Year 1 Assessment: Analysing Data for Problem Solving - Pecan Peanuts

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Pecan Peanuts, focusing on its business operations and expansion strategies within the Australian pecan industry. The report begins with an overview of the industry, highlighting the growing demand for healthier snacks and the increasing production of pecans. It then delves into various analytical methods, including scatter diagrams and linear forecasting to predict future trends. Further analysis includes the healthiness of different nuts, quality assurance in machinery, and machinery cost analysis. The report also covers hypothesis testing for machinery options, a pros and cons analysis for investment decisions, customer satisfaction surveys, and a SWOT analysis to assess the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report concludes with recommendations for the company's expansion and investment strategies, emphasizing the importance of new machinery and product diversification.

Business data analysis
Assessment

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
Overview of Pecan Industry of Australia....................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
Produce scatter diagram and make a linear forecast....................................................................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................3
Healthiness from Pecan, Peanuts, Cashews and Pistachio..........................................................3
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................4
Quality assurance conditions in machine working......................................................................4
TASK 5............................................................................................................................................5
Machinery Cost............................................................................................................................5
TASK 6............................................................................................................................................6
Hypothesis testing........................................................................................................................6
TASK 7............................................................................................................................................7
Pros and cons analysis.................................................................................................................7
TASK 8............................................................................................................................................8
Customer satisfaction...................................................................................................................8
TASK 9............................................................................................................................................8
SWOT analysis............................................................................................................................8
TASK 10..........................................................................................................................................9
Summary......................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
Appendix........................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Peanuts are not just ordinary nuts, but legumes which are pods and beans. Many foods and
varieties, such as peanut grain, spread, peanut butter, peanut oil, peanut snacks and
other peanut items are included (Bolling, 2017). This report was focused on Australian Pecan
industry and they also wanted to extend their business to the new location. This evaluation
encompasses a variety of methods implemented by the organisations for their expansion and,
prior to implementation, each factor needs to be evaluated.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Overview of Pecan Industry of Australia
Packed nuts produced in the main facility which located in the United Kingdom. Pecan as
well as other nuts is often used as snack, but one of the best-selling items is pecans & peanuts.
Both shell-on nuts are imported from Australia (Brar and Danyluk, 2019). It started production in
2017, however after the company's establishment; operating profits for all years have steadily
increased. More and more individuals are actively concentrating on healthier snacks and their
demand is also growing. Many of the old companies seem to have been falling down recently,
and company needs to buy a new one so that the business can boom.
A mostly pecan industry in Australia is located in northern New South Wales (NSW) and
south eastern Queensland (QLD). Australia has much more than 100 pecan producers and much
more than 180,000 trees and shrubs. Organic farming farmers related to the Australian Pecan
Growers Association (APGA) produce about 95 per cent of nuts in Australia. This industry is
growing significantly, with exports of approximately $104.5 million recorded in 2018/19. There
are several multiple kinds of nuts that are shipped to many countries, such as walnut nuts,
hazelnuts, almonds, etc. Since 2006, the Australian producer of pecans has decreased by around
3,000 tonnes. There's been a growing interest in the expansion of the industry and the market is
expected to rise to around 9,500 tonnes in shells by 2025. The discovery of regions suitable for
the processing of pecans is an important element in the expansion of the industry.
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TASK 2
Produce scatter diagram and make a linear forecast
Scatter diagram:
Formula: FORECAST.LINEAR (Year of estimation, preceding year data, all the years)
The amount of Australian suppliers for years 2021 and 2022 would be calculated on the
basis of data provided. For this function, a linear prediction algorithm could be used. It is stated
clearly that perhaps the country's export production would increase. Analysis is done will be 25.9
in 2021 and 28.1 in 2022. With the aid of the linear forecasting process , companies are able to
anticipate the future revenues and patterns. It is advantageous for manufacturers to increase their
output and also their profitability. The table of export output for the period of 2014 to 2022 is
shown in the appendix showing the increase in value.
TASK 3
Healthiness from Pecan, Peanuts, Cashews and Pistachio
Below shows stacked column chart offer clear understanding of saturated fat under different
nuts and its table mentioned in the appendix:
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Based on given data, saturated fat in Pistachio is quite low compared to many other nuts
and, from the other hand; highest saturated fat is found in Cashews (Brar, Strawn and Danyluk,
2016). The chart shows that cashew's excellently-being is low compared to the earlier nuts. The
fats calculated in Gm per pound are 2, 1.9, 2.2 and 1.6, individually such as pecans, almonds,
cashews and pistachios.
Whenever the intake of cashews is high, maximum number of people facing the problem of
obesity which can be cause their health. But on the other hand, harper-focused individuals eat
Pistachio as it helps them to stay fit and have enough nutrition to maintain a balanced lifestyle
satisfied and fit. The figure indicates the proportions of the consumption of all nuts in gram per
ounce.
TASK 4
Quality assurance conditions in machine working
Given Information:
New machinery = 0.20%
Old Machinery = 0.80%
Among Old or New, one machine working all the time = 0.9999%
Following calculations are as follow:
New machinery = 0.9999 % - 0.20 %
= 0.7999 %
Old machinery = 0.9999 % - 0.80 %
= 0.1999 %
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On the basis of above study, this has been found that new machines have more precision
than others. New machinery offers 0.79 percent accuracy or old machine efficiency is 0.19
percent (Cheng, Dharmasena and Capps, 2017). As per the likelihood of quality control
department, only one device has a functioning chance of 99 per cent and that would be new
machine. According to the quality assurance department, new equipment has a lower risk of
failure and a higher chance of working.
TASK 5
Machinery Cost
Forecaster of profit for the next 6 years = £2000 (Per Month)
Interest rate = 9 %
Amount of Loan = £96,000
Annual estimated for pecan industry = 12 * 2000 = £24,000
Below mention table provide overall determinates of profit:
Year Payment Yearly Payment
Year 1 £24,000 £24,000
Year 2 £24,000 £48,000
Year 3 £24,000 £72,000
Year 4 £24,000 £96,000
Year 5 £24,000 £120,000
Year 6 £24,000 £144,000
Loan Value £96,000
Rate of Interest 9 %
Time Period in months 72
Compounding period per month 12
£ 1,730.45
Business will gain profit mostly on basis of an expectation that the organisation would be
sufficient to reimburse the balance of its loan in 6 years (Cunha, Sa and Fernandes, 2018). It
would be strongly suggested that the business take a 72-month manufacturing loan which might
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enable them to reach their monetary needs and helps them to repay within 6 years. For the
remaining times, the company makes money for itself and needs to spend on new equipment to
grow its market. It is advantageous as well as efficient for the company to invest in new
equipment by borrowing for a term of 6 years.
TASK 6
Hypothesis testing
There are two options of machinery for the production of pecan peanuts in order to the
replacement of old machinery. Some other required information mentioned below:
Requirement Machinery A Machinery B
Sample package 30 40
Mean 180 gm 170 gm
Standard deviation 40 gm 10 gm
Correlation 0.972058
Testing based on below equation:
Abovementioned analysis is made up of different mean value of Machinery options which is
dependent on population sizes such as sample sizes of 30 or 40 packages, accordingly.
The relation will be decided on the basis of the random sample size and the average
mean score of 180gm or 170gm respectively.
If six-point model of hypotheses testing has been tested to check that both machines
that should be utilized in addition to put the same amount in the envelope, the coefficient
technique shall not be used (Dean, 2018). The correlation is around 0.972058 for this. It suggests
that the machines are now incredibly identical and each machine can be used to carry the same
number of nuts into different packets. If correlation coefficient is much higher than 0.70, it
shows that the reliability statistics of factors is higher and, if this is less than 0.70, the
connectivity level of the variables is quite low. The correlation between the two sample packages
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containing 30 and 40 is 0.972058 that is very similar to 1 and means that comparison of either of
them is very high.
If an individual has two different options from which to choose, the analysis and the
connexion between them will be conducted. With all that in mind, it can be examined if the two
alternatives were appropriate with the company or not to each other. Therefore, where they are
not effective, the higher value of mean and standard deviation approach would be used by person
since they can generate good results. The relation is very good for Pecan Peanuts, which shows
the reliability of the units. The corporation would follow the first option, which is less than 0.70,
which would be advantageous to the organisations as well.
TASK 7
Pros and cons analysis
Table which helps in making decision regarding purchase of ]new machinery or not:
Pros Score Cons Score
Maximise production 08 Machinery cost is high 08
Improve the quality 07 Training to handle new machinery 08
Time effective 08 Interest of loan 07
Improve revenues 07 Rivalry 08
Maximise profitability 08 Raise in transportation cost 07
Demand of healthy snacks 09
Total 47 Total 23
Average Pros = 47/6 = 7.83
Average Cons = 38/5 = 7.3
Above table reveals that average pros of buying machinery is 7.83 and the average cons is
7.6, that is lower than pros. This means that the company must invest in new machine that is
useful as well as competitive for pecan peanuts. Based on this analysis, it has been recommended
that pecans industry should purchase new equipment that helps to increase overall production,
revenue, consumption, etc.
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TASK 8
Customer satisfaction
With the help of customer questionnaire which asked to the total 86 responded, they
provided a effective response that would allow Pecan Peanuts to identify whether or not
customers are happy or satisfied with their products & services (Jiang, Wang and Sun, 2017).
Almost the entire product used here is pecans with an average score of 3, the freshness
of flavour and the taste of the product produced are rated 3 which implies good. In addition,
consumers are likely to suggest this commodity to everyone else. Overall product summary was
strong, which means that consumers are pleased with the products they have launched and then
further helps to maximise their overall demand.
*Questionnaire mentioned in the appendix
TASK 9
SWOT analysis
Swot analysis is an important technique used by companies to measure the success of their
activities by defining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the enterprise.
Although Pecan Peanuts is anticipated to broaden its business in various product categories in
Macadamia and Almond Snacks, it has agreed to carry out a SWOT review. The detailed
overview of the company is as follows.
Strengths Weaknesses
 The growth plan allows the company to
increase the demand for goods on the
market. New equipment improves
performance and requires less time to
produce products.
 Producing more products in the product
range would help to increase
consumers' appetite for products by
providing quality nuts.
 The growth plan is very expensive,
since the procurement of new
equipment is expensive.
 When buying new equipment, it is
important to provide the requisite
training to workers on how to manage
it. Essentially, expansion involved a
major investment in the execution of
their plans.
Opportunities Threats
 New range of products helps to attract  The rivals are the greatest challenge to
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customers who like healthier snacks.
 Extension helps to drive demand across
the industry or to raise the company's
market share.
the company, so they'll have to protect
their uniqueness.
 Expansion may also lead to failure,
since individuals can not want a new
variety of nuts.
TASK 10
Summary
This has been noted that pecan industry in Australia is quite famous for the manufacturing
of specific nuts (Sealey-Voyksner, Zweigenbaum and Voyksner, 2016). The extension of the
product line and the purchase of new machines allow the company to increase its market and
consumer base, along with those who prefer to consume healthier snacks. It is also suggested that
entity buy new machines for improved performance.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been observed that Pecan Peanuts is an company that
sells various types of nuts across the globe such as pecans, cashews, almonds and pistachio.
Pecan sector has been expanding in the last few years due to high demand for pecans across the
world. The old machine of Pecan Peanuts runs well but still has no remaining interest; therefore
the business has decided to buy new equipment. It should also help to improve productivity,
sales, wages, etc. In addition, with the help of processing time of old system for the generation of
nut packets will also be decreased. Pecan Peanuts planned to enter into a new product range to
enter a wider market area. SWOT analysis is conducted to determine the likelihood of success
and failure.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Bolling, B. W., 2017. Almond polyphenols: methods of analysis, contribution to food quality,
and health promotion. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 16(3).
pp.346-368.
Brar, P. K. and Danyluk, M. D., 2019. Validation of Enterococcus faecium as a surrogate for
Salmonella under different processing conditions for peanuts and pecans. Food
microbiology. 80. pp.9-17.
Brar, P. K., Strawn, L. K. and Danyluk, M. D., 2016. Prevalence, level, and types of Salmonella
isolated from North American in-shell pecans over four harvest years. Journal of food
protection. 79(3). pp.352-360.
Cheng, G., Dharmasena, S. and Capps Jr, O., 2017. The Taste for Variety: Demand Analysis for
Nut Products in the United States (No. 1377-2016-109921).
Cunha, S. C., Sa, S. V. and Fernandes, J. O., 2018. Multiple mycotoxin analysis in nut products:
Occurrence and risk characterization. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 114. pp.260-269.
Dean, L. L., 2018. Targeted and Non‐Targeted Analyses of Secondary Metabolites in Nut and
Seed Processing. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology. 120(11).
p.1700479.
Jiang, S., Wang, J. and Sun, Y., 2017. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of fatty acid profiles
of Chinese pecans (Carya cathayensis) during storage using an electronic nose combined
with chemometric methods. RSC advances. 7(73). pp.46461-46471.
Sealey-Voyksner, J., Zweigenbaum, J. and Voyksner, R., 2016. Discovery of highly conserved
unique peanut and tree nut peptides by LC–MS/MS for multi-allergen detection. Food
chemistry. 194. pp.201-211.
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Appendix
TASK 2:
Year Export
2014 11.9
2015 11.8
2016 15.8
2017 15.5
2018 20.3
2019 19.7
2020 25.5
2021 25.9
2022 28.1
TASK 3:
Nuts Saturated fat (Per Pounce)
Pecans 2 Gm
Peanuts 1.9 Gm
Cashews 2.2 Gm
Pistachios 1.6 Gm
Task 6:
TASK 8:
ID Q1 Q2a Q2b Q3
001 1 4 4 3
002 4 2 4 3
003 1 4 2 3
004 3 4 4 4
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005 2 4 4 3
006 2 3 2 3
007 1 3 4 4
008 4 2 2 3
009 1 4 3 2
010 3 4 2 2
011 2 4 2 2
012 2 3 4 1
013 3 3 3 4
014 4 2 2 2
015 1 4 2 1
016 3 4 4 1
017 2 4 2 4
018 2 3 4 2
019 1 3 3 4
020 4 2 4 2
021 1 1 2 3
022 3 4 4 3
023 2 4 2 3
024 2 4 4 2
025 1 3 2 3
026 4 2 2 3
027 3 1 4 4
028 3 4 4 3
029 2 4 3 2
030 2 3 2 2
031 1 3 2 2
032 4 2 4 3
033 1 4 4 4
034 3 4 2 2
035 3 3 2 1
036 4 2 4 2
037 1 3 2 2
038 4 4 4 2
039 2 4 3 1
040 2 3 4 2
041 4 3 2 3
042 4 2 4 3
043 1 4 2 3
044 3 4 4 2
045 3 3 2 3
046 4 2 2 3
047 3 3 4 4
12

048 4 2 2 3
049 2 4 3 2
050 2 3 2 4
051 4 3 2 4
052 4 2 4 4
053 1 4 3 4
054 3 4 2 2
055 1 3 2 1
056 4 2 4 2
057 3 3 2 2
058 4 2 4 2
059 1 4 3 4
060 2 3 4 2
061 3 3 4 3
062 4 2 4 3
063 1 4 4 3
064 3 4 4 2
065 3 3 2 3
066 4 2 2 3
067 2 3 4 3
068 4 2 4 3
069 1 4 3 4
070 2 3 2 3
071 3 3 2 4
072 4 2 1 3
073 1 4 3 4
074 3 4 4 3
075 1 3 4 3
076 4 2 4 4
077 1 3 2 4
078 4 2 4 4
079 1 4 4 4
080 4 3 4 4
081 4 3 4 3
082 4 2 4 1
083 1 4 4 5
084 3 4 4 4
085 1 3 4 2
086 4 2 4 5
Average 3 3 3 3
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