Assignment 4: Business Plan--Final

Shaquinna Wilson

Strayer University

Marketing Plan

Operations Plan

Fresh N Fruity Beverages is a producer of tasty, refreshing, and healthy non alcoholic drinks aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and replenishing lost energy during the day. In order to realize its mission, vision, goals, and objectives, the company will rent a facility, measuring approximately 3,500 square foot, around Fayetteville area in North Carolina. The facility will house operation department, administration department, and a warehouse. This location will provide quiet and convenient environment for production and administration functions. Furnishings will consist of leather appointed seats. These items will be acquired from local auctions to lend an eclectic view to the lounge area. Fresh N Fruity Beverages expects to pay $5000 per month for the facility.

For production purposes, the business will buy 2 mixer beverage filling machines for $47,000 and 2 Accutek AccuSnap Capper bottling machines for $19,200. The mixer beverage machines are rinsing, filling, as well as capping monobloc equipment made in Italy. Since the machines are equipped with temperature controlling system, they can be used to produce cold and warm drinks. The Accutek AccuSnap Capper minimizes costly spills by eliminating human errors during production process. It can also prevent unnecessary injuries and strains on the business’ workforce. The business expects to use this equipment to transition from small scale production to large scale production. The company expects to produce 500,000 units per annum in the next 5 years. For high quality products the company will clean these equipment after every 6 months by using recommended detergents.

With regards to inventory control, Fresh N Fruity Beverage will source high quality raw materials from local suppliers for quick turnaround in production processes. The business expects to spend 48 hours from sourcing and production activities. It will also take the business approximately 24 hours to deliver finished goods to consumers. In this regard, the company will acquire 4 vans at a cost of $40,000 to deliver finished products to buyers. To stay abreast with latest trends in the beverage industry, Fresh N Fruity will conduct market research after every 6 months every year beginning from the second year of operations. The company will set aside at $60,000 per year for this exercise. Marketing research and development activities will strengthen the organization’s position in the market, help it minimize risks, and identify threats and opportunities. It will also help the business identify its strengths and weaknesses, identify emerging trends in the industry and the market, and develop effective strategies.

Technology Plan

Utilization of technology in Fresh N Fruity business and administrative activities can enhance the organization’s competitive advantage in the market and non alcoholic beverage industry. Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark (2011) assert that information technology is influencing the way entities operate. It affects the whole process by which organizations develop their products. Moreover, it is reshaping the packaging of products and information businesses offer to create value for consumers. Fresh N Fruity will buy 3 Apple Macintosh Computers for $3,600 and graphic software for $750. In addition, the entity will lease a printer for $550 per month. Nice Beverage will use the computer hardware and software for value creation by creating linkages among interdependent activities. In addition, the organization will use information technology for value chain transformation. Tallon (2011) indicates that information technology is transforming the way organizations are performing value activities and nature of linkages among activities. For Fresh N Fruity, information technology is an effective for strategic decision making. With it the business will reshape the way products can meet consumer needs. Information technology will not only affect individual activities in the organization but also enhance how the entity can exploit linkages among different activities. This way it would be possible to coordinate Fresh N Fruity actions with those of its suppliers and customers.

Fresh N Fruity will also use information technology for product transformation. Ustundag and Cevikcan (2017) indicate that products often have physical and information components, with the latter referring to everything a consumer needs to know about a product and how to use it to attain the desired results. This implies that a product contains information about its features and how to use its. Thus, Fresh N Fruity will have a website and social media pages to post information about its products’ features, benefits, and how a consumer can use them to attain desired outcome. The role of information technology in expanding information about the company products and service and enhancing value creation underscore the significance of information technology in strategic decision making. In addition to value creation and product transformation, Fresh N Fruity will rely on information technology for cost minimization in value chain activities and product differentiation. The company will use latest technological advancements to customize its products for product differentiation. Given that Fresh N Fruity will seek to exploit existing opportunities for expansion purposes, investing in information technology is a necessity. It will rely on information technology as a pathway for corporate diversification.

Management and Organization

Management

Fresh N Fruity will be wholly owned by Zack Trump. As the president and the chief executive officer, Mr. Trump will oversee the company’s day to day operations, employee management, stock control, marketing activities, and routine facilities management. He will earn no salary for the first 6 months of operation but earn 5000 every month. The owner will hire Mrs. Melinda Cates on permanent basis as an administrator. She is a non alcoholic beverage creator and master mixer who owns patent on the non alcoholic beverage. As a result, Mrs. Cates has a $40,000 inheritance in the business. In the future, she will have a chance to participate in profit sharing. Assisting the chief executive officer in the day to day management of the business will be a production manager, a management consultant, and an information technology consultant. Mr. Ian Glass will volunteer as a production manager for the first year of operations. Mr. Glass recently retired after serving for more than 35 years in different positions such as a janitor and a production line supervisor at PepsiCo. He would help in organizing and sitting on the planning committee for 1 year as a non paid member. In the second year of operations, Nice Beverage will hire a production line foreman who will earn $55,000 per annum.

Mary Cates will act as a legal advisor for the organization. She previously served as a senior executive officer at the Federal Trade Commission for more than 10 years. Mrs. Cates advice the company on various legal requirements for business operations and make sure that Melinda Gates’ recipe attains popularity within the state. She will earn an annual pay of $10,000. Stephen Job will act as the company’s information technology consultant earning $15 per hour for 20 hours a month. Mr. Jobs holds a Masters’ degree in information systems from George Washington University. He has more than 15 years experience as an information technology consultant, having offered consultancy services to various blue chip organizations within and outside the United States. In the future, the company will hire people for different positions including a production line foreman, 4 product line employees, and 5 maintenance employees. The company will seek the services of an accounting consultant to prepare the company’s financial statement, file taxes, and investment advice.

Organization Structure

At the top is Mr. Trump, who will be assisted by a committee of experts including an administrator, a production manager, an information technology consultant, and an industry consultant.

Chart 1: Organization Structure for Nice Beverage

Ethics and Social Responsibility Plan

Corporate Citizenship

These days, there is much discussion about whether organizations are doing the right thing. That is the reason why Fresh N Fruity will be committed to being a good corporate citizen. According to Crane et al. (2019), a good corporate citizen focuses on enriching the lives of its customers, neighbors, employees, as well as shareholders through appropriate business practices. In this regard, Fresh N Fruity will strike at creating employment opportunities for community members to enhance their lives. To do so, the company will comply with various federal and state laws regulating employee-employer relationship. Some of the law’s worth complying with are the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. In order to avoid any legal lawsuit and any damage to the company’s brand image, the organization will avoid discriminatory practices in employment practices. The company will treat all job applicants and employees fairly and honestly irrespective of their race, culture, ethnic, gender, and age differences.

Environmental Protection

There is no doubt that water and electricity are scarce resources. In fact, the Kresge Foundation (2011), identifies scarcity of fresh and clean water as one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The organization attributes the problem with increasing droughts, temperatures as well as storms caused by climate change. Water scarcity also threatens electricity generation. Apart from water scarcity, companies tend to pollute the environment by emitting solid wastes and greenhouse gases into water bodies and the atmosphere, respectively. Since beverage producers rely on water and electricity there is bound to clash between companies and communities for these scarce resources. Polluting the environment may also cause health problems to living organisms. In light of this, the company will invest in water reservoirs and solar panel electricity.

Health Issues

Non alcoholic beverages are useful for quenching of thirst and replenishment of energy. However, Brenna (2014) indicates that non alcoholic beverages can cause obesity and diabetes because of their high sugar content. Another concern associated with these drinks is the presence of glycation end products used for coloration purposes. These products increase insulin resistance. Non alcoholic beverages are also linked with brain erosion because of their low pH value. To overcome the concerns, Fresh N Fruity will manufacture its products from natural raw materials. It will not include artificial sweeteners as part of product ingredient. In addition, the organization will comply with the United States Food and Drug Administration’s regulations when producing its products.

References

Brenna, O. V. (2014). Antioxidant capacity of soft drinks. In V. Preedy (Eds), Processing and impact on antioxidants in beverages (pp. 51-56). Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.

Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2019). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Gereffi, G., & Fernandez-Stark, K. (2011). Global value chain analysis: A primer. Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC), Duke University, North Carolina, USA.