Think about this set of dichotomies: product versus service and operational decision versus strategic decision. Justify where and why you would place each problem in that dichotomy. Discuss the differences between the two approaches below. Consider the following two types of managerial problems and how analytics is used to address them.

Problem 1 : A large company is considering entering the Chinese market. It would like to do so based on a detailed analysis of its business prospects. This includes estimation of potential market size, pricing, and the costs to conduct business. Based on this data, the company would like to create a decision support model that allows the executive team at the company to make a final decision. It engages a prominent consulting company for this purpose.

Problem 2: The same company offers logistics brokerage services (matching shippers and transport carriers) in the full truck load market and would like to predict available shipper demand, available carrier capacity, and consequent market prices in hourly time windows. It engages a different consulting company for this purpose.