Logistics and Supply Chain Management Case Study: Telco Corporation

Assessment Type: Case study Telco Corporation case 8.1 – individual assessment -3000 + 10% report

Assessment Type: Case study Telco Corporation case 8.1 – individual assessment -3000 + 10% report. Remember the central theme of this case and of the subject is Logistics and supply chain management and as such answers should reflect this theme. Purpose: To allow students to further develop and apply the knowledge and skills of the subject to real world organisations. This assessment relates to Learning Outcomes a, b, c and d. Value: 30% Due Date: Week 10 – 5.00 pm Wednesday May 27th 2015 Submission: Electronic submission – upload a Word .doc or .docx to Moodle and Turnitin Task Details...... After reading the case study on Telco (page 307), prepare a 3000 – 3500 word report ( executive summary, table of contents body, conclusions and recommendations) analysing the issues in the case, and identify logistics management strategies that enable the company to claw back profits. Incorporate any examples of sustainability that the company engages in or you can suggest. Use a minimum of 15 academic journal articles, plus the text supporting your identification of problems and proposals / recommendations to resolve the questions. In your report you need to consider the 5 questions and as a report these should have separate subheadings : Research Requirements........ Use a minimum of 10 academic journal articles, plus the text supporting your identification of problems and proposals / recommendations to resolve the questions. It is envisaged a Credit grade would require up to 20 references with a minimum of 16 academic journalsTo be considered relevant, reference sources should be used correctly to support the discussion, analysis and recommendations, so take care to carefully link the case elements and discussion / analysis to correctly referenced logistics concepts and modelsArticles chosen need to be recent (written since at least 2008) and relevant to both the topic and context of the assessment task. Additional non-academic sources may also be used, however students need to show an understanding of their validity. Sources such as Wiki…, scribed.com, docstore.com, etc. are not considered acceptable sources and should not be used – reliance on such sources will result in a fail grade. Presentation: Report format – 3000 - 3500 word Word.doc or Word.docx (word count applies to content only, not title page, executive summary, table of contents and reference list). Responses should have a title page attached reflecting the content and the author, executive summary, table of contents, introduction, suitable headings and sub-headings to cover the relevant content and elements of analysis, conclusion, recommendations, reference list/bibliography, appendices (if relevant). Harvard referencing (Anglia version) is to be used. Remember, in business today, to even get your business applications read, let alone considered.How should Telco approach segmenting its customers?That is  on what basis service profitability should the customers be segmented?

How should Telco tailor its service offerings to each customer segment?

Introduction

The segmentation of customers is done to target specific groups of customers and a segmentation process in a company helps the company to effective allocate the marketing resources as well as the supply and logistics chain for the maximization of company sales, revenue and profits. Effective segmentation of customers allows companies to create and target marketing activities as well as target resources to suit the needs of the most profitable customer first and then the rest in a sequential manner (Zahay, 2008). Special services and customer care can be provided according to the segmentation where the customer that provides or is likely to provide the most revenue and the profits to a company can be targeted so that more revenue is generated and more profits are made (Ranjan & Agarwal, 2009).

In the case at hand, Telco Corporation is facing a peculiar problem. While the sales of the company are going up along with the revenue, the profits of the company are not going up in a similar manner. This is a baffling situation for a company that has six divisions and there are customers who purchase the products of the company from more than one section. The company bosses identified the problem to being one that is due to the use of company logistics to satisfy customers. The cost of the logistics that are used to meet customer’s demands and ensure a high degree of customer service during sales and even after sales is eating into the profits of the company. Therefore the company now needs to segment its customers so that the ones that provides more profitable business be identified with the ultimate aim of increasing the profitability of the company.

Customer segmentation of Telco Corporation

Increased customer service, be that through efficient logistic allocation for the customer or through special services, can able to create customer satisfaction. The creation of customer satisfaction can help companies improve customer loyalty and retention. The personalized service to customers, the personalized allocation of company resources to suit customer needs and requirements eventually would tend to be more valued and appreciated by the customer who receives them (Zahay, 2008). This is very different from getting a general service that is not personalized or customized. All this is made possible through the identification of the value of a customer which is again possible through efficient customer segmentation.