Client risk profile
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (CTC) is primarily a canadian retailer, focusing on automotive and general merchandise. Founded in 1922, the company has been around for almost a century, building strong brand recognition in Canada. Initially starting as a car parts retailer they have expanded rapidly into other areas, mainly general merchandise retail. They have other secondary divisions being; Partsource Automotive stores (strictly automotive parts), Financial Services, Mark’s Work Wearhouse (clothing retailer), FGL Sports Ltd. (various sporting good retail chains), and Canadian Tire Petroleum (gas stations and car washing). The main users of CTC’s financial statements have been identified as the debt
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This system causes many inefficiencies, both financial and non-financial, for CTR in comparison to its competitors (EXHIBIT CIBC REPORT). However, the dealer-corporation model is as old as Canadian Tire itself and extremely unlikely to change. Essentially the dealer is responsible for everything in-store, and the corporation takes care of the rest. A list of segregated responsibilities can be seen in Exhibit Z.
Going Concern Canadian Tire Corporation is in good financial standing and extremely unlikely to bankrupt in coming years. Currently CTC’s debt to equity ratio is 0.242 below the industry average of 1.557, with a current ratio 0.614 above the industry average of 1.061. Addressing the debt to equity shortfall, CTC has decreased its debt to equity from 1.897 to 1.739 between third quarters of 2012 and 2010. This is including the acquisition of FGL Sports Ltd. which spiked debt in 2011. (CITE ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES) There is no issue of going concern.
Technology IT is centrally-managed for each of CTC’s specific divisions. Retail stores use software to keep track of inventory and prices regarding items in stores. The stores then transmit this information to make purchases from CTC. It is an integral part of their supply chain and retail operations. They are continuing to upgrade these internally developed systems, which could pose a risk for exceptions. These systems will require increased test of controls
Costco buys the majority of its merchandise directly from manufacturers for shipment either directly to Costco’s selling warehouses or to a consolidation point where various shipments are combined so as to minimize freight and handling costs. As a result, Costco eliminates many of the costs associated with multiple step distribution channels, which include purchasing from distributors as opposed to manufacturers, use of central receiving, storing and distributing warehouses, and storage of merchandise in locations off the sales floors. (1)
The competitive advantage for Canadian Tire stems from the dependency on its dealers and how they interact with their local economy and community. As the dealers are at the front line in garnering profits and attracting and retaining customers, it is critical that they adjust the supplies and stocks accordingly to the needs of their community. The competitive advantage for the Canadian Tire brand relies on three key elements that the dealers possess in order to support a growing and profitable business. According to the Canadian Tire Annual Report (2010), the brand depends on the “business instincts, [the dealer’s] connection and commitment to their communities and their local market insights to ensure [they’re] offering relevant products at competitive prices” (p. 29).
Traditionally, independent dealerships utilize a far more centralized approach to customer-level decision-making. These ‘mom-and-pop’ dealerships acquired by Cervus were successfully converted from a ‘command-and-control’ style of management.
Tire City, from the projections, seems to be headed in the correct direction. In the fiscal year 1996, even with increasing debt by 351 thousand dollars, Tire City turned a profit. The expansionary vision that has been given seems to project to more revenue, which increases from 23,505 to 28,206, and a healthy growth rate that can be viewed as sustainable. One precaution to this is the anomaly that takes place in the inventory in 1996. This should be monitored closely and inquired about the reasoning of capping the inventory at 1625 for that year. The total assets of the company is still greater than the liabilities, which leads me to believe that they are structured correctly and have taken the necessary precautions in their capital structure.
Kudler Fine Foods should upgrade to a system that has bar-coding and is linked to inventory. This system would be beneficial for any business in stocking food, clothes or any other inventory item. The barcodes on each item will keep your inventory records, starting from the point they are received into inventory and the moment they are purchased. With the bar-coding there is a set price for each item and will be automatically linked to the software used by Finance and Accounting. This system could get rid of the excel sheet tracker for inventory and can get rid of any potential transpost errors made by manually entering inventory. Major grocery stores are equipped with systems such as bar-coding and inventory control.
Nordstrom’s is classified as one of the biggest U.S. department stores. Along with Sears, Macy’s, and JC Penny’s, Nordstrom manages each department in their stores as an individual buying center. Every group functions separately from one another, and is administered by a buyer who is in charge of all varieties and styles of merchandise sold. Promotions that can be used in the stores are included, as well. “The company has also benefited from a new computerized inventory system that gives buyers and salespeople the necessary data to make smarter decisions about what is needed in the stores—and what isn’t.” (Lamb, Hair, McDaniel 569). This new and improved system allows the department store to market a greater amount of full priced items, which ultimately increase sales. The buyer is also able to easily determine what items to obtain and exhibit in the store by using this system.
The current financial health of Tire City, Inc. can be determined by looking at its financial statements, and converting the information on them into a number of different ratios, which give analysts information about the financial activities/health of the firm. These ratios include (but are not limited to) the current ratio, acid test, profit margin, total asset turnover, and return on equity. The current ratio measures short term solvency, or the firm’s ability to pay off its short term debt. TCI’s current ratio is 2.03, a healthy indication. This means that for every dollar of short term debt the firm carries, it holds $2.03 in current assets. This means that the company is not facing any significant threat from its short term
point of sale system. The POS system is a perpetual inventory counting method that electronically records items immediately upon their point of sale (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). In other words, as a cashier scans a customer 's groceries, each scanned item is automatically recorded in the system and deducted from the store’s inventory. Implementing a point of sale would benefit a business’s inventory management function in several ways. First, the POS system will provide managers with a continuous flow of updated information (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). As a result, the information will provide more accuracy when used for sales forecasts and analysis, which substantially affect inventory decisions. Continuously, this inventory system would also allow greater flexibility in the sense that it can be wirelessly linked to the main company’s inventory system, creating a network of the company’s inventory systems. The POS system is capable of tracking many operations at once and can be modified according to management’s needs (MacCarthy, n.d.). This flexibility would undoubtedly benefit a large company like Wegman’s with many store locations. Lastly, the system is able to help businesses maintain a high level of customer service. Because the system gives customers a receipt with the price and quantity of each item purchased, the customer is able to see exactly what he or she purchased. This practice
Consolidated has a few problems with their inventory control. They have a purchasing agent doing periodic checks of their inventory without reviewing their history and the demand. The lack of a computer inventory system is another problem that Consolidated must address. To design a system for consolidated the company needs to make some changes to its structure and organization.
The 2008 financial crisis was a difficult time for all participants of the automobile industry. Jackson Automotive System’s reluctance to carry debt coupled with a strong working capital position and a conservative financial policy helped bring the company through the financial crisis. After the
Northern Alberta, the oil sands development area surrounding Fort McMurray, is the fastest growing economic area in Canada for several years. Obviously Bolster’s total market share in this area was the highest with one third of the total market share it held national wide. Vickers based in Edmonton, Alberta covered 50% of the local market share and 75% of servicing in that area in spite having a national distributor, National Electronics (National). Also local firms preferred to do business with Vickers than National which has their nearest warehouse in Calgary, Sothern Alberta around 750 Km from Fort McMurray. (Exhibit 1)
Lima was one of Treadway’s best plants in terms of productivity and quality control because it updated its equipment and utilized new technology. However, currently, Lima undergoes dramatic changes: job dissatisfaction and high turnover at the foreman level. Moreover, misfortunes never come singly. The entire manufacturer industry is facing some huge challenges including drastic increase in raw material costs and fierce global competition. The director of human resources in Lima plant, Ashley Wall, intended to analyze the issues and make a action plan to address these problems. Ashley needs to do five steps.
* Chain-wide merchandise system – allows corporate to know when to send orders for restocking which Cafés/current inventory of cafés
Consumers have many choices when deciding where to purchase their goods. While retailer managers are deciding how to win the consumer’s business and increase revenue, they are also constantly trying to figure out ways to reduce costs. Technology helps retail managers improve areas of inventory and supply chain management as well as customer satisfaction and loss prevention (Green, 2002). This paper explains how technology
The company uses target pricing for the parts they purchase from suppliers. To Honda, customer satisfaction is top priority which they accomplish through suppliers competitiveness in quality, cost, delivery, development, and management. Honda gives its suppliers target costs and it reduces the cost through own ideas, technology, and improved productivity. Exhibit 1 illustrates Honda’s supply chain.