Date:
Time:
Instructor: No instructor found
Assigned Student: Ali Baydoun
Session Status: Scheduled
Session Materials:
Possible Framework
Instructor Note:
Your client is National Logistics; a large transportation and logistics company that delivers freight to all areas of North America. Over the last five years, the company has experienced rising costs due to increases in wages resulting from a shortage of truckers. The client is now looking to reduce operational costs in the business. How would you advise the client?
for the clarifying questions these are some guiding principles for you to start asking better questions:
- always ask the general questions: goal, timeframe, location, business model + here the issue is with cost and profitability so you should target these in your questions
- What is the client’s primary goal? National express is looking to boost profitability by any means
- Are other competitors facing the same issue? Yes, the entire transportation industry is feeling the wage pressure Does the client have a profitability target? No, the client just wants to improve profitability from their current state
- Are there other costs that have been influencing profitability? Yes, steadily rising fuel prices have also been hampering the company’s profits
- Is the company running at full capacity? Yes, the only thing limiting the company’s revenue growth is finding drivers to drive their trucks
- Has revenue also been in decline? No, revenue has been rising steadily over the last 5 years but is only capped by lack of drivers to fulfill deliveries\
the framework that was a possible solution to this case is attached in the email
always ask yourself when you end the framework: did I answer the client’s concern? if your buckets do not provide an answer then no you need to redo them. and if they do then your framework is good
the first question after the framework was: “The client is interested in purchasing more fuel efficient hybrid truck fleets that use both batteries and diesel fuel. What are some of the cost considerations the client should be aware of in making this decision?”
the calculations following the questions were good. then the recommendation was not to invest in hybrid trucks because we won’t be saving costs by doing so
then I asked you to brainstorm some additional recommendations that the client can do to reduce cost operations: “The client also wants to get our thoughts on how they can reduce their shortage of truckers. Brainstorm some ways National Logistics can reduce their shortage” your ideas were good, it is always advised to bucket your ideas into different bucket or areas – this will show that you are organized and well structured
the conclusion was also good – all the steps were there: i.e: recap, recommendations, reasons, risks, next steps
