Don E Schultz, Consultant, Suggests That Both Marketing and Marketing Research

Don E. Schultz, consultant, suggests that both marketing and marketing research have lost importance in the organization. Schultz believes the two reasons underlying this loss of importance are overemphasis on supply chain management and organizational structure. By organizational structure, Schultz means that marketing is just one of several functional departments, each of which is limited to its own knowledge and skills and operating within a "silo," meaning that it has little interaction with other departments. Which of the following best illustrates why Schultz believes overemphasis of supply chain management has detracted from the proper influence marketing should have in the organization?

A) Supply chain management is more effective in determining the distribution of goods, and distribution was once one of the 4Ps of marketing.
B) Supply chain management emphasizes first starting with determining consumer wants and needs and the best way to satisfy those wants and needs. This used to be the primary contribution of marketing.
C) Supply chain management, because it is so detailed, takes far too much executive time, which should be directed to marketing decisions.
D) Supply chain management emphasizes starting with determining consumer wants and needs, and then using supply chain management. This emphasizes economies of scale and expert logistics to satisfy these wants and needs at the very lowest prices.
E) Supply chain management, by stressing low cost at all costs, and achieving lower costs through economies of scale and excellence in logistics, assumes the consumer is unimportant and responds only to lower prices.