CAPSIM ANSWERS FROM PRACTICE
QUESTIONS
Americas - correct answer- 2:1 (Budget: Performance) for foreseeable future
Europe - correct answer- 3:1 but trending towards performance in the next five to
ten years.
-High-income region
-experiencing steady economic growth that your company hopes to capitalize on.
Asia Pacific - correct answer- -3:1 with further expansion of the budget market
anticipated.
-low-income communities, significant demand for improved health care.
-zero-tariff policy that makes it an attractive market moving forward.
R&D Department - correct answer- Responsible for creating new products AND
managing existing offerings.
-Success depends on your ability to understand customer needs and communicate
with other departments.
-must work closely with the *Marketing* department because they provide info on
what your customers really want so that R&D can identify the best product
specifications to meet those needs, while coordinating project timelines and
managing development costs.
R&D Department - provides information on... - correct answer- -products
-customers
-competitors
-cost of your decisions
R&D Department - 4 product specifications - correct answer- 1) speed
,2) accuracy
3) service life
4) age
(price is determined by Marketing)
For existing products, adjusting accuracy or speed will cut the age of your product in
half. The update causes customers to see that it is newer.
By reducing a product's Service Life... - correct answer- your product will have a
lower material cost. Since Budget customers don't place a heavy demand on Service
Life, it may be wise to reduce that figure.
-each 1,000 hours of Service Life adds $0.30 to the material cost. Customer prefer
products towards the top of the range.
Region Kits - correct answer- -boost demand in an area by 10% compared to the
competition, but add 3 months of development time to add/remove and 15% in
material cost per unit.
-In the case that all six companies offer kits to a specific region, there will be no
advantage in customer demand for any team.
Age - correct answer- modified products cuts age in half
-only decisions changed for Speed or Accuracy cut the age in half. Changes to
Service Life and Region kits have no impact on the perceived age.
Customers in EACH market segment continuously expect... - correct answer- faster
and more accurate products.
-Each company must innovate and update products!!
Budget Customer? - correct answer- -considers *price* and *age* above positioning
Marketing Department - correct answer- Responsible for forecasting sales,
promoting both the products and brand, as well as pricing and selling your products.
-The Production Department uses these forecasts to determine how much of each
product line to manufacture, and your Finance Department uses these forecasts to
generate your proforma financial statements.
Marketing Department Decisions: - correct answer- 1) *Setting the price* - for each
product in each region, marketing must determine the appropriate balance between
customer price expectations and your company's margins.
*currency exchange rates change each year AND are different from region to region.
2) *Sales Forecasting* - very important. Accurately forecasting your product's sales
will have a direct impact on your bottom line.
-must submit a *Best Case* and *Worst Case* forecast for each product in each
region.
-forecast how well *customers* will embrace your products
-forecast how your products compare with *competition*.
Marketing Department Decisions (cont) : - correct answer- 3) *Awareness and
Accessibility* - in charge of promo and sales budgets. How much you spend on your
, promo budget directly affects your customer's awareness of your product. The
amount you spend on your sales budget is reflected in how accessible your product
is to your customers.
2 ways to invest in this - *Product* and *Regional*
-In the products panel you can invest in *Promotion*, which impacts Awareness, and
in *Sales*, which impacts Accessibility.
4) *Customer Needs* - Customers in budget and performance sections have
different expectations as do customers from region to region. Each product will have
a customer satisfaction score (the higher the score, the more likely the customer is to
purchase the product).
Promotion - correct answer- Product Promotion makes up 70% of your total
Awareness, while Regional Promotion makes up the remaining 30%.
-Each year, your Awareness and Accessibility will reduce by 1/3 from the prior year.
Sales Budgets - correct answer- -how much you spend on distribution systems and
your sales force by product and by region.
-Sales budgets impact Accessibility
Forecasts: Worst Case vs Worst Case - correct answer- -used by the Finance
department to predict profits, variable costs and contribution margin.
-used by Production to determine how many units to produce.
Inaccurate forecasts --> - correct answer- can result in having too much or too little
inventory, or not achieving the sales necessary to fund investments.
Gross Revenues - correct answer- Worst Case forecast x Price
Variable Costs - correct answer- -The sum of material, labor, shipping and inventory
carry costs multiplied by Unit Sales.
Material and Labor costs are found on the production page.
Forecast Contribution Margin - correct answer- -Gross Revenue Forecast less
variable costs.
Production Department - correct answer- -Responsible for manufacturing enough
products to meet customer demand.
-determines capacity and automation.
-*Forecasted Demand* is automatically populated with the Best Case forecast set by
marketing. To fulfill the forcasted demand, enter the number of units you want your
plant to produce in the "Production" box (different for each region).
In order to ship products abroad, - correct answer- you must have enough capacity
to make enough products to fill demand.
-If you don't have enough capacity, you can purchase more or you can outsource to
build the remaining units (outsourcing uses automation level of 2.0 that cannot be
changed).
QUESTIONS
Americas - correct answer- 2:1 (Budget: Performance) for foreseeable future
Europe - correct answer- 3:1 but trending towards performance in the next five to
ten years.
-High-income region
-experiencing steady economic growth that your company hopes to capitalize on.
Asia Pacific - correct answer- -3:1 with further expansion of the budget market
anticipated.
-low-income communities, significant demand for improved health care.
-zero-tariff policy that makes it an attractive market moving forward.
R&D Department - correct answer- Responsible for creating new products AND
managing existing offerings.
-Success depends on your ability to understand customer needs and communicate
with other departments.
-must work closely with the *Marketing* department because they provide info on
what your customers really want so that R&D can identify the best product
specifications to meet those needs, while coordinating project timelines and
managing development costs.
R&D Department - provides information on... - correct answer- -products
-customers
-competitors
-cost of your decisions
R&D Department - 4 product specifications - correct answer- 1) speed
,2) accuracy
3) service life
4) age
(price is determined by Marketing)
For existing products, adjusting accuracy or speed will cut the age of your product in
half. The update causes customers to see that it is newer.
By reducing a product's Service Life... - correct answer- your product will have a
lower material cost. Since Budget customers don't place a heavy demand on Service
Life, it may be wise to reduce that figure.
-each 1,000 hours of Service Life adds $0.30 to the material cost. Customer prefer
products towards the top of the range.
Region Kits - correct answer- -boost demand in an area by 10% compared to the
competition, but add 3 months of development time to add/remove and 15% in
material cost per unit.
-In the case that all six companies offer kits to a specific region, there will be no
advantage in customer demand for any team.
Age - correct answer- modified products cuts age in half
-only decisions changed for Speed or Accuracy cut the age in half. Changes to
Service Life and Region kits have no impact on the perceived age.
Customers in EACH market segment continuously expect... - correct answer- faster
and more accurate products.
-Each company must innovate and update products!!
Budget Customer? - correct answer- -considers *price* and *age* above positioning
Marketing Department - correct answer- Responsible for forecasting sales,
promoting both the products and brand, as well as pricing and selling your products.
-The Production Department uses these forecasts to determine how much of each
product line to manufacture, and your Finance Department uses these forecasts to
generate your proforma financial statements.
Marketing Department Decisions: - correct answer- 1) *Setting the price* - for each
product in each region, marketing must determine the appropriate balance between
customer price expectations and your company's margins.
*currency exchange rates change each year AND are different from region to region.
2) *Sales Forecasting* - very important. Accurately forecasting your product's sales
will have a direct impact on your bottom line.
-must submit a *Best Case* and *Worst Case* forecast for each product in each
region.
-forecast how well *customers* will embrace your products
-forecast how your products compare with *competition*.
Marketing Department Decisions (cont) : - correct answer- 3) *Awareness and
Accessibility* - in charge of promo and sales budgets. How much you spend on your
, promo budget directly affects your customer's awareness of your product. The
amount you spend on your sales budget is reflected in how accessible your product
is to your customers.
2 ways to invest in this - *Product* and *Regional*
-In the products panel you can invest in *Promotion*, which impacts Awareness, and
in *Sales*, which impacts Accessibility.
4) *Customer Needs* - Customers in budget and performance sections have
different expectations as do customers from region to region. Each product will have
a customer satisfaction score (the higher the score, the more likely the customer is to
purchase the product).
Promotion - correct answer- Product Promotion makes up 70% of your total
Awareness, while Regional Promotion makes up the remaining 30%.
-Each year, your Awareness and Accessibility will reduce by 1/3 from the prior year.
Sales Budgets - correct answer- -how much you spend on distribution systems and
your sales force by product and by region.
-Sales budgets impact Accessibility
Forecasts: Worst Case vs Worst Case - correct answer- -used by the Finance
department to predict profits, variable costs and contribution margin.
-used by Production to determine how many units to produce.
Inaccurate forecasts --> - correct answer- can result in having too much or too little
inventory, or not achieving the sales necessary to fund investments.
Gross Revenues - correct answer- Worst Case forecast x Price
Variable Costs - correct answer- -The sum of material, labor, shipping and inventory
carry costs multiplied by Unit Sales.
Material and Labor costs are found on the production page.
Forecast Contribution Margin - correct answer- -Gross Revenue Forecast less
variable costs.
Production Department - correct answer- -Responsible for manufacturing enough
products to meet customer demand.
-determines capacity and automation.
-*Forecasted Demand* is automatically populated with the Best Case forecast set by
marketing. To fulfill the forcasted demand, enter the number of units you want your
plant to produce in the "Production" box (different for each region).
In order to ship products abroad, - correct answer- you must have enough capacity
to make enough products to fill demand.
-If you don't have enough capacity, you can purchase more or you can outsource to
build the remaining units (outsourcing uses automation level of 2.0 that cannot be
changed).
