1.2 QuickStove Case

Summary of QuickStove Challenges

Howard at QuickStove uses Excel for everything from updating the customer address book, to keeping track of shipping logs and cost, to creating charts to visually see his sales and revenue. He even creates Excel models to help him and his employees make decisions.

This case contains the following challenges:

  • Address Book: Howard, the manager of QuickStove, would like to maintain a list of customers from the United Kingdom in an Excel worksheet. He needs help formatting the worksheet so it will be easier to use. Complete the tasks to appropriately format, sort, and filter the worksheets Howard created.

  • Sales Transactions: As part of his daily routine, Howard reviews the transactions from the previous day. His worksheet lists a number of QuickStove transactions. Howard would like the sales tax amount and transaction totals added to the worksheet.

  • Purchasing and Investing: Howard at QuickStove has some large purchases and investment decisions to make. He has asked you to do the calculations based on some likely desisions he will need to make.

  • Monthly Promotions: Howard is planning single-month and multi-month promotions for QuickStove products. He would like a worksheet created that will allow him to copy in the previous month’s data and use it to determine how much promotional material he will need.

  • Sales Tax Calculations: QuickStove ships worldwide. Howard started working with a small sample of shipments to the western United States. When multiple quantities of an item are in the same order, quantity discounts on that item are offered. Customers are charged sales tax on all shipments within Utah where QuickStove is located as well as on shipments to Oregon where they have another facility. Sales tax is not charged on shipments to other states or countries.

  • Shipping Costs: When shipping products, two major costs are incurred: the cost of insuring the item and the actual freight cost. Insurance is dependent on the value of the shipment. QuickStove has an agreement with shippers for a fixed rate that is determined by the destination state and service level (regular, express, or overnight).

  • Employee Performance: QuickStove management prioritizes customer satisfaction and performs several analyses on the employees in the shipping department. Howard has asked for some details on shipments, employee performance, and services required by customers.

  • Shipment Tracker: Howard at QuickStove occasionally receives calls from customers who are concerned that they have not received a package that was shipped to them. He wants to determine how long the package has been in transit.

  • Shipping Log: Howard has an account with a major shipping company to deliver all of the QuickStove orders. This shipping company sends him a log of all shipments that were delivered each day. The log is a little bit difficult to read. It contains a shipment number as well as a computer-generated time stamp that corresponds with the time of the day that each shipment was delivered.

  • Visualization of Sales and Revenue: Howard at QuickStove collected some data on sales and revenue. He would like some charts created for an upcoming presentation.

  • Travel Expense Report: Howard at QuickStove allows his employees to do personal travel while traveling for business. Because of this, he has set allowances for travel expenses.

  • Forecasting Sales and Income: Howard is interested in forecasting sales and income for 2022. He has created a worksheet with his base forecast and has asked you to create four scenarios.

  • Production Estimation: Howard has excess production capacity and low inventory on Folding Stoves. He has asked you to calculate how many Folding Stoves he should put in production to reach a revenue total of $40,000.

  • Product Demand: Howard at QuickStove would like to know what kind of demand he would have at varying price levels and also what demand would look like at different levels of price and levels of the sales budget.

  • Selecting Health Insurance Plans: Howard is offering health insurance to his employees. He wants them to choose the right plan for their needs, so he asked you to complete the model he created. Complete the LowActivity, HighActivity, and Comparison worksheets so the employees can make an informed decision about their health insurance.

  • Product Relationships: Howard, the manager of QuickStove, has decided to examine the relationship between sales for Firebox combo sets and Firebox upgrade kits. He has compiled 13 months of sales data for both items.

  • Analyzing Shipping Data: Howard is trying to better understand where and when products are shipping. He has collected over 2,200 orders shipped during a three-year period.

  • Inventory Analysis: Howard at QuickStove sells a variety of stove products. He wants to maximize his profit by optimizing the mix of products made. He cannot use any more materials or labor than is available, nor does he want to make any more than demanded because they would cost money to store.

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