CANGO's FINAL REPORT THE VET'S SUMMARY (we can remove these heading later of you guys want, making sure we hit all components) CanGo is a leader in...

THE VET'S

SUMMARY (we can remove these heading later of you guys want, making sure we hit all components)

CanGo is a leader in e-commerce entertainment that retails the most exciting website for a variety of cutting edge products and services ranging from books and videos to online gaming services. They target customers who enjoy the latest in online entertainment and games with the majority of their customers being Gen-Xers and Yers.

CanGo was founded by Elizabeth who developed the company over ten years; her experience and education helped improve her vision of a business environment centered on the internet revolution. Elizabeth has the desire to expand the business to enhance her company’s competitive edge and growth opportunities; so she has hired The Veteran’s Expert Techie Service (The VET’s) to identify strengths, weaknesses, and threats; perform financial, market, competitive, and human capital analysis to find solutions to overcome any roadblocks refraining CanGo from expanding their online gaming service or achieve their strategic (long and short-term) goals. The VET’s will provide employment training and make preliminary recommendations in planning, personal shopper marketing, inter-link products, out source possibility and finance for management to make strategic decision for CanGo to remain on the forefront.

Currently, CanGo has no structure despite their success; there’s no mission, vision or value statements; there’re working on a project for a new system that no financial, market, competitive or SWOT analysis have been established and it’s unknown whether the company will be able to utilize the new system because the cost may exceed the company’s budget; there’s a large amount of product being shipped to Japan, and the numbers are rising which signifies a potential global target for better sales; and there’s lack of communication among management and staff. Working towards a common goal as a team play’s an important role for CanGo, first The Vet’s must define CanGo’s purpose and primary objectives.

The mission, vision and value statement lay out CanGo’s main goal in a clear concise manner and allows all employees to work towards the same objective. The subsequent statements are recommended by The VET’s:

MISSION

CanGo strives to provide our customers with the most exciting entertainment by employing the latest technology in web-site development, product innovation, and services.

“Dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experience……ever”!

To be the trendiest global web-site for a variety of cutting edge products , and services ranging from books and videos to online gaming services.

VALUES

CanGo’s four core values represent the principles and beliefs that have guided our company though this short period. These values are reflected in employee’s decisions and actions everyday.

1. GAME-PLAY FIRST: Everything we do at CanGo is based on the success of the gaming experience we provide our players. The goal of each discipline within the company -- be it art, programming or customer support -- to make our games as fun as possible for as many people as we can reach.

2. PLAY NICE; PLAY FAIR: First impressions are important, but lasting impressions are everything. We strive to maintain a high level of respect and integrity in all interactions with our players, colleagues and

business partners.

3. LEAD RESPONSIBILY: Our products and practices can affect not only our employees and players – but the industry at large. As one of the leading start-up gaming companies, we’re committed to making and setting a strong example of professionalism and excellence at all times.

4. THINK GLOBALLY: While respecting the cultural diversity that makes people unique, we strive to grow and support our global gaming community. We also seek the most passionate, talented people in the world to enrich our company and help us build the future vision of CanGo.

SWOT - REBECCA (going by what we said in class Tuesday night – inform from the 1st and 2nd video analysis)

Situation analysis

The second step in addressing the problems faced by CanGo is represented by the analysis of the company. At this level, it is important to identify the points of strength and weakness as they arise from within the company’s internal environment, as well as the threats and opportunities presented by the external environment. These issues are best addressed throughout the following SWOT analysis:

All in all, CanGo is presented with both strengths and opportunities, but also with challenges and weaknesses. Its future scope is that of combining its strengths and opportunities in a means in which it manages to overcome its shortages and threats.

Issues facing CanGo

In order to develop the measures to helping the firm attain its objectives, it is first necessary to identify the specific issues which face it. In other words, at this level, it is necessary to pin point the issues which raise the most problems for CanGo. The lines below list these in order of importance:

1. Low levels of employee morale and performance

2. Restricted financial resources

3. Uncertainties attached to the available inventory

4. Limited time until launch and until the commencement of the holiday season

5. Lack of employee training and expertise with internet operations

6. Lack of experience with internet gaming.

Recommendations

Each of the problems above is crucial and its resolution is vital to ensuring that CanGo is able to successfully complete the two projects it set out to complete – the preparation for the holiday season and the launching of the online gaming site. Additionally, it is important for the strategic efforts to resolving these issues to be implemented in the correct order; otherwise the results would be different from the ones actually expected. In this order of ideas, the recommendations and the order of importance are listed below:

1. Improving employee morale

2. Providing training programs

3. Communicating with employees on the necessity to be quick and efficient

4. The implementation of stricter financial controls

5. Implementation of superior inventory management

6. Development and promotion of a marketing campaign promoting CanGo’s online gaming site.

The improvement of employee morale is the first and foremost important strategy that has to be implemented at CanGo. Only by having a strong and committed staff will the company be able to overcome all challenges. In this order of ideas, the following specific recommendations are made in this direction:

• The company should stimulate communications to strengthen an organizational culture based on openness

• The company should provide the employees with a wide array of non-financial incentives, such as flexible working schedule or training programs

• The company should provide performance based compensations, including the issuing of Christmas bonuses based on performance. Such a measure would stimulate the staffs to increase their efforts and better support the organization in reaching its objectives (Evans, 2010).

The provision of training programs is the second most important strategy to implement and it sees that the company develops training programs through which the staff members are taught how to operate with the new technologies. This creates a context in which the new online gaming site would be best administered, but also the employees would feel supported in their path towards career development (Barrett, 2003).

Also at this stage, it is important to engage the employees in the organizational processes in a way that they comprehend the importance of quick and efficient operations. This strategy becomes interconnected with the first one, of stimulating employees.

Fourth, it is important to ensure that all strategies implemented by the firm are in full alignment with strict financial controls in the meaning that they consume as little financial resources as possible. Caution and consideration are the elements of investments at CanGo. Additionally, these principles would also be implemented at the level of inventory management. At this level, the company should devise more efficient strategies to control its inventory. It would for instance be useful to integrate technologic tools in inventory management so that the managers are always aware of the stocks available and the necessary items to still produce.

Finally, a last challenge faced by CanGo is represented by its limited presence in the field of internet gaming. To address this issue, the organization should develop an advertising and promotional campaign to promoting the new service and to attracting new customers. The campaign would feature advertisements issued through numerous media channels. Within the advertisements, CanGo would promote the features of the site, as well as the benefits which would be registered by the customers upon usage of the website (Trehan and Trehan).

All in all, CanGo is facing challenges attached mainly to its internal features, but through gradual processes of consolidation, all of these challenges can be overcome and the company would become able to successfully complete its two critical processes.

Market/Competitive Analysis - ROSE

Financial Analysis - Cnythia

Strategic Planning Recommendations/Conclusion - Brian (left this in case you can use)

VET’S RECOMMENDATION:

We recommend that CanGo complete a financial analysis because all information or research will be able to tell if the new system will be beneficial to the company or exceed its budget. If the new system is more they have the option to start with only one ASRS system but as the business grows they can add an additional ASRS. Also, they can analysis the growth potential of one or two ASRS in sales and shipments; increasing shipment will be a great competitive advantage or capability for CanGo to capitalize on expanding new markets(s).

According to Radhid Javed, “when working on a project there are some important steps that must be followed to ensure a project is successful; a financial analysis; which will determine the amount of employees, equipment and tools needed for the project; a time table; and overall budget for the project. Without this information the company could be in a position where the project will fail from the start; to produce or implement a financial analysis it’s critical to produce a justification of the time, people and money you spend on the project” (Javed, 2012).

ISSUE 2:

CanGo personnel have a lack of communication between its employees or concerns dealing with issues pertaining to the business immediate action; it appears the staff is not reliable in completing assigned tasks in a timely manner.

VET’RECOMMENDATION:

Hearst Communications Website states, “Companies rely on internal employee communication to stay productive and finish projects and work by deadline(s). When employee’s communication breakdown; companies operate less effectively and experience culture issues that make employees less focused” (Hearst Communication Inc., 2012). There are many types of communication but they can be classified into the following four basic types:

1. Verbal which includes sound, words, language aids and speaking;

2. Non-Verbal which involves physical ways like tone of voice, touch, smells and body motion;

3. Written which is wiring the words that you want to communicate; and

4. Visual is a display like photography, signs, symbols and designs.

Effective communication is essential for success of any type of business and the key to getting employees to communicate better and to keeping CanGo’s progress on track is to build a quality interaction between the employees and management teams. Breaking through the barriers and training employees and managers to work together will help CanGo attain the strategic vision and goals of Company.

ISSUE 3:

According to Jack, CanGo’s biggest problem is the jumbled flow of books and long search times picking books in the warehouse.

VET’S RECOMMENDATION:

We recommended that flow chart(s) be used to help CanGo understand their process in the book flow and picking process; to uncover ways to improve; and help receptionist direct calls to the correct department. A flowchart is a simple tool that show the sequence of action within a process which will determine who is involved; form theories about cause; identify ways to streamline the process; determine how to implement changes; and act as a visual aid for training on how the process works or should work. Mind Tools, provides an example below to shows part of a simple flow chart which helps receptionists’ route incoming phone calls to the correct department in a company:

:

The Vets also need to be aware that several things can go wrong creating flowcharts that may interfere with the interpretation and full understanding of the process; for instance: bottlenecks, the points that slows down and cause redundant or unnecessary steps, rework, lack of capacity or other factors; poorly defined steps may be interpreted and performed in a different way by each person involved, leading to process variation; and weak links that occur because inadequate training of workers, equipment needs repairing or replace or insufficient technical documentation.

CanGo competitive edge is closely linked to its ability to do things well. In other words, its process; that’s why the ASRS need to receive the data directly and inventory data should be linked directly to an integrated system. Effective communication at CanGo is an integral component to their success; communication issues will cost them productivity and money! Without efficient communication CanGo is unable to exchange information essential to daily operations or share product data or strategies for the new online gaming project. Lastly, creating a flowchart can help develop a visual understanding of how information, data, and ideas flow together.

ISSUE 4

CanGo has a very large amount of online customers that are not completing there order. Upwards of seventy five percent of the customers that visit the site are either just looking through the site and not happy with what they are seeing or they are adding items to the cart and not completing the sale.

VET’S RECOMMENDATION:

We recommend that CanGo determine exactly what percentages of their customers do not purchase the items in there cart. They also have to determine at what point are the customers leaving the site without finishing the final transaction. To better retrieve such information CanGo can implement the use of a VALS2 system. This system will allow them to follow exactly what the customers are doing while they are on the site. They can then take that information and take steps in keeping the customers, such as site redesign, eleviate unnecessary steps in the shopping process and so forth.

ISSUE 5

Unbeknownst to the online ordering staff, there is a very large amount of product being shipped to Japan, and the numbers are on the rise. This signifies a good market and on that has major potential to be targeted for even better sales, if the proper people know.

VET’S RECOMMENDATION:

To make a greater impact on this market, there needs to be target research done. This research will more precise information concerning the areas in Japan that there are the greatest sales, and the products that are being purchased the most by these customers. The online sales staff should get weekly reports to analyze this type of information. With reports from the shipping department we can determine what type of customer is buying what items, we can go further and analyze the differences between the Japanese customer and other customers in other major markets, this will give us a better understanding on how to make the site more appealing to the other markets and keep those customers there through the entire shopping process.

ISSUE 6

The implementation of an AS/RS. Is this a good investment?

VET RECOMMENDATIONS

We believe that CanGo needs to upgrade their work-flow technology and go ahead with an Automated Retrieval/Storage System (AS/RS) and Bar-coding. This will help increase the volume shipped or to ship double the number of titles at the same cost. If the system proves to be beneficial, they can even implement more than one AS/AR system. This system will prove to be cost-efficient for the company and will give CanGo a strategic advantage they need to survive in the competitive market.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barrett, R., 2003, Training, developing and motivating people, Nelson Thornes

Evans, J.R., 2010, Quality and performance excellence, 6th edition, Cengage Learning

Trehan, M., Trehan, R., Advertising and sales management, FK Publications

MindTools, LTD. (1996-2012). Retrieved January 24, 2012, from Flow Charts: Understand and Communicating How a Process Works: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_97.htm

Hearst Communication Inc. (2012). Retrieved January 28, 2012, from Chron.com: http://www.chron.com/

Javed, R. (2012). Ezine Articles. Retrieved January 26, 2012, from EzineArticles.com: http://www.accountingformanagement.com/accounting_ratios.htm

Class Videos. (2012, January 24). Cango Quicktime Videos [Video File]. Videos listed on http://www.devryu.net/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3680404&CPURL=www.devryu.n et&Survey=1&47=5655192&ClientNodeID=906358&coursenav=0&bhcp=1