Retail and Commerce

This Field Study Project reviews the behaviour of consumer towards online travel booking, the importance of online travel services and air tickets’ booking based on global and European researches nowadays. Reviewing initially the international point of view and the future tendencies in the online travel booking dynamic, comes to the Greek online travel market and particularly in the needs of airtickets.gr

The objective of this research was to collect data and qualitative characteristics of the traveller in the online travel industry, focusing on the Greek market.

Based on review of the literature this Field Study Project followed the mixed-method, based on the qualitative and quantitative research. Our Field Study Project consequently examines the results deriving from the research methods, proposes a new research agenda for travellers’ behaviors in online booking, and recommends empirical methods for future research.

The results of the personal interviews – questionnaires are very important for airtickets.gr as they come from direct contact with the consumer either in person or on-line. The deliverables are the identification of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the consumer, the market segmentations, airtickets.gr’s competitive advantage and eventually proposals of new products to be developed, in order the company to be competitive in the local market and maintain a sustainable growth.

Our ambition with this Field Study Project is to give an outstanding of gaining knowledge in travel agency business and ways for faster growth and further evolution.

The main objective of this Field Study Project is to accelerate the international expansion of APIVITA, by investigating 4 new markets (Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Turkey) in accordance to the priority countries and the distribution channels that are predefined in the business development strategy of the company. The scope of the project is to provide a multidimensional perspective on the assessment of the indicative markets with up to date macroeconomic elements, competitiveness evaluation and a concrete market overview. The market overview section enables to see deeper in the market, record market trends, identify the status of the pharmacy and the selective channel and the main distribution players and shade the consumer profile. The final evaluation of the  research executed, alongside with the knowledge and experience of the team in each market, give prominence to what is identified as opportunity in each market with suggestions on potential partnerships that can ensure win-win collaborations and entry guidelines for the market and the position of the brand.

Apivita, one of the leading natural cosmetics firms in Greece, in the framework of its international expansion seeks for the most suitable target market to enter into the Balkans Region. The Project Team analyzed five candidate countries, reviewing competitive landscape, market potential and institutional environment, and concluded on what country should be prioritised by the company. An action plan for entering the specific market was developed. The methodology followed and the approaches used by the student team can serve as a toolbox for Apivita’s future expansion in other foreign countries.

Apivita Company is activated in the sector of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, possessing one of the first places in its sector and is aspiring in still bigger growth. The materialization of company’s plans but also market particularities, make necessary the release of capitals through an effective inventory management system. In the present study, first we made an ABC analysis in order to see if sales of the Company are following Pareto’s law, and then we examine theoretically, almost all of the models of inventory management proposed by the bibliography, and finally we concluded to the deployment of a (Q,r) model with which we calculated the optimal reorder quantity and optimal reorder point for every product respectively.
We applied a stock out approach of a (Q,r) model on 25 products chosen from ABC analysis, these products represent the 5,76% of all of the Company’s products and almost the 43% of total sales in value. We determined reorder frequency equal to11 per year and a desirable service level (fill rate) of 95 %, the model lead us to the conclusions that there must be a reduction on the replenishment lead times and also that fluctuations on the forecasts of demand must be limited. These actually are the two axes on which the Company should move forward in order to have more effective inventory management. Potential proposals, we came up to, are the contracting of strategic alliances with the minimal possible number of suppliers and sub-producers, and the improvement of the methods for the reduction of fluctuations on the demand forecasts but also the examination of future adoption of an inventory management system that will use Internet technologies.

The aim of this project is to propose a systematic and comparative evaluation framework, able to score and rank the branches of the retail sales chain “ATLANTIC S.A.”, in a more efficient way. The method is called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This method makes the comparative evaluation of business units (in this instance branches) possible, based on criteria such as turnover, profit and cost. The flexibility of this approach, allows the inclusion of a variety of productive factors, like the number of workers, the branch’s area and its objective values. At the same time, DEA gives us the opportunity to enrich our model with qualitative variables, such us population, living standards etc. In this framework and based on the data we were given, DEA is directly compared with ratio analysis, while it is also compared, in a theoretical basis, with some alternative and more traditionally used methods of efficiency evaluation.

ATLAS Corporation is an important producer and distributor in the market of construction materials, developing its operations in Romania. Designing an efficient distribution network for its products was the driver behind the present project. The effort investigates the practices of the company related to the activities of transportation and warehousing, capturing the costs structures for these operations. Based on the operations research theory and making use of binary linear programming, a model that captures the particularities of these activities is proposed. The resulted application constitutes a useful decision support system for the management of ATLAS, allowing for increased interactivity with the input data presented and for implementing different scenarios regarding the design of the distribution network.

This project is conducted on behalf of NIVEA, one of Beiersdorf Hellas’s brands, in order to monitor the changes in the field of face care anti-age creams. The purpose is to research the problem of market share changes with products of lower price increasing their shares in the channel of supermarkets.  The problem is approached through four objectives which are to find out consumer’s buying criteria, describe the profile of women buying anti-age creams from supermarkets, define consumer’s brand perception, and discover shopping patterns. For this purpose it is conducted both qualitative and quantitative research. More specifically the project team carried out Focus Groups, Word Association Tests, and Human Observations and based on the qualitative results generalized findings through Questionnaires.  The principal results of the research describe the persona of the retail face care shopper as a not very loyal consumer who buys with criteria the value for money, the price, and the ingredients of the product. Key finding is also that consumers who do not buy NIVEA believe that the brand is an expert in other product categories and on this basis recommendations in order to change brand perception are suggested.

Having been very successful in Greece, Buldoza.gr plans to use its expertise and know-how – especially concerning e-commerce and logistics – to expand to other countries. In order to find the most promising countries for these internationalization plans, thirteen candidate countries have been analyzed in the context of the first phase of this FSP. Among these, Turkey and Romania were identified and selected as target countries. These two countries were subject to a thorough analysis in the second phase leading to key results in the following main areas: full first-level analysis of these countries; definition of target market and segments; analysis of the target market including major competitors; evaluation of customer behavior and other operational issues; formulation of possible entry strategies; the development of a promotion strategy. The framework for these studies were all developed within the FSP project and adapted to the needs of buldoza.gr and the respective target countries.

The results of this FSP clearly show the advantages while also considering the threats for buldoza’s entry into any of these two countries and give clear suggestions. The thorough and substantial analyses in the different fields enable buldoza.gr to go ahead with their internationalization plans and are a firm fundament for the further planning of its operational implementation.

The aim of this project was the development of a business plan in order to support the expansion of “Business Exchanges” into the business area of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). More specifically, the company will focus on SMEs’ needs for efficient procurement of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) supplies through alternative marketing channels. The company will address these needs by offering a range of added value services through its e-marketplace. An analysis was conducted both from a theoretical perspective with a literature review of good international practice, and from a first hand data analysis thorough market research (including questionnaires and in-depth interviews) and an analysis of the competitors based on secondary data. The secondary data provided the team with information concerning various business sectors, while the primary data provided various companies’ preferences about the new project of “Business Exchanges”. An operational and organizational plan was presented and a financial plan was developed, showing the prospects of the company according to our forecasts, along with suggestions for how to launch this new service line.

The purpose of this project is to investigate new distribution channels for ELAIS SA and how to better serve these channels. The project also includes the investigation of new products that will best fit to each channel, taking into consideration the priorities of the company. The methodology comprised documentary research, brainstorming and quantitative market research.
Based on the results of the investigation ELAIS should follow a three-stage new channel development strategy including the creation of new products that best fit to the new channels and the creation of small selling points of each product in bakeries offering fresh served snacks.

The project consisted of an analysis of the on-line market for bookstores in Greece, with focus on the evaluation of the on-line bookstore of Eleftheroudakis, www.books.gr. Secondary and primary research was conducted to evaluate the current status of the market and its potential for future growth. A number of proposals aiming at the improvement of the Eleftheroudakis on-line bookstore were developed, taking into account the size and the potential of the market, the budget in reach by the company and the behavioral patterns of Internet users.

The present study is concerned with the feasibility study and exploitation plan of the NISAN project. It methodically describes both the technical features of the end product and the supporting infrastructure, highlights its innovative features, explains why and how major stakeholder groups stand to gain from realization of the project as well as the European Union, offers a compact background of the telemedicine evolution and deals extensively with the existing competition. It concentrates mainly on operational and financial aspects of the as per yet unreleased project and draws on quantitative analytical tools like scenario analysis, cost modeling and investment analysis to provide clues about the feasibility, profitability and risk analysis of the project.

The project presented a feasibility study and exploitation plan of the MEDICATE project and is a considerably extended and revised version of a previous preliminary exploitation plan. It concentrates mainly on presenting the results of a largely quantitative analysis with respect to individual product scenarios, market modelling, cost modelling, and, investment and risk analysis. Apart from the traditional investment criteria and methods used, more advanced and sophisticated decision tools and techniques were used, such as Decision Tree Analysis, Monte Carlo Simulation, Real Options Analysis and Game Theory.

The objective of this study was to examine the prospect of developing a Cross Docking Distribution Network for the delivery of pharmaceuticals to the pharmacies of Macedonia – Thrace region, excluding those of Thessaloniki. FAMAR’s basic objective is the reduction of the delivery time and therefore the improvement of its customer service level. A linear programming model was developed analyzing: a) the number of Cross Docking facilities needed, b) the location of each facility, c) the capacity of each facility, c) the required number of trucks, d) the flow of goods among nodes, e) the time required to serve each cluster, f) the cost per case for each cluster, and g) the utilization rate of each truck. The new Cross Docking Distribution Network proposed by the model will satisfy the total demand with the minimum possible cost, enabling FAMAR to further improve its customer service level.

A market survey was conducted and a market plan developed for FashionLink and more specifically for the children’s clothes collection “Adams”. The assignment includes an analysis of the internal environment of the company, an analysis of the external environment and of the major competitors. Next the results of a conducted market survey are presented. A Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat analysis follows. A market plan with specific recommendations for commercial expansion was developed.

The present business plan was prepared on behalf of FEREOS LTD, an importing and wholesaling company located in Nicosia-Cyprus. The subject was the import and distribution of Greek wines in the Cypriot market. The methodology applied consisted of in depth search of the wine sector including systematical study of the pricing policies in both countries, visits to numerous cellars, specialized stores, restaurants and hotels in Cyprus, discussions with a considerable number of wine producers and enologists. This business plan consists of an initial “tool” that will give the company, in the short term, the chance to expand its activities in the domestic Cypriot market and, in the long term, to introduce into the local market more Greek wine producers and labels busting their business abroad.

This project aimed at developing a sales forecast model based on a realistic statistical model, and at suggesting a model of inventory management that will minimize the total inventory costs, taking into account a number of factors including: the storage and handling costs, the economic order quantities (EOQ), the product mix to be ordered by each supplier as well as factors such as customer service levels and quality management. The purpose of the development of the above mentioned model is to assist the decision-maker in his/her decision-making process regarding inventory management. The suggested forecasting model, which was based on the implementation of appropriate forecasting software tools, aimed at providing Sales Management with as precise and accurate forecasts as possible.

IKEA’s success in Greece has led Fourlis Holdings, its local franchisee, to plan new stores in other parts of the country, outside the major metropolitan areas of Athens and Thessalonica. The novel element of this venture is that the new stores will be opened in primarily agricultural areas, where local attitudes and traditions are much more prevalent than in the two largest cities of Greece where the company currently operates. Hence, the success of these projects relies on adaptation of the IKEA global concept to the local needs and tradition. The aim of this study was to define customer needs, behaviour and trends in the local market, with a view to identify the effectiveness of the contemporary marketing methods of reaching customers. Based on extensive market research and analysis, suggestions are proposed related to how IKEA could tailor its strategy and approach to the specific markets in order to optimise return and commercial success.

The objective of the project was to propose a new vertical market for the promotion of ERP and Content Management solutions by INTERSYS S.A. and the creation of a Business Unit which will cover the need for the aforementioned systems in the selected market. The first part of the study describes the methodology upon which the market of machinery and equipment wholesales was selected for the further development of the business plan. From the results of the market research it is concluded that the selected target market is not suitable for utilization for the promotion of Content Management solutions. In the business plan, the creation of a new Business Unit in the existing frame of INTERSYS is proposed, which will promote the ERP solutions in the target market of machinery and equipment wholesales. Taking into account the market analysis for the target market and the internal and external environment of the Business Unit, the Project Team proposes the corporate and marketing strategy that will enable the Business Unit to obtain an adequate level of sales and succeed in yielding profits and satisfactory performance to the investors. Finally, a risk and sensitivity analysis is performed in order to check the viability of the plan in case the sales expectations are not reached.

This project’s objectives are the presentation of the Greek coffee market, the understanding of the Greek coffee consumer behavior and the proposition of a series of innovative below the line promotional activities for the Jacobs filter coffee brand of Kraft Foods S.A. A market survey was designed and executed in a representative sample of Greek coffee consumers. In order for a more thorough understanding of consumer behavior, some tools of qualitative research were also applied. The results of the research and their analytical examination led to the formulation of innovative below the line promotional activities. The constant increase of the Internet users in Greece, the fact that consumers are more informed and sophisticated, and the need of disconnecting Jacobs Filter coffee from the ordinary associations, already established in consumers’ mind, resulted in the proposition of an alternative promotional plan. Its main objective is the creation of a new image for the Jacobs Filter coffee that is linked with the new technologies, relaxation, a healthier way of living and more socially responsible consumers.

Food service is a distribution channel through which KRAFT FOOD HELLAS delivers its professional products. In this market, KRAFT FOOD HELLAS (KRAFT) operates via two partners, i.e. CAFFEA (ILLY), which exclusively covers the coffee/ cafeteria market and DIANOMEFS that delivers KRAFT products in hotels, restaurants and catering enterprises. Both companies are Kraft’s exclusive partners bonded with 3-year contracts for the provision of supplies in the above-mentioned areas of Food Service.
The project was defined to find new strategic approaches and ways for the expansion of DIANOMEFS distribution channel and consequently help KRAFT increase product sales throughout Greece by adopting the following methodology: a) Analysis of the Food Service market through research, personal interviews and official questionnaires, b) Evaluation of the strategy that DIANOMEFS follows at present and proposal of new alternative strategies, c) Selection of the appropriate merchants in regions where Kraft’s HO-Re-CA products have not yet penetrated the market by setting up and analysing selection criteria, analysing the business profiles of the potential partners and evaluating their capabilities, d) Identification of new strategic ways to approach the potential partners in order to achieve cooperation with DIANOMEFS within KRAFT selling terms and conditions.

The project concerns the corporate analysis of Mega Cars company, which entered the dealership network of Ford Motor Hellas in June 2004. The cooperation between the two parties looks forward to improving the financial performance of the company and to enhancing its competitiveness in the market. However, the accession of the company in the Ford network requires the institution of a number of very important changes, in order to comply with FMH procedures.
Initially, an analysis of the competitive environment takes place, including the conduct of mystery shopping in the rival dealers. Thereafter, the promotion policy of the company is described and evaluated, so as to assess its effectiveness, with the assistance of a focus group. Then, an analysis of the culture of the company takes place, in order to evaluate eventual gaps between what the employees perceive as and what they want. The financial analysis includes pro forma financial statement, pro forma cash flow statement and a calculation of some financial indexes. Finally, the action plan recapitulates the suggestions that are proposed in each section of the project. It is a guide for the smooth and successful transition in the FMH network.

The present FSP, assigned by Mondelēz International Hellas, aims to generate and provide useful concepts and ideas for the achievement of simultaneous growth for the firm’s two chocolate brands – Lacta & Pavlides – given the consistent reverse growth pattern that has been monitored during the latest years. Detection of the root causes of this problem is considered to be a prerequisite for the development of new proposals. To this end, custom focus group including interviews, projective techniques and blind tasting is employed as the method that best matches to the research goals. Four such focus groups (Lacta Lovers, Pavlides Lovers, Non- Mondelēz Lovers and Switchers) are created with the use of snowball sample selection method.

The analysis of the interview findings reveals various useful outcomes regarding the consumerist habits, the tasting preferences, the evaluation of popular packages and the effects of crisis, health concerns and advertising on chocolate consumption while Word Association and Sentence completion tests reveal subconscious associations among the brands and various concepts. Neither the interviews nor the market data analysis verify the initial hypothesis of cannibalization among the brands. As a result the proposals provided, focus on the achievement of overall market expansion for Mondelēz against its competitors. The suggestions concern the full fledge of marketing mix for Lacta, Pavlides and Mondelēz as a total while the launching of a new brand the captures a Greenfield area is recommended.

Mondelēz International each year focuses on Gen Y talents for the prosperity of the company. In 2016, the Kariera.gr research, which was enriched with a section studying the impact of crisis on millennial careers, put Mondelēz International in the twenty-sixth place on a 40 companies list compared to the sixth place in 2013 and 2014. The mission of the project is to analyze how this negative result occurred, to understand what are now the perceptions of Gen Y about the ideal employer, what strategy do the competitors follow and what elements the company should improve in order to gain back the acceptance of the Gen Y.

To achieve that, the FSP team gathered and analyzed all the elements based on Mondelēz, Generation Y characteristics, Kariera.gr findings from the previous surveys and companies that were in the first positions of millennial’ preference. Moreover, a questionnaire was created concerning the preferences of Generation Y. The representative sample of 120 millennial was selected from Athens’ universities and randomly in the road, in order to gather every age between 18 and 36 and every education level from high school to PhD. After the distribution, all answers have been analyzed through SPSS 20 program.

Finally, the team proposes a specific strategy that Mondelēz should follow in order to become again one of their most desirable employers.

Scope of this field study project is the creation of a manual with the basic processes of NCS at Sales, Inventory and Accounting, the creation of job outlines and the formulation of suggestions for the improvement of the corporate performance.
The method followed was: interviews with the company’s personnel, elaboration of the collected data, correspondence with theory and, finally, formulation of suggestions based on corporate reality and under the prism of a three year horizon improvement. In the first part, each department’s processes are analysed in a way that they can be communicated among different departments and be a guide for their execution.
In the second part, job outlines that are related with the key corporate processes are reported. Aim of these reports is to give to the company directions and ideas accompanied by a general framework for new job creation. The company should then analyse and valuate this report as thoroughly as possible in order to decide on the degree that these new jobs will affect the improvement of the corporate performance.
The third part describes the steps suggested for the improvement of the corporate performance according to the EVA increase. In addition to that, an analysis of issues such as Management of Corporate Performance, Marketing Pricing Policies, Product Development that can create more Sales to the company and Service per Customer Value follows and after presenting the corporate profits for the next three years we demonstrate the need for Business Process Reengineering in the end of the three years period. Additionally, the Business Plan for the company expansion to Turkey is presented.

Philips Medical Systems (PMS) is dedicated to selling and supporting a variety of medical equipment, in particular imaging equipment. Recently, Philips Medical Systems worldwide has made a number of acquisitions that together with other major changes such as new government regulations, new ways of organizing sales, distribution and internal operations call for the development of a new commercial infrastructure. This project develops a strategic plan for optimal handling of the new business developments addressing the issues of new business opportunities and giving recommendations on the optimal course of action to adopt. The company objectives are to maintain and/or enhance PMS leading market position, to take advantage of new business opportunities and to ensure a transition with minimal inconvenience by managing change and reorganization.

The purpose of this project was to redesign the marketing strategy for Plaisio Computers. In the beginning, it was necessary to define the level of satisfaction for the clients of the company. This particular task was carried out firstly by personally realising sudden checks in all distribution channels of the firm (stores, Internet B2C, Internet B2B, Call Center, catalogues and service), by each and every member of the team. Afterwards, it was necessary to discover the opinion regarding the same matters of those that were actually clients of Plaisio Computers – that was done with the help of questionnaires drawn especially for that reason. The project develops recommendations for how to increase customer satisfaction, improve efficiency and enhance customer loyalty.

The company wants to penetrate the graphics market by launching a new business activity that is going to address to businesses (B2B) and consumers (B2C).
Secondary data about specific market sector were collected and a market research conducted in order to examine the perspective of launching this new for PLAISIO service not only in terms of market but also in monetary terms. Finally, after having made analysis about the main competitors and market players, segmentation analysis, the description of the business model used as well as the production process, we are making profits’ forecast for 4 years (2005-2008).

The purpose of this project is to research Electronic Commerce trends in the national and international tourism industry. The trends in electronic tourism markets are examined and the services provided by existing tourism portal sites are analysed. The scope of the project is to assess alternative business models on the web and identify tourism services requirements that emanate from these business models, providing high quality information for the development of an advanced system providing tourism services through the Internet. The project delivers an in-depth description of the online B2B and B2C markets for tourism services, the analysis of what the needs and/or the requirements of the tourism market are, and, finally, a description of services that are provided by tourism portal sites.

Customer loyalty, a term that is used to describe a buyer’s preference for doing business with a particular business establishment, nowadays has become more important than ever before, due to the economic crisis and the ease with which customers shift to more economic product offerings. It is already known that 80 percent of business comes from 20 percent of customers. This 80-20 rule is widely accepted amongst businesses of all shapes and sizes – generally, a small group of your customers are generating the bulk of your revenue (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/1/80-20-rule.asp). As a result, celebrating, acknowledging and rewarding especially these 20 percent help to ensure they continue to show loyalty to your business.

Toward this direction, there are different loyalty programs brands implement. Best-in class activities come from different sectors ranging from airline industry to FMCG products and each one of them offers a different perspective to loyalty acquisition.

As technology improves day by day however, new trends arise and new propositions are just around the corner. CEM and mobile marketing are the latest propositions that show us where the industry is heading. They give the opportunity to brands by exploiting their benefits to reach their customers real-time, engage with them and reward them the way they would like to be rewarded.

The purpose of this project is to design and develop a Μodel Online B2B Procurement Platform to leverage P&G’s reach to a greater number of pharmacies across Greece and provide with a Marketing and Go to Market Plan for the first six months of operation.

Methodology: In order to gain insight on the characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry a detailed Landscape Analysis on the Greek Market and Αbroad was performed. Having identified the limitations, opportunities and existing Best Practices of the industry a comprehensive qualitative research on a number of selected Pharmacists was conducted. Taking all the above as an input, an Alpha version of the platform was created. A secondary research with pharmacists was conducted, asking their feedback in the design and features proposed. Then the platform was finalized.

Findings: Key finding is that the Greek pharmacists are not utilizing new technologies extensively and are very averse to change in their modus operandi. There is however a trend towards adopting new technologies by pharmacies and wholesalers and P&G must act as a leader of market developments.

Conclusions: Despite limitations, the research shows that pharmacies are willing to gradually adopt the new platform as long as it improves on their practice and does not interrupt significantly their working habits. The efficient substitution of the current Sales Representative Procurement Model is also a crucial parameter to consider.

This study’s target is to deeply understand the functions and the principles that describe the pharmacy channel in Greece.

The target is to make a detailed description of the bodies that play important role in it, a description of their structure and their inter-relations, as well as to present strategic solutions, that can be used from the company P&G, in order to commercially invest in this channel.

The first part of this work, is based on a detailed “desk research”, in which, different and intersecting resources have been used, such as the internet, the company’s data bases, the University’s Library, data from Pharmaceutical Associations, etc., in order to describe the key “players”, the Pharmacies’ types, the environment and the strategies that are used in the field of the Greek Pharmacy as well as an analytical record of the bonds and the relationships of all the above.

In the second part, the study presents the findings from the market research that has been executed for the purposes of the current work, based on special questionaires designed for this reason, and describes the profile of the Greek Pharmacist and the Greek Shopper of the pharmacy.

Finally, based on the findings that have been collected form the analysis of the research data, the study presents vital strategic suggestions and indicates commercially strategic solutions, in order P&G to enter the pharmacy market.

The objective of this project was to propose a process structure and organization that will simplify the current communication flows and offer new ideas on how the company will manage to increase sales representatives and CBD managers productivity, to maximize in store competitiveness for P&G brands, to manage more efficiently out of stock, to effectively handle in store activities replacing the existing paper-based business process, to enable CBD management to take the right business decisions and to evaluate sales forces and customers’ performance in a quick and easy way. Based on extensive interviewing and observations, and applying methods for business process redesign, the team proposed specific action for reorganizing both internal and external activities of the Customer Business Development for improved productivity and customer service.

As immigration to Greece has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, Procter & Gamble has identified the need to collect data and adjust its strategies in order to effectively respond to the gradually changing Greek macro-environment. This transformation of the Greek society and of the Greek market led P&G to sponsor the project concerning the consumer behaviour of immigrants and its effects on P&G’s different product categories. This report includes the citation of the demographic characteristics and the consumer profile of immigrants, and more specifically Albanians and Bulgarians, the analysis of the results of the market research conducted by GFK on behalf of P&G in the laundry detergent, feminine care and baby diapers categories and the citation of recommendations in order for P&G to address more effectively the immigrant population.

In the last few years has been observed a sharp increase in the turnover of convenience stores, although their number is slightly decreasing. The aim of this project is to map this market, evaluate the underlying opportunities and arrive at an efficient commercial strategy for P&G products. For the market mapping section of this project, a thorough and systematic store-check in the Attica region has been conducted. The selection of the stores that were visited was based on statistical methods and their geographical dispersion. The focus of the store-checks addresses, through specific and structured questionnaires, inter alias the following: a) store metrics (number of categories of handled products, presence of P&G/ competitive products, contribution of products/ categories to turnover, etc) , b) current preferred supplier (C&C, wholesaler, jobber), c) consumer profile and unique services offered. After careful consideration of the issues arisen and systematic analysis of the data collected, an attempt is made to come to a comprehensive and financially sound commercial strategy proposal comprising the following: a) P&G Pricing Policy: type and size of discounts to be offered, b) Product Assortment to be offered and c) Coverage and Distribution: possibility of dedicated sales force, ex-van sales etc.

The grocery industry undergoes a significant change, which is not so much obvious at the end user level as it is further upstream in the supply chain. This project proposes a business plan for the introduction of an innovative system of services. The underlying concept of this proposition is the creation of an intelligent shopping infrastructure, which will be beneficial to both consumers and retailers by creating a relationship of commitment among them. The project proposes guidelines for efficient process reengineering and substantial cost reductions throughout the supply chain.

Reckitt Benckiser’s existing sales channel is mainly focused on traditional supermarket channels excluding top end. However, many other channels exist and as a result there is a need – opportunity by widening the sales reach (including to potentially changing the current assortment). The scope of the project is to identify new business opportunities for RB’s brands and to make a market / supply chain assessment for specific channels. A literature review was conducted to form the basis on which the project would be run. An individual channel analysis of kiosks – haberdasheries, pet shops, gas stations and beauty institutes – coiffures, provided us with the necessary key findings in order to propose the entrance strategy. Specific brands are proposed for introduction to the new channels and the role of the middlemen – wholesalers is catalytic for the successful entrance. Implications from the proposed strategies are indicated at the levelof strategy, structure, systems, staff and skills. Concluding, benefits can be maximized through the exploitation of the new business opportunities that lie within the new channels.

The goal of this project was to evaluate an Internet platform, known as PCSO (Process of Collaborative Store Ordering), created by Retail@Link in order to significantly ameliorate collaboration between suppliers and retailers. Its evaluation has been based on quantitative data, gathered during the last months, such as sales, products’ deficiencies (known as Out-of-Shelf situations), stock measurements, and percentage of orders agreed, but also on qualitative elements, including interviews with sellers and questionnaires completed by PCSO’s users in some “Veropoulos” stores. These stores were selected as representative of the whole chain and comprised pilot stores using PCSO and stores using the traditional ordering procedure. The major factors, used to evaluate the system’s ability to provide solutions, are the number of products missing from the shelves and the percentage of products sold that were inside the agreed mix. Moreover, an issue that inhibits the system’s further use has been examined, namely the variations observed between real stock and the numbers that PCSO provides to users. In this project, we present the methodology for the evaluation of the system, the outcome results, the final conclusions derived and some proposals for the future use of this system.

The present field study project is divided in two parts: In Part I, after a short presentation of the Exhibition Organization industry, to which ROTA belongs, the present situation of the company is analysed and a number of management tools are presented. Using these tools and based on the objectives for the enhancement of the operation of the finance department, a three-level proposal is synthesised in order to re-plan the department and stress its the critical role in the operational function of ROTA. In Part II, an evaluation of the value of the company is conducted, using the eVal software. Three different scenarios are analysed regarding the future course of basic indices of the company and, based on the projections, three alternative estimations of the value of the company are presented. Finally, an analysis of the basic financial ratios of the company based on the financial statements of the last 5 fiscal years is realised, as well as a risk analysis, in order to examine the variability of the results of the valuation (the latter using the @Risk software).

This study examines Albania, FYROM, Bulgaria and Romania and determines whether they provide favourable market conditions for Sara-Lee to expand its Cafitesse coffee system operation there. The expansion will take place through local distributors and not through alternative entry modes. Once a country qualified for expansion, a further investigation was made to provide Sara Lee with proposed selling prices and a list of possible local distributors.
The business environment in each country was evaluated through a PEST analysis. The market capacity of each country was determined through the analysis of the coffee market and the tourism industry. Other relevant information, such as coffee habits, climate etc was also taken into account. In order to collect field data regarding specific market issues, several interviews were held with locals and hotel owners and specific issues, such as taxation, were examined.
Based on the analysis the study recommends that Sara Lee expand its operations to Romania.

Using a method known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) the project team performed a comparative analysis and evaluation in the logistics operations of the J&S Sklavenitis branches. The warehouse surfaces and the labor costs as input variables, and the days-on-hand, the inventory deviation and the percentage of returns as output variables were integrated in the model. Based on the results of the model, the team mapped, analyzed, and compared the processes followed in these warehouses in order to identify the causes of the efficiency difference. The main conclusion is that the lack of technology – mainly in IT systems – the lack of common established process by the central Management of the company and the lack of data that could enable their monitoring and evaluation, contribute to reduced efficiency and increased logistics costs. Recommendations related to the introduction of a Warehouse Management System, the standardization and enforcement of processes by the central Management were developed.

The Greek company Tasty Foods, a member of PepsiCo International, has been a leader on the Greek market in core potato chips category with its worldwide brand Lay’s. However, due to competitive pressures, emerging trends, negative consumer perceptions and worsening market conditions, potato chips per capita (PCC) consumption has remained unchanged relative to other European countries. Therefore, the company set long-term objectives in order to increase PPC consumption. One of the ideas, based on the UK success story, was to explore a new occasion – joint consumption of potato chips and sandwich. The team has launched a survey research project, developing it through two phases – the quantitative one, with the questionnaire prepared, distributed and analyzed, and the qualitative one, with two focus groups organized and assessed. The findings have shown that the sandwich and chips occasion does exist but not in a wide consumers’ base; however, it might be further explored provided that some important issues are tackled such as the gradual change of negative consumers perceptions towards the understanding that PC are made of natural potatoes. Accordingly, the MBA team proposed a specific marketing mix strategy towards achieving these objectives.

This project consisted of identifying and analysing potential opportunities for Tasty Foods SA in the expansion of its current sales network. Following brainstorming and scenario analysis, the potentially most lucrative alternative channels were selected and analysed in depth following a specific method based on weighting of a range of strategic criteria. Based on this work, recommendations for selection and implementation were developed and proposed to the company.

Toyota Hellas is undergoing important growth and development. This is reflected also in the after-sales organization where new developments call for continuous improvement of customer service. This project focuses particularly on the results of the after sales activities and consists of developing a (MSI) quality system and plan for its implementation in order to improve the after-sales service (AFS) operations. More specifically, the project comprised an in-depth analysis of existing MSIs, data collection on customers and service activities resulting in the development of an MSI model as a management tool for decision-making. On this basis, proposition of improvement actions to elevate customer satisfaction levels were made.

A quantitative Usage and Attitude survey was conducted by questionnaire provided the following: A general overview of the users based on their demographics, descriptive overview of the consumer behaviour (frequency of product use, desirable attributes in the product, purchase frequency etc.), brand performance of the main brands in the industry, and attempt to find statistically strong relationships for the reasons of consumer behaviour. The sample that was requested by the company was 130 individuals with only quota the sex category (50% male – 50% female). The data collection was conducted face-to-face and the data analysis was run with SPSS. The findings presented are only the ones that are statistically significant. The results though should be treated indicatively due to size and location (concentrated in Athens) of the sample analyzed. By taking into consideration the findings of the study we concluded to specific results and based on them we proposed specific actions in order for AIM to move up from its steady number #2 position and gain back its lost popularity.