Professional Documents
Culture Documents
media, as its executive VP and CFO. She earned a B.S. degree in industrial engineering from
Cornell University and also holds an M.B.A. from Ohio State University.
Company Goal: Expand the Product Line
TheZones strength as a company lies in its design, marketing, and distribution capabilities. The
company retains in-house manufacturing for some key products, such as certain shoes and skis,
but has also been able to expand its product lines through acquisition. The Company usually
targets business that are struggling with manufacturing costs, but have strong product designs
that will fit well within TheZone brand image. TheZone works with its manufacturing partners to
bring the costs under control. From its humble beginnings over 20 years ago, TheZone has
grown into an international sporting goods company with hundreds of product in the sports
equipment, apparel, and footwear market segments of the industry.
How is Excel Used at TheZone?
Employees of TheZone use Excel in the day-to-day management of business functions across the
company, such as the following specific examples:
Finance: The finance group is looking at different pricing alternatives for a new shoe being
designed. This group is also using Excel to analyze projected revenues and costs/expenses for a
new swimwear product, primarily to decide whether to carry the new product, and if so, to help
set a pricing policy for it.
Marketing: The marketing group uses Excel to monitor and chart both industry trends and
company performance for all of its product lines.
Accounting: The accounting group monitors accounts receivable to determine what terms should
be offered to the companys customers based on payment history and credit rating. This group is
also using Excel to develop a projected income statement for a new sunglasses product line.
Operations Management: The operations management group is using Excel to monitor quality
control values in an effort to identify production problems in the ski product line. This group is
also looking at ways to optimize production schedules and product distribution (transportation)
for other product lines.
Sales: The sales group is using Excel to create a tool that will help the sales force quickly price
product orders. This group, along with the marketing group, is also analyzing different marketing
plans/options for the sweatshirt category of apparel products.
Human Resources: The human resources group is using Excel to compile and track data about
the companys employees, which can then be used to create summary reports and calculate
certain information based on salary data.