Matching Items (7)
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- All Subjects: Supply Chains
- All Subjects: manufacturing
- Creators: Hertzel, Michael
Description
In order to discover if Company X's current system of local trucking is the most efficient and cost-effective way to move freight between sites in the Western U.S., we will compare the current system to varying alternatives to see if there are potential avenues for Company X to create or implement an improved cost saving freight movement system.
ContributorsPicone, David (Co-author) / Krueger, Brandon (Co-author) / Harrison, Sarah (Co-author) / Way, Noah (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Company X is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies in the world, having a current market capitalization of 177.44 Billion USD, an enterprise value of 173.6 Billion USD, and generated 52.7 billion USD in revenue in fiscal year 2013. Recently, Company X has been looking to expand its Foundry business. The Foundry business in the semiconductor business is the actual process of making the chips. This process can be approached in several different ways by companies who need their chips built. A company, like TSMC, can be considered a pure-play company and only makes chips for other companies. A fabless company, like Apple, creates its own chip design and then allows another company to build them. It also uses other chip designs for its products, but outsources the building to another company. Lastly, the integrated device manufacturing companies like Samsung or Company X both design and build the chip. The foundry industry is a rather novel market for Company X because it owns less than 1 percent of the market. However, the industry itself is rather large, generating a total of 40 billion dollars in revenue annually, with expectations to have increasing year over year growth into the foreseeable future. The industry is fairly concentrated with TSMC being the top competitor, owning roughly 50 percent of the market with Samsung and Global Foundries lagging behind as notable competitors. It is a young industry and there is potential opportunity for companies that want to get into the business. For Company X, it is not only another market to get into, but also an added business segment to supplant their business segments that are forecasted to do poorly in the near future. This thesis will analyze the financial opportunity for Company X in the foundry space. Our final product is a series of P&L's which illustrate our findings. The results of our analysis were presented and defended in front of a panel of Company X managers and executives.
ContributorsJones, Trevor (Author) / Matiski, Matthew (Co-author) / Green, Alex (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Over the course of six months, we have worked in partnership with Arizona State University and a leading producer of semiconductor chips in the United States market (referred to as the "Company"), lending our skills in finance, statistics, model building, and external insight. We attempt to design models that help predict how much time it takes to implement a cost-saving project. These projects had previously been considered only on the merit of cost savings, but with an added dimension of time, we hope to forecast time according to a number of variables. With such a forecast, we can then apply it to an expense project prioritization model which relates time and cost savings together, compares many different projects simultaneously, and returns a series of present value calculations over different ranges of time. The goal is twofold: assist with an accurate prediction of a project's time to implementation, and provide a basis to compare different projects based on their present values, ultimately helping to reduce the Company's manufacturing costs and improve gross margins. We believe this approach, and the research found toward this goal, is most valuable for the Company. Two coaches from the Company have provided assistance and clarified our questions when necessary throughout our research. In this paper, we begin by defining the problem, setting an objective, and establishing a checklist to monitor our progress. Next, our attention shifts to the data: making observations, trimming the dataset, framing and scoping the variables to be used for the analysis portion of the paper. Before creating a hypothesis, we perform a preliminary statistical analysis of certain individual variables to enrich our variable selection process. After the hypothesis, we run multiple linear regressions with project duration as the dependent variable. After regression analysis and a test for robustness, we shift our focus to an intuitive model based on rules of thumb. We relate these models to an expense project prioritization tool developed using Microsoft Excel software. Our deliverables to the Company come in the form of (1) a rules of thumb intuitive model and (2) an expense project prioritization tool.
ContributorsAl-Assi, Hashim (Co-author) / Chiang, Robert (Co-author) / Liu, Andrew (Co-author) / Ludwick, David (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The basis of this project was to analyze the potential cost savings derived from the implementation of an ultrasonic flaw detector for gas pipes in factories. The group began by researching the market of the Industrial Internet of Things. IIoT is a very attractive market for investment, as connected technologies are become both more advanced and more affordable. Factory automation also saves costs of human capital, maintenance, and bad product cost as well as safety. After doing this preliminary research, the group continued by identifying potential solutions to current shortcomings of the manufacturing status quo. After narrowing down the options, the ultrasonic flaw detector appeared to have the highest potential for success in Company X's factories. The group began doing research on what physical components would go into this solution. They found pricing for all of the various parts of such a device as well as estimated labor, maintenance, and implementation costs. After estimating these costs, the team began the construction of a detailed financial model to generate the hypothetical net present value of such a tool. After presenting two times to a panel of Company X employees, the group decided to focus only on cost savings for Company X, and not the potential revenues of selling the whole solution. They ran a sensitivity analysis on all of the factors that contributed to the NPV of the project, and discovered that the estimated percentage of scrapped product resulting from gas leaks and the percentage of gas lost to leaks contributed the most to the NPV.
ContributorsFlick, Jacob (Co-author) / Alam, Mustafa (Co-author) / Nguyen, Mong (Co-author) / Zhang, Zihan (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Culture (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The goal of this thesis was to provide in depth research into the semiconductor wet-etch market and create a supplier analysis tool that would allow Company X to identify the best supplier partnerships. Several models were used to analyze the wet etch market including Porter's Five Forces and SWOT analyses. These models were used to rate suppliers based on financial indicators, management history, market share, research and developments spend, and investment diversity. This research allowed for the removal of one of the four companies in question due to a discovered conflict of interest. Once the initial research was complete a dynamic excel model was created that would allow Company X to continually compare costs and factors of the supplier's products. Many cost factors were analyzed such as initial capital investment, power and chemical usage, warranty costs, and spares parts usage. Other factors that required comparison across suppliers included wafer throughput, number of layers the tool could process, the number of chambers the tool has, and the amount of space the tool requires. The demand needed for the tool was estimated by Company X in order to determine how each supplier's tool set would handle the required usage. The final feature that was added to the model was the ability to run a sensitivity analysis on each tool set. This allows Company X to quickly and accurately forecast how certain changes to costs or tool capacities would affect total cost of ownership. This could be heavily utilized during Company X's negotiations with suppliers. The initial research as well the model lead to the final recommendation of Supplier A as they had the most cost effective tool given the required demand. However, this recommendation is subject to change as demand fluctuates or if changes can be made during negotiations.
ContributorsSchmitt, Connor (Co-author) / Rickets, Dawson (Co-author) / Castiglione, Maia (Co-author) / Witten, Forrest (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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
Description
The key to success is hard work and determination. Achieving success is always under construction. This project began as a simple analysis of the firm's progress, as at the time it was in desperate need of new clients and a marketing strategy to strengthen its visibility on campus.Through this evaluation, our team found that the firm was in an abysmal state and the previously noted problems were not the only issues of concern. From our research we found that in order for the firm to grow and become a successful student run consulting firm, there are several interorganizational issues that need to be understood and addressed. The intention of New Venture Group and the Consulting Scholars academic program is to provide students the opportunity to garner practical learning experiences. These potential opportunities are not taken full advantage of because of the afflicting problems that exist. The purpose of this thesis is to understand what problems exist within the firm and the next steps that should be taken to resolve them.
ContributorsBaskin, Connor (Co-author) / Farr, Austin (Co-author) / Chou, Alexandra (Co-author) / Laub, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Taylor, Todd (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05