Group Case: Zappos Customer Loyalty Team

Please see the spreadsheet with data posted on Bb for your convenience.

Please turn in a PDF$/$Word document with the case write$-$up and your spreadsheet; one submission

per group. Your report should be self$-$explanatory and should avoid extensive references to the

spreadsheet. That is$,$ the reader should be able to understand the logic of your calculations, the

underlying assumptions and your recommendations without having to resort to your spreadsheet.

Clarification: For your analysis you can focus on Exhibit $4$ of the spreadhseet. The information

regarding the service rate is provided in the case.

Assignment Questions:

$1.$ What is Zappos$$s strategy? On what competitive dimensions does the company compete $($see

Week $1)?$

$2.$ How does the customer loyalty team $($CLT$)$ feed into this strategy?

$3.$ What types of variability does the CLT experience? Can it or should it do anything about

these?

$4.$ Analyze staffing. Use the half$-$hour slots from $6$:$30$ am to $1$:$30$ pm$.$ How many staff do they

need for each slot to achieve their goals of $80\%$ utilization and less than $20$ seconds wait time?

Can both be achieved by the same staffing level? Should they use a different goal? Why?

Assume that arrivals are exponential and that the Cs $=1\mathrm{.}25.$

$5.$ Staffing:

$($a$)$ Which approach better fits the Zappos business strategy$-$filling shift request by seniority

or by performance? Which do you recommend and why?

$($b$)$ Should Zappos use corporate employees during the holiday season?