even to consolidate the cash flow results from different divisions that use different accounting applications

 

* Add-ons to Excel, a component of Microsoft's Office Suite, such as the suite's Small Business Accounting program

 

Microsoft also has another suite of financial software that is Office compatible. Called Microsoft Dynamic Services, it comprises Enterprise Resource Planning for middle-market businesses, or those with close to 100 employees and annual revenues of over $1 million, and is designed for management of all aspects of a business, and small business financial planning.

 

Six Disciplines L. L. C., an Ohio company, has developed a unique module that is designed to help the small to mid-size entrepreneur maintain cash flow and other essential elements of business. "I wouldn't describe us as a traditional software vendor," says Six Disciplines founder and CEO Gary Harpst. "We are an integrator of proven business practices and sustainable business excellence."

 

Harpst founded the company in 2000 after working for many years at Solomon Software, a $60 million provider of accounting information systems for middle-market businesses that was purchased by software giant Microsoft in 2000. "Small and midsized businesses have the same execution challenges that all growing businesses have," Harpst says. "But the challenges include greater economic expertise and people factors to overcome."

 

The software tracks company spending, collection and billing, account payables and receivables and ledger modules. At Six Discipline Leadership Centers in Florida, Ohio and Indianapolis, "coaches" market the software to prospective buyers and to pitch the entire Six Discipline Leadership series to business owners. "The overall theme of the series is to teach small and mid-sized business how to become more competent in the most critical core skill of all; to learn how to execute their [business] strategy and [cash] consistently over time," Harpst says. "Our systems are designed to streamline transaction-oriented business processes. The ultimate goal is to transform and improve any internal business process," he says.

 

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