样本案例分析2

Benchmarkingfor

performanceevaluationNorthlakeBookstoreCaseoverviewNorthlakeBookstoreislocatedintheNorthlakeUniversityinDallas,ametropolitanintheMidwest.Itservestheuniversitycommunitywithaprofit-centeredpresenceandalsodedicatedtoprovidingserviceexcellencethatmeetsorexceedstheneedsofeachcustomeranduniversitydepartment.Recently,textbooksaleofNorthlakeinfallin2004decreasedabout$180,000,or3%ofannualtextbooksales.Thiswasprimarilyduetotheincreaseintheaveragepriceofatextbookfrom$50to$150overthelastfiveyears,ascomplainedbythecustomers(students).2009-5-302Itwasrealizedthatasignificantcontributorofthisincreasewaspublisherupdatestotextbooksmoreoftenthanpriorperiod.Wendy,themanager,reportedthedecreasedtextbooksalestothebossChuck,andwasaskedtoconductabenchmarkinganalysistoidentifyperformancegapwithcompetitors.Thisbenchmarkingwillnotbelimitedtobookdepartmentonly,butwillserveasadecision-makingguidelineforresources,processandpeople.Moreover,tacticsshouldbedevelopedtocorrectsuchgap.2009-5-303CaseoverviewWefirstassumetheenvironmentalconditionissimpleandstatic,therefore,historicalanalysis,benchmarking,forecasting,andformalplanningmakesense.Inaddition,wepresumecurrentorganizationcultureandstructureisappropriateanddoesnotimpedebusinessdevelopment.Aculturedoesnotposepressuresforafor-profitbusinesswithaggressivesalesandearningtargetThebusinessstructurefunctionswell,facilitatescommunicationandinformation.Finally,wesupposeallinformationprovidedinthiscasesisallwhatWendygetanduse,mayormaynotbesufficient.2009-5-304Assumptions2009-5-305Benchmarkinganalysisreport:PerformanceindicatorsbenchmarkingandProblemIdentificationMainissuesSWOTanalysisSolutionsandActionPlan123AfterJanuary2004,thetextbookpriceisrelativehigherthantheaveragelevel,andthistrendcontinues.InSep2003,Northlake’stextbookprice,onaverage,is0.5%cheaperthanthestandardcost.However,inSep2004,itspriceis3.5%expensivethantheaveragecost.FavourablePriceDifferenceUnfavourablePriceDifference2009-5-1062009-5-307ABCDStrategyandobjective:beingaprofitcenterforUniversityNorthlake’scoststructureispresentedontheleft.COGSandlabourexpensesaretwolargestitems.Ifbothofthemcanbereduced,thentotalcostcouldbereducedsignificantly2009-5-308ABLaborexpenseisamainexpenditureapartfromCOGS.Thisexpenditure,12.6%ofsaleishigherthanthebestpractice,10.3%ofsale.ThisisasourceofcostreductionCOGSaccountsfor72.5%oftotalsales.Thiscostcanbefurtherreducedassuggestedbybenchmarking

results.2009-5-309TravelConsumablesInsuranceOutsideServiceTelephonePostage&PrintingRentMaintenanceOperating-UtilityC%ofsaleTheseexpensestogetherconstitute2.8%oftotalsales.Overall,theyarewellcontrolledwithoneexception:Proportionofoperating-utilityas%ofsalesisabovetheaveragelevel.Itoffersanothercostreductionalternative.2009-5-3010DDespitethefactthatlaborandoperation-utilitycostsneedfurthercutback,itsnetincomeasa%oftotalsaleisfavourable.Strategyandobjective:serviceexcellenceFacultyoverallsatisfactionandcustomerqueingtimefeedbackreflectserviceexcellentobjectiveisachievedtosomeextent.Butwhataboutcustomersuggestionform?NeitheranyinformationisprovidednordoesWendyintendedtoanalyzeit.2009-5-3011Serviceexcellenceisfurtherprovedbyanothertwoindicators:percentageofcoursepacksavailabilityandtextbookavailability,andtheresultsfromsurveyarepresentedontheleft.However,onemightsuspectthatwhethertheseperformanceindicatorsaresufficientevidencestoconcludethatbothNorthlakebookstore’scustomerserviceandfacultysatisfactionareexcellent.Amajorcustomer(student)might,forexample,needbookstoretohelpthemtoenhancestudyexperience,tofacilitateessaywritingintermofresourceprovider.Byintuition,thesecriteriashouldbelistedinsurveyandbeanalyzedforfurtherprogress.Unfortunately,theyarenotreadilyavailable.Hence,customersurveyisincompleteinthisrespect,butitisnottosaythatitsservicestandarddoesnotmeetanticipation.Giveninformationavailable,wetendtoarguethatNorthlake’sservice,generally,isexcellentbutneedmoresupportingevidences.2009-5-3012Clothing,supplies&Sundries,used textbooksandgeneralbooksareFourMost ProfitableProducts(FMPP).However,inNorthlakeBookstore,these fouritemscontributedonly34.4%ofsalesintotalinfiscalyear2004.25%grossmargin2009-5-3013NewCourseBookUsedCourseBookTotalCourseBookGeneralBooksTotalBooksComputerHardwareSoftware&AccessoriesSupplies&SundriesClothingInventoryTurnoverSalesInventoryHowever,itistherelativesizedeterminestheinventoryturnover.Theinventoryturnoversfortheseitems,whichaccountformorehalfoftotalsales,areapparentlyhigherthanaverage.Thismaysuggestinadequateinventorystocks.2009-5-301412,708#FTEstudents19,788#FTEstudents30#full-time30.1#FTE30#full-time26.4#FTEEmployees’salesisbelowaveragelevel.Eitherinspectworkingefficiencyorconsidersfull-timepersonnelreduction.Student’smarketsaturates,givennumberofstudentsandsalesperFTEstudents.2009-5-3015PercentilequartilecomparisonNorthlakeAverage75thpercentile0-25th25th-50th

50th-75th

75th-100th

TotalSpaceinSquareFeet22,50023,49532,025Salespersq.ft.ofTotalSpace$741$1,229$1,323Salespersq.ft.ofSellingSpace$1,112$1,857$1,881Ratio:SellingtoStorageSpace3.3:13.4:15.8:1Average#ofpart-timeemployee92341#ofHrsStoreisOpenperweek525558ThesefiguresindicateNorthlake’sbookstoreisrelativelarge,andmaysignalsbettercustomerservice.ThisbenchmarkcriteriaimpliesNorthlakecouldshrinkitsstoragespace,inotherwords,torearrangeitsbookstorelayout.Hypothesismadeherecouldbehiringpart-timeemployeeasameansoflaborexpensereduction.Itispossibletochangebookstore’semployee’sstructure.Doesopenhouraffectsalerevenue?Apparently,bookstore’sworkinghourperweekislessthanaverage.2009-5-3016Average41.49%Average28.23%Usedtextsalesasapercentageofbothnewtextsalesandcoursebooksalesisrelativelylowercomparedwithbothaverageand75thpercentile.However,usedtextbookarethemostprofitablesellingiteminBOOKcategory.Ifproportionofusedtextbookisstructurallypromoted,therewillbeapositiveimpactonrevenueafterall.2009-5-3017Average3.1%Theonlinesalesisonly1.9%oftotalsales,whichismuchlowerthan3.1%industrylevel,and4.5%bestpractice.Web/Webandmailratiofrom2003to2004impliesnoadvancementinonlinesales.However,onlinesalesisamainsourceoffuturesalegrowth,aswellascompetition.Therefore,onlinemarketingispivotalshort-termandlong-termstrategy.2009-5-3018Benchmarkinganalysisreport:PerformanceindicatorsbenchmarkingandProblemIdentificationMainissuesSWOTanalysisSolutionsandActionPlan1232009-5-3019StrengthsThreatsOpportunityWeaknessExcellentserviceandone-stopback-to-schoolprovider.Abundantacademicresources.Amplegoodsandserviceavailable:textbooks,supplies,clothingandgifts,computerandsoftware,andmuchmoreOperation-utilitycostisineffectivecontrolledandlaborexpensedoesnotadjustedaccordingly.Customerservicesurveyisinadequatetosupportdecisionmaking,andcustomersuggestiondoesnotincorporatedinthedecisionprocess.Full-timeemployees’workinginefficiencyand#ofpart-timeemployeeisbelowaveragelevel.Online-saleisbelowaverage.InappropriatesalestructureOnlinevendor’stextbookpricecompetition.Increasingunfavorablepricedifferencewithbestpractice.Lateorinaccuratebookordersfromfaculty.Focusonusedtextbookadvertisingandexploititsbenefits.Onlinetextbookvendorpartnershipande-Textbookdevelopment.CorporationwithUniversityAlumniAdvancement(funding)Officeandcontractforsolemerchandisesupplier.2009-5-3020Benchmarkinganalysisreport:PerformanceindicatorsbenchmarkingandProblemIdentificationMainissuesSWOTanalysisSolutionsandActionPlan123KeyExistingProblemsLowonlinesaleasapercentageoftotalsaleInappropriatesalestructureUndesirableemployees’operationalefficiencyUnfavourablelabourandoperation-utilityexpensesFurtherconcerns2009-5-3021Actionplan:Short-termgoals1.PromoteonlinesaleOnline-saleisavitalchanneltoexpandmarkets.Providenewe-business.Forexample,toofferacollectionoflinkstovendorswhoseproductscanenhancestudentscollegeexperience;provideeTextbookstostudents,faculty,andinstitutions.Buildupmailingservicewithcustomerstoupgradegoods/serviceinformation.Redesignwebsiteinabetterformat.2009-5-1022Actionplan:Short-termgoals2.OptimizesalesstructureIncreasethesalesofFourMostProfitableProduct(FMPP),clothing,supplies&sundries,generalbooksandusedtextbooksbyadvertisingonwebsiteandpromotingsalesinbookstore.Expandstudents’usedtextbookproductlinebycommunicatingwithuniversityprofessorstofindoutwhichusedtextbookscouldbere-used,inordertoincreasetheirusagerate2009-5-1023Actionplan:Short-termgoals3.IncreaseoperationalefficiencyTheservicequalityoftemporarystaffmustbeguaranteed.Wendyshouldconsiderdesigningaservicetrainingprogramfornewpersonalandrefreshertrainingforcontinuingpersonnel.Customerperceivedvaluesarepivotalindicatorsforbusinesstosearchoperationalexcellence,thus