Marketers have the major responsibility for identifying significant marketplace changes using a marketing information system and a marketing intelligence system. Which of the following is an incorrect statement?
a. The order to payment cycle is used internally for tracking results and includes orders, invoices, back-orders and stock items, shipping and billing documents.
b. Sales information that is timely is critical and for firms like Walmart results in a differential advantage for stocking, just in time inventory, and other logistics decision-making
c. Databases, data warehousing, and data mining can garner fresh insights into neglected customer segments, trends, loyalty, and other information.
d. Marketing intelligence can involve many sources including sales force, distributors, external experts, internal networks, customer advisory panel, government data, information from outside research firms, and searching the internet.
e. Overhead costs incurred with market research and intelligence should be eliminated and not replaced, because the activities are not directly related to selling goods or services.

E. Overhead costs incurred with market research and intelligence should be eliminated and not replaced, because the activities are not directly related to selling goods or services.

Explanation:

Marketers have the major responsibility for identifying significant marketplace changes using a marketing information system and a marketing intelligence system. Overhead costs incurred with market research and intelligence should be eliminated and not replaced, because the activities are not directly related to selling goods or services is an incorrect statement. Overhead costs known as manufacturing overhead, factory burden, factory overhead or production overhead is the combination of all the manufacturing costs such as electricity cost, factory supplies, factory labor (not direct one), rent, insurance, heating, water and all other energy related costs, salaries, cleaning, oiling, greasing, servicing and repairs etc. It is the some of all of the indirect material, labor and any other cost which can not be identified easily with the products and units produced in the manufacturing plant which are assigned to the every produced unit on equal basis. Overhead costs incurred with market research and intelligence should not be eliminated and replaced, because the activities are very much directly related to selling goods or services.