| Sales Prospect, qualify, present and close. Those are the four basic elements of the conventional sales process, which most organizations still follow today. We must deal with complex problems and correspondingly complex solutions that involve multiple decisions and multiple decision-makers. most of whom are having an ever-increasingly hard time understanding how their own problems and the solutions that will best resolve them fit into the dynamic of the rest of the company. |
Business Analysis Business Intelligence is a term introduced by Howard Dresner of Gartner Group in 1989. He described Business Intelligence as a set of concepts and methodologies to improve decision making in business through use of facts and fact based systems. Over time as use of Business Intelligence has become mainstream more definitions of Business Intelligence have emerged. Business intelligence (BI) is a broad category of application programs and technologies for gathering, storing, analyzing, and providing access to data to help enterprise users make better business decisions. |
Retail Retail markets have changed dramatically. Mobile customers, big box stores, and global markets challenge local retailers to stay competitive. It is essential for local businesses and business owners to have information to maintain a competitive retail marketplace in your community. Providing customer service, offering high quality merchandise, and demonstrating community involvement could result in business success for small retailers. However, it was unknown whether these strategies would meet consumers' expectations concerning local small retailers. |
Supply Chain The simplest supply chain addressed is the distribution network. This network is characterized by a flow of finished products between origins and destinations. Origins are facilities that originate freight, typically factory warehouses or distribution centers. Destinations are facilities that receive freight, mainly customer locations. The network could, however, represent an origin of supplier facilities or manufacturing plants and a destination of distribution centers . Simple network optimization typically involves direct shipments from origins to destinations. The analysis can easily be extended to cover multi-tier distribution systems |
Working File
It is interesting to look at the progression of my career and see how much all the disciplines and industries are so inter related. I spent a long time in the transport sector and learned the intricacies of logistics and scheduling for origin to destination. I also spent a lot of time in the liquor industry . I learned the necessity of current inventory and all the complexities of inventory control. I spent several years working in retail marketing, mostly for small stores, but some larger chains as well. Retail is reliant on seasonal fluctuations. It is very important to accurately forecast inventory because of the seasonality of the product. The same can be said for small and mid sized manufacturing companies. They rely on a constant and ready supply of parts in their assembly lines. And, depending on the type of manufacturing they are engaged in, rely heavily on the forecast for sales of finished product. Even the 'Engineer to Order' companies rely on sales forecasts to keep the product and assembly lines flowing. So these disciplines create the Value Chains which are of prime importance in every industry. Below I will try and fill in my experiences in each of the disciplines.