BA 317

In looking at various charts of a sample company with inventory, shipping, type of product, etc. we deducted some information about the companies sales.  When looking at all of the data it was a bit overwhelming, over 8000 lines of data! In order to better grasp what the information was telling us about sales we singled out certain aspects of the products being sold in order to see how sales were effected in these various segments.

The first variable we looked at was the product container.  We wanted to see if there were more larger product containers being sold for profit or smaller product containers.  After analyzing the data we found that the most overall profitable container size is the Small Box with a total of $926,994.  This is probably due to the fact that people are most likely buying small products from the office supply store in person.  In terms of making the most profit per order on average, the Jumbo Drum was at the top.

Another variable we looked at closer was the product sub-category in order to see what products were selling and which were not bringing in profits for the company. It appears that the company is making the most on copiers, fax machines, and other large office machinery.  This makes sense as these orders will likely have a higher price tag and thus the company will make more per unit sold. The company is losing money on bookcases, tables, and scissors, rulers, and trimmers.  All of these profit numbers are in the negative. If you were this company you would want to look into these products that were struggling and see what could be done to boost profits whether that is advertising, sales, limiting product orders, etc.

A third variable that we looked at was the shipping mode and how that impacted sales. The company is making the most/order on those items being shipped via delivery trucks.  This is likely due to the fact that this is the most cost effective option for consumers and also highly available option for the company.  The regular air shipping while having a remarkably high total profits of $1,104,693, the profit per order was less than that of the delivery truck.  We believe this is because it is harder for the company to coordinate air shipping and people are less likely to ship a commodity good a long distance.  If someone needs office supplies, they are likely to go to the closest office supply store and pick up the goods.

The final variable that we looked at was the customer segment.  Not surprisingly, corporate and small businesses are where the company makes the most profit per order.  This makes sense because these are entities that will have a constant need for office goods.  These groups are also likely to order more copiers, and larger machines which were the products that were most profitable.

According to the company website IBM prides itself on having a diverse group of employees who want to make an impact, use their expertise, and work with some of the top business and technology executives in the world. President and CEO Virginia Rometty is quoted saying, “We pursue a model of high-value innovation, rather than commodity technology, products and services. Our commitment to this model compels us to reinvent businesses continually; grow new ones organically and through acquisitions; and occasionally divest businesses that do not fit our profile.”

The job available for this company is the Project Executive. The duties for this job are to develop partnerships between clients, IBM, vendors, and subcontractor organizations. The Project Executive is in charge of customer satisfaction and will translate the customers wants into formal solutions.

Job Requirements
-High school diploma
-Availability to travel 10% annually (Or 1 day a week)
-Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology
-At least 3 years experience in client relationship
-At least 5 years experience in portfolio processing
-At least 3 years experience in business development and drive growth
-Certified in ITIL

Job reviews
All of the reviews for the Project Executive were pretty positive. All employees felt that they were working with remarkable and intelligent people where they could learn and develop. The two cons were the amount of travel and the lack of salary bonuses given. Another recurring con was the notion that there was a bureaucracy within the company.

Product/ Service Reviews
Generally most products made by IBM are well received by their publics. They seem to be at the peak of their brand category. Some of their products are not very user-friendly.

Analysis
Most employees are generally happy with their work environment. But there is a disconnect between the IBM value of collaboration and the reality of the closeness of employees. A couple employee reviews even said that they have to learn things from rumors rather than news sources. So the overall community of IBM employees seems divided between the upper part of the bureaucracy and the rest of the employees. The company definitely achieves high-value innovation according to almost every single product and employee review.The quality of the company’s products and services are always top-notch, therefore the CEO’s quote is validated.

Road Map

To get to this job the first thing we need to do is graduate from high school and attend top tier universities (USC, Virginia Tech, Boston U, Johns Hopkins to name a few) with a degree in information technology. Next we need to have a job in a client relationship job such as sales, service representatives etc. and work there for three years at least. After (or before) that we would need to have a job in portfolio management. An example we found would be working for Visa in business planning. Working there for five years would fulfill our requirements for that part of this job. Finally, getting a job in development, fund raising, growth etc would be a great first step to getting into all these jobs. Working at a nonprofit of account management position would be a good step in the right direction. Finally, we need a simple certification in ITIL. After fulfilling at least all of these, we’re ready to apply for this job!

The main pain point for Dutch Bros. Coffee is in the overly drawn out employee-customer interaction.  While Dutch Bros, prides itself on great customer service, it can be a slow process to receive an order.  Cars tend to line up out of the parking lot and this can lead to unhappy customers.  It is strictly drive-thru, which limits customers from having a place to sit and get settled while waiting for their drink to be made. One solution we came up with is for employees to take orders earlier in the process which would allow for faster turn around in getting drinks.  This would follow In N Out Burger’s style of taking orders. This solution still follows Dutch Bros value on positive customer interaction.

Another solution would be to increase the size of the kiosks.  This would allow for more employees to be making beverages and for more equipment to speed up the drink making process.

The idea of having a drive-thru ordering machine like McDonald’s or Starbuck’s is too impersonal and distances customers from employees.  This doesn’t adhere to Dutch Bros. values.

The area we looked into was the surrounding Sacramento area.  We wanted an upscale area that was an easy drive from Sacramento.  The city we landed on was El Dorado Hills, CA. It is a quick 30 minute drive down the major highway, highway 50, and located near the lovely Folsom Lake State Park.  Recently sold homes were listed at $800,000+.  The hub of this city appears to be super close to the freeway and high income neighborhoods which would be a perfect fit for the “Executive Health” Spa.

(zoomed out)         (zoomed in with prices)

After looking up the housing information for El Dorado Hills, we looked into the ratings of nearby schools.  All schools were rated 10 out of 10 which will make it a continually appealing area.

The average household income was listed at $145,315 which is way above the average for the Sacramento County area of $73,748. It is almost double. Most of the income of the population in the El Dorado Hills area is within the range from $100,000-$200,000+ meaning it is an affluential area.

We researched our consumer base through Experian and found that in the El Dorado Hills zip code there were 6,856 potential users of the spa which is an impressive amount.

When we searched 4+ Star rated restaurants, we found that there were plenty near the downtown area where we would place the “Exectuive Health” Spa.

Rent in this area varies greatly, but prices at the pavilion in mind ranges from about $2,600 to upwards of $4,300, but given the wealth in the area it would be fine to turn a profit. The area is also luxurious enough to attract the kind of customers to our spa.

Today Grant, John, and I set up our blog website.  We customized it with the theme, Aaron, and each chose a different icon for our header highlights. For our background picture we chose an image of Lillis and then changed the website title font to a yellow color to match the “O” on the building.  In order to further customize, we activated Custom CSS and learned how to write some code that changes font size, color, etc. Looking forward to the term!