Trusty Carpets: Business Case for Technology Improvements Report

This report analyzes the business case for Trusty Carpets, a carpet sales and installation company facing challenges and opportunities due to recent expansion. The company, owned by Jerry Montgomery, operates two stores and an installation service, aiming to increase profit margins and streamline operations. The report explores the current business model, including its IT infrastructure, sales processes, and financial management, along with the recent acquisition of Metro Carpets. It identifies key opportunities for growth, such as internet sales, in-home sales, and partnerships with interior decorators, while also addressing environmental responsibility through carpet recycling. The report's objective is to convince Jerry to invest in technology solutions that will improve business processes and increase sales and profitability. It will categorize benefits into tangible/intangible and financial/non-financial, and discuss the alignment with the business strategy and objectives.

Expected Improvements
The purpose of this section is to explain why the project is needed. It should address the
following:
 How will the proposed solution address the stated problem or take advantage of the
business opportunity identified in Section II? ( In this case, we have a business
opportunity)
 How does the proposed solution align with the business strategy and/or objectives?
 What benefits can the organization achieve from this solution? Use the following
categorizations and identify some benefits in each area:
o Tangible benefits/Intangible benefits
o Financial/Non-financial benefits
 What other value might the organization gain from this solution?
Approach to Developing this Section
Develop a clear and concise explanation of how the proposed solution directly addresses the
problem or opportunity identified. Then, review the case study to explain how the proposed
solution aligns with the business strategy and/or objectives. There are several ways to
categorize benefits (as shown in the three sub-bullets above). Read an explanation of the
categories of benefits at:
https://www.business-case-analysis.com/business-benefit.html
Create a list of benefits that the business can expect to achieve from implementing the
proposed solution. Determine which categorization is most appropriate to the benefits
listed. Then, categorize and explain in a sentence or two each of the benefits that have
been identified. If there are other ways that the organization would obtain value from
implementing the system, those should also be discussed.
Case study:

Image result for image carpet Trusty Carpets
Background: Jerry Montgomery has been selling carpets for 20 years from his store, Trusty Carpets, which is
located in a strip mall that, over the past few years, has become a busy shopping center. The location is in what had
been a quiet town near a large city, but recent area growth has resulted in many new homes being built and the town
council has started to consider ordinances to create zones to protect unique architecture, improve overall property
condition, and protect the environment. Their focus is on creating an up-scale community attracting “clean”
businesses to improve the quality of life and its tax base.
The current business model: Since he opened his Trusty Carpets store, Jerry has advertised in the local paper and
done all of his business in his showroom where he has carpet samples on display. Jerry employs two sales people to
serve customers in the store. One is his daughter Ann who he would like to take over the business when he retires.
Since he has little storage space, Jerry’s inventory has been limited to overstock, end pieces from installations, and
samples. When a customer makes a selection from the samples, the salesman checks the manufacturer's information
to determine the availability of the selected carpet and the current price. Jerry’s brother-in-law, Mike Baker, has a
carpet installation business and has been sub-contracting the installation of the carpets sold by Trusty Carpets. The
sales staff coordinates installation with the customer and with Mike.
Jerry employs an accountant (who has other customers and does his work at his own office) to keep track of his
finances, pay bills, send invoices, collect payment and do payroll. Jerry's finances are very straight-forward, and he
uses the accountant only because he does not like to do the paperwork.
Jerry’s company sells about 250,000 square feet of carpet a year (70% of it is mid-grade carpet and padding) for
sales of about $1.2 million. This results in a net profit of about $100,000. His current costs are in line with industry
averages but his profits are below the averages. He attributes this to the fact that he keeps his prices low to be more
competitive and grow his business.
Technology support: The Trusty Carpets store has a basic information technology (IT) infrastructure with an internet
connection. There is a computer with a multi-purpose printer (scanner/fax/printer) in Jerry's office. It is connected to
a router supplied by the Internet Service Provider. The router also provides a wireless network within the store, and
the 2 salesmen have tablet computers that they use to check carpet availability and price, and to enter and check
orders. Order forms are simple Google document forms that are stored in the Google cloud and are shared among
the employees and with the installer and the accountant. Jerry and his salesmen each have a Gmail account. One of
the salesmen, Ben (who has been with Jerry 6 years), is studying IT at the community college. He set up the current
technology in the store just six months ago. Jerry expects Ben to learn about any new technology that gets installed
and help solve minor in-store IT problems.
Recent changes: Jerry has been quite successful and has recently acquired Metro Carpets, a store on the other side of
town. Metro Carpets has a large showroom and an adjoining 20,000 square foot warehouse. The showroom contains
two room displays, one a living room with their top line carpet and one a family room with mid-line carpet. The
remaining display space is for samples and remnants, including a small area for closeouts. The warehouse is about
50% utilized. It contains rolls of the top line carpet in a wide range of popular colors for immediate installation.
Although it is a relatively large business, the previous owner was not well organized and kept all of his customer
records and carpet inventory in hand-written ledgers. Jerry plans to retain the three sales staff and two warehouse
people at Metro, and he wants to continue to expand sales in his original store. Metro generates about $3 million in
annual sales at a 12% profit. Costs are in line with industry averages. Carpet sold at Metro breaks down as follows:
10% bottom grade, 50% mid-grade and 40% top-of-the-line.
In addition, Jerry and Mike (the installer) have decided to combine their businesses into one carpet sales and
installation business. They will do this after they have reviewed the impact of an EPA initiative, the WARM
Program, to improve the rate of carpet recycling to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Jerry feels recycling is
important and wants to be able to make the appropriate business accommodations. Mike runs his business out of his
home since all of the work is done in customers’ homes. He has two installation teams (2 people each) and
installation equipment is stored in the trucks. Mike expects to increase the number of installation teams since Jerry

acquired Metro Carpets. Mike’s wife Carol handles the bookkeeping, and while all of their work is paper-based,
they are well organized. He earns about $1.50/square foot for his services.
The opportunities: With the expansion of his business, Jerry needs a way to be able to manage the two separate
locations and the installation operation as one business. He is also looking at ways to increase his business through
internet sales, establishing relationships with new home builders, and in-home sales where he believes that he could
reach more customers if his salespeople could go to customers’ homes, take measurements and obtain orders. Jerry’s
daughter Ann is studying interior decorating in college and he wants to reach out to the interior decorating
community to expand sales as well. Additionally, Jerry wants to be environmentally responsible. To do this he will
need to allocate warehouse space to accommodate recyclable carpet. The installers would bring the used carpet to
the warehouse, and the carpet would then be picked up by a recycler monthly at no cost.
How your team will help: Jerry's primary business objective is to continue to increase his profit margins, and he
believes appropriate technology can help with managing his expanding business. He has hired your team to evaluate
his needs and recommend which technologies he should acquire and to develop the Business Case for those you
recommend. He will use the Business Case to decide whether he should invest in the technology solution your team
is proposing. Through the Business Case, your team must convince Jerry that you have a well thought-out plan that
meets his objectives and has the potential of increasing sales and profitability; your objective is to get Jerry to hire
your team to develop and implement the solution you are proposing.