Internet & E-commerce
Operational Due Diligence of Leading Direct Marketing Company: Positioning the Buyer for a Fact-based Bid and Subsequent Rapid Savings Capture
Identified $14-29MM in relatively easily achievable savings (sourcing, freight, and catalog opportunities, along with a $26-37MM potential from inventory reduction), which collectively far exceeded management projections. Due diligence scope included China sourcing costs, outbound freight, catalog printing/mailing costs, call center operations, warehousing and inventory. Client, a mega-PE firm, won this hotly-contested auction. After deal closure, helped management team capture identified opportunities.
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Operations Improvements at Large Direct Marketing Company: Capturing Sourcing and Inventory Opportunities
Assisted management team in capturing $10+MM in sourcing cost reduction and $20+MM in inventory optimization opportunities identified during operational due diligence. The effort included developing new sourcing function and processes, crafting a strategic sourcing approach including a business case for Asia Sourcing Office, re-sourcing 15,000+ China-sourced items ($100+MM spend), and creating robust inventory management approach/processes.
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Sourcing Optimization at Large Direct Marketing Company: Consolidating the Vendor Base to Reduce Complexity
Helped management consolidate China base of 1,700+ factories and capture cost savings ($8.7MM, 12% in sourcing savings). 5 phase effort included creating the bid package, supporting the bidding process, building a quote evaluation tool, and awarding the business. Returned 6 months later to help management diagnose/respond to price increases driven by macro factors (e.g., Chinese currency appreciation, elimination of Chinese export tax rebate, commodity price increases, and new quality/factory inspection requirements).
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Exit Preparation/Positioning of Entrepreneurial Specialty Online Retailer: Estimating Market Size and Growth Outlook of a Niche Sporting Goods Market to Support the Sale Process
Conduct a 2-week market study to establish product and user profiles, market drivers and trends, competitive landscape, and channel dynamics, as well as to build a market size model establishing historical and projected market growth rates. Gotham undertook a bottom-up approach to analyze this niche market with no available market data, including: extensive secondary research; ~50 interviews with retail stores and industry experts; consumer surveys; and creation of 3 market sizing models. By enabling the client’s offering materials to show attractive growth prospects, the company was sold to a private buyer at an attractive valuation.
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Pricing Oprimization at Leading Catalog Company: Creating Strategic Pricing Capabilities for Fact- and Behavioral-based Pricing Decisions
Put in place necessary fact base and analytical processes to enable proper pricing decisions in a market with distinct-price thresholds. Created pricing guidelines and robust pricing process. Immediately applied to reprice 1,100 items, with a projected margin increase of $1.3MM.
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Planning & Forecasting Process Improvements at Leading Catalog Retailer: Instituting Data-driven, Synchronized Top-down and Bottom-up Planning and Forecasting Process
Created robust planning and forecasting process to enable merchandisers to better plan their assortment for the next 5 quarters. Effort included building a bottom-up planning tool to create the merchandising plan, designing an excellent process for reconciliation of the top-down financial plan with the bottom-up plan, and creating a rolling 12-month planning process to replace the company's annual one-time process. After pilot testing in one department, new planning and forecasting process being rolled out and used for upcoming FY.
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