Focal Point Consultants Essay

While observing CanGo for last two weeks we at FPC (Focal Point Consultants ) have identified some six major issue that we feel should be addressed to allow the organization to better achieve there over all goals. First Concern—Priority 1 CanGo appears to have a financial issue and there is has not been a complete audit to address this issue. Also CanGo needs to learn how to use the resources that they already have and redefine the processes and procedures. First Recommendation The financial team at CanGo needs to work with all the key areas of the company to conduct an audit of current processes. This audit will allow for everyone to review all the current processes that are in place and determine what they can do to enhance them and at the same time the financial team can use this data to outline how much the current processes are costing the company overall. At the conclusion of this analysis the reports will allow for the company to cut spending in the correct areas so that they can improves the others. There are many things that can be done to make improvements without spending money or having to acquire new technology or devices. Within the warehouse for example the layout can be enhanced even more so that people are not wasting time walking. Minor and Major changes to just the layout will allow the CanGo to improve efficiency and overall performance. Each department head needs to complete a detailed time study on the processes they outlined above. Once this time study is complete then the data can be used to see what is taking the longest and make changes to that process. By taking these steps it will allow CanGo to approach improvements in the correct manner by taking those actions that don’t have ny hit to the company’s bottom line. After all these types of changes are complete that is when and only when money should be spent on new technology and devices to make processes more efficient. Second Concern—Priority 2 The loyalty of customers for the specific targeting market is declining. Second Recommendation Think about how you want to be treated as a consumer. Now apply that same concept to the targeting market. Review the evaluations that are submitted by the consumers. It will tell what impression the company is making. Also, spend time in the Customer Service department. This the first point of contact for consumer. How they are handle will determine whether a consumer will return: Customer service might just be the most critical of all in running your business. If your customers like how they are treated, not only will they keep coming back, but they will refer you to others. Treating customers as individuals and not as a stepping stone up your ladder of success can go a long way. Listen to their concerns and build a relationship with them. If your customer feels as though you have their best interest they will be loyal to you. Your customers can really do a lot of your marketing for you. Word of mouth, especially in a world where Facebook and Twitter are some people’s main way of communicating, is a very powerful tool (Debs Marketing Connections, 2012). Third Concern – Priority 3 Online purchases CanGo has talked about that they have a high rate of items added to the online shopping cart. Although this information does not support the amount of purchases actually received via CanGo’s online website. Third Recommendation  Having a high rate of items added to an online shopping cart means that you have a good storefront and getting customer’s to actually place the items within there shopping carts. This is only one piece of the multipart puzzle. The shopping site needs to be enhanced to entice the customer to actually complete their purchase as that is how we are going to make money overall. Since there is a high traffic volume to the website we would also recommend that the marketing team reach out to a third party website advertising company that will pay to place ads on CanGo’s website. This will drive also be another source of revenue for CanGo so they can then reinvest this money back into the company. Fourth Concern – Priority 4 While Reviewing the video’s from weeks 3 and 4 I saw a issue that they is an issue within the warehouse and they do have a solution but no really reviewed the reports that Debbie provided. I think that these reports should have been reviewed while in the meeting so that they could have discussed all the points of the issue and the recommended solution to the warehouse productivity issue. Then Liz asked the group a question I wonder how the board will feel about this recommendation. Fourth Recommendation A solution to this problem would be to complete a full audit of the issue and do a trial run analysis of the proposed solution. This would allow for recommendations to be made to the board and the results of the proposed solution can be given right away. As people need to see measurable figures so that they can tell if something will be worth putting the time and money into the project. Fifth Concern – Priority 5  In the week 4 Videos they are talking about the market segment of boys in Japan. They ask each other questions about how they can get the market analysis complete and then the gentlemen having lunch say that I will do it. Fifth Recommendation There are a couple of thing on this problem that needs to be solved first managers should not interrupt an employee’s lunch unless it is extremely urgent. This is an issue because the employee stated he is â€Å"Just trying to enjoy my lunch break†. The Manager should have approached the employee at a later time when he was not at lunch. Then there is the issue of the market analysis. This assignment should get assigned out to a third party marketing company that can tap into the market in Japan and gauge what the consumer wants. This would be a lot more cost effective than attempting the complete this analysis on their own and wasting resources that they don’t have in the first place. Sixth Concern – Priority 6 Sales are not increasing as projected for the company possibly due to the design of the online purchasing process. Sixth Recommendation Place a test run on the current online purchase process as a consumer. Time the entire process to see how long it takes. As the test run is being completed, keep the consumers’ needs and wants in mind. Determine if needs were met as well as satisfied. View the information available to see if it’s appealing to lead to the purchase the item. Also, notate likes and dislikes of the experience. Have a group of employees to assist to gather more information for comparison. Determine what updates can be implemented to entice the consumer to make a purchase. Keep track of different trends to keep a competitive edge for things like: 1.  In-store pick up. In the past few months we’ve seen Walmart implement in-store pick up for orders placed online, while Sears and Kmart are going a step further bringing online purchases out to your car. In Chicago, Sears and Kmart are even testing home delivery and bundling items with those from its retail partners at Sears’ Marketplace, further blurring the lines between online only retailers and those that came before. And in Florida, Farm Stores lets shoppers order groceries online and pick up at a drive through. 2. Pick up depots.  Smaller retailers without a vast network of stores like Walmart or Sears may open designated pick up locations for goods ordered online. Retail consultant Neil Stern of McMillan/Doolittle points to French retailer Chronodrive. com as an example. 3. Mobile Apps. Smartphones are the dominant cell phone and apps for all platforms are growing. The ones that allow for price comparisons or send out coupons are already among the most heavily used with good reviews, but we’re just getting started. 4. Less flash more function. Forget about flashy apps or features like virtual dressing rooms.  Consumers haven’t responded to these and rightly so. Maybe the technology will get there, but until it does, user reviews are better gauges of clothing fit and quality than any technology can offer. 5. Video. Look for more user-generated video on retail sites. Retailers are letting customers upload video clips modeling new clothes or using a new purchase. Davis believes this is one trend that will definitely pick up speed. 6. Social networking. Facebook and Twitter aren’t even close to played out yet. Consumers can increasingly â€Å"like† or follow a favorite retailer and get discounts or tips on deals.  JCPenney is using Facebook to actually sell goods and more than 12 million consumers â€Å"like† Victoria’s Secret on Facebook as of last month (March), making it the most popular retailer on the site (its Pink brand ranks No. 2, according to the ChannelAdvisor Facebook Commerce Index). That’s an active population of customers reaching out and requesting information from the retailer. And social shopping is just getting started, says Jim Okamura, managing partner at Okamura Consulting, a group specializing in online retail. There’s evidence (that Facebook offers) a good return on investment and there are a lot of retailers that haven’t done anything yet,† he says. â€Å"This is going to be the year of Facebook testing. 7. Daily deals and flash sales. This may seem like a very crowded playing field, but sites like Ruelala and OneKingsLane are reproducing at a furious pace. And based on how quickly many items sell out, often within minutes of email notifications going out, more will jump on this popular trend. 8. Retail based social networks. This is one trend experts don’t expect to happen at any large level. Sears is still trying to build a social network of its own customers and Walmart tried and abandoned a similar effort, neither attempt bodes well for its success. Facebook really owns this space, but look for small, focused sites to create communities of like-minded users, says Okamura. 9. International. â€Å"There’s been an accelerating trend in international or cross border e commerce, of small niche online retailers are now doing 10-20% of their sales outside of their own country,† says Okamura. Look to online shops like SousVide Supreme that sells specialized cooking equipment and StyleTrek. com, a community built to launch up and coming international designers as models. Other big name retailers like Zara and Top Shop are building out their online business to reach U. S. shoppers, even as the store base grows more slowly. 10. Deal aggregators. Of course there are always deal sites, like Dealnews, ConsumerSearch, FatWallet and Brad’s Deals that are cutting through the din of so many sites and sales to bring consumers only the information they’re interested in. (Forbes, 2012).