HENAI 5000

Customer Relationship Management using Salesforce

Assessment Task 2 (30 Marks) – CRM Business Case – A case study of GBI
Due Date – 5pm, Friday 17th March; Submission Links are on Moodle

Questions
(i) Prepare a well-written and referenced CRM Business Case Report using Questions (a) to (c) as
a guide.
a. Is there a need for a CRM system at Global Bike Group? Discuss. (150-200 words) (5
Marks)
b. CRM systems can be Strategic, Operational, or Tactical. Analyse the Use-cases for these at
GBI. (250-300 words) (6 Marks)
c. Identify and compare at least 3 specific CRM systems. Which of these would be most
appropriate for GBI? Provide a justification for your selection. (350-400 words) (7 Marks)
Layout/Structure/Referencing – (5 Marks)

(ii) Based on your Business Case Report, prepare a 5-minute video pitch (Using Kaltura) to
convince the CEOs of Global Bike Group of their need to enhance the IT strategy to include a
CRM system. (7 Marks) – Timeliness, Presentation Quality, Information, Engagement.

Marking Guide
Score Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory (0)

Information is well organized, well Information is somewhat organized,

Layout Information is organized, well Information is somewhat organized,
written, and proper grammar and but proper grammar and punctuation
written, with proper grammar and proper grammar and punctuation
punctuation are used throughout. not always used. Some elements of
/1 mark punctuation. Correct layout used. mostly used. Correct layout used.
Correct layout used. layout incorrect.

Introduces the topic of the report in Introduces the topic of the report in
Introduction Satisfactorily introduces the topic of
an extremely engaging manner an engaging manner which arouses Introduces the topic of the report but
(80-100 the report.
which arouses the reader's interest. the reader's interest. omits a general background of the
Words) Gives a general background.
Gives a detailed general Gives some general background topic and/or the overall "plan" of the
Indicates the overall "plan" of the
background and indicates the and indicates the overall "plan" of report.
/1 mark report.
overall "plan" of the report. the report.
All topics discussed in depth.
Discussion Consistently detailed discussion. Most topics are adequately Inadequate discussion of issues.
Questions (a) Displays sound understanding with discussed.
Displays deep analysis of issues.
to (c) some analysis of issues. Displays some understanding and Little/no demonstrated understanding
analysis of issues. or analysis of most issues.
No irrelevant information
/18 marks No irrelevant information. Some irrelevant information.
.
An interesting, well written A good summary of the main
Conclusion Satisfactory summary of the main
summary of the main points. points. Poor/no summary of the main points.
(80 - 100 points.
An excellent final comment on the A good final comment on the A poor final comment on the subject
words) A final comment on the subject but
subject, based on the information subject, based on the information and/or new material introduced.
/1 mark introduced new material.
provided. provided.

Correct referencing (APA). All Mostly correct referencing (APA).

Mostly correct referencing (APA )
quoted material in quotes and All quoted material in quotes Not all material correctly
Referencing Some problems with quoted material
acknowledged. All paraphrased &acknowledged. All paraphrased acknowledged.
and paraphrased material
material acknowledged. Correctly material acknowledged. Some problems with the reference
/2 marks Some problems with the reference
set out reference list. Mostly correct setting out reference list.
list.
list.

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 Global Bike Group
Background and overview of Global Bike strategy and operations.

Company History
The Global Bike Group has a pragmatic design philosophy that comes from its deep roots in
Notes
both the off-road trail racing and long-distance road racing sports. Nearly 20 years ago, its
founders designed their first bikes out of necessity—they had races to win and the bikes that
were available at the time did not perform to their extremely high standards. So, they took
matters into their own hands and built legendary bikes that would outlast and outperform the
competition. From these humble origins, Global Bike Incorporated was born and continues to
deliver innovative high-performance bicycles to the world’s most demanding riders.
This heritage of entrepreneurial spirit and quest for design perfection is still the cornerstone of
Global Bike’s corporate philosophy. Global Bike produces bikes for the most demanding
competitors—whether the competition is on pavement or dirt, for money, fame or just
bragging rights.
John Davis earned his racing scars in the mountain racing circuit in America, where he won
numerous downhill and cross-country championships. Early on, John realized that the mass-
produced bicycles available were inadequate in many ways for the type of racing he was
doing. So, John stripped four of his old bikes down to the bare metal and rebuilt them into a
single “Frankenstein” bike that he rode to win the national championship. Once news of his
Frankenstein bike got out, John’s friends and even his competitors began asking him to build
them a Frankenstein bike too. While recovering from an injury in 1990, John started
producing the first series of Frankenstein bikes in his garage—each one custom-built from
cannibalized parts from other bikes. As more and more orders came in, John successfully
expanded Frankenstein Bikes from his garage operations into a full-blown manufacturing
facility in Dallas and began producing custom trail bikes which he sold through a network of
specialized bike dealers throughout the country.
At nearly the same time, halfway around the world in Heidelberg, Germany, Peter Schwarz
was studying engineering and competing in regional touring races on weekends. In between
his races and studies, Peter worked at a bike shop in Heidelberg, fixing student bikes and
tuning the touring bikes that he and his friends rode for competitions. As Peter’s reputation as
a fierce competitor and mechanical wizard grew, he also began to design and build road
bikes based on an ultra-light composite frame that he had created for one of his engineering
courses. Peter’s innovative use of carbon composite materials allowed him to build a frame
that was significantly stronger and one tenth the weight of competing frames. As a student,
Peter did not have a great deal of financial resources, so he partnered with a local company
that manufactured his frame designs as a contract manufacturer. Soon, Peter’s frames were
being used by racers all over Europe and he started Heidelberg Composites to market and
design frames which would be fabricated by a contract manufacturer on a larger scale.
Heidelberg Composites sold its frames to specialized bike stores throughout Europe and
directly to racing teams, eventually becoming the leader in lightweight touring frames in
Europe.
Through a twist of fate, Peter and John met each other in 2000 and immediately recognized
their mutual passion for performance and complimentary business models. Each had been
looking for a partner in another racing field and each had been looking for a partner in a
different market. They quickly realized that a merger between their two companies would be

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extremely synergistic and that the combination of their product lines and regional distribution
channels would generate a great deal of efficiencies.
So, in 2001, Heidelberg Composites and Frankenstein Bikes merged to form Global Bike.
Today, John and Peter share the responsibilities for managing Global Bike’s growing
organization as co-CEO’s. John is responsible for sales, marketing, service & support, IT,
finance and human resources groups and Peter is responsible for research, design,
procurement and manufacturing groups from an organizational reporting perspective.

Figure 1:
Board of Organization
Directors
al Structure

John (Co- Peter (Co-

CEO) CEO)

Chief Chief VP Research

VP Human
VP Marketing Information Financial and VP Operations
Resources
Officer Officer Development

However, Global Bike is a process-centric organization, so John and Peter prefer to think of
the processes that they are responsible for, rather than the functional areas of the company
that report to them. From this perspective, Peter is responsible for Idea-to-Market and Build-
to-Stock and John is responsible for Order-to-Cash and Service & Support, as well as the
supporting services for all four key processes. The simple way to look at their responsibilities
would be to say that Peter spends money and builds products and John sells products and
brings in money.

Figure 2:
Enterprise
Process
Map

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 Corporate Overview
Due to several tax and export issues, Global Bike Groups’s headquarters is located in Dallas
Notes
and Global Bike Inc. is registered as a US company, following US GAAP accounting standards.
Global Bike Group operates a subsidiary company, Global Bike Germany GmbH, which is
based in Heidelberg and is subject to IFRS accounting standards and German tax regulations.
Material planning, finance, administration, HR and IT functions are consolidated at the Dallas
headquarters. The Dallas facility manufactures products for the US and export markets and its
warehouse manages product distribution for the central US and internet retailers. Global Bike
Inc. also has warehouses for shipping and export in both San Diego and Miami. San Diego
handles West Coast distribution and exports for Asia, while Miami handles East Coast
distribution and Latin America exports.
Global Bike Germany GmbH has its headquarters in Heidelberg Germany. The majority of
research and development is housed in the Heidelberg offices. Heidelberg is also the main
manufacturing facility for Global Bike in Europe. The Heidelberg warehouse handles all
shipping for southern Europe. The Hamburg warehouse handles all shipping for the UK,
Ireland, Middle East and Africa. Global Bike sells its bikes throughout the world and employs
approximately 100 people, 2/3rds of the employees are in the US and the remaining 1/3 in
Europe.

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 Product Strategy
Global Bike is a world class bicycle company serving the professional and “prosumer” cyclists for
touring and off-road racing. Global Bike’s riders demand the highest level of quality, toughness and
performance from their bikes and accessories.
Product development is the most critical element of Global Bike’s past and future growth. Global Bike
has invested heavily in this area, focusing on innovation, quality, safety and speed to market. Global
Bike has an extensive innovation network to source ideas from riders, dealers and professionals to
continuously improve the performance, reliability and quality of its bicycles.
In the touring bike category, Global Bike’s handcrafted bicycles have won numerous design awards
and are sold in over 10 countries. Global Bike’s signature composite frames are world-renowned for
their strength, low weight and easy maintenance. Global Bike bikes are consistently ridden in the Tour
de France and other major international road races. Global Bike produces two models of their
signature road bikes, a deluxe and professional model. The key difference between the two models is
the type of wheels used, aluminum for the basic model and carbon composite for the professional
model.
Global Bike’s off-road are also recognized as incredibly tough and easy to maintain. Global Bike trail
bikes are the preferred choice of world champion off-road racers and have become synonymous with
performance and strength in one of the most grueling sports in the world. Global Bike produces two
types of off-road bike, a men’s and women’s model. The basic difference between the two models is
the smaller size and ergonomic shaping of the women’s frame.

Figure 3
Global
Bike
Finished
Products

Global Bike also sells an accessories product line comprised of helmets, t-shirts and other
riding accessories. Global Bike partners with only the highest quality suppliers of accessories
which will help enhance riders’ performance and comfort while riding Global Bike bikes.

Figure 4
Global
Bike
Trading
Goods

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 Manufacturing Strategy
Global Bike operates two production facilities, Dallas and Heidelberg. Each facility
Notes
has three assembly lines and can produce around 1000 bikes per year. Total
production capacity is roughly 6000 bikes per year, but can be increased by 15%-
20% by using overtime hours and part-time workers.
Global Bike has outsourced the production of both off-road and touring frames and
the carbon composite wheels to trusted partners who have specialty facilities to
fabricate the complex materials used. Global Bike maintains very collaborative
research and design relationships with these specialty partners to ensure that
innovations in both material and structural capabilities are incorporated into the
frames. Global Bike primarily assembles semi-finished goods into finished goods at
its production facilities. Finished goods are either stored in the local warehouse or
shipped to other regional distribution centers to fulfill customer orders.

Figure 5
Global Bike Raw
Materials
Global Bike Semi-
Finished Goods

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 Distribution Network
Given the highly specialized nature of Global Bike’s bicycles and the personalized
Notes
needs of riders, Global Bike sells its bikes exclusively through well-known and
respected Independent Bicycle Dealers (IBDs). These dealers employ staff members
who are experts in off-road and tour racing to help consumers choose the right Global
Bike bike and accessories for their individual needs.

Figure 6
Global Bike Customers
in
US and Germany

Due to the highly technical nature of its products, Global Bike has embraced the
Internet primarily as an information channel, maximizing its potential for educating
consumers and partners and marketing its products to a large audience.
Since Global Bike’s main sales channel is through specialty resellers and there are
complex tax issues associated with selling in multiple states and countries, they have
a limited amount of internet sales.

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 Partner Network
Global Bike has established an extensive partner operation to ensure process
Notes
continuity between Global Bike and its partners to deliver best-in-class products for
its customers. Special attention has been paid to nurturing strong relationships with
suppliers and Global Bike is generally the largest customer of its main suppliers.

Figure 7
Global Bike Vendors in
US and Germany

IT Strategy
During 2009, Global Bike integrated a shared services model for all IT functions, located in the
Notes
Dallas office. Along with this move to centralized IT, Global Bike also implemented SAP ERP
(version 6.0). Prior to this, divisions were running multiple, independent application
environments. All ERP functions are centralized with the primary objectives to reduce costs
and deliver best-in-class technology to all divisions globally. This centralized approach offers
Global Bike an advanced business platform under a highly controlled environment, which
enables consistency of operations and process integrity across the globe.

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