ACS Business Improvement

Omaha, NE

Omaha, Nebraska (a Midwestern City of just under a half million population) is a quiet yet powerful US business center, with a strong economy. Home of several Fortune 500 companies (Warren Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway, Con-Agra Foods, Union Pacific, Mutual of Omaha), it also is home to a broad range of industries, ranging from one of the largest construction companies in the US (Peter Kiewit Sons) and the leading credit card processor (First Data), to being headquarters of the Strategic Air Command. Naturally being located in the Midwest farm belt, agricultural manufacturing in the form of Food manufacturing, including meat processing, is its largest industry. It is followed by financial services, health care, transportation and the aforementioned military.

Settled by European immigrants in the great Western expansion, its strategic location on the banks of the Missouri River made it a vibrant hub between the Eastern and Western US, and provided great opportunities to build new businesses to serve a growing nation. This drive and work ethic continues to maintain and grow the business economy. And as a community, it has a blend of ethnic neighborhood communities and spacious suburbs – all with very affordable and stable housing values. Good schools from elementary to college provide a well-educated and motivated workforce. There has been a long support of cultural and sports activities (the College World Series among the most well-known), and the recent additions of new stadiums and performance centers has greatly enhanced the quality of life experience. Altogether the outlook looks bright for Omaha as a business center, and entrepreneurs are recognizing the potential and opportunities.

Chicago, IL

Chicago has the third largest gross metropolitan product in the United States. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. Chicago is a major world financial center, with the second largest central business district in the United States. The city is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve). The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are home to the second largest labor pool in the United States with approximately 4.25 million workers. In addition, the state of Illinois is home to 66 Fortune 1000 companies, including those in Chicago.

Consultancy

Management consulting, the practice of helping organizations to improve their performance, operates primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of plans for improvement. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice and access to the consultants’ specialized expertise. Consultancies may also provide organizational change-management assistance, development of coaching skills, process analysis, technology implementation, strategy development, or operational improvement services. Management consultants often bring their own proprietary methodologies or frameworks to guide the identification of problems and to serve as the basis for recommendations for more effective or efficient ways of performing work tasks. Management consulting has grown quickly, with growth rates of the industry exceeding 20% during the past 30 years. As a business service, consulting remains highly cyclical and linked to overall economic conditions. Currently, there are three main types of consulting firms. Large, diversified organizations, Medium-sized management consultancies and boutique firms that have focused areas of consulting expertise in specific industries, functional areas, technologies, or regions of the world. The value of the management & marketing consultancy market is calculated as the total revenues received for the provision of corporate strategy services, operations management services, information technology solutions, human resource management services and outsourcing services. The global management & marketing consultancy market has total revenues of $305.0bn, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3%. The operations management segment is the market’s most lucrative, with total revenues of $93bn, equivalent to 30.5% of the market’s overall value. The performance of the market is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 7% during the next 5 years, which is expected to drive the market to a value of $427.9bn.

Consumer Goods

In economics, any commodity which is produced and subsequently consumed by the consumer, to satisfy its current wants or needs, is a consumer good or final good. Consumer goods are goods that are ultimately consumed rather than used in the production of another good. For example, a microwave oven or a bicycle which is sold to a consumer is a final good or consumer good, whereas the components which are sold to be used in those goods are called intermediate goods. For example, textiles or transistors which can be used to make some further goods. When used in measures of national income and output, the term “final goods” only includes new goods. For instance, the GDP excludes items counted in an earlier year to prevent double counting of production based on resales of the same item second and third hand. In this context the economic definition of goods includes what are commonly known as services. Manufactured goods are goods that have been processed in any way. As such, they are the opposite of raw materials, but include intermediate goods as well as final goods. Consumer goods are goods which are intended for everyday private consumption. They cover a large product portfolio including food and non-food categories in order to meet consumer demand. They are further classified in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and slow moving consumer goods (SMCG). The definitions are based on how fast products are sold to the customer, a determining factor in the rotation of goods. SMCG are goods with a useful life longer than a year comprising items such as household appliances, furniture and home improvement products. These items have a lower sales frequency and are not rotating as rapidly as FMCG. The competitive landscape of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is shaped by global leading CPG companies such as US-based Procter & Gamble (P&G), Unilever, L’Oréal and Nestlé. Many companies invest large amounts of money for the development of new products in accordance with recent market trends and the latest research findings. As many manufacturers operate globally, product packaging and labeling regulations have to be fulfilled in order to meet the country-specific requirements. In addition, product formulas may have to be adapted to suit different consumer tastes.

Entertainment

The entertainment industry is part of the tertiary sector of the economy and includes a large number of sub-industries devoted to entertainment. However, the term is often used in the mass media to describe the mass media companies that control the distribution and manufacture of mass media entertainment. In the popular parlance, the term show biz in particular connotes the commercially popular performing arts, especially musical theater, vaudeville, comedy, film, and music. It applies to every aspect of entertainment including cinema, television, radio, theater and music. The global entertainment industry is expected to reach an estimated US $139 billion with a CAGR of 4.2% over the next five years. This growth is likely to be driven by the acceleration of online and mobile distribution of movies, lower admission prices, and government policy initiatives in developing countries.

Food & Beverage

The food industry is a complex, global collective of diverse businesses that supply much of the food energy consumed by the world population. Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food industry. The food industry includes: Regulation: local, regional, national and international rules and regulations for food production and sale, including food quality and food safety, and industry lobbying activities; Education: academic, vocational, consultancy; Research and development: food technology; Financial services insurance, credit; Manufacturing: agrochemicals, seed, farm machinery and supplies, agricultural construction, etc; Agriculture: raising of crops and livestock, seafood; Food processing: preparation of fresh products for market, manufacture of prepared food products; Marketing: promotion of generic products (e.g. milk board), new products, public opinion, through advertising, packaging, public relations, etc; Wholesale and distribution: warehousing, transportation, logistics; Retailing. The global food and beverage retail industry has witnessed significant growth over the last five years and is expected to continue its growth momentum, reaching approximately US $5,776 billion with a CAGR of 5% over the next five years. Macroeconomic factors such as burgeoning GDP, increasing consumer spending and changing lifestyle, taste, and preferences are expected to drive the industry over the forecast period.