Universidad de

Costa Rica
English for Business
Gloriela Chacón
Chavarría
&
Kuroche
 BUH!
Fast-Response Logistics
for Retailing
2
 P.77
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
A. Match these words and phrases from the article (1-9) with their meanings (a-i)
1. Exclusivity a) Financial advantage gained from producing in large
quantities and therefore selling more chaeply
2. Quick-response logistics
b) Process of sharing stock, e.g. among a group of stores
3. Economies of Scale
c) Transport goods by air
4. Contractors
d) An item of clothing
5. Labour-intensive
e) When something desirable is limited in availability
6. Garment f) Labels on products which say how much they cost
7. Price tags g) Needing a lot of workers to do the work
8. Air freight h) Organisations working under contract to produce godos
9. Stock allocations i) A strategy for reducing order lead times, increasing
frequency of delivery and reducing average order size

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 P. 77 Word
partnerships
1. Find words in the article that follow these nouns to form noun-noun
partnerships
1. Market
2. Manufacturing
3. Production
4. Inventory
5. Distribution
6. Design / Manufacturing / Delivery
2. Find three other noun-noun partnerships in Excercise A for talking about
distribution

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 P. 77 Sentence
Use word partnership from Exercise B to
1. Completion
Throughout the ……… ……… , there are regular inspections to
complete these sentences
complete
make sure products meet these
the highsentences
standards.
2. Each shop receives new ……… ……… several times a week,
based on its current sales and inventory levels.
3. For our European market, we use single ……… ……… which
show all the different prices by country.
4. The high turnover of products and our efficient distribution
mean that we are able to keep ……… ……… low.
5. Every week, one million items are distributed to the stores
through our two regional ……… ……… .
6. The ……… ……… from warehouse 5 to customer has been cut to
 P. 78
✘ Match each Word from theSynonyms
article (1-7) with one which has a similar
meaning (a-g)
1. Core a) Goods
2. Implement b) The lowest amount
posible
3. Reacting
c) Main
4. Merchandise
d) Responding
5. Exclusively
e) Tough and exacting
6. Strict
f) Only
7. A minimum
g) Put into practice

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 P. 78
✘ Match each Word from theSynonyms
article (1-7) with one which has a similar
meaning (a-g)
1. Core: C a) Goods
2. Implement: G b) The lowest amount
posible
3. Reacting: D
c) Main
4. Merchandise: A
d) Responding
5. Exclusively: F
e) Tough and exacting
6. Strict: E
f) Only
7. A mínimum: B
g) Put into practice

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 P. 78
Passives
1. The writer uses the passive when describing Zara’s operational processes.
Complete these sentences.
1. Aboout 20 percent of its merchandise […] ……… ……… as finished godos
… (lines 16-18)
2. All other manufacturing activities […] ……… ……… ……… small sub-
contractors … (lines 31-32)

2. Read paragraphs E and F again carefully and find at least four other
examples of the passive.

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 P. 78
3. Complete these sentencesPassives
using the passive form of the verbs in
the box.
Attach Cut Dye Give Source
1. Suppliers ……… ……… about two weeks to move from design to
production of a new item.
2. Today, nearly 65 percent of production ……… ……… in Europe.
3. Near Zara’s distribution centre in La Coruña, fabric ……… ………
and ……… by robots in highly automated factories.
4. Security and Price tags ……… ……… to each item before shipping
to the stores.
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 P. 78
Prepositions
Match the sentence to make sentences about Zara’s
activities and distribution
a) Within 48 hours
1. New deliveries arrive
2. Zara competes directly b) On a twice-weekly basis
3. Zara keeps inventory costs c) With companies such as Gap and
Mango
4. All deliveries are completed
d) To a minimum

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 P. 78
Prepositions
Over to you
1. In what ways are Zara’s operating strategies different of those of its
competitors? Make notes for a presentation about: sourcing, manufacturing,
distribution and transportation, stock allocation and replenishment.
2. Choose a company. Then prepare a diagram and commentary to explain
how it distributes stock to its customers. Include the passive where it fits.
3. What are the potential risks for Zara of distributing products to all its global
markets through its two distribution centres in the north-west of Spain?
4. How applicable are the principles of quick-response logistics to other sectors
and industries?

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 Section 14

Warehousing
5
and IT
P.8
2
15
 P.82 Read the text describing warehouse
areas and label the areas with words from
the
Sortation * Marshalling and list* Receiving * Collation
dispatch
and value-added services * back-up storage * order picking
1. First of all, there is the _______ area. That’s where all incoming goods arrive and
documentation is checked and recorded. Good are often unpacked or repacked
here to make their format more suitable for warehouse handling.
2. The ________ area holds most of our warehouse inventory.
3. In the ________ area the goods are selected in the right quantities, that means
the quantities required by the customer. Here we also break bulk. That means,
for example, after receiving goods in large quantities (e.g. pallets), we need to
pack them in smaller separate units for the customers.
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 P.82 Read the text describing warehouse
areas and label the areas with words from
the list
Sortation * Marshalling and dispatch * Receiving * Collation
and value-added services * back-up storage * order picking
4. In the ________ area we deal with smaller order sizes. Sometimes several orders have been
batched together to simplify the picking process and now need to be sorted down to
individual orders.
5. After picking, the goods are consolidated and made ready for dispatch. Depending on the
customer’s requirements the goods may be packed into cartons or cases or they are wrapped
(i.e. stretch-wrapping or shrinking-wrapping). Some warehouses also provide special services
such as labelling. This part of warehouse operations is called ________.
6. The final stage in warehouse operations is the _________ area. The goods are brought
together to form vehicle loads and are then loaded onto vehicles for onward dispatch.
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Answer key
P.82
P.83

19
Answer key
P.83
 P.8
3
21
Answer key
P.83
 P. 84 The
passive
When describing processes, the passive voice is often used with modal
verbs such as can, must, may, should, etc.
The forks can be raised by a simple pump action.
This system must be fitted with detectors.
Or we can use the passive in other tenses e.g. the present perfect tense.
After the goods have been checked, they go into back-up storage.
The unloading has been completed.

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 P.8
4

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Answer key
P.84
 Listen to this extract from a
presentation abut a new warehouse
P.8 management system.
Now say which of these statemenst
1.4The existing system is not very efficient.
is tru or false.
2. They could centralize inventories in one Canadian warehouse.
3. Cycle times can be reduced by at least half.
4. They could reduce warehouse area from four floors to one.
5. Print on demand allows the, to print invoices in several languages

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Answer key
P.84
P.8
5 28
Answer key
P.85
 Talking about advantages and
possible improvements.
1. One great advantage is …
2. The most interesting feature is …
3. It would help us reduce/increase/improve/optimize
4. Another major advantage is/would be …
5. It would also guarantee/ensure.
7. Work with a partner. Each of you has a
warehouse management system. Present the
advantages of your system to your partner. Use
phrases in the box. 30
P.8
31
Answer key
P.85
P.8
33
Answer key
P.86
P.8
35
Answer key
P.86
 Describing the steps of a
process
 First(ly)/ First of all…  The next step /stage is …
 Second(ly)…  Following that
 The first step/stage (of the  Finally The last step is …
process is) …  Once/After X has
 Then … happened …
 After that …

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11. Work with a partner and
describe a process from your
own job in your own words.
Use phrases from this unit.

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P.8
39
Answer key
P.87
 Read the text about modern
warehousing called
“Warehousing today” and
answer
1. How these
is your questions.
company’s warehouse
organized?
2. Do you work in a warehouse
yourself?
3. How has warehousing changed
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 Thanks, and…
Happy Halloween
month, my sweet
zombies!
Any questions?
You can find me us @glorielex & @kurochepe
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