Reference no: EM133022889

Question 1 - Alana Smith is a senior buyer for a large wholesaler that sells different types of arts and crafts to greeting card stores such as Hallmark. Smith's latest marketing strategy is to send all of her customers a new line of handmade picture frames from Russia. All of her information supports her decision for the new line. Her analysis predicts that the frames should sell an average of 10 to 15 per store per day. Smith is excited about the new line and is positive it will be a success. One month later, Smith learns the frames are selling 50 percent below expectations, with an average of between five and eight frames sold daily in each store. She decides to access the company's data warehouse information to determine why sales are below expectations.

Identify several dimensions of information that Smith will want to analyze to help her decide what is causing the problems with the picture frame sales.

Question 2 - The Firestone Tire Company issued a recall for all tires issued on a certain brand of Ford's sport utility vehicles. The tire treads on some SUVs separated during use, which could cause a fatal accident because the defect caused vehicles to roll over. In the beginning, Firestone denied it had a tire problem, stating that Ford had incorrectly matched its SUVs with the wrong brand of tires. It also suggested that the shock absorbers might have been rubbing against the tires, causing the defect. Firestone soon recalled the tires because the company received more and more pressure from government and consumer advocacy groups. Interestingly, all of the defective tires were manufactured at the same tire factory, and the company soon shut down that facility. Information was soon found that Firestone had recalled the identical type of tire in South America and had already settled a lawsuit for an accident caused by the tread defect.

Discuss each of the following factors in relation to this case: quality, inventory, ethics, supply chain visibility, profitability, and customer loyalty.