SITXFIN009 : Manage Finances Within a Budget Assessment

Purpose of Assessment

1. discussions with existing suppliers

2. evaluation of staffing and rostering requirements

3. evaluation of impact of potential roster changes

4. review of operating procedures

5. sourcing new suppliers

monitor income and expenditure and evaluate budgetary performance over the above budgetary life cycle complete financial reports related to the above budget within designated timelines and using correct budget terminology.

Project

You have just been employed as the new department manager for picking operations at Wati Wats Warehousing and Transport business in Welshpool. One of the key responsibilities of your role will be to manage staffing of the picking operation with both full-time permanent staff and a blend of agency casual staff. You will do this by setting picking rate targets and shift allocations for casuals.

You will be allocated a 14-week budget, where you will be able to manipulate 3 variables;

• Carton Pick rate per hour
• Bulk Pallet pick per hour and
• Number of Agency shifts allocated per week

Your overall aim will be to attempt to meet the overall budget across the 14-week period to a variance within $20k. It may not be possible to meet the budget every week because of varying output levels of staff and their error rates, as well as volume moves in receiving and despatch departments.

Task 1

As you are new to the business the CEO has encouraged you to reach out to the Chief Financial Officer Mario Moneybags and ask him for some advice on how these variables have been set in the past. Script an email requesting this information to Mario below.

Task 2

Mario has replied to your email and has the following advice on setting the budget and for each variable has suggested a range to work with;

• Carton Pick rate per hour – this is generally set at between 30-35 cartons per hour. Lower than this our staff are unproductive, higher than 35 and they become disillusioned and rushed and tend to make errors and create more damages.
• Bulk Pallet pick per hour – this is set between 5-10 cartons per hour, it is so low because our bulk area contains high value, oversized items that require two-person lifts and careful packaging in crates to avoid damage in transport. 5 is considered the minimum requirement for the area and anywhere above 10 we see high costs associated with damages to stock and injury to our team.
• Number of Agency shifts allocated per week (4 hour blocks) – this fluctuates from week to week but is considered to sit between 20-30 shifts per week. Allocating too few shifts to agency casuals will mean that our full-time staff will have to work more overtime (it is desired that Average Daily Overtime sits below 1.5hrs per day), and this generally leads to increases in damages to stock and injury to personnel. Allocating too many shifts to agency will add to higher financial costs as their charge out cost is $60.50/hour versus $36.50 for full-time permanent staff.

Task 3

Use the information that Mario has shared with you to work through each weeks’ budget.

Task 4

Wati Wats employs 20 full time permanent staff and more than 20 shifts of agency staff for 4 hours per week. Go to your Budget Tracking sheet, paste a copy of the Agency Shift Allocation  When you consider the cost of the agency hours being used, is there scope for improvement in the way Wati Wats staff’s their warehouse?

Task 5

You will have noticed that errors in missed picks and incorrect cartons being delivered are a significant cost to the operating budget as well as impacting on customer service levels. Go to your Budget Tracking Sheet, paste a copy of the Weekly Error Report table below; Wati Wats still operates using paper printed picking sheets, a system that is highly prone to errors. Using your knowledge of logistics, is there other ways of operating their pick system that you could suggest that may improve the accuracy of the team and reduce the cost of fixing errors and impact to customers when stock is delivered inaccurately?

Task 6

Use your results gained in Task 3 to script an email to the CEO Charlie Chieftain to inform him of the budget result and whether you were able to achieve your goal of a variance no greater than 20k to the budget across the 14 weeks. In the email be sure to include your analysis performed in Task 5 and Task 6 to make suggestions on where you see the business could make improvements into the future.

Brief summary of assessment requirements

You were hired as the new Department Manager for picking operations at Wati Wats Warehousing & Transport. Over a 14-week budget cycle you must manage staffing and productivity to keep the overall budget variance within $20,000. Key responsibilities / deliverables:

• Investigate and discuss current supplier arrangements.

• Evaluate staffing & rostering: mix of 20 full-time staff + agency casuals (4-hour shifts).

• Model impact of roster changes on costs, overtime (target Avg Daily OT < 1>

• Review operating procedures and recommend accuracy improvements.

• Source and evaluate new suppliers if required.

• Monitor income & expenditure and complete financial reports on time using correct budget terminology.

You are given three manipulable variables for each week: carton pick rate/hour (30–35 cph), bulk pallet pick/hour (5–10 pph) and agency shifts/week (20–30 four-hour shifts). Agency cost = $60.50/hr, full-time cost = $36.50/hr. Tasks: (1) request historical setup from CFO; (2) interpret CFO guidance; (3) build weekly budget scenarios; (4) paste & review agency shift allocation and recommend staffing improvements; (5) analyse Weekly Error Report and propose operational fixes to reduce pick errors; (6) report results and recommendations to the CEO.

How the Academic mentor guided the student 

1. Clarify objectives & constraints

   • Mentor ensured the student understood the $20k variance target, the 14-week horizon and the three variable ranges.

   • Emphasised KPIs to monitor: labour cost, Avg Daily OT, pick accuracy, damage rate, and weekly variance.

2. Task 1 Draft CFO email

   • Mentor reviewed a concise email template asking for historical pick-rates, typical agency usage, overtime records, damage costs and any previous scenario analyses.

   • Advised requesting electronic reports (timekeeping, P&L by week, error logs).

3. Task 2 Interpret CFO ranges

   • Mentor walked through the rationale behind the ranges (productivity vs. quality trade-offs).

   • Advised flagging safety and damage risk at extremes (below 30 cph or above 35 cph; bulk >10 pph).

4. Task 3 Build the weekly budget model

   • Mentor recommended building an Excel model: input weekly volumes, pick rates, agency shifts, labour hours, cost per hour, error/damage cost multipliers.

   • Taught scenario and sensitivity analysis: run “low-productivity/high-agency”, “high-productivity/low-agency”, and midpoint scenarios to see variance impacts.

   • Suggested visual outputs: weekly variance chart, cumulative variance, and a dashboard of OT and damage costs.

5. Task 4 Evaluate agency usage & roster options

   • Mentor guided analysis of agency vs. full-time cost (usefully compare effective hourly costs including damage/overtime externalities).

   • Suggested roster improvements: increase full-time utilization where volumes are stable, use agency for peaks, adjust shift lengths, cross-train staff to reduce dependence on agency.

   • Advised checking for scope to renegotiate agency rates or reduce unpaid idle time.

6. Task 5 Reduce pick errors

   • Mentor led a root-cause approach: map why paper picking causes errors (illegible, late updates, human transcription).

   • Recommended practical solutions: implement barcode scanning / handheld RF scanners, pick-to-light or voice picking in high-volume zones, electronic picking sheets (WMS integration), QC sampling and immediate feedback loops, and retraining.

   • Helped quantify expected savings by estimating reduced rework, returns and reputational costs.

7. Task 6 CEO reporting

   • Mentor helped craft a concise email/report summarising model results, whether the $20k variance goal was met under recommended settings, and prioritized recommendations (roster mix, tech investments, supplier negotiations).

   • Emphasised presenting clear options with estimated cost/benefit and implementation timelines.

Outcome achieved 

• A working 14-week Excel budget model with scenario/sensitivity analyses for the three variables and visual dashboards.

• A staffing recommendation that balanced agency shift allocation with full-time hours to reduce overtime and lower total cost per effective pick while keeping Avg Daily OT below 1.5 hrs.

• A operational improvement plan to replace paper picking with barcode/RF scanning (or phased WMS upgrades) plus QC checkpointsexpected to materially reduce error costs.

• A financial summary / draft email to CEO documenting weekly variance performance, root-cause analysis of pick errors, and prioritized suggestions (roster optimization, supplier renegotiation, tech investment).

• All deliverables framed using correct budget terminology and prepared for timely submission.

Learning objectives covered

• Financial monitoring & budgeting across a business cycle.

• Workforce planning, rostering and cost-benefit analysis (agency vs full-time).

• Use of scenario modelling and sensitivity analysis to inform operational decisions.

• Identification and quantification of operational risks (errors, damages, OT) and proposing evidence-based mitigations.

• Professional communication: concise emails/reports to CFO and CEO.

• Application of logistics knowledge (WMS, scanning tech) to improve service quality and reduce costs.

Access Reliable Assignment Solutions with Confidence

Looking for extra guidance on your academic task? You can download the available sample solution to understand how a well-structured and properly referenced academic paper is prepared. Remember, the sample is meant strictly for reference and learning purposes only. Submitting it as your own work may lead to plagiarism issues and academic penalties.

If you want a paper that is 100% original, plagiarism-free, and tailored to your requirements, our team of professional academic writers is here to help. A fresh solution ensures your work meets university standards while saving you valuable time.

Why Order a Fresh Assignment?

• Custom-written content designed for your specific topic and instructions

• Guaranteed plagiarism-free work with proper referencing

• Access to expert writers across multiple academic disciplines

• Timely delivery to help you meet your deadlines

• Enhanced academic confidence with professionally guided solutions

Plagiarism Disclaimer: The sample is provided for educational reference only. Submitting it as your own may breach your institution’s academic integrity rules. Ordering a fresh solution ensures originality and protects your academic reputation.

[Download Sample Solution]                        [Order Fresh Assignment]