In 2017, Equuleus Car Sharing Inc. (ECS) was a relatively new player in the rental car industry, with annual revenues approaching US$100 million. ECS had experienced significant growth since its founding in 2014 due to its focus on low prices and a mix of high-demand vehicle types–specifically, minivans, sport utility vehicles, sedans, and economy cars. ECS management wished to examine the opportunity to purchase new vehicles through financing versus the traditional method of paying cash for dramatically expanding the fleet size. The goal was to develop a fleet purchasing strategy that maximized the present value of net income.
Rougir Cosmetics International (RCI), founded in 2010 and with headquarters in California, experienced double-digit growth for several years. At a board meeting in June 2016, RCI’s chief executive officer (CEO) announced a large new order that represented a major opportunity to further expand into the ever-growing home shopping cosmetic business sector. However, the firm did not have the capacity to meet this transaction along with its normal business production schedule. Therefore, the only short-term possibility was to outsource some work to a third-party supplier. RCI had tried to avoid this in the past because of the proprietary nature of the company’s product line. The board cautioned the CEO and asked how much of the pending order might have to be subcontracted out. The CEO had one week to complete an analysis using RCI’s new analytics-based resource management system, and provide a recommendation.
At a Jilltronics Systems board meeting in 2015, the chief executive officer (CEO) indicated an interest in reviewing the firm’s supply chain strategy in light of increasing product and service demand. Jilltronics, a regional player in the U.S. home security market with sales approaching $100 million annually, had experienced significant growth in both the new housing and retrofit markets. The CEO expressed his desire to take a more analytical approach in developing the supply chain strategy that might include expanding the number of vendors. He reported to the board that this initiative could pose some risks due to the challenges associated with managing multiple suppliers. The board meeting concluded with the CEO tasking the chief analytics officer with developing a vendor selection assessment plan and reporting her findings at the next board meeting.
Trionym Systems, a designer and manufacturer of 3-D printers, was enjoying soaring sales. Trionym’s chief executive officer (CEO) presented a plan for acquiring a new production facility to address the expected demand for the firm’s latest 3-D printer, the RB-5000, which was presently under beta testing. He expressed reservations with respect to considerable uncertainty both in terms of market size and production costs. Accordingly, he wished to use the latest prescriptive analytics techniques to ensure that the decision to expand was the right one. The chief analytics officer was tasked with assessing the proposed project and had to report his findings at the next board meeting.
A senior vintner at Landhills Winery (Landhills) has been put in charge of developing an optimal blending plan for the upcoming season. This assignment is the result of a recent Landhills board meeting where the chief executive officer presented her ideas regarding the use of analytics for enhancing profits while at the same time not affecting quality. Specifically, the use of resource optimization could significantly improve Landhills’s profitability. Industry reports have indicated that a growing number of major wineries are using analytics to assist in the wine-blending process. The board meeting concluded with the CEO tasking the senior vintner with developing an analysis and reporting back his findings to the board at next month’s meeting.
Green Mills Inc. operates several lumber mills throughout the Northwestern United States that produce a variety of wood products. The company is currently considering expanding operations to Chile as a vehicle for reducing the costs of raw materials. In that regard, the management team is interested in analyzing the cost implications as a vehicle to properly assess this backward integration strategy. More specifically, management wishes to evaluate several different aggregate planning policies including level, chase and mixed policies.
B&W Systems designs and distributes a variety of management software products through the Internet and retail outlets such as Best Buy. The company is considering the development of an Internet-based forecasting system designed specifically for new start-up and small business owners. The company’s primary concern with the product is timing and the possibility of new market entrants. The director of operations has been tasked with reviewing the timely implementation of the new product, including estimated completion times and costs, and presenting his findings to the board.
The director of operations at Avalanche Corporation was faced with some major decisions. The firm was experiencing considerable difficulties in matching supply with demand. As a result, the company was overproducing and had to sell the excess at a loss. At a recent board meeting, the vice president of marketing reported on a new snowboard product, the Avalanche Racer. She presented her rationale for introducing a new ski product at this time by highlighting the growth of the ski equipment sales over the past five years. The board meeting concluded with the general manager tasking the director of operations with developing an analysis and reporting back his findings to the board the following week.