Practice IB Business Management Topic 4.3 Sales Forecasting with authentic exam-style questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank focuses on the exact syllabus content for 4.3 Sales Forecasting and mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 style where relevant.
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Global Solar Solutions (GSS)
(a) With reference to business management motivation theory, one need that GSS satisfies for rural households requiring solar lighting.
(b) one human resource challenge and one operations challenge GSS may face if it accepts the DRD expansion contract.
Saebyeok Cosmetics (SC)
SC fills and packs skincare products at a plant near Cheongju, South Korea. Most of what it makes is contract manufacturing: it fills bottles under the labels of brands that do not own a factory. It also has a small own-brand range sold in Korean pharmacies.
Filling a bottle to a brand owner's specification is skilled work. A new line operator takes weeks of training before working unsupervised. SC's operators are paid by the hour and those taken on for a busy period are given fixed-term contracts. During peaks SC runs -hour shifts.
A semiconductor plant opened km from SC's factory in and recruits continuously at rates about above SC's.
Each trained operator can fill units in a quarter. SC employed operators at December .
A brand owner has offered SC a contract for a further units, to be delivered during quarter of . Finished skincare has a -month shelf life, but SC's contract customers will not accept units filled more than eight weeks before delivery.
Table 1: SC's production employees, to
| Year | Employees at 1 January | Employees at 31 December | Employees who left during the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 480 | 500 | 98 |
| 2023 | 500 | 580 | 135 |
| 2024 | 580 | 620 | 210 |
| 2025 | 620 | 660 | 288 |
Table 2: SC's sales forecast for (units )
| Quarter | Contract manufacturing | Own-brand range |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 620 | 90 |
| Quarter 2 | 700 | 110 |
| Quarter 3 | 1 480 | 130 |
| Quarter 4 | 900 | 260 |
| Year | 3 700 | 590 |
…
Marisol Gelato (MG)
. Marisol Gelato (MG) makes and sells ice cream through outlets in coastal resort towns. Demand is heavily seasonal: the third quarter of the year accounts for most of the trading.
. MG's marketing director prepares a sales volume forecast for each quarter, using the previous three years' figures and a judgement about weather and visitor numbers. The forecast is used to plan production, staffing and the purchase of ingredients.
. In February MG's board set a target of increasing sales volume by over the year. During the second and third quarters MG's outlet managers were given discretion to reduce prices to attract passing trade.
. MG's marketing director reported to the board in January that "we beat our volume forecast in both of our peak quarters, by each time. On that evidence the pricing decision was the right one, and I recommend we continue it in ."
. MG's finance director has asked for the recommendation to be examined before the board agrees to it. MG's ingredient and outlet costs rose by over .
Table 1: Marisol Gelato, forecast and actual sales volume by quarter,
| Quarter | Forecast sales volume (000 litres) | Actual sales volume (000 litres) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 250 | 200 |
| Q2 | 400 | 460 |
| Q3 | 800 | 920 |
| Q4 | 300 | 240 |
Table 2: Marisol Gelato, sales revenue by quarter,
…
(a) Using an appropriate business management theory, a human need that SparkFit’s products satisfy for their target consumers.
(b) two challenges SparkFit faces in scaling its digital marketing efforts. Support your answer with evidence from the resources.
(c) Based on the resources and your business knowledge, recommend a comprehensive marketing strategy to improve SparkFit’s brand awareness and competitiveness over the next five years. Your strategy should consider product positioning, digital marketing channels, pricing, and brand partnerships.
FreshFusion – Scaling a Global Organic Beverage Brand
(a) Using an appropriate business management theory, an HR issue that FreshFusion is facing.
(b) two marketing challenges FreshFusion faces in expanding internationally.
(c) Using all the resources provided and your knowledge of business management, recommend a possible plan of action to improve both HR management and marketing strategy at FreshFusion.
SparkFit Apparel Ltd.
Despite a 20% increase in revenue compared to 2022, SparkFit faces pressure from production and marketing expenses, impacting profitability.
| Sales Growth Rate |
|---|
| Brand Awareness (%) |
|---|
| North America | 18% | 75% |
| Europe | 10% | 50% |
| Asia | 5% | 20% |
Key Insights:
(1) Sales growth in Asia is weak due to low brand awareness and lack of localized marketing strategies.
(2) North America remains strong, but competition is increasing.
