Make a Better and Final Business Plan about this topic and Expand this business Plan.

STERLING 7 AUTOMOBILE

1029 West Park Dr., Houston, Texas

Phone number: +1(713) 314 5415

Introduction

The automobile industry is one of the most fascinating and of promising potential as long as a company has a competitive edge over the currently present firms. Sterling7 Automobile Company was founded to mainly focus on ecofriendly cars as well as car products. Principally, the company deals mainly in personal cars but also manufactures trucks, busses and also other vehicles for public means based on orders. On daily and usual basis, however, the company has its main focus on personal cars whose market is greatly growing globally due to increase in people within the middle social and economic classes.

Sterling7 Automobile deals in very special cars, which have been greatly designed to have three key ways of running the vehicles. Unlike most current cars that simply use gasoline and its products, the special vehicles by Sterling7 will employ a combination of solar, electricity and gasoline; expressly designed by the engineers of the company. The vehicles are aimed at coming up with a solution towards reducing the rates of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. As part of its social responsibility to the society, the company will be designing and marketing these cars so as to phase out the highly polluting vehicles with time (Meisterling, Samaras & Schweitzer, 2009).

Executive Summary

For any company to succeed, there is need to have a business plan which dictates the different activities in which the company will have to do so as to achieve its mission and vision. This report will thus be highlighting the key factors in Sterling7 Automobile Company with respect to its business plan. The plan will begin by identifying the benefits in which the company will provide to the community. It will also unveil the current trends within the Automobile Industry and link it to the company and where it currently stands. The plan will also describe the management team that will be responsible in the implementation of this business plan. Manufacturing and other key operations will also be described on how they will be conducted towards the attainment of the company’s vision. Labor, marketing, financial plan, strategy towards exit and also major risks will be outlined within this business plan.

Benefits to the Community

The company will provide lots of benefits to the community. The term community in this case will not only apply to the local community but also the global community. To begin with the global community, it is important to note that globally, issues of climate change and global warming have become two major environmental problems that are a menace to the life of humanity and all other living organisms. Global warming generally leads to the changes seen in the climate; drought and famine have begun to be seen in different parts of the world. Weather extremes such as floods have also begun being common in different regions of the world. Weather patterns have also become very unpredictable therefore affecting rain-fed agriculture, among other agricultural activities. Global warming leading to climate change is mainly caused by emission of greenhouse gases from the different human activities.

Industrial activities, transportation and various energy uses have been the most common sources of greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere. Sterling7 Automobile, through its vehicle project, which focuses on coming up with emission free vehicles that will heavily benefit the global community. This will ease the burden in which the global community bears due to greenhouse gases that are emitted from the transportation sector. The technology by this company will benefit the entire world by coming up with a solution that will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere.

Locally, the company will come up with various social responsibility strategies to ensure it benefits the local community around it. The company will provide employment opportunities to the locals that will be important in raising the standards of living. As part of giving back to the community, the company will have different discounts for the locals. This will be important in creating loyalty among the locals and also ensuring they get the best company products at lower prices compared to other regions. The company will also develop different initiatives aimed at promoting wellbeing of the locals. All these will be important contributions of the company to the community.

Company and Industry

Sterling7 Automobile Company as stated previously was just founded recently with its deep focus rooted on ecofriendly vehicles and vehicle products. Currently, the Automobile industry is composed of stiff competition among the different firms found within the industry. Despite the fact companies dealing with designing of automobiles are few, stiff competition among them exists that makes it difficult for new entries.

Even so, it is important to note that as long as a company has a competitive edge over other firms, it thus becomes easier to compete within the industry. The current trends within the industry are currently focusing on how greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced from the transportation sector. This has prompted different companies towards emphasizing on ecofriendly vehicles thus making this a key major trend within the industry. Sterling7 Automobile saw this opportunity and decided to embrace it fully by becoming the first automobile company that purely focuses on green vehicles, which will probably have no emissions at all. Despite having gasoline as its third option for running the car engines, the option has been provided in case the solar and electricity options may not be available. Chances for the two not to be available are also low and therefore making sure the company will come up with emission free vehicles.

Despite embracing this opportunity fully, Sterling7 Automobile is yet to test the real waters against greatest competitors within the Automobile Industry. There are several companies, which have already established themselves fully into the market, that it may be difficult for Sterling7 to easily acquire new customers. Companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation, BMW, Volkswagen, Ford Motor Company as well as the General Motors, are some of the main competitors, Sterling7 is yet to compete against. The strategy and opportunity used by Sterling7 Company is expected to bear fruits with time. With more awareness and exemplary marketing strategies, it is with no doubt that the company will begin to be counted among the top Automobile Companies globally.

Management team

To make the business plan successful, a management team would be necessary. Management team will consist of group managers including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), among other top leaders. The CEO will be responsible for the company’s whole operations and may be tasked with the role of providing day-to-day updates to the chairperson and board of directors. The management team will also be composed of the Chief Operations Officer (COO). The main role of the COO is to be responsible of all the operations within the company. The key issues the COO will be in charge of include production, sales, marketing and personnel. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be the third key member of the management team. As the name suggests, the CFO will be in charge of all financial operations pertaining to the company. This may include analysis and review of financial data, budget preparation, providing financial performance reports and also monitoring costs as well as expenditures of the company. The management team will thus be composed of these three main people who will have other managers below them who act as their main assistants. Basically, this management team will be the senior most within the company and will act as the main link between the board of directors and employees within the company (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker & Brennan, 2015). 

Manufacturing and Operations Plan

Most of the manufacturing of the vehicles will be done in the United States of America where the company headquarters are located. The headquarters will possess all the logistics, labor and all elements needed to manufacture the vehicles. While some of the raw materials will be locally available, others will be imported from other countries.

To make the process of manufacturing easier in other nations where the company will be operating, different assembly areas will be located in various countries. Once all the manufacturing has been done, the different parts of the vehicles will be transported to the assembly points in the different nations.

Operations to be involved include the movement of the raw materials, their manufacture into the finished products. Generally a vehicle is composed of different parts. Sterling7 Company has a wide labor force based on the different sections of a vehicle. There are engineers to operate issues pertaining to the engine and their alternate transmissions from solar, to electricity and gasoline if needed. Therefore, the company will be bringing raw materials from different areas which will be manufactured and designed by the company’s workforce. Once the manufacturing has been done, the vehicles will be marketed to the customers in United States and its environs. For other interested customers globally, there are different assembly points the company will establish in all regions of the world, based on the continents. From these regional assembly points, the vehicles will be exported to the different nations. Marketing and advertisements are also part of the major operations the company will conduct.

Labor Force

Much of the labor will be obtained from the United States of America, where the company has its headquarters. Different types of workers will employed within the company. The organization will have administrators, designer, engineers, managers and casual workers among others. Most of the workers will be based in the United States of America whereby most of the company’s activities are taking place. Other labor will be obtained from the regional assembly points the company will have. Within the different nations the company will be operating into, there will be different engineers put in place to oversee the assembly processes. Other casual laborers will also be hired for different tasks within those areas.

Marketing Plan

Marketing plan was important for this company to ensure the business remains to be proactive. With a marketing plan it would also be possible for the company to evaluate key opportunities that may be surrounding the organization. It would also make it easier for the company to measure its goals. Market research was the first factor to be considered in this marketing plan. It is important to note that research acts as a backbone of any marketing plan. The research aimed at understanding different issues within the market including the purchase habits of consumers, market decline or growth, the market size and also the current trends within the automobile industry (Shende, 2014).

The target market for this product manufactured by Sterling7 Company is generally people within the middle social and economic classes. Based on the research carried out, it was noted that people within the middle socioeconomic class are drastically increasing and the demand for personal vehicles within this class is also on the rise. People within the middle socioeconomic class can also have the funds to afford the new best-designed vehicles with three major sources of power for running the car engine. All these factors therefore contributed towards the company focusing on these people globally, as the main target market for the organization’s product.

With respect to positioning, Sterling7 Automobile Company has focused on eco-friendliness as its main selling point. This is the perception in which the company wants its customers to perceive it. While certain vehicle manufacturing companies are currently focusing on coming up with such hybrid cars, there isn’t a company, which has fully embraced the pure production of hybrid vehicles. This will therefore be the first company and of its kind; the company mainly focuses on greenhouse gas reduction that is aimed at not only benefiting the human race but also other living organisms as well as biodiversity at large.

With respect to competitive analysis the automobile industry has few competitors who have dominated the global market. Based on the analysis made, it was realized that as long as a company has a competitive edge against the others, it would basically succeed within the industry. Sterling7 Automobile has established itself as an ecofriendly company dealing with ecofriendly goods that will help the entire humanity towards avoiding the impacts of climate change. In addition to that, the company will also design the cars using modern technology and designs, which is expected to attract a large number of customers from the different walks of life. With this competing edge, it is believed that Sterling7 Company will be able to fairly compete with key competitors within the industry, such as General Motors, Toyota Company, Honda Motors and BMW among others.

On marketing strategy, the company will be aiming at using different forms of advertisements, as a way of enticing the customers and also creating loyalty. Different types of adverts will be used. Television adverts in the United States will be used in creating a local market for the product. Billboards will also be used to create awareness locally among the target market in the United States of America. For the global market, the company is aiming at embracing the use of social media as its main tool for finding, attracting and also retaining the customers. The Internet has played a major role in eliminating the geographical restriction thus making it possible to reach out to all customers globally. Marketing will thus be done via social media in order to track potential customers all over the world. As a way of striving towards retaining the customers, it is anticipated that the company will offer discounts to the customers as way of demanding loyalty from them (Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick, Mayer & Johnston, 2009). Through different events and promotions, it is also expected that customer loyalty and retention will be achieved.

Lastly, a marketing plan must have metrics that will be used in measuring success of the company. Sterling7 Automobile Company has a wide range of goals it wants to achieve with this product. First of all, the company is aiming at growth and development in terms of customer base and a target has been set for different regions in the world. United States has been given the highest target bearing in mind the company is located within the United States of America. The company is also focusing on profitability and revenue, which is a key aspect all profit-based companies must always consider. There is a profit target the company has already set which is also based on the number of sales to be made within a specified period of time. These goals will therefore serve as the main metrics in which the company’s success will be measured against. Achievement of these milestones will translate into success of the company while failure to achieve will mean that the company has also failed.

Financial Plan

Finance is a major resource needed so that a company can succeed. Finances are required beginning from obtaining raw materials, their transportation and paying salaries to workers, among the various financial needs of the company. Being a new company and also dealing in products that may require lots of finances, different sources would be key towards the success of the plan.

Investors will be the first key major sources of finances for this company. The business has been observed and tested to have a great potential towards success. This has attracted lots of investors who are ready to heavily invest within this business and at the end also get something from their investments. Donors will also be needed for the initial startup capital bearing in mind that the business will not only be selling cars but also saving humanity from global warming and climate change crisis. Bodies such as United Nations and World Bank will as well be key financiers of this company due to the fact that the product will heavily help in coming up with a major solution for greenhouse gas emissions. Bank loans may also be a key source of finance, though the company currently does not want to operate on loans.

In the near future, the company is hoping to obtain huge returns from this business that will be enough to compensate the investors, keep the company running and also obtain profits that may be used by the company to invest in other key areas in the future. If the company is taking up loans, then, the returns from investment must be able to pay up the entire loan and allow the business to effectively operate without financial hiccups. To assess the effectiveness of the financial plan, balance sheets will be used. Through the balance sheet, it would be possible to see how assets and company liabilities effectively balance each other (Jain & Haley, 2009). 

Exit Strategy

For different reasons, there are cases and scenarios whereby exit from the industry may be the way to go. Even so, Sterling7 Company is determined to ensure it effectively works so as to constantly grow and find no reason for exiting the market.

In case of an exit, however, the company prefers going through a merger and acquisition. Mergers may happen in two major ways; one is totally being absorbed by a larger company and secondly is by simply merging with a similar company with an aim of becoming one major strong corporation. Based on these two mergers, Sterling7 Automobile Company generally opts for the second type, whereby two similar companies come together and decide to work hand in hand for the success of all. This type of merger allows each of the companies, to rule together and include all their visions to become one. Unlike being purchased by another company, the purchased organization becomes totally absorbed into the larger company such that they do not have any say or possess little ownership within the company. The exit for Sterling7 Automobile Company will thus be through a merger that will be aimed at two companies coming together for the benefit of the two rather than one being totally absorbed.

Critical Risks and Assumptions

There are different risks in which this business will be involved. First of all, this is a new business in addition to the fact that this is the first ever company to purely focus on green cars. There is therefore a lot of uncertainty involved, as it is not really known how the product may perform once launched into the market. Different projections may have shown some positivity and the likelihood of the company to succeed in this new business. Things are, even so, bound to change within the business world.

The second major risk the company is facing, is on its relation to the reduction of greenhouse gases though this new vehicles. The company is working on projections provided by scientists and the possible ways in which hybrid vehicles may reduce the rates of greenhouse gases emission globally. The company is doing the first test by doing a global wholesale of these vehicles to a larger global population. If the vehicles will not be able to reduce a significant amount of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere, it would thus be of no use for people to shift from their current gasoline vehicles to this new special breed of cars.

With regards to assumptions, the company is assuming that the current demands for vehicles will still remain as it is or change by the demand becoming higher in the near future. Lastly, the company also assumes that customers will quickly embrace the idea of green vehicles so as to save the mother planet from the different disasters currently being caused by global warming and climate change.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education.

Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R., & Johnston, K. (2009). Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Pearson Education.

Jain, S. C., & Haley, G. T. (2009). Marketing planning and strategy. South-Western Publishing Company.

Meisterling, K., Samaras, C. & Schweitzer, V., (2009). Decisions to reduce greenhouse gases from agriculture and product transport: LCA case study of organic and conventional wheat. Journal of cleaner production, 17(2), pp.222-230.

Shende, V., (2014). Analysis of research in consumer behavior of automobile passenger car customer. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(2), p.1.