Some Problems and Solutions About Packaging

One aspect of merchandising that is often overlooked except by large manufacturers is packaging. Many producers think that putting the product in a box that can be displayed on the shelf with colorful designs to attract the buyer eye is enough for it to sell. It may have worked before but not anymore. Today consumers are more discriminating and there are more choices to choose from in systems and materials, most designed specifically for certain products such as fruits and vegetables. Wax packaging, for instance, are usually used for foodstuffs, seafood packaging use vacuum packs to preserve flavor, while poultry boxes are for eggs, naturally.

Given the bewildering choices, mistakes in packaging designs are quite commonplace resulting in slow-moving products. Below are some errors and suggestions to correct them:

Misread market niche: The packaging design did not appeal to the intended market due to incorrect market research information. Product flops due to wrong packaging are quite common, appearing and disappearing without much fuss. With a new research of correct design that rectified errors, a few products managed to stage a comeback and flourished. It is a good idea to do an extensive market research when designing a packaging design especially if it is appealing to a worldwide market. Simply redesign the package can target the largest niche and design take off packaging for corollary markets.

Too small or too large package: For some products, single-serve packaging may work very well, but not for others. Women may prefer easy-to-carry sizes they place in their bags or purses, but older people may only care for easy-to-open packaging designs. Many manufacturers adapt to the market by noting which package size sell best and produce more of them.

Opening the package is too difficult: Nobody wants to struggle just to open a product package, but nobody wants to have a tampered one either. So a compromise between tamper-proof and easy-open (as well as other factors) package is in order. For some, however, this will be a too-tall order and will settle for one end or the other.

Outdated packaging: In this fast-paced world it will be too much to tote home from the store a 20-pound sack of potatoes. Most will prefer just five pounds or maybe a ten-pound bag once in a while if the need is great. In fact, the fast-moving foodstuff items in supermarkets are those of the easy-tote, a-few-days-consumption varieties.

Additionally, many product manufacturers are redesigning their packages to cater to present customer needs and preferences, not only in foodstuffs but in many other kinds of products.

Overdecorating the package: Keep the design and product information simple. Sometimes too much product information can lessen the visual impact. When people do not recognize your product in one glance they will proceed to the next one on the shelf Product descriptions must be clear and easily readable to maximize visual recognition.Product packaging errors are not limited to those above, however, inasmuch as there are millions of products in the market. These are just examples to give you an idea of the problems you face in packaging your product.

On the other hand, if your product sells satisfactorily, why bother?

Source by Connor R Sullivan

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How To Be A Headhunter: Develop A Hunting Mentality!

If you want to be an Executive Recruiter it helps to cultivate a hunting attitude. This means embracing the responsibility of tracking down the candidate your client wants and recruiting them. Recruiting is about process not personality. The best recruiters are focused. Time is precious and information is our currency. To be a headhunter begins with equipping yourself with the knowledge of how to hunt.

Recruiter training will cover the recruitment process. Practice will sharpen the senses and teach a recruiter to focus. Everyday can be successful if a recruiter does one of two things: Either find a qualified candidate for a current search and arrange an interview with a client, or obtain a new search. When recruiters allow themselves to be distracted by any task that does not lead to a send out or a new search those production hours are lost forever.

True headhunters follow a trail of phone calls and referrals to find the most qualified candidate. The most available candidate is not usually the best choice. Establish rapport quickly by using a friendly and authoritative tone. Ask intelligent questions. Prepare carefully. Everyone knows a good headhunter can change the course of one’s career. Recruiters have a great deal to offer so never give out information unless you’ve already received some valuable information and want to strengthen the relationship that’s unfolding.

Recruiter’s develop multiple skill sets while improving their closing ratio. Activity is the best teacher once one has mastered the basic principles. Headhunters are good interviewers. They quickly analyze skill sets, experience, and a candidate’s motivation to make a change. Recruiters gauge maturity, and one’s ability to fit into the client’s organization. They tactfully disengage when a candidate does not meet the parameters of a search.

Because there are multiple steps in the recruitment process, a search can have a short (one week) or long (six – nine months) placement cycle. Smart headhunters fill their pipeline with a dozen searches. Continuously sending qualified candidates out on interviews guarantees successful placements and a high income. When recruiters concentrate on only one or two search assignments, the stress level rises if one deal falls apart and the other is delayed.

Headhunters hunt. They are not robots. Every phone call has a purpose and there are strategies for executing those calls to achieve specific goals during the placement process. Every recruiter learns to follow the process yet they’re prepared to improvise. Candidates don’t know the placement plan. Candidates continually surprise unprepared and even seasoned recruiters.

Common sense and intuition are two of the best tools headhunters use. Headhunters work with a sense of urgency. They tiptoe through the corporate jungle scouting for choice talent. If they’re not successful they don’t eat or more accurately, they don’t get paid. Recruiters who are hungry to make placements succeed quickly and their trophies are scattered throughout the world.

Source by Kimberly Schenk

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Swift Facing Criticism From Bitcoin Remittance Companies

One of the widely known mediums for financial transaction messaging called Swift has been facing criticism for not being able to fulfill the needs of financial markets around the world. There are some who believe that it has turned out to be inefficient for settling cross-border payments for not being able to manage real-time settlement of any transaction amount and not being transparent in payment status and settlement risk.

Global Payments Innovation – A New Initiative

In response to such criticism, Swift has launched Global Payments Innovation (‘GPI’), which has the ability to make funds available on the same day for B2B transfers that fall in the same time zone. It also offers secure remittance information, end to end payment tracking, and better transparency. The first phase of the project was made live in January this year and is currently in use by twelve banks, including ING, ‘Danske’ Bank, ‘Citi’, and Bank of China. It is currently focusing on B2B payments. Swift has made another commitment to expanding its cross border payment system.

The effort of improving global messaging service might be too small or too late in terms of resolving worldwide payment clearance, payment and settlement blockage, especially for customers from the non-banking sector.

‘Bitcoin’ Remittance Companies

Both new and old ‘bitcoin’ remitters are already working on resolving these issues. They use different ‘blockchains’ to transfer money around the world. Align Commerce is one of the ‘bitcoin’ remittance companies that became famous for $20.25 million in funding. ‘Marwan Forzley’, CEO of Align Commerce, considers distributed ledgers and ‘blockchain’ to be next generation opportunity.

Cross Border Payments in the Global Finance Chain

These payments were around $26 trillion in 2014, which is around 33 percent of the world’s GDP. Due to inconsistent and non-standardized infrastructure, the money will stay trapped in today’s system. For sending payment across the border, a customer has to find a transmitter for managing money transfer. The transmitter will be able to transfer payment due to its contacts with financial institutions in both home and recipient countries. Furthermore, each institution has its own intermediary, which adds more to the complexity of the process. Every bank, involved in managing the transfer, charges its own service fee and it can take 7 days for a process to complete.

The corporate sector around the world was estimated to be $15.7 trillion in 2014. They can negotiate fees between 1 to 2 percent of the payment amount. Whereas, small and medium size companies; and person to person transactions can be charged up to 15%. The hidden cost of these transactions makes it harder for customers who cannot afford it.

If a customer belongs to a ‘underbanked’ or undeserved part of the world, he may not be able to find those paths that may enable simplified cross border payments, for example, taking the services of a transnational bank for payment transfer by using their infrastructure.

Efforts made by ‘Bitcoin’ Remittance Companies

Although, Swift is committed to bringing transparency in cross border payments through ‘GPI’, yet, it failed to provide relief when it comes to customers who cannot negotiate fees. On the other hand, ‘bitcoin’ remittance companies have made efforts to resolve this issue at a small-scale. These companies enable customers to execute borderless transactions at a low and well-controlled cost.

One of the largest ‘bitcoin’ remittance firms called ‘Bitspark’ is based in Hong Kong. The company believes that it has the best long-term prospects despite the lack of traction. The CEO of the company, ‘George Harrap’, said,

“The vast majority of the world’s remittances are not done via banks, but by cash money transfer shops. This will not affect how they manage their business or transactions. Cost will remain the same as remittance companies batch payments anyway, so potentially, reductions in wire fees do not affect companies who transfer $10m per transfer and draw down on this balance for small remits.“

The Problem Persists

Despite Swift’s intention of improving payment transaction recording for its member institutions around the globe, it is possible that innovations inspired by ‘GPI’ may show up in other ‘blockchain’ enabled applications. For instance, ‘HyperLedger’ Project (a project in which Swift is a member) might develop the basis for cross border frameworks in future.

The CEO of ‘ZipZap’, ‘Alan Safahi’, managed to raise $1.1 million in 2014 for expanding its cash to ‘bitcoin’ service. According to him,

“‘ZipZap’ uses a combination of traditional (Swift) bank payment rails and ‘blockchain’ technologies to find the least expensive and most efficient transfer option. The Swift ‘GPI’ is primarily for B2B payments, so it will not impact ‘ZipZap’s’ current business flow.“

It is mentioned in the Ripple that launching ‘GPI’ was more of a step toward staying relevant rather than a step toward modernization.

Source by Adil Adeel

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/swift-facing-criticism-from-bitcoin-remittance-companies/

Procurement Definition

Procurement can be defined as the purchase of merchandise or services at the optimum possible total cost in the correct amount and quality. These good and services are also purchased at the correct time and location for the express gain or use of government, company, business, or individuals by signing a contract.

The process of acquisition of goods or services required as raw material (direct procurement) or for operational purposes (indirect procurement) for a company or a person can be called procurement. The procurement process not only involves the purchasing of commodities but also quality and quantity checks. Usually, suppliers are listed and pre-determined by the procuring company. This makes the process smoother, promoting a good business relationship between the buyer and the supplier.

The synonyms for procurement, which are gain, purchase, buy, and acquire, can throw light on the meaning of procurement. The process of procurement may differ from company to company, and a government institution may have a slightly different procurement process compared to a private company.

Procurement can also be simply defined as the procedure in which goods or commodities are bought when prices are low. Procurement is advantageous if the goods are bought in bulk. E-procurement is another method in which the electronic media is used for acquiring or purchasing goods. Everything is processed electronically, from the search for the right bidder to the delivery and payoff.

The procurement procedure may differ according to the product and the uses of the product. Healthcare equipment needs to be efficient and reliable, and the procurement process is carried out meticulously in order to avoid the purchase of faulty apparatus. Another important factor that is usually included in the definitions of procurement is the amount in which the product is bought. This is important because the amounts of goods bought are inversely proportional to their cost.

Thus, procurement is a process that is carried out by almost every company and individual for its own personal gain or for profits, which involves buying of commodities by choosing the appropriate bidder.

Source by Alison Cole

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/procurement-definition/

What to Look For In Coin Collecting: The Do’s and Don’ts of Coin Collecting

With so many hobbies one can choose from, coin collecting is one hobby that’s pursued by a lot of people. It’s also a hobby that takes some time for you to declare yourself a professional. The only thing to tell yourself is that it’s a hobby worth pursuing that’s why they call it the “Hobby of the Kings”.

When you want to pursue numismatics to make profits you should be prepare your self for hard work ahead. People who make money from collecting coins are full time in this industry and travel places looking for profitable coins. If you not prepared for that then its best you do this as a hobby.

To become a successful numismatist you have to get as much knowledge as you can about this hobby. Places where you can get information are newsletters, brokers, investment magazines and online articles like this one. The quicker you get the information the sooner you will start making a precious collection.

In order to succeed in this industry you have to be always researching more information.

To know the true value of a coin a beginner collector has to educate himself on how to grade coins. Getting knowledge on how to grade coins will help you in determining fake coins and prevent you from being scammed. You will also know how to value coins so you don’t buy worthless coins.

Collecting coins also trains one to be patient because collecting lot of coins can take years. So you have wait some time to reap the reward from collecting coins. But most definitely it’s worth the wait.

To be successful in numismatics requires you to start thinking like an investor. Make sure that the people you take advice from are a reliable source because getting the wrong advice will make you lose lots of money in buying priceless coins.

When starting out in this hobby requires you to have lots of money to invest. Not only do you need money to buy the coins but you also need it to buy numismatists equipment and have money to travel places in search of coins. Also stay up to date with market news because prices of coins can drop due to various reasons. This will help you be aware of the right time to buy valuable coins.

Just like any other hobby collecting coins needs you to give it time to excel. Just be on the look out for good deals and use a little common sense here and there and you will most definitely see good results from your new found hobby.

Source by Adam E Franklin

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/what-to-look-for-in-coin-collecting-the-dos-and-donts-of-coin-collecting/

Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying Gold Bullion

Gold bullion is the measurement of the weight and brightness of gold. Gold bullion will help you to earn some good profit after investing money to buy gold bullion coins and bars. During economic crisis gold bullion coins give good result to consumers. If you probe, you will find that there are many well known businessmen including topmost celebrities who have strengthened their financial condition by dealing with pure gold coins. Basically, according to the experts, the value of un-circulated gem/gold coins is much higher than circulated coins. If your gold coins are free of scratches and dents, the quality of the coins will be assumed to be good. Prices will be automatically on the rise. For this reason, it will be better for you to collect un-circulated gold bars and coins for selling at justified price range.

Now there is another important area of concern. The positive aspect noticed when you wish to buy is that it checks or prevents inflation rates. It is seen that there can be a sudden decrease in the worthiness or value of paper currencies if the government orders mints to print excess dollars. Every dollar currency will bring less profit. However, compared to paper currency, gold bullion coins or currencies will not be devalued because the government prints gold currencies on the strength of the deposited gold bars in the repository. Basically, gold currencies are backed by deposited gold metal bars and coins.

If you wish to buy gold bullion bars and coins you should be well concerned about the authenticity of such dealers who sell genuine gold currencies. However, the concept of opting for gold standard currency also prevails. In this case, the government owns up the responsibility of printing limited number of gold currencies on the strength of the available gold coins and bars that are available in the vault. Now the problem is that there must be dearth of money as the government decides to release the limited number of currencies, which are backed by gold in vault. It will definitely produce negative impact on the economic infrastructure of the country.

There is another major drawback when you buy gold bullion. After comprehensive investigation, it has been found that gold billion prevents the higher authority of the government from framing new economic policies. During economic downtime, finance department takes the responsibility to print as many as currencies it can release and print. However, it is not possible in the case of gold standard system. The government is compelled to print currencies on the total number of gold bars/coins in the repository. If you check the historical records, you will find that gold bullion system performed well during World War I. During the industrial revolution also, which occurred in 19th century, this type of gold standard did a wonderful job.

Source by Kingster H

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-buying-gold-bullion/

Technical Analysis Strengths and Weaknesses

Technical analysis has many strengths and weaknesses. Each strength gives it a sense of reliability, while each weakness puts you one step closer to making a fatal mistake. By becoming adept at knowing the weaknesses, you are able to shore them up with the proper money management and risk management techniques.

Strengths

Minimal Reliance on Fundamental Info

Practically every day there is some report coming out in the United States or overseas, whether it’s regarding job numbers, import numbers, or interest rate increases or decreases. Each bit of news has already been factored into the market’s activity in some form or fashion.

At one time, the concept of seasonal trading was “hot.” Every TV and radio guru talked about gasoline prices increasing in the summer, heating oil going through the roof in the winter, or oranges being wiped out by hurricanes. While these seasonal opportunities may have been tradable in the past, because they are so well known now, the level of impact that the seasons have on the markets has changed. Often times the actual movement in the market occurs far in advance of the actual seasonal problems themselves.

So instead of waiting for these seasonal trades to occur, it is far simpler to watch these markets and see the technical analysis movement now. If it’s heating up, get into the market; if it’s cooling down, get into the market; if nothing is happening, keep waiting and watching-don’t just follow fundamental analysis blindly.

Quick Snapshot of Data

Price, volume, and open interest all on one chart. With the right set of technical analysis tools and asking the right questions, you are capable of looking at a chart and within a few minutes being able to determine if a trade is worthwhile or not. You should also be able to determine your profit targets, loss risk, and risk management parameters as well. There is no comparable way to glean this much information from one piece of fundamental news.

A Sense of Immediate Control and Understanding

“What we don’t understand, we fear.”

As traders, we strive to be in control of the situation. The market itself is a beast. It moves up and down, left and right, for however long it wants and however violently it wants. There is little we can do with our finite amount of capital to truly move it. Therefore, the goal is to put the market in a context you can understand.

Since the mind enjoys creating patterns, we give ourselves the opportunity to look at daily, monthly, and weekly charts. We analyze minute-to-minute charts and focus on giving ourselves the best opportunity possible. Technical analysis does just that for us. It gives us the window to take a mass of information and to place it on the screen and feel like we can ride the wave as opposed to being crushed by it.

Weaknesses

Lagging Indicators Aren’t Always Appropriate

Don’t misplace your faith. Technical analysis is a wonderful tool to be used; at the same time, you have to be careful when attempting to use it for predictive features. Elliot Wave, Gann, and Fibonacci can tell you only what happened and what is happening, but they cannot reliably tell the future.

Once you begin to rely on the predictions to the point of where you believe they are absolute and you fail to prepare for contingencies, you give yourself few outs. This goes back to the difference between gambling and speculating. Predictions cause us to make assumptions about what will happen that leaves little room for what is happening.

Since the information for technical indicators revolves around price and time movements that have already occurred, it is best to temper your reliance with common sense, which means that you will use technical analysis, not let it use you.

Tools Are Available to Everyone

Bollinger bands, candlesticks, and William’s %R, are on all charting software. From the newbie just opening an account to the professional trader working for a hedge fund, the information is readily available. The calculations are known, the setups are known, as well as common market wisdom, and gaps are filled.

Using off-the-shelf information gives you little to no competitive advantage over fellow traders. In fact, how you operate plays into the hands of self-fulfilling prophecies, which leads to predictable stop placements and whipsawing in the market.

Putting your own custom spin on the tools will be to your advantage as well as immunizing your predictability in following conventional forms of money management and risk management. At every turn, customize either your reactions or your interpretation of the information in order to refine your opportunities for a competitive advantage.

Interpretation Is More Art than Science

No one can guarantee that every time you see a “cup and saucer” the market will behave with 100% predictability. No one will claim that every time the price of a market hits the upper Bollinger, it will collapse in price. Technical analysis is an art masquerading as science.

While the numbers themselves may accurately calculate deviation, accumulation, and distribution, as well as relative strength, the interpretation of this data is the key. What does it mean this time, and how will I react to it? Everyone has their own spin on the function of their technical analysis tools. There is no wrong way.

This is the reason why many commodity trading advisers (CTAs) may have a mechanical trading program, but they still leave the final decisions up to discretion. They know full well that there are patterns and various activities that cannot be left to chance and solely for a robot to determine. This is the tailspin that too many traders take when they believe that technical tools are the gospel.

Source by Noble Drakoln

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/technical-analysis-strengths-and-weaknesses/