Labels: [Sourced] checked against a source listed at the end. [General] standard industry knowledge. [Our view] opinion, labelled as such. [Illustrative] made-up numbers to teach an idea.
1. The story: the first scan, once more
On June 26, 1974, at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, a pack of Wrigley's gum was the first item scanned with a UPC barcode (this is the standard retelling in the Module 1 sources). [Sourced: IBM history; HISTORY.com (see Module 1)] Everything in this course grew from that moment: a number on a product that lets every system tell it apart. This capstone follows one bottle through every module. [Our view]
2. The assignment
You run a small online-and-store water business. Using what you learned, trace one $12 bottle and decide how to make money on it.
3. The bottle's journey, module by module
- Identity (Module 1): the SKU and barcode.
- Where it sells (Module 2): store, online or both.
- Data (Module 3): item data, ASN.
- Forecast and plan (Modules 4, 5, 6): how many next month?
- Buying (Module 7B): supplier choice, landed cost.
- Replenishment and stock (Modules 9A, 9): reorder point, safety stock.
- Orders and fulfillment (Modules 8, 10, 11, 12): promise, pick, ship.
- Returns (Module 12B).
- Cash (Modules 13 to 16): stock value, cycle, early payment.
- Selling (Modules 17A to 19): shelf, price, ad, channel.
- Agents (Modules 20, 21): which parts can software run?
4. Worked unit economics [Illustrative; computed by script from earlier modules]
| Line | Per bottle |
|---|---|
| Price | $12.00 |
| Product cost (Module 2/9) | -$5.00 |
| Inbound freight (Module 11: $2,336 for 14,976 bottles) | -$0.16 |
| In store, before store costs | $6.84 |
| Pick and pack, online (Module 8) | -$0.60 |
| Last-mile delivery (Module 12, 100-stop route) | -$2.50 |
| Expected return cost (Module 12B: 15.8% of sales x $8.50 per return) | -$1.34 |
| Online, before marketing and overhead | $2.40 |
| The online bottle keeps only $2.40 of the $6.84 the store version keeps (before store rent and labor, which we have not modeled). The return rate used is the NRF's all-retail average, not an online-specific figure. [Our view] Now decide: raise the price, push pickup (Module 19), cut returns (Module 12B), or bundle? |
5. Your deliverable (one page)
- Draw the journey with your numbers.
- Name your three biggest costs and one lever for each.
- Choose one place AI would help and one place you would keep a person.
- Write one line on what changes if shoppers use agents (Module 21).
6. Self-check
- Did you use landed cost, not just supplier price?
- Did your reorder point include lead time and safety stock?
- Did you count returns?
- Did you note an assumption you cannot verify?
Sources
- Module 1 sources (IBM history: https://www.ibm.com/history/upc ; HISTORY: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/june-26/barcode-scanner-invention-first-use)
- Numbers from Modules 8, 9A, 11, 12, 12B in this course.