LAB EXERCISE TOPIC 1

1. Below is the data on advertising expenditures and sales volume of Bajaj auto limited. The
data used for the analysis were relating to Bajaj auto limited account for 12 years covering
2002-2013.
Year Advertising Sales Volume
Expenditures (in crore rupee)
(in crore rupee)
2001-2002 90 412
2002-2003 129 474
2003-2004 129 541
2004-2005 143 654
2005-2006 106 854
2006-2007 127 1060
2007-2008 139 969
2008-2009 105 904
2009-2010 147 1211
2010-2011 156 1683
2011-2012 160 1982
2012-2013 202 2061

a) The planning manager of Bajaj auto is saying that as the amount spent on advertising
increases, the sales volume also increases at a steady scale. Using the suitable model,
solve the problem using:
i. Analysis Toolpak
ii. Excel Solver
b) Is the managers assumption reliable? Why (Why not)?
c) Would you like to propose another model to fit the data? Justify your answer using Excel
Solver.

2. Let X be number of sales person handling the promotion and Y is the sales volume in
RM('000)

X Y
1 8.5
1 3.5
10 9
9 9.5
3 7.5
10 14
2 2
1 2.5
4 8
9 7.5
 a) Calibrate all coefficients of Adbudg model using solver.
b) Given that profit margin for each unit is $2.00 and Cost of Effort is $1.50, determine the
profit values. (Hint: Profit = Unit Sales x Margin Fixed Cost)
c) Given that marketing effort (X) is the number of month, the product has been in the
market, determine the threshold (the maximum value) of the profit and the time.
d) What is the situation in month 20?

3. Below is the existing home sales data in the whole US and also the breakdowns based on the
four regions. Identify the phenomenon of sales over time for the whole US and for each of
the four regions.

Year U.S. NortheastMidwest South West

Median
2010 $172,900 $243,500 $141,600 $150,100 $214,800
2011 166,100 237,500 135,400 144,200 201,300
2012 176,800 237,700 142,700 154,000 230,100
Not Seasonally Adjusted
2012 Jan 154,600 225,200 121,400 134,100 189,400
2012 Feb 155,600 222,000 119,800 137,700 193,700
2012 Mar 164,800 230,200 131,600 146,500 204,600
2012 Apr 173,700 233,100 139,900 152,600 224,300
2012 May 180,300 240,000 147,700 159,400 230,600
2012 Jun 188,800 253,200 156,200 163,900 235,200
2012 Jul 187,800 254,200 153,700 161,500 241,100
2012 Aug 184,900 249,800 151,000 157,900 242,000
2012 Sep 178,300 235,400 145,300 150,600 245,100
2012 Oct 176,900 230,300 141,500 151,900 243,100
2012 Nov 179,400 229,900 141,600 156,700 244,200
2012 Dec 180,200 231,000 140,800 159,000 245,700
2013 Jan 173,600 230,500 131,800 152,100 239,800
vs. last
year: 12.3% 2.4% 8.6% 13.4% 26.6%
4. Zara Enterprise is a clothing discount store that sells blouses and matching trousers in town.
The company has collected historical data on sales of both items for the past 10 years.

Year Blouses Trousers

1 1045 326
2 1610 510
3 975 305
4 1211 478
5 1246 676
6 1117 506
7 860 296
8 1310 560
9 1517 590
10 1066 612

a) The planning manager of Zara Enterprise is saying that as sales of blouses increases, the
sales of trousers also increase at a steady scale. Do you agree? Give your reasons.
b) Compare the model proposed in a) above model using the semilog model Y a b ln X .
Justify your answer using Excel Solver. What do you observe?

5. Below is the number of unique visitors and number of visits and pages visited by them to an
advertising website.
a) Comment on the trend within the year.
b) Fit the suitable model to represent the trend and your reason.
c) When do you suggest the web should increase its bandwidth and why?

Unique Number
Month Visitors of visits Pages
Jan-07 9275 13424 46775
Feb-07 9203 12595 40740
Mar-07 12644 17789 60200
Apr-07 14653 20356 71017
May-07 24231 33254 127081
Jun-07 30041 40835 154508
Jul-07 35757 47520 183655
Aug-07 28556 38403 144506
Sep-07 13933 19017 61180
Oct-07 12329 16394 49561
Nov-07 4480 6038 17817
Dec-07 5484 7562 26448