Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 33

Executive Summary

Overview

This report is an analysis of Huskie Motor Company’s (HMC) sales data from the years 2019-
2020. It contains an analysis of HMC’s overall performance (global brand performance, sales
channel performance, car model performance), Financial Analytics (contribution margins per
channel, total variable costs by model), Operational Analytics of HMC (top and bottom models,
marketing impact on finances and days that inventory was on lot before sale) and Forecasting
(sales volume, contribution margin, tariff). This report also discusses the findings of these
analyses, recommendations and exploration of issues related to ethics and security that arise with
the evolution of big data and its use.

Company Background

Huskie Motor Company is an automobile manufacturer that sells and manufactures globally. They
currently sell three brands of cars across 15 countries in Europe, North America and South
America, offering a wide variety of customisations of their vehicles such as colour, trim, body
style etc.

Objectives

The first objective of this report was to conduct a data analytics and discussion analysis of sales
data gathered by Huskie Motor Company on their current financial situation and gain company
insights and recommendations for improvement on these findings.

The second objective of this report was to explore the potential uses of big data in
financial/operational analytics for HMC and to look at the potential issues that may arise in
gathering, using and storing big data relating to security, ethics and data integrity.

2
Findings

Regarding these objectives, the main findings of the report included:

 Focusing on selling in countries with low tariff rates to increase revenue.


 Discontinue sales of the Tatra brand in Europe and South America to save capital and focus
more on better-selling models in these regions.
 Discontinue specific models that generate little profit compared to the fixed and variable
costs they generate.
 They are gathering and applying different types of qualitative data about their customers
to improve forecasting and business decision-making.

Using their sales data to provide analysis demonstrates a potential for further use of HMCs
company data to provide insights. However, this report also discusses privacy and data security
issues for these further uses and presents findings of errors and discrepancies in the gathered data,
such as duplicate VINs, spelling errors and calculation errors.

3
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................5
2.0 Business Overview ....................................................................................................................6
3.0 Data Issues, Discrepancies and Cleaning ..................................................................................7
4.0 Insights.....................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Overall Performance Analytics ............................................................................................11
4.1.1 Analysis of HMC’s Global Performance ......................................................................11
4.1.2 Analysis of HMC’s Brand Performance .......................................................................12
4.1.3 Analysis of Sales Channel Performance .......................................................................13
4.1.4 Top and Bottom Performing Models.............................................................................15
4.2 Financial Analytics ..............................................................................................................16
4.2.1 Analysis of Contribution Margin (CM) Per Model.......................................................16
4.2.2 Analysis of Average Variable Cost Per Model .............................................................16
4.2.3 Analysis of Variability of Variable Cost Per Model .....................................................17
4.2.4 Analysis of Contribution Margin Per Channel..............................................................18
4.3 Operational Analytics ..........................................................................................................19
4.3.1 Analysis of Top 3 and Bottom 3 Selling Model Options in each Region .....................19
4.3.2 Analysis of Days on Lot................................................................................................21
4.3.3 Analysis of Marketing Sales Impact on Financial Performance ...................................23
4.4 Forecast ................................................................................................................................25
4.4.1 Forecasting ....................................................................................................................25
4.4.2 Analysis of Sales Volume Forecast Analysis................................................................25
4.4.3 Analysis of Contribution Margin Forecast....................................................................26
4.4.4 Analysis of Potential 0.7% Tax Increase Revenue Impact ...........................................26
4.4.5 Analysis of Potential Issues with Forecasting...............................................................27
5.0 Other Critical Issues ................................................................................................................28
6.0 Recommendations....................................................................................................................29
7.0 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................30
Reference List................................................................................................................................31
Appendices ....................................................................................................................................33
Figure 6. Infographic .....................................................................................................................33

4
1.0 Introduction

Over the past few decades, the evolution of technology and the growth of digitisation has allowed
for a vast amount of data to be accumulated and used by businesses in their management control
systems to create accurate and detailed assessments of their performances (Schnegg & Möller,
2022). Even though the potential big data allows businesses, it is not without issues regarding
quality, ethics and security.

This report, prepared for Huskie Motor Company’s (HMC) executives and management team aim
to perform data analytics on HMC sales data in 2019 – 2020. It will include an introduction to the
business, providing a background to the business and industry in which they operate. The piece
will also discuss HMC’s 2019-2020 sales data and specify data issues and discrepancies
encountered in the cleaning process. Data analytics will be in the form of visualisations of HMC’s
overall business performance, finances and operations will be conducted and analysed to capture
the firm’s current productivity and success.

This report will explore issues related to gathering and utilising data and how it can create barriers
for firms in increasing growth through data analytics. This analysis is done to seek for company
improvement regarding growth, product development and data gathering, and to form
recommendations to tackle the possibility of future challenges that HMC’s may encounter.

5
2.0 Business Overview

The primary goal of data analysis is to aid HMC in comprehending the present state of the business
and to enable HMC to make more accurate business decisions and strategies to improve
performance. HMC can more appropriately plan production schedules and monitor the
corporation's market share inside each country by using predictions and analytical data.

Huskie Motor Corporation oversees vehicle manufacturing, handling three brands with various
models and categories. HMC came into existence as an offshoot, or “spinoff”, of an existing
automobile manufacturing corporation, Blue Diamond Automotive (Klepper 2002, p.649), which
means HMC is a new and a minor player in the automotive manufacturing market.

HMC, although a spinoff of an established company, has the fundamental knowledge and
understanding of effective data management, data analytics, and visualisation to understand the
business, make decisions, and compete in the industry. HMC has amassed large volumes of
transactional data; its data gathering and collation operations have space for improvement to
maximise sales potential as the firm raises its reputation and makes its mark in the automotive
industry. However, the company's rapid growth makes it hard to keep up with the vast volumes of
data accumulating. Even more complicated matter is a rising demand for reporting information
and in-depth product line analysis, which requires additional data availability (Dzuranin, A. C.,
Perols, J., & Hart, D. L. 2018).

Today, the automobile industry, often considered one of the most global industries, is in the middle
of a dramatic transformation (Jerenz, A. 2008). Automobile manufacturing and sales is a
complicated and highly competitive industry. Despite the automobile industry's worldwide reach,
only 15 businesses produce 88% of the world's vehicles (Dzuranin, A. C., Perols, J., & Hart, D. L.
2018). The statistics demonstrated the industry's tremendous rise, with 79 million vehicles
produced and 66 million automobiles sold globally in 2021 (Automobile Industry Pocket Guide
2022-2023 2022). Furthermore, automakers continue integrating digital technology into their
vehicles, increasing Digital Automobile Sales and Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales, etc (Ross, B. 2022).

HMC has a very modern structure and has acquired a massive proportion of 2019-2020 sales data
to be analysed from the methods indicated. Dealers may utilise their in-house information with a
big data platform to optimise their sales, revenue streams, marketing, margins, operational

6
expenditures, etc. The study will examine dataset cleaning and big data analytics to offer a read on
current performance and a look ahead with a forecasting analysis.

3.0 Data Issues, Discrepancies and Cleaning

The original data from HMC were found to have anomalies such as duplicated VIN numbers,
misrepresentation of linking country with the region, spelling error of country name, and some
calculation errors. We have fully utilised Excel’s function to remove all the anomalies.

Firstly, we removed three sets of duplicated VIN numbers; the data list went from 2686 to 2680.
Next, we have corrected the spelling error of “Columbia” under both the Tariff Rate sheet and
Actual Sales sheet to “Colombia” as well (Refer to Figure 1.0). We have also corrected the country
regional error, such as changing the USA from South America and Europe to the North America
region and Canada from the South America region to the North America region (Refer to Figure
1.1). We would be unable to link this data set on Tableau to the Actual Sales Data if the spelling
is wrong. 3 Models (Cherry, Avatar and Flower) and one Package (Summer) were found to be
non-existent and removed from the data.

As one calculation is related to another, an anomaly appears when the initial calculation is
incorrect. The first error is on a total variable cost, which leads to the wrong calculation of the
contribution margin, which then continues causing mistakes on the net and after-tax revenue.
Furthermore, we found that some of the tariff amounts for each country in the Actual Sales Data
Set were incorrect; we checked and regulated everything to be by the actual tariff rate and found
that some anomalies were due to different tax rates applied in the initial calculation (Refer to Figure
1.2). As a result, the original analysis regarding after-tax was also found to be at fault. We have
recalculated all the above-mentioned problems, and only the total fixed cost is faultless. Refer to
table 1 below:

Calculation:
1. Net Sales ✓
2. Total Variable Cost ✗
3. Total Fixed Cost ✓

7
4. Contribution Margin ✗
5. Tariff ✗
6. Net Revenue ✗
7. After-tax ✗
Table 1: Calculation Errors Checking

We tried to verify gross sales, which we thought the accuracy was critical. While counting option
cost, we found one “Summer Package Option” in which the price is not stated in the Packages and
Cost list (Refer to Figure 1.3). And the price for different types of seats is also not listed in the
data. Hence, as several problems occurred, we could not do any verification.

Figure 1.0 Colombia Spelling Error

8
Figure 1.1 Country Regional Error

Figure 1.2 Tariff Amount Error

9
Figure 1.3 Options and Package Prices Error

10
4.0 Insights

4.1 Overall Performance Analytics

4.1.1 Analysis of HMC’s Global Performance

Analysing the dataset provided by HMC, the company’s global performance varies from region to
region. Some areas have a firmer hold on their global sales market when looking at the overall
profit after taxes and operating costs. Nearly 60% of the company's earnings come from the North
American region, which includes nations like the United States, Canada, and Mexico (Figure 2.1).
The European region was the next most profitable region (23.08%), and South America was the
least profitable market (19.32%).

Figure 2.1: HMC's Profit Performance for All Countries in All Regions

When comparing the tariff rates of each country, the countries with higher tariff rates perform
worse than those with lower ones, and vice versa. HMC would be advised to switch their focus
from sales in high-tariff nations to those with reduced tariffs (particularly in North America and
Europe, as in figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2: Relationship Between Tariff Rate and After-Tax Profit

11
4.1.2 Analysis of HMC’s Brand Performance

HMC provides a multitude of brands for customers to choose from, such as Apechete, Jackson,
and Tatra. Apechete and Tatra, which each provides 38.64% of profit, are the most lucrative
brands, according to the analysis of brand performance. On the other hand, Jackson performs the
worst because it accounts for only 24.61% of HMC's global sales. An impressive finding regarding
the Tatra brand came from a subsequent study, which revealed that 33.93% of the 36.75% of the
profit gained was made in North America (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3: Overall Percentage of All Brands' After-Tax Profit Contribution in All Regions

12
Figure 2.4: Regional Proportion of Sales Volume of All Brands

The anomaly of Tatra sales should be the centre of attention when making recommendations.
Compared to the 1133 vehicles sold in North America, the brand has sold 128 vehicles in Europe
and South America (Figure 2.4). Therefore, the advice is to stop selling Tatra vehicles in Europe
and South America. This would leave HMC with $2,364,226 in capital (Figure 2.5) to invest in
more lucrative brands or North American Tatra infrastructure.

Figure 2.5: Regional Proportion of Variable Costs for All Brands

4.1.3 Analysis of Sales Channel Performance

Regarding HMC’s sheer sales volume, the fleet option in the sales channel L1 was performing the
best, with a total of 1118 cars sold (Figure 2.6). Analysing the sales channel L2, the performance
of the Employee/Partner programmes is the best, with a sales volume of 676 cars. Furthermore, to
delve deeper into the volume of cars sold, with 970 vehicles being leased to clients, sales channel
L3 demonstrates that leasing is the most preferred choice (Figure 2.6).

13
Figure 2.6: Sales Volume of All Sales Channels

The statistics below are measured in the number of cars sold/leased/rented. Prioritising the most
lucrative options instead of the sale capacity is essential when making recommendations. The
retail, rental, and leasing dimensions are the most lucrative in all three sales channels. Even though
the fleet option sells the most vehicles (1118 in total), it only contributes to 25.36% of the
company's overall earnings. Because they have the highest variable costs and generate minuscule
profits, it is advisable to adapt the marketing expenses from fleet and government customers to all
others when proposing (Figure 2.7).

Figure 2.7: Proportion of All Sales Channel After-Tax Profit

14
Figure 2.8: Variable Cost vs Variable Marketing Cost of Sales Channel L1

4.1.4 Top and Bottom Performing Models

Currently, HMC sells 15 models on the market; based on a broad study of performance in terms
of profitability, all but 2 of these models are showing a profit (Figure 2.9).

HMC currently offers 15 different models on the current market; when making a general analysis
of the performance in terms of profitability, it can be said that all but two models show a profit.
The advantage model is the highest by a significant amount of profit (26.25% of the total). On the
other hand, Jespie and Mortimer can be viewed as an unprofitable model due to its negative impact
on HMC’s profit, with a loss of 5.68%.

The best course of action would be to eliminate models that earn no or very little profit if HMC
can't improve the areas of labour, materials, overhead, freight, and warranty.

Figure 2.9: Profit Contribution of All Models

15
4.2 Financial Analytics

4.2.1 Analysis of Contribution Margin (CM) Per Model

The contribution margin refers to the value remaining after deducting variable expenses from
income. It is simultaneously an indicator of the subject's ability to operate above the number of
variable costs (Ivandi, M. I. 2005). Figure 3.1 depicts each model’s contribution margins (CM)
within three brands. Model Advantage of the Tatra brand has a significantly higher CM per model
than the other models. At the same time, Crux (Apechete), Brutus (Jackson) and Mortimer (Tatra)
have the lowest CM per model of each brand. The range of CM may be a result of the wide price
variations for each model and variant, as well as the varying amount of variable costs on each
model while being sold.

Figure 3.1: The Contribution Margin Per Model for All Brands

4.2.2 Analysis of Average Variable Cost Per Model

From 2019 to 2020, most models within each brand had a slight change in variable cost; this may
be attributed to an expansion of the selling process and potential changes in the prices of materials
across markets. However, there are significant changes. The Crux model within the Apechete
brand significantly reduces its variable costs by approximately 50%. This decline may be brought
on by a reduction in Crux sales volume in subsequent years, which would lower variable costs.
The average variable cost has been essentially steady across all other models, with no significant
fluctuations.

16
Figure 3.2: Average Variable Cost Per Model for All Brands

4.2.3 Analysis of Variability of Variable Cost Per Model

When we have a high spread of costs for a single model, the costs vary significantly, leading to
the costs not being under control. Some models have a more significant variance than others; this
can be because so many different alternatives are available for each model. Chare has the most
variability in VC because their models are the widest (Figure 3.3), while Brutus, Fiddle, Mortimer,
Rambler, Robin and Wood’s VC variability is inconsiderable.

Figure 3.3: Variability of Variable Costs Per Model

17
4.2.4 Analysis of Contribution Margin Per Channel

Figure 3.4 represents the aggregate of each sales channel’s contribution margin to HMC. Given
that retail accounts for most of the sales volume, the retail sale of HMC cars is among the
categories with the highest contribution margin. This can be linked to sales channel 3, as leasing
is the largest automobile market and allows potential consumers access to HMC vehicles. With
this choice, HMC can successfully address a vast market.

Figure 3.4: Contribution Margin of Each Sales Channel

18
4.3 Operational Analytics

4.3.1 Analysis of Top 3 and Bottom 3 Selling Model Options in each Region

According to the data set, the Advantage model has the highest sales amount, and the Brutus model
has the lowest sales amount worldwide (Figure 4.1). Regionally, the top and the bottom sales
models differ apart from Pebble, the best seller in Europe and South America (Figure 4.2). Sedan,
SUV, and pickup trucks are generally preferable rather than crossovers, coupe, and vans across all
regions (Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.1: HMC’s Overall Sales Performance for All Models

Figure 4.2: Regional Top 3 and Bottom 3 Models’ Sales Performance in All Regions

19
Figure 4.3: Regional Body Style Preferences in All Regions

Next, Jespie Model has the highest package and option cost while Brutus is the lowest (Figure
4.4). Technology package is the most famous option, and none package at all is the least option
of HMC’s customers (Figure 4.5). Apparently, all packages’ cost impact of gross sales seems
similar in each region (Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.4: Package and Options Costs Compares to Gross Sales for All Models

20
Figure 4.5: Package and Options Costs Compares to Gross Sales on Each Package

Figure 4.6: Package and Options Costs Compares to Gross Sales for All Models on Each
Package

4.3.2 Analysis of Days on Lot

We have investigated the data regarding the days on the lot in the median for each model in all
regions and countries. Figure 4.5 shows that Summet has the least days on lot, approximately 1.5
months, while the Island model has the most days on lot, up to nearly four months. We explored
the difference between each year and found that vehicles’ days on the lot increased tremendously
in the year 2020 compared to the year 2019 (Figure 4.6). The more days on the lot, the more
expensive will be incurred by the warehouse rental, engine maintenance fee, labour cost and

21
depreciation cost to HMC. To reduce unnecessary operational costs like this, HMC could focus on
promoting and advertising the bottom five models in order to increase the speed of its asset
turnover rate.

Figure 4.7: Median Days on Lot for All Models on Average

Figure 4.8: Median Days on Lot Difference for All Models in the Year 2019 & 2020

According to Figure 4.7 & 4.8, Europe has higher days on lots in comparing to each body style but
generating the lowest total sales regionally. Meanwhile North America has the exact opposite
result, showing all indicators in green and generating the highest total sales. We believe that it may
because of North America only has 3 countries, making it easier for HMC to manage rather than
the other regions having 6 countries each.

22
Figure 4.9: Regional Sales Performance for All Body Style on Days on Lots

Figure 4.10: Regional Sales Performance on Median Days on Lots

4.3.3 Analysis of Marketing Sales Impact on Financial Performance

From the data definition given by HMC, we know that variable marketing is incentives provided
by dealers to promote car selling. Several marketing schemes, include rebates, cash back, and 0%
financing, are used to attract customers. As a result of this, marketing costs incurred has reduced
from at minimum of 5% to a maximum nearly 18% on net sales (Refer to table 2). From Figure
4.9, Jespie and Mortimer are the only two models making a loss, and the amount of loss towards
break-even is less than the marketing cost. We do not have information on how successful the
marketing campaign brings sales and attracts customers to HMC. However, HMC could
investigate a method of decreasing marketing expenses to at least not make a loss.

[
Marketing Expense on Gross sales: 1 ―
𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠 ― 𝑉𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠 ]
Advantage 8.07% Fiddle 12.36% Rambler 14.4%

23
Bloom 7.42% Island 6.83% Rebel 11.39%
Brutus 12.99% Jespie 16.51% Robin 5.65%
Chare 6.71% Mortimer 18.22% Summet 4.54%
Crux 12.73% Pebble 6.49% Wood 8.78%
Table 2: Marketing Weightage on Gross Sales in Both Years

Figure 4.9: Impact of Marketing on Financial Performance in All Years

24
4.4 Forecast

4.4.1 Forecasting

Sales and Business performance forecasting is an integral tool in a firm’s operations and strategy.
The precision of forecasting is essential, as precise forecasting enables business managers to
adequately balance company resources to optimally suit the business’ needs (Schnegg & Möller,
2022). The following section provides analyses of forecasts done for Huskie Motor Company’s
sales volume, contribution margin and after-tax revenue affected by a potential .7% tax increase.

4.4.2 Analysis of Sales Volume Forecast Analysis

The sales volume refers to the number of vehicles sold in the given period. Looking at the
visualisation presented in figure 5.1, which analyses a sales volume forecast, we can see that the
best-performing quarters for 2019 and 2020 are Quarter One (Q1). This trend continues in the
forecasted year, with Q1 projected to have the highest sales volume for 2021.

In contrast, Quarter 2 for both years appears to perform the lowest in both years and the forecasted
four quarters for 2020.

Figure
5.1 Sales Volume Forecast (4 quarters in advance)

25
4.4.3 Analysis of Contribution Margin Forecast

The contribution margin reflects the aggregate revenue after deducting the total variable cost
(TVC). The pattern of peak business performance occurring in the first Quarter is also reflected in
the Contribution Margin Forecast depicted in Figure 5.2. The highest peaks in the actual and
estimated data are Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 being the lowest performing.

Another observation of both visualisations (5.1 and 5.2 shows that sales appear to fluctuate
dramatically between Q4 and Q1 of the following year. Sales volume and Contribution seem to
surge in the first quarter before dropping and stabilising from Q2-Q4 before peaking again in Q1.
This trend is also reflected in the forecasted contribution margin for Q1-Q4 in 2021.

Figure 5.2 Contribution Margin Forecast (4 quarters in advance)

4.4.4 Analysis of Potential 0.7% Tax Increase Revenue Impact

This figure (Figure 5.3) represents the forecasted after-tax revenue for 2022, and 2023 alongside
the exact prediction should tariff rates increase at an average of 0.7%. This raised tariff provides a
noticeable decrease in HMC’s after-tax revenue. However, the predicted revenue still projects
exponential revenue growth for both forecasted years despite negative effects on revenue.

26
Figure 5.3 After-Tax Revenue Forecast Comparison with Tax Increase (2 years in advance)

4.4.5 Analysis of Potential Issues with Forecasting

In general, errors in sales forecasting typically arise due to external factors beyond the company’s
immediate control, especially political, social and economic factors that dictate or influence
consumer buyer behaviours. Additional predictive information is crucial in facilitating better
forecasts which in turn leads to better business decisions (Rieg, 2010). This information, in the
form of surveys within different markets can create more specific pictures of the types and reasons
for different demand forecasts in different sales regions (Junquera, Moreno, & Álvarez, 2016).

Another factor that may also contribute to imprecise forecasting is an insufficient amount of time-
related data. Analysing a richer and more extensive data set with multiple time series will provide
more precise business forecasts. The current data only provides a bare minimum collection of two
years' worth of sales and revenue data and, therefore, may not provide reliable predictions.

Low volumes of interpretable data and complete reliance on sales and financial data to predict
future business performance can lead to inaccurate forecasting. As such, to improve HMCs sales
forecasts, the predictions would be better used as a tool and other qualitative and external
environmental data to allow the company to make more accurate and informed business decisions.

27
5.0 Other Critical Issues

To guarantee they meet the regulations established by the Law, the organisation must be aware of
crucial concerns and ethically use data gathering and utilisation. This guarantees no laws are
breached and gives customers the confidence to trade with the business. The Australian Privacy
Act of 1988 is a crucial regulation that the business must abide by since it protects the security and
privacy of user data. The business must consult this document to confirm that no customer rights
are violated during data capture and processing (Privacy Act 1988).

Data security, particularly as it relates to transactional and sensitive customer data, is another
crucial issue. In response, the firm will need to safeguard customers' private information because
the legislation also applies to companies that store customer data (Privacy and Data Protection Act
2014). To keep data from being stolen from outside parties and to avoid cyber-attacks that want to
obtain customer data, HMC will need to put up multiple security layers.

Since the data was gathered from within the firm's processes, sales, and operations, most of these
concerns will not be addressed. However, these critical factors must nonetheless be considered to
protect the security of the business and its customers.

Data inconsistency is another urgent problem that must be solved. While there are alternative ways
to maintain track of duplicate data, such as inferring missing values or locating incorrect data,
doing so would be more complex and time-consuming than simply removing all duplicate items
from the dataset. In addition, if only a few values in a row are missing when data is randomly lost,
it is easy to exclude those rows from the dataset. However, if there are too many records with
missing data, it is not practical since it would reduce the reliability of the forecast.

28
6.0 Recommendations

Throughout the principal analysis done above, there are multiple recommendations for HMC:

 HMC would be recommended to shift their attention from high-tariff countries to those
with lower tariffs to increase revenue.
 HMC is advised to stop selling the Tatra brand in Europe and South America to save capital
and invest more in other lucrative brands since Tatra mainly sells in North America.
 HMC should adapt the marketing expenses from the fleet to other sales channels since it
costs the most but only contributes to a minor amount of profit.
 If HMC cannot improve the labour, materials, overhead, freight, and warranty areas, HMC
should discontinue models that generate no or very little profit.
 HMC should also investigate gathering and applying different types of qualitative data
about their customers to improve forecasting and business decision-making (Nardo 2003).

29
7.0 Conclusion

In short, data and data-gathering methods allow businesses to add more dimension to their sales
and performance analyses, as seen with Huskie Motor Company.

From the data analytics performed, several conclusions surrounding HMC’s performance can be
made, such as specific models like Jespie and Mortimer making marketing losses, lower selling
models like Tatra in South America and Europe, and their lowered projected after-tax revenue in
the event of a .7% tariff increase.

Recommendations regarding possible business models and operations changes can also be made
from the data analyses performed. These include shifting sales focus to countries with lower
tariff rates, discontinuing sales of specific models such as Tatra in lower-performing countries
and gathering different data types for analytics purposes.

These conclusions and recommendations show that data analytics has proved to be a valuable
tool for HMC. However, in future gathering and interpretation of data, the company must be
aware of issues around ethics and regulatory requirements surrounding the privacy of data, as
well as data inconsistencies. Therefore, companies like HMC need sufficient security and
accuracy in gathering and storing their data.

30
Reference List

Klepper, S (2002). "The capabilities of new firms and the evolution of the US automobile
industry", Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 645-666.

Jerenz, A. (2008). Revenue Management and Survival Analysis in the Automobile Industry
[Gabler]. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-9840-8)

Dzuranin, A. C., Perols, J., & Hart, D. L. (2018). Huskie Motor Corporation: visualising the
present and predicting the future. Institute of Management Accountants.

Automobile Industry Pocket Guide 2022-2023 (2022). ACEA - European Automobile


Manufacturers’ Association. https://www.acea.auto/publication/automobile-industry-pocket-
guide-2022-2023/

Ross, B. (2022). Automotive Marketing & Industry Trends Shaping 2023 from. Linchpin.
https://linchpinseo.com/automotive-industry-trends/)

Ivandić, I. (2005). Contribution margin - a model of performance evaluation of banks’ profit


centers. Interdisziplinäre Managementforschung, 87. Retrieved from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Contribution-Margin-a-Model-of-Performance-
of-Ivandi%C4%87/9e87072141a0db0b47286a31954dee197539ab08

Junquera, B., Moreno, B., & Álvarez, R. (2016). Analyzing consumer attitudes towards electric
vehicle purchasing intentions in Spain: Technological limitations and vehicle confidence.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 109, 6–14.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.05.006

Nardo, M. (2003). The quantification of qualitative survey data: A critical assessment. Journal of
Economic Surveys, 17(5), 645–668. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-6419.2003.00208.x

Privacy Act 1988, Australian Government, viewed October 16th,


2022,<https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014C00076>.

Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, Victorian Legislation, viewed October 16th, 2022,
<https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/privacy-and-data-protection-act-2014/028>.

31
Rieg, R. (2010). Do forecasts improve over time? International Journal of Accounting &
Information Management, 18(3), 220–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/18347641011068974

Schnegg, M., & Möller, K. (2022). Strategies for Data Analytics Projects in Business
Performance forecasting: a Field Study. Journal of Management Control, 33(2), 241–
271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-022-00338-7

Wang, Y., Kung, L., & Byrd, T. A. (2018). Big data analytics: Understanding its capabilities and
potential benefits for healthcare organisations. Technological Forecasting and Social
Change, 126(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.12.019

32
Appendices

Figure 6. Infographic

33

You might also like