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- Creators: Department of Supply Chain Management
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The client detailed in this report is a premier continuing healthcare education organization providing a variety of homeopathic therapy classes for its students. The purpose of this paper is to showcase a business plan that will help dictate the basic structure of the client's business once they are independent of their current managing company. Extensive analysis, primarily based upon online market research and personal correspondence with the client, was conducted for this report. Detailed within this paper are several areas where the client can significantly lower costs and increase future revenues by modifying practices employed by the managing company. From the analysis provided, the client has the opportunity to create and grow a well-organized, profitable business with a sustainable future.
ContributorsMionis, Erika (Co-author) / Lee, Betty (Co-author) / Coult, Natasha (Co-author) / Brooks, Dan (Thesis director) / Chikly, Bruno (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The current model of revenue generation for some free to play video games is preventing the companies controlling them from growing, but with a few changes in approach these issues could be alleviated. A new style of video games, called a MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) has emerged in the past few years bringing with it a new style of generating wealth. Contrary to past gaming models, where users must either purchase the game outright, view advertisements, or purchase items to gain a competitive advantage, MOBAs require no payment of any kind. These are free to play computer games that provides users with all the tools necessary to compete with anyone free of charge; no advantages can be purchased in this game. This leaves the only way for users to provide money to the company through optional purchases of purely aesthetic items, only to be purchased if the buyer wishes to see their character in a different set of attire. The genre’s best in show—called League of Legends, or LOL—has spearheaded this method of revenue-generation. Fortunately for LOL, its level of popularity has reached levels never seen in video games: the world championships had more viewers than game 7 of the NBA Finals (Dorsey). The player base alone is enough to keep the company afloat currently, but the fact that they only convert 3.75% of the players into revenue is alarming. Each player brings the company an average of $1.32, or 30% of what some other free to play games earn per user (Comparing MMO). It is this low per player income that has caused Riot Games, the developer of LOL, to state that their e-sports division is not currently profitable. To resolve this issue, LOL must take on a more aggressive marketing plan. Advertisements for the NBA Finals cost $460,000 for 30 seconds, and LOL should aim for ads in this range (Lombardo). With an average of 3 million people logged on at any time, 90% of the players being male and 85% being between the ages of 16 and 30, advertising via this game would appeal to many companies, making a deal easy to strike (LOL infographic 2012). The idea also appeals to players: 81% of players surveyed said that an advertisement on the client that allows for the option to place an order would improve or not impact their experience. Moving forward with this, the gaming client would be updated to contain both an option to order pizza and an advertisement for Mountain Dew. This type of advertising was determined based on community responses through a sequence of survey questions. These small adjustments to the game would allow LOL to generate enough income for Riot Games to expand into other areas of the e-sports industry.
ContributorsSeip, Patrick (Co-author) / Zhao, BoNing (Co-author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Derived from the idea that the utilization of sustainable practices could improve small business practice, this honors thesis offers a full business assessment and recommendations for improvements of a local, family-owned coffee shop, Gold Bar. A thorough analysis of the shop's current business practices and research on unnecessary expenses and waste guides this assessment.
ContributorsSorden, Clarissa (Co-author) / Boden, Alexandra (Co-author) / Darnall, Nicole (Thesis director) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Humanitarian aid organizations, while providing aid services, require inputs and utilize business processes like other for-profit firms. Many charity organizations depend on donations for revenue. The level of public trust in charities can affect donations. To support the American public and protect individuals from dishonest charity agencies, charity watchdog organizations publish ratings of charities to assist the public in donation decisions. The ratings focus on a variety of topics orienting how much of donation funds go directly to the cause not administrative or soliciting costs. In the American Red Cross, a new process was engineered to make procuring consulting services more efficient and cost effective. This project was focused on investigating areas of improvement for the new process. Deliverables included process suggestions for business unit managers, process suggestions for sourcing managers, and detailed process flowcharts highlighting potential modifications in the new process. Overall, it is critical to keep consulting costs low to ensure that watchdog organizational ratings stay positive and public trust in the American Red Cross remains high.
ContributorsDonahue, Nancy Elizabeth (Author) / Brooks, Daniel (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
While not officially recognized as an addictive activity by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, video game addiction has well-documented resources pointing to its effects on physiological and mental health for both addict and those close to the addict. With the rise of eSports, treating video game addiction has become trickier as a passionate and growing fan base begins to act as a culture not unlike traditional sporting. These concerns call for a better understanding of what constitutes a harmful addiction to video games as its heavy practice becomes more financially viable and accepted into mainstream culture.
ContributorsGohil, Abhishek Bhagirathsinh (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper goes through a two-pronged approach in the attempt to understand E-Sports, entertainment gaming, and the creation of the E-Sports bar/Barcade. The first portion aims to explain and quantify the growth of electronic sports (or E-sports). This new craze has been growing immensely in the past 5 years, by viewership and by monetary endorsements. With these changes and growth patterns, we then move on to explain one of the many niche markets that has been created from the growth of E-sports and entertainment gaming. Through our experience in the field, we have evaluated 8 E-sports bars and Barcades in order to confirm their viability in the marketplace. Through our worldwide research we have found that E-sports will continue to grow and that Barcades will not only be viable, but will be a competitive market in the next 10-20 years.
ContributorsNist, Nicholas (Co-author) / Hester, James (Co-author) / Brooks, Dan (Thesis director) / Forss, Brennan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis consisted in taking the preliminary steps in starting a business. Teamed up with a seasoned entrepreneur, we created a thorough Business Plan, Pro Forma and Investor presentation documents, all of which have been and still are being used in the process of creating the business. The business is in the competitive eSports industry, and involved camps and leagues targeted to youth ages 8-15. We have launched the first camp, and are in talks with investors and key strategic partners.
ContributorsHeiler, George (Co-author) / Gaynor, Tristan (Co-author) / Murphy, Kevin (Co-author) / Neck, Christopher (Thesis director) / McLurg, Dave (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The following Student Sustainability Consultant's Portfolio was created with the intention of being duplicated and utilized by Arizona State University (ASU) students to build their own Portfolio and to help prepare them for success after graduation. Student Consultants in GreenLight Solutions (GLS) are in a unique position to prepare themselves to create value for organizations while in school, and then continue to after graduation. When I enrolled in the School of Sustainability as an undergraduate transfer student I heard some constructive criticism from graduates of the school. Those students shared that while they had attained a great theoretical understanding of the science of sustainability, they lacked the ability to apply their knowledge in a practical way. They were struggling with finding work in their field because they could not communicate to employers how their knowledge was useful. They did not know how to apply their sustainability knowledge to create value for an organization. I did not want to have that same problem when I graduated. Enter GreenLight Solutions.
ContributorsKeleher, Kevin Robert (Author) / Schoon, Michael (Thesis director) / Basile, George (Committee member) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
The purpose of this project is to provide our client with a tool to mitigate Company X's franchise-wide inventory control problem. The problem stems from the franchises' initial strategy to buy all inventory as customers brought them in without a quantitative way for buyers to evaluate the store's inventory needs. The Excel solution created by our team serves to provide that evaluation for buyers using deseasonalized linear regression to forecast inventory needs for clothing of different sizes and seasons by month. When looking at the provided sales data from 2014-2016, there was a clear seasonal trend, so the appropriate forecasting model was determined by testing 3 models: Triple Exponential Smoothing model, Deseasonalized Simple Linear Regression, and Multiple Linear Regression.The model calculates monthly optimal inventory levels (current period plus future 2 periods of inventory). All of the models were evaluated using the lowest mean absolute error (meaning best fit with the data), and the model with best fit was Deseasonalized Simple Linear Regression, which was then used to build the Excel tool. Buyers can use the Excel tool built with this forecasting model to evaluate whether or not to buy a given item of any size or season. To do this, the model uses the previous year's sales data to forecast optimal inventory level and compares it to the stores' current inventory level. If the current level is less than the optimal level, the cell housing current value will turn green (buy). If the currently level is greater than or equal to optimal level or less than optimal inventory level*1.05, current value will turn yellow (buy only if good quality). If the current level is greater than optimal level*1.05 current level will be red (don't buy). We recommend both stores implement a way of keeping track of how many clothing items held in each bin to keep more accurate inventory count. In addition, the model's utility will be of limited use until both stores' inventories are at a level where they can afford to buy. Therefore, it is in the client's best interest to liquidate stale inventor into store credit or cash In the future, the team would also like to develop a pricing model to better meet the needs of the client's two locations.
ContributorsUribes-Yanez, Diego (Co-author) / Liu, Jessica (Co-author) / Taylor, Todd (Thesis director) / Gentile, Erica (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The aim of this thesis is to improve the user experience within FedEx's eProcurement system, directly address feedback received from customer surveys, and to make recommendations for the Sourcing and Procurement Division within FedEx. In the first part, the overall client engagement is outlined with the specific timeline between New Venture Group and FedEx. The thesis encompasses three deliverables that were integral parts to the semester-long consulting engagement. The thesis then dives into methodology and each deliverable individually. After months of conference calls and best practice research, consulting efforts are summarized in the results. In a detailed discussion sections, the thesis forecasts opportunities for FedEx within sourcing and procurement. Here, the thesis draws on sources from various companies and research. Furthermore, overall recommendations are given to FedEx and acknowledgements are made. In conclusion, the thesis hopes to offer FedEx improvements to leverage improved functionality of eProcurement that will become available in the next upgrade of the Performance Management System.
ContributorsRuhlman, Payne (Co-author) / Pollack, Amanda (Co-author) / Peterson, Andrew (Co-author) / Taylor, Todd (Thesis director) / Choi, Thomas (Committee member) / Halvorson, Joel (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12