Seamus Company Background and History

  Seamus Company (SC) is the creator of a series of grammar books designed to aid middle schools students understand the grammatical intricacies of the English language using cartoons. In the company’s first year, it released three titles for middle schools students on the topic of verb tenses. They introduced characters like Patricia Present, Peter Past, Calvin Continuous, and Petra Perfect. These cartoon characters are middle school students from Ridgeland Academy. Teachers were given grammar exercises for the students featuring these cartoon characters. In the next few years, SC expanded to offer other titles for high school students, based on the original and new characters. Sales grew as more books were sold through magazines and at educational conferences. SC also developed a series of educational DVDs and books that would be sold directly to parents. They also expanded their line of grammar books with action figures and accessories. Over three years, the sales of the company grew. SC made a deal with TechFite, a gaming software company, which led to a video game that sold well at major markets. SC outsourced the game development to an entity in India, but retained the rights to it. Despite the cost, the identification of the consumer demographic with the characters was significant. SC tried to introduce some less successful initiatives, such as comic books, graphic T-shirts, and a board game, that have not yet turned profit. This year, Mr. Correct is turning over the operations of SC to a board of directors (BoD). He will remain CEO, but has added the board level positions of Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. The Director of Product Marketing, Director of Sales, Director of Supply Management, Director of IT, Director of Security, Director of Product Development all answer to the board. In addition to this restructuring, the BoD has asked the directors to develop a plan for cutting costs, while still working to build the brand and grow in areas that have proven to be profitable. The BoD would like to find ways to innovate and improve productivity, leveraging IT and the Internet.   Identify an opportunity for innovation for SC and persuade the company to use your solution.             RFP Questions from Vendors   Q: If we were to implement a change of process, we would charge you one price if we were to treat this as a straight work-for-hire, but we would be inclined to charge less if we would be able to take the assets we create for SC and re-use and re-sell them for other clients. Does SC prefer that it maintains exclusivity over this material? A: SC will maintain exclusivity over the material. Q: We are assuming that we would build curriculum and then sell SC materials in order to recover our investment. We would not charge you up front for our services. Is this correct? A: The modalities of paying for the service may be negotiated at a later date, as specified in the RFP calendar. Q. Please provide the technical specifications for uploading data/information/content into the HRIS system. A: As long as the content complies with the QA requirements that were included in the RFP, data is not substantially different from standard HR data. Q. If XX’s pricing model allows for significantly lower price points in a co-IP ownership capacity, but provides SC with exclusivity for a period of time, does SC want to see other pricing models that could lower the cost to build and launch as well as joint marketing and revenue share models for downstream revenue opportunities? A: Please include your thoughts in the response to the RFP. Q: Would SC be interested in building TV programming around grammar topics? A: This question may be out of the scope of the RFP. include your thoughts in the response to the RFP.