Business Analytics

Individual Assessment (70%)

Due via Blackboard 10th Nov 2020

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CPS: Understanding Customers

Corrugated Paper Sales also known as CPS Paper Products are an independent paper
manufacturer based in Manchester, United Kingdom. CPS has been supplying paper products
to merchants and packaging companies for years. The company has been suppling paper
products since 1984. With their specialist manufacturing machinery and experienced staff, CPS
Paper Products thrive in their paper and packaging markets.2

Since the current awareness of customers for the need for ‘re-cycle able environmentally
friendly’ packaging materials, CPS has an environmental Paper based packaging system in
place that is essential for many industries nowadays. Communication, food and consumer
products are just a few of the things that have improved based on paper-based packaging.
Products are a versatile and cost-efficient method to transport, protect and preserve a wide
range of items whether it is fragile products or heavy items. CPS supplies high quality products
that are sturdy, yet lightweight and can be adapted (customized) to meet all customer
expectations. In addition, to promote sustainable practices within the industry CPS’s
manufacturing enables the company to create products that have a smaller impact on the
environment than plastic based packaging. Using only renewable sources, paper supplied is
completely recyclable and reusable hence reducing the amount of permanent waste created,
playing an important role in preserving the quality of the environment.2

Purchased in 2007 by West Bromwich-based CBS Packaging Group, the business was
relocated in 2012 from its long-term base in a 27,000 sq. ft. canal-side factory at Timperley,
Manchester to its present 41,000 sq. ft. location a few miles away from Eccles. Although
rewinding paper for corrugators is CPS Paper Products’ core business, the Manchester-based
manufacturer continues to extend their capabilities. CPS Paper Products process around 20,000
tons of paper per year, repairing and resizing damaged reels and redundant stock2

CPS sells paper products to two main market segments: the Magazines industry and the Book
Publishing industry. Further, these paper products are sold to these market segments, either
directly to the customer or indirectly through a broker. CPS wanted to develop a better
understanding of both the characteristics of its customers and the relationships between their
perceptions of CPS, and their actions towards CPS (e.g., satisfaction and likelihood to
recommend). From this understanding of its customers, CPS will be in a good position to
develop its marketing plan for the next year.

To develop this level of understanding of its situation, a survey of existing customers of CPS
was conducted through an established marketing research firm. Three types of information
were collected in a survey of 200 purchasing managers from firms buying from CPS. The first
type of data reflects the characteristics of the respondent and includes information such as
the size of the customer and length of the purchase relationship. The second type of
information was perceptions of CPS’s performance on 13 attributes. These attributes
(developed through focus groups, a pre-test, and used in previous studies) are considered
(to be) the most influential in the selection of suppliers in the paper industry. The third type of
information relates to purchase outcomes and business relationships. For instance,
satisfaction with CPS, and whether the firm would consider a strategic alliance / partnership
with CPS.

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The data are available in the 7FNCE040W Business Analytics CW CPS S1 2020_2021.sav
file on Blackboard and a definition of each variable and an explanation of its coding are given
in Appendix 1. Please assume the sample of 200 respondents is representative of CPS’s
customers.

The Task

Please write a memo, of no more than 3,000 words, to the management of CPS
addressing the following issues:
 Describe the respondents of the questionnaire. Are there any significant differences
in the outcome / relationship measures based on any of the customer characteristics
variables?
 Develop models to predict;
1. Satisfaction of customers,
2. likelihood to recommendation, OR likelihood to purchase from the
perceptions of the performance variables.
For both models identify the most influential performance variables.
 Make recommendation to CPS that enhances their understanding of their
customers so that the management can develop its Business (Marketing plan) for
the next year based on the findings of your analysis of the data provided and any
other external factors which would affect the business in this sector. (hint: You may
use Simple/Multiple regression models; Logistic regression models and or cluster
methods or factor analysis). You are expected to use either SPSS or R to carry out
the analysis

The format of the memo is in Appendix

2. Submission

The memo and supporting appendices, if any, should be combined into one document, which
must be submitted
by 13:00 on 10th November 2020 via BB collaborate only. It will automatically be scanned
through a text matching system (designed to check for possible plagiarism). YOU MUST
include your name, student ID number, and word count on the first page of your assignment.

1 Adapted from Hair, Joseph F. Jr., William C. Black, Barry J. Babin, and Rolph E. Anderson,
Multivariate Data Analysis, International Edition, 7th Edition, Pearson Higher Education.

2
https://www.cpspaperproducts.co.uk/paper-products/

Marking Scheme
The document you submit will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

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Component Percentage
Presentation 10%
 Word count provided on front page and does not exceed limit
 No spelling, grammar, punctuation errors
 Properly formatted and professional in organisation and appearance
 Citations and references provided, if needed
 Appropriate use of appendices for necessary SPSS results

Quality of the Analysis 50%

 Appropriate selection of variables and analyses
 Selection of analyses are sensible and provides valuable insights
 Appropriate interpretation of the results

Quality of the Communication 40%

 Clarity and completeness of the recommendation
 The rationale for the recommendation is connected to the analyses
 Clarity of the explanation relates to inferences from the results
 Connection between the discussion and the managerial problem

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 APPENDIX 1
Questionnaire
Details

Customer Characteristics

The five characteristics of the responding firms reflect the basic characteristics and their
business relationship with CPS. The five variables are as follows:

Variable Name Definition Coding

Customer Length of time a particular 1 = Less than 1 year;
Duration customer has been buying 2 = Between 1 and 5 years;
Q1
from CPS 3 = Longer than 5 years

Customer Type Type of industry Publishers that 0 = Magazine;

Q2 purchases CPS’s paper 1 = Books
products
Customer Size Based on number of 0 = Small firm, < 500
employees employees; 1 = Large firm,
Q3
≥ 500 employees
Customer Region Customer location 0 = Europe;
Q4 1 = Outside Europe
Distribution Sales and services are 0 = Indirectly through a
System provided through this broker;
Q5 distribution system 1 = Directly through
salesforce

Perceptions of CPS’s Performance

Each of these variables was measured on a graphic rating scale, where a ten-centimetre line
was drawn between the endpoints, labelled "Poor" and "Excellent". Respondents indicated
their perceptions by placing a mark anywhere on the line. The mark was then measured and
the distance from zero (in centimetres) was recorded. The result was a scale ranging from
zero to ten, rounded to a single decimal place. The thirteen attributes rated by each
respondent are as follows:

Variable Name Definition

Product Quality Perceived level of quality of CPS’s paper products
Q6
E-Commerce Overall image of CPS’s website, especially its user-
Q7 Activities/Website friendliness

Technical Support Extent to which technical support is offered to

Q8 help solve product/service issues
Complaint Resolution Extent to which any complaints are resolved in a
Q9 timely and complete manner
Advertising Perceptions of CPS’s advertising campaign in all types
Q10 of media

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 Product Line Depth and breadth of CPS’s product line to meet
Q11
customer needs
Q12 Salesforce Image Overall image of CPS’s salesforce

Q13 Competitive Pricing Extent to which CPS offers competitive prices

Warranty & Claims Extent to which CPS stands behind its product/service
Q14 warranties and claims
New Products Extent to which CPS develops and sells new products
Q15
Ordering & Billing Perception that ordering and billing is handled
Q16 efficiently and correctly
Price Flexibility Perceived willingness of CPS sales representatives to
Q17 negotiate price on purchases of paper products
Delivery Speed Amount of time it takes to deliver the paper
Q18 products once an order has been confirmed

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Purchase Outcomes & Relationship

The first four variables below are measured on a graphic rating scale, where a ten-
centimetre line was drawn between the endpoints, labelled as indicated in the coding
column. Respondents indicated their perceptions by placing a mark anywhere on the line.
The mark was then measured and the distance from zero (in centimetres) was recorded. The
result was a scale ranging from zero to ten, rounded to a single decimal place. Five specific
measures were obtained that reflected the outcomes of the respondent’s purchase
relationships with CPS. These measures include:

Variable Name Definition Coding

0 – 10 graphic scale,
Customer satisfaction with past
Satisfaction where ‘0’ indicates "Not at
Q19 purchases from CPS All" and ‘10’ indicates
"Completely Satisfied"
0 – 10 graphic scale,
Likely to Likelihood of recommending CPS to
where ‘0’ indicates "Not at
Q20 Recommend other firms as a supplier of paper All Likely" and ‘10’
products indicates "Definitely"

0 – 10 graphic scale,
Likelihood of purchasing paper
Likely to where ‘0’ indicates "Not at
Q21 Purchase products from CPS in the future All Likely" and ‘10’
indicates "Definitely"

Percentage of the responding firm’s Measured on a 100-

Purchase Level
Q22 paper needs purchased from CPS point percentage
scale

Extent to which the

Consider 0 = No, would not
customer/respondent perceives his
Strategic consider; 1 = Yes,
Q23 or her firm would engage in strategic would consider
Alliance
alliance/partnership with CPS

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 Appendix 2
Memo
Format

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The memo should adhere to the following format. With the addition of the point 4.
1. Introduction / Situation Assessment / Recommendation: This section should provide a
statement of the purpose of your memo and your recommendation. Given that you have
limited space, eliminate the text about "how you have been hired to do a study" and
quickly get to the point of what you are recommending. The key to writing a good
statement of purpose is making clear what the situation is that the reader is confronting
(threat to profitability or from competitors, market share, harms to society, etc.), and how
and/or why following your recommendation addresses this situation. Students usually
make a mistake in this paragraph by providing too much descriptive information about the
situation. Remember, the reader knows the situation, what is unknown is your insight
about the most important factors of the situation.

2. Rationale for Recommendation: Here is where you link your recommendation to your
analysis of the situation. The rationale should clarify how your recommendation evolved
from your analysis and addresses the situation faced by management. In this section you
should clearly articulate the findings from your analysis – but not the process of your
analysis. The reader does not care what you did first, what software package you used,
or how you manipulated the data, if at all. The pertinent results should be described, with
supporting statistics, in your text. All relevant output and statistics should also be included
in an appendix.

The key to writing a good rationale is to make sure your logic or line of reasoning
addresses the reader’s concerns, explains how the recommendation serves the major
situation identified in the introduction, and provides good coverage of your analysis.

3. Key Points to Note:

Notice there is no conclusion. Unlike academic writing, writing for a business audience
requires you to say your case as quickly and succinctly as possible. Essentially, your
conclusion is in the introduction.
Do not include all your SPSS output in an appendix. Be selective about what you include
and be sure to note the inclusion of any output in the text memo, otherwise there is no
reason for the reader to attend to it in the appendix.

4. An additional Appendices section 2:

This section should contain a critique of the method employed. In addition, any additional
information related to the application of business analytics techniques used in this sector.

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Adapted from the Case Study Instructions available at http://www.csed.umn.edu/EMSS/case.htm, accessed
29 January 2018.
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