Page 7 - AB INBEV 2018 Case Study 2

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(new) integrated technology platform for the many different types of customer interactions we have," says

Pedro Earp. Large AB InBev customers often submit predictable orders at the same time every month.
Some of them order a shipping container or multiple containers filled with cases of beer. But small
customers tend to call, fax, or email when they're running short, often with a lot of varied detail per order.
Some small customers order a few cases at a time, but handling the order took as much time to capture as
a large one. Until recently, AB InBev staffers often took phone calls from such customers and laboriously

captured details, or re-keyed an order that they had submitted by fax - a process that sometimes led to
errors. Additionally, AB InBev had different systems tracking orders, handling promotions, and interacting
with customers in the many countries in which it did business. The CharterQuest Professional Education
Institute has compiled the following information relevant to 2-mutually exclusive strategies:

1. Launch own e-commerce website: Following implementation (likely to be 12 months from today), this
strategy will increase the company’s turnover by a further 10% of its 2019 projections and produce an
enhanced gross profit of 5% higher than the current projection (Appendix 1(a)). Thereafter, the turnover
should grow at a rate of 10% each year for the foreseeable future. Any increase in indirect costs (e.g.
distribution, sales and marketing expenses) as a result of this higher volume of business will be fully

offset by a reduction in administrative expenses (workload) as a result of the new integrated system.
Pedro Earp however believes a cautious approach is warranted, stating that ‘any benefits after 5 years
from implementation should be ignored.’ A solution from an accredited and fully-vetted e-commerce
solution supplier, based on a generic e-commerce package called ‘CloudCraze’ is presented:
ITEM TIMING Costs (million US$)
(Cash flows arise at the
end of the relevant
period)
‘CloudCraze’ software package. On agreement of contract 720
Installation and integration of ‘CloudCraze’ with internal During the first 6 months 160
Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and
SAP System.
e-sales (e-commerce) sub module On agreement of contract 310
Tailoring of e-sales for global accessibility, customer account During the first 6 months 190
profiling and linkage to multiple payment methods (visa cards,
pay pal, etc.).
Population and data transmission to e-commerce database. During the first 6 months 135
Training. During months 7 - 12 700
Support. Split over 5 years following implementation 255
Hardware, networking and connection broadband service costs. Split over the five years following implementation 400

2. Partner with 3 party e-commerce websites: AB InBev could carefully select and partner with global
rd
and/or regional e-commerce platforms to more closely align-with and appeal to customers in its different
geographical regions of operations as below:

The CFO Case Study Competition 2018 (Grand Finale Pack)
www.charterquest.co.za | Email: thecfo@charterquest.co.za