In April 2014, the accounts receivable exceeding 90 days were causing a cash-flow problem for Wolf Distributing, which distributes the Berserker Rage energy drink in the Chicagoland area.
Christine Taylor, the company's chief operating officer, had tried a number of traditional methods to monitor and address this problem, but she had made little progress. She decided to use three basic statistical analysis tools?areto diagrams, scatter plots, and run charts?o help her better grasp the problem.