IT Equipment SalesCase Study 2

MBA 433 - 2012

Group – VodafoneRasheel Ram

Santosh PayalVinita Prasad

Executive Summary

This report provides an analysis of “Sales Transactions” provided in case study.Microsoft Excel was used to analyse data. Various strategies were defined soas improve sales, promotions, and increase revenue and productivity.

Data Warehouses are now been invested heavily for analysis of complex data.Furthermore, inventory and procurement plans were also developed andconclusions were finally made.

Data and Collection methods

IDStore

NoSales

RegionItem No Item Description Unit Price

Units Sold Week Ending

Promotion Price

no Sold by Promo

1 1 South 2005 17" Monitor $229.00 28 27-Oct-09 214 33

2 1 South 2005 17" Monitor $229.00 30 24-Nov-09 168 48

3 1 South 2005 17" Monitor $229.00 9 29-Dec-09 229 11

4 1 South 3006 101 Keyboard $19.95 30 27-Oct-09 10 33

5 1 South 3006 101 Keyboard $19.95 35 24-Nov-09 20 30

6 1 South 3006 101 Keyboard $19.95 39 29-Dec-09 15 33

7 1 South 6050 PC Mouse $8.95 28 27-Oct-09 4 33

8 1 South 6050 PC Mouse $8.95 3 24-Nov-09 8 4

9 1 South 6050 PC Mouse $8.95 38 29-Dec-09 4 61

10 1 South 8500 Desktop CPU $849.95 25 27-Oct-09 1077 23

11 1 South 8500 Desktop CPU $849.95 27 24-Nov-09 1077 27

Collection methods

• Establishment of a schedule for data collection and submission. This ensures data is collected in a timely manner for the production of required reports.

• Training of staff on data collection methods.

• Development of necessary forms.

• Assignment of staff to complete the necessary forms.

• Assignment of staff to enter data in data entry system.

• Implementation of quality control procedures.

• Assignment of staff to generate required reports.

Data Definition

Data Attribute Definition

Store No Identifies the Store uniquely

Sales Region Identifies the sales region

Item No Tags a numerical value to each item

Item Description A short description of the item

Unit Price Price of one unit

Units Sold Number of units sold

Week Ending Describes the duration of sales

Promotion Price Promotional price of one unit

no Sold by Promo Number of units sold during promotional period

Quality Perception by customer Describes the quality rating given by the customer

Service Describes the service rating

Time Describes the time rating

Image Describes the image rating

Relation Describes the relation

Total Sales Describes the total sales i.e Unit price * Units Sold

Methodology

The following methodologies were used to carry out the MIS research:

FIELD STUDY – Researcher does not manipulate any independent variables, The dependent variables are systematically measured. The study is conducted in a natural setting using human subjects and responses. Some examples are quality, service etc.

GROUP FEEDBACK ANALYSIS – Groups of human subjects complete an objective instrument for testing of the researcher’s initial hypothesis. Following the statistical analysis of the collected data, the data and the analysis are discussed with the subject group to obtain their subjective evaluation.

Pivot tables - were used to analyse the data.- A pivot-table can automatically sort, count, total or givethe average of the data stored in one table or

spreadsheet.- It displays the results in a second table (called a "pivottable") showing the summarized data. Pivot tables arealso useful for quickly creating unweighted crosstabulations.

Best performing regions by total sales

Best performing stores by total sale

Bestselling products by quantity

Bestselling product by unit sold

Bestselling product by weekly sales

Strongest sales region by product quantity

Strongest sales regions by product sales

Strongest selling periods by product

Strongest selling periods by sales region

Strongest selling periods by stores

Strongest store by product quantity

Strongest store by product sales

SWOT Analysis

Strengths•Highest revenue margin products performing well (PC’s).• Customer focused organization.

Weakness• Weak performing regions.• Lack of qualified staff in the west and north.• All stores not strategically aligned. •Weak product positioning.•Weak brand presence.

Opportunities• Partnerships with other companies.• Adopting new technology.•Introducing new products.• Introducing cost effective HW.

Threats• Lack of technology savvy population.• Competitors.• Natural disasters in west (Floods).•Stagnant economic outlook.

Recommendations

1. Open one more branch in east as there is opportunity for more business.2. Set up road shows in the regions that are not performing as well.3. Carry out education programs (via Media etc) to educate population on technology.4. Our cash cows are the desktops therefore there is a need to target schools.5. Diversification - as technology changes rapidly and desktops could become

obsolete in the near future.6. Invest into new technology like laptops, tablets etc.7. Build partnerships with communications company like Vodafone and

TFL where our products could be bundled with internet packages and create more value.

8. Revise pricing strategy for low performing computer peripherals.

Recommendation – Operational Efficiency

•EOQ – Economic Order Quantity is the determination of economic order quantity that will minimize total

inventory cost.

•Continuous Order Model – works on fixed order quantity where a fixed quantity is released once inventory

levels reach a defined safety level. Triggers are used to determine the replenishment time.

•Periodic System Model – This model is based on ordering inventory after a fixed period of time.

Where :

D = Annual demand

S = Ordering cost

C = Carrying cost

Procurement Strategy

Conclusion

It can be concluded that Desktop CPU is the best selling item, while Store 6 is the best performing store, with East being the most successful region. December is considered as the best period and this could be attributed to festive season sales.

The general imagine of the company is low and needs to be strengthened.Furthermore, the business needs to develop a long term strategic plan which includes diversification, adopting new technology, creating new business partnerships etc.

Reference

Logistics Bureau, 2012, Procurement and Strategic Sourcing Services, viewed 7 December 2012,http://www.logisticsbureau.com/

Management Study guide,2012, Inventory Planning – Basic Concepts, viewed 6 December 2012,http://www.managementstudyguide.com/inventory-planning.htm