Friday, March 20, 2020

Logistics Management Essay Example

Logistics Management Essay Example Logistics Management Essay Logistics Management Essay UK and Parnshop,HK to fulfill the achievements during the entire home grocery delivery logistics operation process. Moreover, heaps of logistics strategies, IT solution would be founded in this report, at last; it will also discuss the key difficulties in maintaining a high level of customer service at optimal cost. . Background of PARKnshop shop Ocado 2. 1 PARKnshop Background Parknshop is the leading supermarket chain and multi formats retail in Hong Kong, who operates more than 230 outlets in Hong Kong and also accounts for over 40% of the packaged food market, which is equivalent of 250,000 containers per year and offer on-line shopping and home delivery service. Their mission is â€Å"To be the family first choice for Food Shopping† [pic]Parknshop Group Industry: |Retailing | |Founded /Headquarter |1973 / Hong Kong | |Area Served: |Hong Kong, Mainland China and Macau | 2. 2 Ocado Background Ocado is a British Internet retailer specializing in groceries wholly focused on the home delivery of high-quality food, drink and household goods. The company has centralized warehouse based and picking model in CFC, online delivery without any physical shops. Their mission is â€Å"Great Value, Great Service, Great Choice and Great Way to Shop† [pic] Ocado Group |Industry: |Internet retail | |Founded /Headquarter |2002 / Hatfield,Hertfordshire, United Kingdom | P1 3. Different approaches of Logistics Strategies Operation Management After research, Ocado and Parknshop have some difference approaches for their operation management activities and success supply chain, sustained the continuous development for the entire group. A strategies consists of those plans or patterns of actions that integrate an organization’s primary goals, policies and activities into a coherent whole (Patrik Jonsson Logistics Strategy P. 19) 3. 1 Ocado -Logistics Operation Management and Strategies In Sept,2002, Ocado currently operate a 295,000 sq ft, the Fulfilment Centre (CFC) in Hatfield which is largest and highly automated. In Jan 2003 it centralized all warehousing operation and running all the customer majority of orders are relayed from CFC 1 to spokes for ultimate outward delivery to customer. This is a centralized DC and all of products are receive and delivery from this CFC. 5% of inbound goods are delivered direct from producers to CFC1, whiles 15% are delivered from the waitrose supply chain, at full capacity CFC1 will be able to stock up to 40,000 grocery SKU. Delivery area expanded to over 70% of UK household in 2011. All of the order will be order by CFC which simplified the order processing and lower ope ration cost. This is better control over the products, reduce overall stock holding, reduce inventory cost and the groceries are handled less, preserving quality, processes minimize product touch points and maintain the correct product temperature as well. The CFC also supported by 9 regional delivery spoke around the country which is decentralized warehouse, located closer to customers, this is lower inbound logistics cost and transport cost to customers from the spoke. Hub and spoke system adopted, acquired a new spoke in Bristol which opened in March,2011. which is 9 spokes support Ocado’s internet store with shorter delivery lead time and more responsive and able to offer free delivery service for some dedicated time slots. [pic](Ocado-Centralized Distribution Model ) P. 2 In warehouse, using Distribution Centre-based picking approach and around giant network of forklifts scuttle round, conveyor belts crunch, robots replenish shelves and monorails at packing stations, The people using Pick-to-Light concept and pack groceries into green crates, called totes. Orders information transmitted to radio frequency wrist mounts worn by the pickers as they push blue trolleys along the aisles. The wrist device tells the pickers what and how much to pick. Operators are assigned to specific pick zones and each location equipped with a light and readout display, operators scans the incoming tote. Lights for location requiring pick are illuminated and pick quantity is displayed, operator picks items and presses lighted button to confirm picks. The Finger attached scanners let the pickers scan the products and picked from the totes on the shelves. The pick-to-light system is helps Ocado most efficient, timely and accuracy order picking while minimal training required and compared to other paper based picking solution. It is a visual method, the system is more intuitive than printed orders, and it has around 20-50% pick efficiency over than Pick-to-Paper. The monorail’s job is to collect the orders that have been picked form each floor into containers-the trolley totes are loaded into specific pigeon-hole like slots. Each person’s order will now sit in one container. Staff will scans the items from each container’s totes and which customer it belongs to and packed in color-coded bags depending on whether the goods that have been ordered are frozen, chilled or ambient. This helps the delivery person locate an order and finally turn fork-lifted on to little Mercedes Vans for direct delivery. Ocado using own fleet of bespoke van, each delivery van replaces multiple car journeys every single day, by saving the customers a trip to a super market. It helps groceries to reduce the number of cars on the road each day, developed 5th generation of van, which increases payload by 10% to improve delivery performance and they equipped satellite navigation, a CCTV †SmartDrive† camera to ensure the product reaches the customer in right locations and in proper condition. On time delivery is enhance company reputation and reliability. The automatic material equipment is enhancing the efficiency of pick and pack and transit operation in whole supply chain. Ocado using Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) for the management of home grocery delivery logistics operation. It monitors an inventory levels. Capturing and transmitting sales data through EDI is crucial to ensure the efficiency of VMI operations and opening up the communication channels. P. 3 3. PARKnshop-Logistics Operation Management and Strategies In 1990, ParknShop was operating all distribution activities from a single high-rise facility in Fo Tan, which is 500,000 sq ft, and designed and handle 100,000 cases per day in peaks season and it is mainly operate a slower-moving goods. In 1992, expanded the ambient distribution capacity and rented 200,000 sq ft of space in the new Hong Kong International Distribution Centre(HIDC) facility in Kwai Chung. The space at HIDC contains two sections, one for fruit and vegetable which need temperature and one for general products. It is acting as the decentralized DC and for fast-moving goods, HIDC is nearby in HK international Ocean Terminal therefore enjoys much spin-off benefit and especially a much improve road network and fast for replenishment, located closer to shops and suppliers are more responsive and short delivery lead time , enables JIT operations too. In 1992, they built facility for frozen and fresh pigs cutting facility in Sheng Shui, The location in here benefit for allowed pigs from Mainland China to HK as live and close to border can reduce transport and operation cost for in bound logistics. In 1995, 10,000 sq ft facility in Ap Lei Chau for the distribution of live freshwater and seawater fish which is fish imported in Hong Kong. Parknshop using the store based picking and Pick-to-Paper for online order and home delivery, The worker by manual picking operation for the on-line order received through Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) . Before taking on line order should be select the delivery district and area first, all on line products was picked from 4 Superstore in stead of picked from their DC. Where are located in Jardine Hill, North Point, Yuen Long and Hung Hom. The purpose can achieve flexible and fast lead time for home delivery The warehouse staff to pick up the order per customer on line order list. They are follow the manifest list start of picking operation and using bar code scanning of sales orders. Afterwards, the orders will roll through roll cage into own fleet for home delivery. This is a traditionally Pick –to –Paper method and let worker handle in easily. They adopt cross-docking for local suppliers as a fast track access to the docks and return and meet the just in time strategy, suppliers will not hold any stocks for all cross docking tems which is eliminated the storage level of inventory and cost effective in warehouse. As a result, it managed to reduce the inventory from local suppliers from 4 weeks to less than 2 days in the whole supply chain. In 1995,Parknshop standardized the size of pallets used for deliveries by suppliers and 14 different size became one improving delivery times enormously. which is eli minated the need for manual unloading at the docks and fast track for transportation. P4 Parknshop was fully computerized, employed a proprietary system from Reteck and automated operation in 2007. Their orders can be sent electronically to suppliers and invoices can be received by Electronically Data Exchange (EDI)Besides, using Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) to process of planning implement and controlling the operation of the supply chain. It was enable the stock record for every store to be captured on the computer and for replenishment orders to be automated, it helps reduce the inventory level , keep safety stock and its opening up the communication channels and develop mutually beneficial partnerships along the supply chain . . Information Technology for Logistics Operations On line home grocery delivery makes Information Technology become important and complex, co-operates and communicates with suppliers and customer. Successful adopt IT system to lead entire organization smoothly in order to time saving, enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness, shorten production, material lead time and able streamlining communications channels and improving customer service m anagement . (Pope J Transport Economics Pg. 147) 4. 1 Ocado IT System Advantage Ocado current IT systems are predominantly bespoke and developed in-house by Ocado’s IT team, much of the machinery employed in the CFC is also bespoke. Proprietary intellectual property is integral to the functionality of all aspects of its operations. The CFC is capable of managing and sorting over 20,500 grocery lines and organizing 100,000 deliveries per week. Where IT ensure deliveries arrive at the right address, right time with right contents. Proprietary IP allow for 95% of product availability on the website range for next delivery and 99% availability for next week delivery. It offers the widest range of delivery slots of any online retailer. Tight and reliable delivery windows allow customers to save time compared to visiting a store. On time delivery and minimal products substitution builds consumer loyalty and increases willingness to shop online. Satellite navigation, each bespoke van fitted with a CCTV , SmartDrive camera system to enable complex route delivery into right location and in proper condition and achieve the customer satisfaction. P. 5 User friendly interface, the website, launched IPad, Andriod apps and IPhone apps are more convenience and allow flexibility for customer easier to navigate at any time at any where. At last, Pick-to-Light system, Radio frequency wrist mounts and finger-attached scanners is one of the most efficient and timely order picking method are help to reduce human error and enhance the efficiency and accuracy in warehouse operation. 4. 2 PARKnshop IT System Advantage To explore the opportunities to improve their supply chains, Parknshop deployed Retek software, an Oracle-bases suite of applications that provides solutions in the areas of merchandising, warehouse data, distribution management, demand forecasting, sales auditing , customer order management and various order functions important for the smooth running of retail business . They adopted Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) for all Parknshop stores. It monitors an inventory levels. Capturing and transmitting sales data through EDI is crucial to ensure the efficiency of VMI operations and opening up the communication channels. Just in time (JIT) inventory systems have reduced inventory cost and warehouse expenses, while also improving order fulfillment time. Bar –code is scanned by the cashier at point of sale, the information is transmitted via the store server to a centralized computer , when the number of units on the shelf falls below a pre-set level, a purchase order is automatically sent to the supplier which in turn are delivered to the particular store to re-stock the shelves, this is succeeded keep the inventory stock, increase profitability, benefit the logistics operation and satisfaction for customer need. . Key Difficulties Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level and meet the customer satisfaction, In terms of home grocery deliveries, customer most concerns the best quality and optimal cost of product and on time delivery. A: Routing schedule planning Both Ocado and Parknshop are serious of facing the develop the daily routing schedule , the home groceri es order in various and different basis in daily therefore design a more flexible and efficiency routing schedule to utilize the truck load and transportation cost to maintain the profit, it is a big challenge. P. 6 Besides, more deliveries per route planning may increase the cost , less deliveries or caused by traffic congestion, which means higher risk for miss the on time delivery promise. Different time window (am or pm), peak season demand change also put the routing schedule more complicated and difficult to manage. B: Inventory stock forecasting Ocado on liner grocery product is cover UK by CFC only and their inventory forecast is under country base , it is impossible 100% product available on shell . Parknshop inventory control under forecast individual shop basic which is support on line and retail shop but the on line inventory figure and real time retail shop inventory figure may have different of the time gap. It will occurs out of stock in the retail store but available in on-line service. However, over forecasting will increase the inventory cost and under forecast will be out of stock , it is serious impact the customer satisfaction and suppliers or organization are difficult to planning the inventory stock forecasting in the supply chain. C: High Cost of Land In HK, the geography is small , the rents are high, warehouse costs and warehouse labor are proportionately high, this cost profile mean that HK distributors need to be efficient at stock and warehouse management. Besides, most of the shops are located in building which were not designed to handle goods efficiently, very few have a loading dock and in basements or above ground rather than street level. Land costs have made distribution activities difficult to operate. Different rents in different area at Parknshop store which is occurs different range of the product price, customer may suffer high product price for this situation. D: Limited Data Enablement Ocado’s IT system is limited data enablement the device only had a limited degree of wireless data enablement, required a device could function for up to 16 hours a day on the road and able to withstand a range on weather conditions, Drives would constantly plugging and unplugging the device from the delivery truck while carrying groceries and extremely durable and tough device. he solution was using cost more to activate the device, in additional, failure was coming at a high price, devices not functioning on the road meant missed deliveries, potentially defrosted food and failed to customer satisfaction. The severe difficulties pressure on the home grocery deliveries industry which is impact a higher logistic operation cost and may not reach the customer satisfaction. P. 7 6 Conclusion Hong Kong a small geographic compare with UK and many supermarket around, HK buying behavior is enjoy buying grocery product more frequently in small order at supermarket instead of on line and also as its a part of their entertainment. However, UK people would through on line to bulk buying their grocery product for weekly purpose. No matter how, home grocery delivery is reducing time spent on grocery shopping allows consumers greater flexibility and releases precious time for other activities. P. 8 Reference Partik Jonsson , 2008 â€Å"Logistics Supply Chain Management† McGraw-Hill Education Berkshire Pope. Jeff. 2005-â€Å"Transport Economics† Vineyard Pushing Pty Ltd Australia Christopjer Martin, 2005 â€Å"Logistics and Supply Chain Management† 3rd Edition Pearson Education Limited. Great Britain Journal Artiles: Joh Mash (2001) â€Å"Chain of Demand-A. W. Watson grows sales while cutting stockpiles† Sphere 18-Retail P. 30,31,32 Christine Corns , 2011, Materials â€Å"Logistics Management† Lecture Notes â€Å"Parknshop company overview† Available at : http://www1. parknshop. com/wedshop

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Should I Add Supplemental Recommendation Letters

Should I Add Supplemental Recommendation Letters SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Maybe you spent the last year interning in a business and know your supervisor could write a stellar letter about your work ethic and passion for economics. Or you have a long term music teacher who can speak to your lifelong dedication to playing the piano. Or maybe you attend a school with thousands of students and feel like you’ve barely said ten words to your counselor or classroom teachers all year long. If any of these scenarios hits home, then you might be considering sending a supplemental recommendation letter along with your college application. Before sending any extra materials, though, you should think hard about whether it’s the right course of action. This guide will discuss when it’s appropriate to send supplemental recommendations and when you’d be better off holding back. To start, what are some reasons students think they should send an additional rec letter? Why Might You Send a Supplemental Recommendation Letter? If you’ve worked closely with someone outside of school, like a mentor, studio teacher, employer, advisor, coach, or spiritual leader, then you might consider asking him/her to provide you with a supplemental letter of recommendation. Before going ahead and making your request, consider what exactly your reasons are. Below, I’ll discuss some good reasons for sending a supplemental rec, followed by some not so good reasons for sending one. If your reasons fall into the former category, then your next step is to find out how your colleges feel about additional recs. Every school is different, which you’ll see in some of the official policies below. Before delving into that, though, take a look at some strong and weak reasons for sending an extra recommendation. Strong Reasons to Send a Supplementary Recommendation These are a few good reasons to consider submittinga supplemental recommendation, if your college allows it. Think about whether any of these reasons apply to you and your extra rec letter. It Adds an Essential Perspective Perhaps the best reason is that this recommendation would provide a valuable and unique perspective on you as a student and person that your other recommendation letters would not. Recommendations should shed light on your personal qualities, goals, and attitude toward learning, so a supplemental rec must be especially meaningful and revealing to justify sending with your application. Some students feel that their application would be incomplete without input from this recommender. For instance, a spiritual leader might be able to discuss the central role that faith and community service has played in your life. A research project advisor could talk about your college-level investigations in the lab. In some way, this person could add something essential that you feel admissions officers need to know. In this case, a supplemental letter could have a positive impact on your application. Want to provide a strong recommendation for your employee, but don't have the time to craft the perfect letter? PrepScholar's new recommendation tool, SimpleRec, takes you from good intentions and a blank page to a fully written and formatted letter of recommendation in under 5 minutes. All you need to do is give us some simple pieces of information about your employee and your experience working with them, and we'll do the rest. Try out SimpleRec risk-free today: You Barely Know Your Academic Recommenders Another reason you might consider adding a letter- assuming you have a special recommender in mind- is to make up for lackluster letters from school officials you barely know. If you attended a huge school with large student to teacher and student to counselor ratios, then it may have been next to impossible to get to know your recommenders well. Perhaps you’re worried that your letters will be generic, impersonal, and vague. In this situation, I would first and foremost recommend setting up appointments with your counselor and teachers to discuss your goals and what you’d like to go into your letter, as well as give them a detailed resume and brag sheet. If you know that your letters will still be insufficient, then adding a supplemental rec from someone who knows you well could be a reasonable course of action. Finally, some colleges actually suggest that you add a non-academic perspective to your application. Your College Suggests It Some colleges explicitly encourage, though don’t require, the submission of a personal recommendation, as from a peer, family member, spiritual leader, or other source. Any time your school encourages that you send something, it’s a good idea to send that material. Now that you have a sense of some good reasons that justify sending a supplemental recommendation, let’s take a look at the flip side. What are some bad reasons for sending an extra letter? Weak Reasons to Send a Supplementary Recommendation Sending a supplemental rec is only a good idea if you really have put a lot of thought and intention behind it. Check out some reasons that don't support sending an extra letter. You Think "More Is Better" If you’re sending one simply because you think it’s a good idea to go beyond what the college requires, think again! Many admissions officers look unfavorably on extra, unsolicited material, especially if it doesn’t add much beyond what’s already there. Requirements are there for a reason; colleges can decide on an application based on what they asked for, and they generally don’t want students to send lots of extra materials and slow down the review process. Again, each college is different, which we’ll discuss in more detail below. But if you’re only sending an extra letter for the sake of sending an extra letter, then that’s not a good enough reason to do so. Or put another way, don’t assume that more is better without first researching your colleges’ policies. In a similar vein, extra material could actually shine a spotlight on, rather than distract from, weaknesses in other parts of your application. You Want to Make Up for Weaknesses in Your Application Another weak reason is that you think an additional letter will make up for other parts of your application. In fact, your supplemental letter could have the opposite effect by alerting admissions committees that you feel insecure about the strength of your candidacy. An extra recommendation won’t necessarily balance out a weak extracurricular section. There’s an old saying in admissions, â€Å"The thicker the file, the thicker the kid.† This saying means that students who send too many additional documents may not have the credentials to get accepted based on the required materials. A bunch of extras could raise red flags, rather than impress admissions officers, about your merit. Your Parents Know the Mayor Another mistake, though not all that common, is that students send a rec from a famous or prestigious person, thinking the name will stand out and impress admissions officers. As discussed above, letters should come from people who know you well and can give you a meaningful evaluation. A famous recommender won't impress the committee on its own; if you don't really know the person, but just have a family connection, it could come off as superficial name-dropping. You Don't Trust Your Academic Recommenders I mentioned above that a supplemental rec can make up for generic academic recommendations. However, this applies if and only if you have a special external recommender in mind. Plus, you should have a strong reason for needing to rely on an outside source, like a huge high school with low teacher or counselor interaction. If you had the opportunity to get to know your faculty, but still feel like strangers, then you should push yourself to connect with them more by participating in class and setting up meetings. If you don't know your teachers or counselor well or don't trust them to do a good job, you should spring into action (those teacher and counselor recs are important!). There are steps you can take to meet with your recommenders and share information that will help them personalize your letter. Again, if this is your only reason for asking an external recommender, but you don’t have a special person in mind, then you’d probably be better off communicating with your teachers and counselors and doing everything you can to help them produce effective letters. Besides examining and evaluating your personal reasons for wanting to send a supplemental rec, you should also research your colleges’ policies. Schools have different stances, but they also repeat some of the samethemes, as you’ll see below. Never a good idea tooverwhelm admissions officers with lots of extra materials. How Do Colleges Feel About Supplemental Recommendations? There aren’t too many colleges that outright prohibit supplementary letters of recommendation, but some advise caution or subtly discourage their submission. A college, for instance, might state that it shaped its requirements intentionally and don’t want applicants to send more or less than what they asked for. Other colleges stress that a supplemental recommendation is only a good idea if it really adds something important and substantial to "the story of you." This stance puts pressure on you to decide whether or not your letter is worth sending. A few other schools, like Emory, actually invite a personal recommendation. Again, any time a school suggests that you do something extra, make sure to do it! Consider it like any other requirement. You may be able to find this information on your college’s admissions website. If not available- some sites are more detailed than others- then give the admissions office a call and ask how the committee feels about supplemental recs. It’s important to do your research on all aspects of your application. To help you out, we’ve compiled some statements from a few schools on supplemental recommendations. Note the frequent emphasis that it must add something substantial to your application to justify sending it along. Select Schools and Their Stances on Supplemental Recommendation Letters Perhaps the students who are most guilty of sending unnecessary extra material are those applying to selective schools. In trying to stand out from the competition, they send additional materials. However, you’ll see that some of these selective schools also want you to be extremely selective about what you send... Yale says, â€Å"If you feel the need to submit extra information, you may ask one additional recommender to write on your behalf. Please do not solicit this additional letter unless you feel it will add substantially to your application. The writer should know you well personally or have mentored you closely in some capacity. For example, if you have engaged in advanced scientific research, you should consider asking your research mentor to write a letter of recommendation for you.† Columbia is more specific about what external source can recommend you (and more explicit about discouraging supplemental recs): "We welcome an additional letter of recommendation if the writer has worked with you in a researcher or college course capacity...The Committee discourages the submission of additional recommendations, as admissions decisions will be based primarily on the required recommendations from your high school teachers and secondary school/guidance counselor." The University of Penn also allows one extra letter: "If an applicant would like to submit another letter of recommendation beyond this requirement, we strongly recommend that it is not from another academic teacher. Examples of an appropriate recommender include an athletic coach, an internship or research supervisor, a boss at a part-time job, or a local clergy member. These additional recommendations are only helpful if the recommender knows the student personally and can write specifically about him or her." Princeton doesn’t exactly encourage supplementals, but it allows them if they provide something novel and meaningful: "We believe that the required teacher and guidance counselor references give us much of the information we need to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions. Additional letters are only helpful if the person writing the recommendation knows the candidate well and can provide new, detailed information." Brown similarly emphasizes that supplementals must go above and beyond the other letters: "In our experience, the required counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations provide all we need to make a thoughtful, informed admission decision. If, however, someone has unique knowledge of certain strengths or accomplishments that would not be addressed in the required recommendations, you are welcome to have another person write on your behalf." Vanderbilt draws on the same theme in a succinct way, emphasizing quality over quantity: "If students wish to submit additional letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, employers, or anyone else who can bring something new to the application, they may include those as well. We strongly advise that these extra letters offer additional information about the applicant, and we encourage a â€Å"quality- over- quantity† approach." Are you applying to MIT? Here’s what they have to say: â€Å"Most applicants, and most admitted students, submit no supplemental recommendations. Some applicants and admitted students submit one supplemental recommendation; a few submit two. Submitting more supplemental recommendations will not disqualify you, but it is rarely necessary.† Sensing a theme? Quality beats quantity every time. If you’re sending a supplemental rec, make sure it truly adds something substantial, important, and not to be missed. Does this sound like a tough call to make? Read on for help on deciding whether or not your supplemental rec is worth sending. How to Decide Whether or Not to Send a Supplemental Recommendation As you can tell, you only want to send a supplemental rec if you feel it can truly help your application. Sending one for no good reason could actually leave a bad impression with admissions officers, effectively making your extra work not just unnecessary, but even harmful to your chances of getting accepted. Assuming your school allows you to submit an extra recommendation online or by mail, you should think about your reasons, along with researching your colleges’ policies, before asking your supplemental recommender for a letter. First, ask yourself if this letter adds value and insight to your application that’s not already there. What exactly does it communicate, and why is it important for admissions officers to know this about you? What new dimension does it add- perhaps related to community service, professional work, long term mentorship, or college level research- and how is this side of you relevant to your success at college? By pinpointing your specific reasons for sending this letter, you can make sure it will add to your application in a substantial way. If you have strong reasons for sending it and your college allows it, then a supplemental letter could round out your application and ensure that admissions officers know everything about you that they need to make a well-informed decision. On the flip side, don’t stress if you don’t have that special recommender outside of school! As Brown says, and most schools agree, â€Å"In our experience, the required...recommendations provide all we need to make a thoughtful, informed admission decision.† What's Next? Not only is it important to think carefully about why and who you're asking for a supplemental recommendation, but you also want to put the same planning into who you ask for teacher recommendations. Check out this guide to learn about who you should ask for a letter of rec. Once you're clear on all your requirements, you want to make sure you collect the strongest letters you can. This guide explains what makes a strong letter of recommendation, and what you can do to help your teachers and counselors write the best ones possible. Finally, considering the perspective on the other side will also help you get the most effective recommendation letters for your application. Learn about what exactly admissions officers are looking for when the read recommendation letters, and why they're so important to your application. 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