Case Study A-6 Appendix A:Sales Analysis at the Chemgrow Company At Chemgrow, getting the appropriate information to complete

and implement plans has always been done on an as needed, in-crisis basis. There was little systematic evaluation of sales data available to make sound, informed decisions. Now this void is to be filled so that adequate information is available for decision concerning sales planning and control. This case focuses on:

The importance of organizing sales information for effective use in making decisions. The difficulty of evaluating salesperson performance when the manager must consider multiple sales and marketing factors.

The usefulness of evaluating different customers and their purchases over time. Read the case carefully and use the data in the tables accompanying the case to answer the following questions. It will be useful to calculate the total tonnage for each region for the three-year period. Over the three year period: 1. Which region is the most productive by gross margin? By tonnage shipped? Assume average gross margins as follows:
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Ammonia: $14 per ton Phosphates: $12 per ton Potash: $10 per ton

2. Who is the most outstanding sales person based on gross margin earned? 3. Who are the top 15 most valuable customers based on gross margin? 4. What computer reports should be generated on a regular basis to assist the managers in their evaluations?

INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

A typical case study is a written narrative of some real life event, situation, or experience centered in a problem or issue faced by a person, group of persons, organization, community, or even an entire society. Case studies require that you develop solutions to the problems posed. Youll find that some case studies are written to seem incomplete, and this is intentional on the part of the author. There is always some uncertainty about exactly what happened and why, and, whatever happened is also open to multiple interpretations. Youll rely on the acquired concepts and frameworks from the course to "fill in the blanks." The central purpose of preparing case analysis is to improve your ability to identify and isolate major problems and to offer practical solutions for an organization in a particular situation. Put another way, the purpose is to improve your analytical skills in offering penetrating insights into marketing problems. Below is the suggested outline for the preparation of your case analyses for this course: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Summarize the companys marketplace situation. Identify salient problems and issues. Determine key decision-making criteria. Propose alternative solutions to each problem and issue. Recommend solutions using decision criteria.

Please submit your analyses in 3-5 page double-spaced, type-written documents. Please be sure to proofread and spell-check your analyses before turning them in.