Untangling the (Supply) Chains: Part 1

From a business perspective, the global pandemic has exposed shortcomings in supply chains within and across industries throughout the world. Supply chain research reveals gaps that equate to opportunities for interested businesses. Lippincott Library offers several resources for supply chain research, each with unique features.

Capital IQ

Remotely accessible to full-time MBA students through the MBA Career Management portal and to all others through Penn Libraries, Capital IQ features current and historical business customer and supplier information for companies and their subsidiaries. Details include customer/supplier name, relationship type, primary industry, and link to the information source.

• Search by company name to retrieve a Company Profile
• In the left-side menu, navigate to Business Relationships and select Customers or Suppliers

Here is a partial list of Tesla’s Recently Disclosed Suppliers from Capital IQ:

FactSet

Visit Lippincott Library to access FactSet, a powerful financial and economic database that includes current supply chain information provided by Revere. Covering more than 150,000 relationships, this data provides insight into company supply chains, key customers, suppliers, competitors, and strategic partners. Annual review based on SEC filings keeps this information updated.

FactSet Revere Supply Chain Relationships data is also available on the Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) platform. This data covers more than 25,000 publicly traded companies around the world and select subsidiaries, representing more than 144,000 business relationships, with historical data back to 2003.

Panjiva

Panjiva is a global supply chain intelligence database containing eight million companies and more than one billion shipment records, with more than 200 countries represented. Included transactional and macro data cover 35% and 95% of global trade flows, respectively. Information is sourced from bill of lading shipment records from U.S Customs and Border Protection, credit information providers, compliance organizations, trade associations, and more. Current and historical information is available.

Search for a company or product name and filter to buyers, suppliers, or shipments, or search product trends. Buyer and Supplier profiles feature top products, countries, shipment records, trading partners, ports and carriers, where applicable, and an Activity Feed featuring new supply chain activity. Corporate hierarchy and contact information are also provided.

To create a Trend report, select a country/region, trade direction (import or export), and a product’s Harmonized System (HS) code.

Use the Macro tool to analyze trade flows of products between countries. Panjiva Macro data is sourced from UN Comtrade, which obtains the data from each country’s government.

Bloomberg

Bloomberg makes it possible to analyze current and historical supply chain relationships for approximately 23,000 public companies and 96,000 private companies worldwide, representing 900,000 global supply chain relationships. 

Data come from public sources including company reports, conference call transcripts, and regulatory filings, as well as customers and suppliers. This bi-directional data and estimates from industry analysts quantify company exposures from both production and demand sides of the supply chain. The resulting 200,000 quantified supplier-customer relationships include both revenue and cost percentages and links to company filings.

Use the function SPLC to access and analyze supply chain data on the Bloomberg Terminal. Below is an analysis of absolute projected sales growth for companies in Ford Motor Company’s supply chain:

For additional recommendations, refer to our Business FAQ “Where can I find information on a company’s supply chain management?” or contact a Lippincott Librarian.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post highlighting reports useful for supply chain research.

Introduction to Bloomberg FX Functions

If you are interested in foreign exchange rates or other information on world currencies, Bloomberg is an excellent resource for that data. In this blog post, we will go over some of the basic FX functions that are available in Bloomberg.

To get started, hit the yellow [CURNCY] market sector key, and then hit the green [GO] key. This will display a menu of the main currency functions, giving you an overview of some of the options available to you when you are looking for currency and FX data.

One of the main FX functions is FXIP, the FX information portal.

If you type in FXIP [GO], you will be taken to the FX markets overview screen. FXIP gives you a detailed overview of FX information, enabling you to get a quick snapshot of pricing information for various currency baskets. This is a great starting point for FX overview information before navigating to different screens for more detailed information, some of which are detailed below. The default currency for the FXIP screen is USD, but you are able to change that by typing in a different base currency at the amber box near the top of the screen. You can click on the different gray tabs for additional market overview information.

Are You Certified??? Certification Programs for Bloomberg or Thomson One!!!

Many students and potential employees like certifications for Bloomberg or Thomson One. This demonstrates that the student has an understanding of how to use these expensive programs before coming on board.  The learning curve for using these products on the job is greatly reduced.

Bloomberg, available at Lippincott Library or Huntman Hall, currently offers two certificates.

Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) is a self- paced, 8 hour introduction to finance using 70 Bloomberg terminal functions.  This provides a good foundation for undergraduates or people new to finance.  It covers four topics:  Economic Indicators, Currencies, Fixed Income and Equities. The format is interactive video sessions. There is no cost for this certificate if you use the Library Bloomberg terminals.  You can sign up for a web-based session at a discounted price of $149.00.

BESS is also self-paced and is recommended for individuals with more experience in Finance and Bloomberg.  Again, there is no cost when using the Library Bloomberg terminals.  Sessions are based on written materials.

Once in Bloomberg, just type BMC<GO> or BESS<GO> to get started.

Both classes require that you take quizzes in order to get the certificate.

Thomson One Investment Bank also offers a certificate program.  Click here for general information.  Once you have viewed the materials for the modules, request a token to take the exam.  The exam comprises 30 questions.  You have 60 minutes to complete the test.  If you don’t pass the first time, you are allowed to take the test a second time.  It is encouraged that you use Thomson One while taking the test.  This is free to students at Universities which subscribe to Thomson.

Remember that Thomson One only works with IE.  Please refer to these postings for further information.

Thomson One and Compatibility:  Internet Explorer Issues 

Thomson One Compatibility and Chrome or Firefox.

Screening for Alumni-Company Links

Job seekers are often interested in identifying companies that employ alumni from their schools. Here are brief descriptions of four databases that  uncover alumni-company links. The databases report on different although overlapping populations, and vary in the number and type of screening variables they provide. The biographical information given typically includes contact data, employment history, and, if publicly available, compensation.

Ruble Regression: Exploring Correlations with Bloomberg.

In June 2014, the price of oil began to fall from its high of $115 a barrel. The value of the Russian Ruble, as well as the currencies of all major petroleum exporting countries began to drop along with the price of oil. Bloomberg has several correlation modules that allow us to examine the link between market variables. For example, we can quickly explore the relationship between exchange rates and oil prices using Bloomberg’s HRA program.

To plot the Russian Ruble / US Dollar exchange rate against the price of oil in Bloomberg, type:  HRA <GO>

Clean Energy by the Numbers: Data Sources

According to Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Convention, “Never before have the risks of climate change been so obvious and the impacts so visible.” We could add that never before has there been such an interest in sources of information for climate change, energy use and “clean” (non-polluting)  technology.

 

 

In a previous blog post, Clean, Green, and Renewable Energy.  Are there any Alternatives? we described several  resources for  Penn students that cover clean technology. Here are some additional data sources on clean technology that may prove useful.

What’s it worth to you? Company Valuation Resources

Contributors:  Cynthia L. Cronin-Kardon and Mia Wells

Valuation is used in business to determine the price participants are willing to pay or receive to buy or sell a business. Needless to say, the seller is looking to make as much profit on the deal as possible while the buyer hopes to pay as little as possible. Various resources can help determine the best price for the transaction. Listed below are some Lippincott Library resources to help students with assignments for a number of Wharton courses including FNCE207/728 – Corporate Valuation (which also has a course guide); FNCE250/750 – Venture Capital & the Finance of Innovation; and FNCE251/751 – Finance of Buyouts & Acquisitions.

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Comparable Deals
You’ll want to search for precedent transactions in the industry of the company you are valuing. Several sources allow you to search for comps by industry (SIC code, NAICS code, or alphabetically by name).

BizComps is a database of business sale statistics which are based on small business sales transaction data. After searching by SIC or NAICS code, you’ll be presented with a list of recent deals. Select those of interest and you can run a “Transaction Analysis,” which will give summary statistics/multiples on the deals you’ve chosen. Ask to be logged in by a librarian at our Reference Desk.

 

Business Valuations by Industry is a print source available at Lippincott Library Reference Desk (call number HG4028.V3 B78). It includes detailed studies of actual mergers and acquisitions, including deal “tearsheets”. This source is arranged by industry and includes actual transactions from 2007 through 2009. Profiles of buyers are included as well as some some foreign transactions and deal terminations. This is a great resource when you want to profile selected, covered deals.

 

 

 

Betas
Beta measure the volatility of an industry or company within the market as a whole. Betas help to calculate the risk of an investment.

For industry betas, use the Ibbotson SBBI Valuation Yearbook, a print guide held at our Reference Desk (call number HG4028.V3 S86).

 

Company betas are in Bloomberg, available in the Yablon Financial Resources Lab here in Lippincott, or the Forum level of Huntsman Hall. Search for a company of interest and run the Beta function by typing BETA <Go>.

 

 

Best practices
It’s always smart to look to the experts for advice – these sources will give you tips and tricks when performing a valuation for a company within a certain industry.

Business Reference Guide is a print source located at Lippincott Library Reference Desk (HD1393.25 .B87). This source provides several types of information which can be used for pricing businesses and franchises.  It is organized by industry and includes industry statistics from IBISWorld, “rules of thumb” by industry analysts, pricing tips, benchmarks, commentary, expenses as a percentage of annual sales and industry costs.

 

 

Standard & Poor’s Net Advantage provides industry surveys. One unique feature of this source the section included for every industry on “How to Analyze a Company in this

Industry”. To access this, click on Industries, select the survey of interest. Next scroll to the chapter titled, “How to Analyze a(n) […] Company,” which also contains a section on Equity Valuation as well as a glossary of industry terminology.

 

 

 

Company multiples
To track multiples of a company over time, use the sources listed below. This will help you price out the company itself or help you to compare it against a similar firm.

S&P Capital IQ provides lots of financial data including multiples. MBAs can access CapIQ via MBA Career Management, while Wharton undergraduates can come to the Yablon Financial Resources Lab and ask to be logged in by a librarian. Search for a public company of interest and look for Financials/Valuation in the left menu. You can change the date range to see multiples over time, as well.

 

Bloomberg is available in the Yablon Financial Resources Lab or the Forum level of Huntsman Hall. Search for a company of interest and run the Financial Analysis function by typing FA <Go>. Look for the Enterprise Value tab.

 

Past M&A deal tearsheets
You may find it helpful to look for past deals to get a sense of how many deals a company has done in the past, what were the specifics of a deal or how active the M&A market is in a certain industry.

Thomson ONE – note that this resource only loads with full functionality when using Internet Explorer. Once inside, scroll over Screening & Analysis, then Deals & League Tables, then M&A to select either a Quick Search or Advanced Search.

Zephyr – select Zephyr Advanced. Pick the variables to define your search. Below is a screenshot of a list of deals. You can click on any of these to get a detailed summary of the deal.

This post may have additional information – What’s the Deal? Researching Specific M&A Deals

 

 

 

 

MSCR – Bloomberg’s Municipal Bond Screening Function

Bloomberg’s MSCR function allows you to search a file of more than a million outstanding municipal bonds based on criteria of your choice.

The main search screen shows a search for bonds issued by Philadelphia institutions of higher education.

The spreadsheet below gives a page of the resulting list using the default headings. A 154.75 million dollar bond by the University of Pennsylvania is highlighted. Clicking on a row in the spreadsheet allows the display of additional bond details.

The first page of a description of the Penn Bond is shown.

The columns in the output can be edited. For example, for a spreadsheet showing the bonds issued by municipalities with a Moody’s rating of below investment grade (Ba1 to C) we would want a column showing the Moody rating associated with each bond.  Search variables are not automatically added as columns in the display. To add a column or columns, follow this sequence:

Actions => Edit => Display

Choose variables wanted and click APPLY

For more on Bloomberg’s functions, take a look at the blogs in our Bloomberg category and our Bloomberg Help Guide.

Put our Services to the Test

Welcome to Lippincott and the start of a new academic year!  We have a number of services to help make your life at Penn a lot easier.  Some of these services are described here.

 

DOCUMENT DELIVERY. Available to MBAs,  PhD candidates and Faculty. Please send an email to docdel@wharton.upenn.edu to request articles and book chapters. Include the full citation for the fastest reply.

BUSINESS FAQ.  Your 24/7 librarian. Search by keyword to find resources on your topic such as financial ratios, consumer demographics, analyst reports and many more.

RESEARCH ASSISTANCE.  Email us, chat, call us at 215-898-5924 or contact a subject specialist on your topic. Ask for a Consultation for yourself or your team. We know where to find the academic resources that you need.

WHARTON LAB COMPUTERS AND PRINTERS.  Too crowded over at Wharton?  Come over to Lippincott and use the Wharton Lab Computers here.  These computers are reserved for Wharton students and have all the same programs and features that are available on Wharton computers.  Sign in using your Wharton account information.

GROUP STUDY ROOMS.  Have a team project or group presentation?  Reserve a room  for your meeting.  Some rooms are larger and can accomodate up to 12 people.

YABLON FINANCIAL RESOURCES LAB.  Bloomberg and Capital IQ are at your fingertips.  Log in with your Wharton account information.  First time you use Bloomberg, create your own account.  Librarians log you into Capital IQ.

 

 

DATAPOINTS is the Lippincott Library’s blog. Follow us to learn tricks and tips about Bloomberg and many other Library databases.  Look for postings on new Library resources.  See this post, for example: Top 10 Resources for MBAs .

WORKSHOPS.  Wednesdays are Bloomberg days.  Every week we provide Bloomberg training from 3:30 – 4:30 in the Yablon Financial Resources Lab.  You can register here: Business Workshops.   It’s hands-on so be sure to come a few minutes early to create your own Bloomberg account.

We also offer other workshops on Job Search, Company Information and Business Research Skills.  See the training schedule to find out what workshops are being offered. Registration is recommended.

RESEARCH TO GO.  Every Monday -Thursday we come to you.  Reference Librarians are available from 12:30 – 1:30 in Huntsman Hall 251.  Drop in and get fast answers to your job search or research questions.

TEXT BOOKS.  Available for many Wharton courses at the Lippincott Reserve Desk.  Most can be checked out for three hours and used in the Library.

 

SUBJECT/COURSE GUIDES.  Subject Specialist have prepared Guides by subject area or course.  Use these to find resources for your projects and assignments.  Contact a Specialist for additional information.

FRANKLIN is the Library Catalog.  Use this to search for books, journals, videos and more.

MARK’S CAFE.  Food.  Drink.  Comfort.

Take advantage of the services available to you.  Hope to see you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg’s PE: A Major Database for Private Equity

Private equity consists of firms and funds that make investments directly into private companies or conduct buyouts of public companies. Private equity, as the name implies, is not traded on public equity exchanges.

Bloomberg’s Private Equity (PE) database brings together data about PE firms, funds, investors and portfolios. In Bloomberg, type PE <GO> for this menu:

 

 

Search by Firm – Private equity firms are the general partners controlling the operations of the firm.

Search by Fund – Private equity firms direct their investments through one or more funds. Funds are associated with a specific investment strategy.  Venture Capital Funds, for example, are investments in startup firms and small businesses with perceived long-term growth potential. Here is a breakdown of the funds worldwide associated with a specific strategy that is available in Bloomberg.

Strategy           Percent of Total

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• Venture              28%
• Buyout               25%
• Growth                9%
• Debt                    8%
• Fund of Funds   10%
• Real Estate        13%
• Other                   8%

Search by Limited Partners – Limited partners are the source of investment funds. They include public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, high net worth individuals, and sovereign wealth funds

Search by Deal – Deals can be classified as M&A investment, Joint venture, Spinoff, and Buyback, and then further sub classified as a PE buyout, Infrastructure, Real Asset, Real Estate, Secondary Transaction, or Venture Capital deal. Venture Capital deals include possible subdivisions into Seed, Angel, or Series (A to J).

The screen below shows a search for all PE deals in the past year that had targets in the alternative energy industry.

 

Search by Private Company – Bloomberg lists more than 15,000 companies in which PE firms invest.

• Clicking on the name of the company will display a record giving the name(s) of the PE firms which include the company in their portfolio, as well as additional information about the company. The record for U.S. Foods, for example, will show that it is held by KKR 2006 Fund.

In addition to its list of PE backed private companies, Bloomberg includes a database of 1.3 million private companies worldwide that are not PE backed.

Other useful features of Bloomberg’s PE include Funds in Market, which gives aggregate statistics by strategy, and Benchmarking and Fund Comparison, which allow the comparison of funds by such features as IRR (internal rate or return).

Take a look also at Bloomberg’s weekly Private Equity Brief

In addition to Bloomberg, the Penn Libraries have several additional databases that provide details of private equity activity. They include Thomson ONE, S&P Capital IQ (available at Lippincott in the Yablon Financial Resources Lab) , Preqin, and CB-Insights.

Also see our Research Guide:  Venture Capital and Private Equity.

For more information on Bloomberg see our Bloomberg Help Guide and additional posts in Datapoints under the Category:  Bloomberg.