ISYS2059: “Taps Galore” is a Specialist Online Store, Situated in Singapore: Business Information Systems Assignment, RMIT, Singapore

Case Study

“Taps Galore” is a specialist online store, situated in Singapore and was recently established by owners Jamie and Xin Rong.  It sells a limited range of tapware at discounted prices.

Jamie and Xin Rong currently stock a range of taps from eight manufacturers.  They advertise on social media and supply four different ranges – value, standard, supreme, and superior.  They have calculated different discounts for each manufacturer based on the tap range.  They believe that customers buying ‘value’ items will be more focused on ‘discounts’ than customers who purchase more expensive tapware.

Jamie and Xin Rong buy the tapware at cost price and sell at the recommended retail price less than the advertised discount. Jamie and Xin Rong charge a flat rate of $9.99 for delivery but have recently noticed that several of their competitors have begun to offer deals which include free delivery.

Jamie and Xin Rong conducted extensive market research before setting up the business.  Since their first sale in January 2018theyhaverecorded the details of all sales in an excel spreadsheet. They have asked you to use the data provided in the spreadsheet to complete relevant calculations and to use Excel ‘tools’ to analyze the data provided. They then require you to write a business report which analyses and discusses both the past profitability of the business and the various options available to help increase future profitability.

Jamie and Xin Rongare are interested in both the popularity and profitability of different manufacturers and ranges. They hope you can provide some insight regarding, the type of tapware the should focus their efforts on. They also want to identify their best customers so that they can market to them appropriately. In addition, they want to have some ideas of potential growth in the coming months and the likely effect on the business if they offered free delivery for all purchases over $100.00.

A spreadsheet has been provided containing the data for “Taps Galore” sales for2018 and 2019.

Requirements and Specifications

You are expected to undertake descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analysis of the data that Jamie and Xin Rong have maintained over the past two years. The results of the analysis are then required to be presented in a professionally organized report with respect to the requirements of the owners above and some specific expectations as follows:

• Provide an overview of gross profit trends, undertaking both descriptive and predictive analysis.
• Discuss the results of your descriptive analysis and the options for future sales growth based on the requirements of Jamie and Xin Rong.
• Identify and discuss the potential effects on the business if ‘Taps Galore’ offered free delivery for all purchases over $100.00. Do you believe this is a good option? Why?
• Make three recommendations with regards to future changes which might assist in further improving the profitability of the business. Briefly justify these recommendations (i.e. prescribe what should be done and why this would be helpful, drawing on your predictive and prescriptive analysis).

Preparing the Business Report

Report structure

The analysis, findings, and recommendations which you prepare for Jamie and Xin Rong should be outlined in a professional business report. This report should include

• A title page – with a relevant graphic, report title, student name/number, course name (Business Information Systems), course number (ISYS2059), your workshop time, and your workshop tutors’ names.
• A Table of Contents (TOC) automatically generated by Microsoft Word.  Default settings for the table of contents should not be altered.
• A brief introduction which outlines clearly the purpose of the report.
• A discussion regarding the results of your analysis.  Relevant descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analysis has been included.
• Relevant charts and tables which are labeled correctly and assist the reader in understanding the results of your analysis
• A short concluding summary of the major findings of the report. (supported by relevant data: eg, revenue, costings, etc)
• Clear recommendations that the business owner can adopt. These recommendations must be drawn from the analysis you have carried out and must have been discussed in the body of your report.