Providing Health Benefits By Danny Howell Matt Altemus Rebecca Bliss

Human Resources “The human resource marketplace is a highly competitive and fragmented industry that is poised for enormous growth in the next 10 years as companies and countries around the world invest in their human resources infrastructure.” “When you consider virtually every company purchases at least one HR product or service, you can appreciate the total size of this unique marketplace.” Estimated that $785 billion is spent on employee benefit products and services alone every year.

Costco branching out… Costco caters to small business owners and is now branching out even more: –- Allowing small business owners to enroll in health care plans online –- Enables them to get quotes online -Helps the business owner to offer benefits while cutting costs at the same time This shows Costco’s initiative to stay innovative and tap into the massive Human Resources market place further differentiating themselves from the competitors

Executive Business Membership Available to owners or operators of businesses Includes a household card. Also allows you to purchase products for business, personal and resale use Business identification is required Must be renewed annually Has many side perks

An example… Sushi Town Owner of Sushi Town purchases supplies from Costco Reaps benefits of Executive Member package

Hit ‘em Where They Ain’t One of Costco’s competitors is Wall Mart the biggest retailer in the world they use the “hit ‘em where they ain’t” method -offering insurance (car, home and health) is defiantly one Costco was # 28 in the Fortune 5000 in 2006 (They must be doing something right) Costco keeps there employees and customers satisfied which allows them to have higher prices in some areas and still be profitable because customers don’t look around when they are satisfied.

Effective Business Strategies Saving on shipping and distribution costs Serving businesses and consumers High sales volume + rapid inventory Its floor plans designed for efficiency and economy Domestic strategy of closing the gauntlet Open to members only Cost reduction through logistics management and corporate culture Costco moves toward 100% EDI compliance The value of going online

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