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132 CHAPTER 5 The Fulfi llment Process

DIVISION
Most companies consolidate materials and services with similar characteristics
within a unit known as a division. Typically, each division is associated with a
company’s product line. A product or material can be assigned to one division
only. Each division can employ its own sales strategies, such as pricing agreements
with customers. In addition, it is possible to aggregate reports at the division level.
A sales organization must have at least one division. A division can be
assigned to multiple sales organizations, and a sales organization can include
many divisions.
GBI currently has two divisions, the bicycles division and the accesso-
ries division. Recall from Chapter 2 that GBI’s material list includes differ-
ent material types. The fi nished goods—that is, bicycles—are managed by the
bicycles division, while the trading goods—such as helmets—are managed by
the accessories division. In the future, if GBI expands into other product lines,
such as skateboards, it will create additional divisions. The divisions for GBI
US and GBI DE are illustrated in Figure 5-4 and Figure 5-5, respectively.

Figure 5-4: GBI US divisions

Business Processes in Practice 5.3: Multiple
Divisions in a Major Publishing Company

John Wiley & Sons, the publisher of this textbook, has journals and books. Although the physical products
three main divisions that serve different reading mar- (books/journals) and the geographic regions are similar
kets around the world. Wiley publishes college text- for all three divisions, the audience, authors, and distri-
books through the Higher Education division. The bution channels for each division vary greatly. Wiley has
Professional/Trade division contains the For Dummies, learned that by grouping its brands and the employees
Frommer’s, Betty Crocker, CliffsNotes, and Webster’s who are responsible for their success into three divi-
Dictionaries series, as well as several other popular sions, they can achieve greater synergies and operate
brands. Wiley’s third division is the Scientifi c, Technical, more effi ciently.
Medical, and Scholarly (STMS) division, which is the
world’s largest publisher of professional and scholarly Source: John Wiley & Sons company reports.

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