Entrepreneurship and innovation

Business plan

 

Compile a business vision about the type of product or service you think your company needs to develop. Next, describe the business values and corporate values that you want to create.

As a result of competitive global market, the business has an opportunity to develop a tangible product called ‘SMARTPHONE’. This is a popular product which has been brought by the new technology. It is a product which is recognized by all people and it is associated with many benefits which people enjoy in their daily life (Zheng & Ni, 2006). The vision of the business in developing a Smartphone is connecting people and creating a sustainable growth. According to the research  from the global market,  this is a necessity  product  for  all generation  and there is a high demand as users  use the product to update information, checking mail, product purchase  or in other words people stay in touch with Smartphone for their  daily businesses (Zheng & Ni, 2006). It is important to note that this product is widely recognized not only by ordinary people in their daily lives but also in organizations. For example, salespersons use GPS software to make sales on time, identify traffic delays and alternate route. They are able to access vital information and customer data. The Smartphone connects the business with new prospects and new contacts through networking tools such as Linkedln (Zheng & Ni, 2006).

The business values or core principles are:

Open culture and communication- In this organization, there must be open and honest communication so that operations can be done effectively. Openness will increase morale, commitment and hence increase productivity. More importantly, openness will create strong relationship, effective team, transparency and innovation. Through an open communication, people should learn how to create an open culture based on reinforcing support, motivation, encouragement and diversity (Tocquigny & Butcher, 2012).

Passion- Passion is an important core value which means that all organization members should be committed to achieve organization vision, mission and goals. People should have a sense of calling so that there can be a path for creativity and innovation. Let us be focused and have that desire of achieving excellence. Note that passion wills bring satisfaction, motivation and energy and it will elimination disruption.

Making difference- People should be committed in their work in order to compete with global markets and make a difference. Leaders should motivate the workers and creative a good working environment will availability of resources. Team members should have self-discipline, consistent and be ready to learn from mistake (Tocquigny & Butcher, 2012).

 Trust- since our vision is to connect people; team members should have trust and encourage meaningful relationship and loyalty. Note that communication is very important and thus people should be honest in sharing information whether good or bad. Note that trust boost morale, collaboration, persuasion and motivation.

 

 

Determine the need for the new product or service. Next, provide an overview of the market you intend to enter, and defend why this market is ripe for the introduction of this product or service at this particular time.

In the global market, our ideal targets customers are young people as market research has shown that majority of users are young people (age 14-25). I believe that there is a need to develop this product as it will bring a higher future growth for the business.  This is the high time to enter in the global market and meet the demand   of target users as research shows that there is a high competition of Smartphone brands. Since 2007, the Smartphone industry has been producing Smartphone of all types and the studies and researches show that by 2017, out of the world’s population, 2.6 billion will be users of Smartphone (Funk, & Palgrave, 2002). There is a rapid growth of Smartphone markets and the emerging marketing is growing in a faster rate thereby enjoying the widespread benefit. Currently, Smartphone is the leading market in the telecoms industry and in 2013, sales increased dramatically from 3.6% to 435 million units and the higher sales exceeded the sales of other basic handsets. Apple was the first Smartphone model to enter in the market in 2007 followed by Samsung which entered in 2008 (Funk, & Palgrave, 2002). The two companies and other new entrants have competed for long time and this means that the Smartphone market is ripe but the important thing with our business is to find innovation activities and unique design features.

Why this product?  Many companies are manufacturing smart phones and they are entering in the global market with a higher force thereby markets are becoming more saturated (Funk, & Palgrave, 2002). Many people particularly young adults stay connected with people in far distances and this is making life easier. The global market research has shown that our target market is effective in terms of customer profile. Out of world’s population, a large number   of Smartphone users are young people, with high income and a higher level of education. Users have a positive lifestyle preference and they have a high purchasing power (Funk, & Palgrave, 2002). This makes us to understand that we need to use effective ways of advertising such as TV shows and magazines in order to keep them connected with our brand. Our target customers have different desires and interest and so the business will have the opportunity to develop different products to meet all needs.

 

Determine the type of business model you will use for your new business opportunity. Support your response.

The new business will employ manufacturer business model. Our company will   be creating new brands from raw materials. Then, we will be selling our products to the end users to eliminate middle men and minimize distribution channels.  Manufacturing business model will be effective in increasing revenue and minimizing expenses and more important creating customer relation and satisfaction.  The direct business model will help us to compete with other manufacturers and produce different Smartphone models in order to meet the global demand.  The business will gain value through producing brands in large scale and this will make the company name to gain prominence in the global markets.  We will use   different methods of selling brands such as webpage use or website use.  This is an effective method which will bring a competitive advantage and help the organization to maintain its edge in the global market.  Direct model will lead to the approaches called ‘build-to-order’ and ‘just-in-time (Bridgeland & Zahavi, 2009). The former means that the brands will be produced with respect to confirmed order. Build-to-order is effective for specialization and reduction of inventory cost.  The latter is also effective for creating efficiency and minimizing inventory costs. Other important point to note that as manufacturers, we will have a direct control of the cost and eliminate the inventory costs since we will not allow distribution channels to enter in between (Bridgeland & Zahavi, 2009). Through customer connection and firsthand feedback, will be able to evaluate customer experience and improve brands.

Formulate a feasibility analysis, and determine whether the new product or service is feasible. Identify the roadblocks that you will likely face.

The feasibility analysis of the new product is divided in to five areas namely technical, operational, schedule, economic and legal feasibility (Bernard & Rambaud, 2007). In economic feasibility, the product is feasible in that we have evaluated both costs and benefits analysis. The cost forecast such as labor, training and materials has been analyzed together with profit margins. Evaluation of cost and benefit has shown the value of the project.  Generally, the developing cost is affordable and the product is going to be cost-effective.  Technical feasibility analysis in terms of technical resources, expertise delivery method, labor, materials and more is analyzed.  There are clear details on materials needed their quality and price as well the source (Bernard & Rambaud, 2007). There is also skilled and unskilled labor in the manufacturing sector and financial labor. This clearly shows that the product which will be developed is technically feasible. The product is feasible in terms of operational in that the organization environment and internal factors such as culture are effective for product sustainability, producibility, affordability among other parameters. The system of product development is accepted by the law –meaning that the process has met the legal requirement and protection regulations. Last, the schedule feasibility has been estimated, and with the feasibility of other factors, the product development will meet the due date as there is a reasonable timetable (Bernard & Rambaud, 2007).  There are fewer threats which will hinder a successful development, and so there is a possibility that the product will be produced on time.

 However, though the product is feasible, the organization will meet some roadblocks. First, while the business will tend to develop a unique product, the production will be hindered by many features and variations (Bernard & Rambaud, 2007).  Furthermore, new product with new features will require more time for testing.  Next, the development will delay as a result of doubling or tripling resources. This will lead to an increase of coordination overheads which will then lead to risks and higher costs. Last, with the new product, the company will tend to put focus on Pre-Launch strategies and overlook the Post-Launch. There is a big gap   when presenting the product internally and in the real world (Bernard & Rambaud, 2007).  The end user many either utilize or abuser the product and the risks may emerge if the company is not committed to evaluate the feedback and to improve the brand.

Evaluate the data from your analysis, considering the source and time period. Justify the future financial condition of your company.

The product development will require a short period of time with respect to the few processes needed in production. Time period will be determined by different processes namely; the period of idea generation. This is a period of finding sources of idea from customers, competitors and others based on the product. Idea screening- considering whether the product is real, worth and successful. Concept testing which is based on consumers’ view and the definition the product.  Marketing strategy based on reaching the target market, planned price, marketing mix and the budge on marketing. Business analysis used for evaluating and reviewing sales and profits. Test marketing- using controlled panels and simulated tests to speed up tests and last is commercialization-developing new products. At this final process, the company will be at a high financial condition due to its low inventory, high net income, high working capital, operating environmental and fixed assets. In future, the company will have a high working capital out of high sales volume.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Zheng, P., & Ni, L. M. (2006). Smart phone and next generation mobile computing. San Francisco, Calif:

Morgan Kaufmann.

 

Tocquigny, R., & Butcher, A. (2012). When core values are strategic: How the basic values of Procter &

Gamble transformed leadership at Fortune 500 companies. Upper Saddle River, N.J: FT Press.

 

Funk, J. L., & Palgrave Connect (Online service). (2002). Global competition between and within

standards: The case of mobile phones. New York: Palgrave.

 

Bernard, F., & Rambaud, G. (2007). Product feasibility guideline: From the idea to the market. Göteborg:

Chalmers University of Technology.

 

Bridgeland, D. M., & Zahavi, R. (2009). Business modeling: A practical guide to realizing business value.

Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier.