OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS


OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS

OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

Description

COMPANY PRODUCTION CONSIDERATIONS

~ PRODUCTION & PROCESS DIFFICULTIES

production and process difficulties and problems

~ MANUFACTURING CAPACITY

manufacturing capacity

~ UNIT PRODUCTION CAPACITY

product unit production capacity

~ FLEXIBILITY OF PRODUCTION PLANT

flexibility of production plant and equipment

~ ABILITY TO VARY PRODUCT RANGE

ability to vary the product range

~ AGE OF PLANT & EQUIPMENT

age of plant and equipment

COMPANY SUPPLIES CONSIDERATIONS

~ MATERIALS ACQUISITION & SOURCES

materials and supplies purchasing and sourcing

~ MATERIALS STOCK LEVELS

stock levels and inventories of materials and supplies

~ DEPENDENCE ON SUB-CONTRACTORS

dependence on sub-contractors and outside workers

~ BUYING INFLUENCE

buying influence and purchasing power

COMPANY MANPOWER CONSIDERATIONS

~ MANPOWER AVAILABILITY

manpower and labor availability

~ LABOR RELATIONS

labor and union relations

~ PRESSURE OF WAGE RISES

wage rises and wage demands

~ RELATIVE PAYROLL LEVELS

payroll levels in relation to competitors

~ RELATIVE SALARY LEVELS

salaried staff remunerations relative to competitors

~ TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

technical capabilities of staff

COMPANY COSTS & MARGIN CONSIDERATIONS

~ STOCK LEVELS

product stock and inventory levels

~ VARIABLE COSTS

flexibility of variable costs

~ FIXED COSTS

adaptability of fixed costs

~ PAYROLL COSTS

variability of manpower and staff costs

~ DIRECT COSTS RELATIVE TO COMPETITORS

direct costs relative to major competitors

~ R & D / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT COSTS

research and development and product development costs

COMPANY PRODUCT CONSIDERATIONS

~ QUALITY

product quality

~ PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

product specifications

~ DESIGN

product design and utility

~ OPERATING CRITERIA

product operating criteria and operating benefits

~ PRODUCT EFFICIENCY

product efficiency and performance

~ PRODUCT RELIABILITY

product reliability and integrity

~ PRODUCT LONGEVITY

product longevity and shelf life

~ PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

product life cycle and obsolescence

~ PRODUCT CUSTOMIZATION

degree of product customization and flexibility

~ PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

product technology and technological advantage

~ PRODUCT USAGE

product interchangeability and usage

COMPANY MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS

~ MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS: SENIOR CORPORATE OFFICERS

management strengths of senior corporate officers

~ MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS: PRODUCTION STAFF

effectiveness of production managers

~ MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS: SALES & MARKETING STAFF

performance of sales and marketing managers

~ MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS: ADMINISTRATION STAFF

efficiency of administration managers

~ MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS: TECHNICAL & R + D STAFF

aptitude of technical and research and development staff

~ MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS: PERSONNEL STAFF

reliability of personnel managers

COMPANY CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS

~ UPSTREAM INTEGRATION

upstream integration and economies of scale

~ DOWNSTREAM INTEGRATION

downstream integration and benefits

~ CAPTIVE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

captive distribution channels

~ DEPENDENCE ON OTHER MANUFACTURERS

dependence on other manufacturers for supplies

~ DEPENDENCE ON OTHER DISTRIBUTORS

dependence on other distributors for channels to the market

~ DEPENDENCE ON OTHER MARKETING

dependence on other marketing activity for sales support

~ DEPENDENCE ON CUSTOMERS

dependence on customers

COMPANY DISTRIBUTION CONSIDERATIONS

~ WAREHOUSING & HANDLING

warehousing and handling

~ PACKING & PACKAGING

packing and packaging

~ DISTRIBUTION

distribution activities

~ STOCK AVAILABILITY

stock availability

~ ORDER BACKLOG

order backlog

COMPANY CUSTOMER CONSIDERATIONS

~ LOCATION OF CUSTOMERS

geographic location of the customer base

~ DEPENDENCE ON CUSTOMER BASE

dependence on discrete customer bases

~ CAPTIVE CUSTOMER BASE

captive and assured customer base

~ CONCENTRATION OF PURCHASES

concentration of customer purchases

~ PURCHASE FREQUENCY

frequency of purchases

~ ORDER SIZE

order size and volume of average purchase

~ RELATIVE CUSTOMER SERVICING

customer servicing relative to competitors

~ SEASONALITY OF DEMAND

seasonality of demand and customer purchases

COMPANY MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS

~ ADVERTISING & SALES PROMOTION

advertising and sales promotion posture and activity

~ MARKETING COSTS

total marketing costs

~ SALES PROMOTION COSTS

sales promotion costs

~ SELLING COSTS

salesforce and selling costs and expenses

~ ADVERTISING COSTS

advertising costs

COMPANY COMPETITIVE CONSIDERATIONS

~ COMPETITORS' PRICING POLICY

competitors' pricing policies and posture

~ SENSITIVITY TO ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

sensitivity to economic conditions

~ RELATIVE MARKETING SPEND

marketing spend relative to competitors

~ COMPETITORS' AGGRESSIVENESS

aggressiveness of competitors' policies and postures

~ ENTRY OF NEW COMPETITORS

entry of new competitors into the market

~ PRICES AT MSP

prices at manufacturers sales price

~ PRICE INCREASES AT MSP

recent price increases at manufacturing level

~ PRICES AT RSP

prices at retail or End Users sales price

~ MARKET SHARE

market share

 


OPERATIONS STANDING ANALYSIS

Description

RELATIVE REPUTATION

~ OVERALL AWARENESS BY CUSTOMERS

general customer awareness of the company and its products

~ OVERALL REPUTATION

overall reputation

~ REPUTATION OF PRODUCTS

status of products

~ REPUTATION OF PRODUCT QUALITY

ranking of product quality

~ REPUTATION OF SERVICE PROVIDED

standing of service provided

~ REPUTATION OF CUSTOMER HANDLING

position of customer handling and interface

RELATIVE PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY

~ RATING OF OVERALL SALES PROMOTION ACTIVITY

rating of overall sales promotion activity

~ RATING OF ADVERTISING

comprehension of advertising posture and the advertising message

~ RATING OF SALES PERSONNEL

effectiveness of sales personnel: salesforce and ancillary staff

~ RATING OF SALES PRINT

lucidity of sales literature and print

RELATIVE PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

~ RATING OF PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

rating of product general availability

~ RATING OF PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

acceptability of product specifications

~ RATING OF ON-TIME DELIVERY

satisfaction with on-time delivery performance

~ RATING OF COMPLETE ORDER DELIVERY

assurance of complete order delivery performance

~ RATING OF ORDER HANDLING

competence of order handling and order taking

~ RATING OF ABILITY TO SUPPLY

ability to supply products as contracted

RELATIVE TECHNICAL COMPETENCE

~ RATING OF TECHNICAL COMPETENCE

rating of general technical competence

~ RATING OF TECHNICAL AWARENESS

technical expertise and efficacy amongst staff

~ RATING OF PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

application of product technology

~ RATING OF PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION

conciseness of product documentation and instructions

~ RATING OF PRODUCT RETURNS

level of product reject or return rates

~ RATING OF AFTER-SALES SERVICES

status of general after-sales service competence and performance

RELATIVE MARKETING FACTORS

~ PERCEPTION OF PRODUCT PRICES

perception of product prices

~ TECHNICAL SUPERIORITY

ranking of technical superiority

~ SERVICE FACTORS

fulfillment of service undertakings and the quality of service provided

~ PROMPT DELIVERY

assurance of prompt delivery

~ WHOLE ORDER DELIVERY

record of whole order delivery

~ STOCK LEVELS

satisfaction with stock levels

~ ORDERING PROCEDURES

general ease of ordering and procedures used

~ DELIVERY CONVENIENCE

contentment with delivery convenience: scheduling and off-take

~ THE DELIVERY SYSTEM

perception of the distribution system and its efficiency

~ FLEXIBILITY OF CUSTOMER HANDLING

customer handling: flexibility and willingness to co-operate

~ PERCEPTIONS OF TERMS OF TRADING

equity of terms of trading and contractual considerations

RELATIVE STAFF PERFORMANCE

~ INITIAL CONTACT

initial contact and responsiveness

~ ORDER HANDLING STAFF

contact with order handling staff

~ SALES STAFF

negotiations with sales and marketing personnel

~ ADMINISTRATION STAFF

contact with administration and account staff

~ SPECIALIST STAFF

interface with technical and specialist managers and staff

~ SERVICE PERSONNEL

performance of service personnel

RELATIVE CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS

~ UPSTREAM INTEGRATION

relative upstream integration

~ DOWNSTREAM INTEGRATION

perceptions of downstream integration

~ CAPTIVE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

performance of captive distribution channels

~ RELIANCE ON OTHER MANUFACTURERS

reliance on other manufacturers

~ UTILIZATION OF OTHER DISTRIBUTORS

utilization of other distributors

~ BENEFITS OF OTHER MARKETING

benefits of other marketing activity

~ CAPTIVE CUSTOMER BASES

capture and dominance of specific customer bases

RELATIVE DISTRIBUTION CONSIDERATIONS

~ WAREHOUSING & HANDLING

efficiency of warehousing and handling

~ PACKING & PACKAGING

quality and attractiveness of packing and packaging

~ DISTRIBUTION

performance of overall distribution activities

~ STOCK AVAILABILITY

general stock availability

~ ORDER BACKLOG

overall order backlog

RELATIVE CUSTOMER CONSIDERATIONS

~ LOCATION OF CUSTOMERS

geographic location and spread of the customer base

~ CAPTIVENESS OF THE CUSTOMER BASE

captiveness of existing customer bases

~ CUSTOMER BASE LOYALTY

loyalty of the existing customer base

~ CONCENTRATION OF PURCHASES

relative concentration of customer purchases

~ PURCHASE FREQUENCY

frequency of average customer purchases

~ ORDER SIZE

average order size and volume of customer purchase

~ CUSTOMER SERVICING

general level of customer servicing

~ SEASONALITY

seasonality of customer demand for products

RELATIVE PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

~ ADVERTISING & SALES PROMOTION

general advertising and sales promotion message

~ MARKETING

marketing spend: utilization and sales decay

~ SALES PROMOTION

specific sales promotions and activity

~ SALESFORCE

salesforce effectiveness and performance

~ ADVERTISING

advertising efficiency

RELATIVE COMPETITIVE CONSIDERATIONS

~ PRICING POLICY

overall pricing policy and its effectiveness

~ ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

general sensitivity to the economic climate and conditions

~ RELATIVE MARKETING EFFORT

overall competitive marketing effort

~ REACTION TO COMPETITORS

reaction to competitors' policies and activities

~ NEW COMPETITORS

general reaction to the market entry of competitors

~ PRICES AT MSP

attractiveness of ex-factory prices

~ PRICE INCREASES

ability to cope with and re-act to price increases

~ PRICES AT RSP

overall competitiveness of End Users sales prices

~ MARKET SHARE

general relative market share

 


 

OPERATIONAL COVERAGE


This section has the following Operational coverage:-

 

OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT


The following section deals with a number of quantitative issues and questions for the industry Operations. These issues are examined under the following headings:-

PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
SUPPLIES CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
MANPOWER CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
COSTS & MARGIN CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
PRODUCT CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS - for the industry Operations
CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
CUSTOMER CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
COMPETITIVE CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations

The term "Relative" denotes the relationship between the various Operational activities of the industry and marketplace in which it exists.


OPERATIONS STANDING ANALYSIS

OPERATIONAL STANDING


The following section deals with a number of quantitative issues and questions for Operations. These issues are examined under the following headings:-

RELATIVE REPUTATION - of the industry Operations
RELATIVE PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY - by the industry Operations
RELATIVE PRODUCT AVAILABILITY - by the industry Operations
RELATIVE TECHNICAL COMPETENCE - by the industry Operations
RELATIVE MARKETING FACTORS - for the industry Operations
RELATIVE STAFF PERFORMANCE - by the industry Operations
RELATIVE CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS - by the industry Operations
RELATIVE DISTRIBUTION CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
RELATIVE CUSTOMER CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations
RELATIVE PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS - by the industry Operations
RELATIVE COMPETITIVE CONSIDERATIONS - for the industry Operations

The term "Relative" denotes the relationship between the various Operational activities of the industry. The comparison is with the major Operations in the Trade Cell market.