A Written Analysis of Case

Submitted to
TERESITA VILLA G. LACABA, D.M.

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for (BA 332)

OPERATIONS MANAGE MENT

By

Ogaya, Risea Zhainne Joyce A.

Caibog, Albec Jade D.

Bantilan, Shirlyn M.

Gallenero, Leslie Y.

Pareno, James C.

Adesna, Zyryl L.

April 2023
 I. Executive Summary
Cartes sans Frontières (CSF) is a € multi-million organization that produces maps for the
European traveler. Based at Lyons in France, CSF produces several different types of products ranging
from large scale (1:10,000) to small scale (1:100,000) maps, road atlases and travel guides. A Surveying
and Designs Division does the designs and earns substantial royalties by licensing those designs to
various external organizations. Small scale maps are produced in five major ranges for different
European countries as follows: France: covered by 510 individual maps (called ‘sheets’), with annual
sales of some 1.5 m sheets.; UK: covered by 220 sheets, with annual sales of about 1.0 m ; Italy: covered
by 260 sheets, with annual sales of about 0.7 m ; Germany: covered by 320 sheets, with annual sales of
about 1.2 m ; Spain: covered by 460 sheets, with annual sales of about 0.8 m. Sales for smaller west
European and east European countries total some 1.0 m sheets.

All maps are available either as folded (and mounted on card), or as unfolded sheets. Average
annual sales per sheet show a typical Pareto pattern, with a few ‘blockbusters’ at one end and a lengthy
‘tail’ of maps that show only small annual sales per sheet.

II. Case Evaluation

When asked why there was such a lengthy tail of maps with low annual sales, the Sales Manager
replied: ‘Regional maps are a more complex business than, say, the mass market for books. The reason
is that a customer in the north of France will not sell the same maps as someone in the south of the
country. These are just two of the many possible extremes. Our top selling maps very much focus on the
key holiday areas. But that doesn’t mean to say that someone in the Côte d’Azur would sell the same
maps as someone on the west coast. It is important that a customer can go into a shop anywhere in our
chosen territories and find the local maps on display.’

Another characteristic of map sales is that there is a strong seasonal peak around Easter. This
can be described, in broad terms, as consisting of two distinct levels of demand. The first, lower level
occurs from September through to January. During this period, monthly sales volumes amount to
between 5 per cent and 7 per cent of the annual total. The second, higher level of demand occurs from
April through to August. During this period, monthly sales volumes amount to between 9 per cent and
11 per cent of the annual total. The transition between these two levels of demand is marked by a
significant growth in sales during February that continues and peaks in March, where sales are 13 per
cent of the annual total. The March peak is more than double the sales typically made during the winter
months and around a third more than sales during the summer months.

Another proof that there is a connection between the seasons and sales is the dispatch of
ordered products wherein the corporate target level, that is the percentage of orders dispatched to
meet this level of dispatch performance, is 88 per cent. While this is exceeded most of the time, the
service level provided to a key customer was reported by its sales Manager to have been much lower at
certain times – particularly around Easter – during the last 12 months. These periods of low service were
stated to have been caused by problems with the contract logistics service provider.
 III. Proposed Solutions

A possible solution for the problem of seasonal sales is to find out locations that don’t rely on
seasons to generate sales and locations that do. Then only boost production on locations that rely on
seasons during the season that sales are increased. Then on seasons that they are not generating strong
sales reduce production to lessen costs and focus on locations that doesn’t rely on seasons. In a blog
post concerning 7 Ways to Conquer Seasonality in Your Business by Data Axle Genie one should “Know
the Highs and Lows of Your Industry”.

The most successful business owners know when their sales soar and fall. Take note of when
your sales are at their best and when they tend to be shaky. This can help you adjust your finances, debt
to income ratio, and future product orders.

Concerning the problem that maps aren’t like books in the way that maps are only sought by
costumers if they are in their local area, they should lessen sales of maps that aren’t related to the local
area of sales, or at the least only sell maps that are popular like maps of tourist spots and famous places.

IV. Recommendations

The required strategies for our proposed solutions are:

Research what’s expected in your industry.

-With any business, research is important. This holds true for seasonal businesses, too. Before
you start out, you should have some idea of expected income and have done research into seasonal
fluctuations. Most businesses are affected by seasonality to an extent, whereas some need to entirely
scale back operations like ski resorts, holiday rentals, lawn care services, or snow removal. Look into
what is expected in your industry and learn about any new trends. You could even talk to other
businesses in your sector and ask them how they’ve been impacted. What level of fluctuation can you
expect? How do they cope with it? Once you have a better understanding of the market you’re working
with, put together an action plan on how to handle each holiday or event.

Data insights are imperative.

-Knowledge of how to run a seasonal business is key during fluctuations. Data insights are
imperative – stay on top of it, so you know what to expect throughout each month or year. Your
seasonal business might have peaks and troughs at different times, while others may only experience
one or two busy periods a year. It’s important to stay on top of data insights during seasonal
fluctuations, especially if you want to know how they’re reacting to different events. Keeping up-to-date
with this information will mean that you can keep up with the demand which is essential when it comes
to managing a business like this. Are you running a seasonal company? We’d love to know what industry
you are in, what your busiest times are, and how you’re coping with seasonality. Let us know in the
comments; Share your business’s name and a short description.
Maximize your downtime.

-Downtime is a crucial factor when considering how well you’ll be able to handle your business’s
increased workload in peak seasons. You will need some downtime away from work in order to remain
productive and healthy. When it comes to how to run a seasonal business, making sure that you take
enough vacation time or put aside days off can help you stay fresh and ready for work. This will also
allow you to remain productive throughout busy periods without burning out. For instance, many
restaurants close for several weeks during their slowest months of the year (i.e., January and February)
so that staff members can spend time with family or enjoy some well-deserved rest away from work.
Don’t completely close shop during the slow season. Instead, take some time to reassess your business
practices and ways of thinking. This way, you won’t become too reliant on peak periods for survival. You
can also catch up on other business tasks you can’t do when you’re busy, like general paperwork or
planning your next newsletter. Schedule social media posts or draft an email campaign, so it’s all just
ready to go when bookings pick up and you haven’t got the time.

While the people responsible to implement the solutions and follow the strategies behind the
proposed solutions are Data Collectors, or any manager and higher ups that have substantial control
over the business. The issue that may come up that deserves further analysis and supervision is that
maps are becoming more and more obsolete during these times where we can access maps through our
phones. Thus, they should find ways of competing with the modern competition that are increasingly
becoming more popular.

V. References

7 Ways to Conquer Seasonality in Your Business

https://www.dataaxlegenie.com/blog/7-ways-to-conquer-seasonality-in-your-business/
Tips for Managing a Seasonal Business
https://resources.10to8.com/blog/tips-for-all-seasonal-businesses/