Assignment 5 :Business plan

Operation, Technology and Management Plan

Name:Mehdi Faraji

Professor’s name:Dr. Carla Henryhand

Course title:BUS599

Date:08/28/2016

Operations Plan

· Key aspects of operations.

Vegetus Oasis Company will have three production facilities as a part of investment with a capacity to produce over 5,000 bottles per hour. Our manufacturing process will have a strict quality control and inspection procedure ensuring to meet the highest standards. Vegetus Oasis Company will employ a labor force of over 1000 men in this three facility on both permanent and seasonal contracts. We will remove all impurities from pure water by using various filtering and softening techniques. Precise quantities of sugar along with the beverage recipe will be thoroughly mixed under high pressure to produce fizziness. After that, an automated machinery will dispense the mixture in calculated quantity into thoroughly sterilized bottles. Another machine will then apply barcodes and labels to the bottles after which they will be inspected so as to make sure they meet all the necessary industrial standards. Finally, they are moved to devices that will pack them into cartons ready for dispatch.

· Cost and Time Efficiencies.

Production efficiency is a business’ ability to produce the highest number of units of a good while using the least amount of resources such as time and raw materials. A balance between the rate of production, use of resources and quality of the goods produced must be met to achieve production efficiency. Vegetus Oasis Company will solve this by being committed to delivering the maximum units on time and within the budget. Sourcing suppliers that provide the highest standard of quality and value for money while developing innovative strategies through the Research and Development department will help achieve cost and time efficiency thus putting Vegetus Oasis Company ahead of its competitors.

· Competitive Advantages.

Competitive advantage is the unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as superior to the competition and significant in the market. Business-level strategies are concerned with a firm's position in the industry, relative to competitors. Continuous efforts to lower costs through building state of the art and efficient facilities will make it costly for competitors to imitate our product standards. We intend to create brand loyalty among our customers since loyalty provides a difficult barrier to overcome. Designing products that are easy to manufacture through R&D, introducing self-managing teams, training, pay to performance, strong leadership and building a company commitment to efficiency will ensure quality control and survival in the market.

Functional strategies are usually concerned with appropriate timing. In our case, advertising for a new product is expected to begin ninety days before production of the first unit while raw material orders are placed at least two weeks before production starts. The company will outsource its supply and distribution department to established firms until it stabilizes in the market. Aside from Vegetus Oasis Company, the company is doing market research on a secondary line of products known as Rainbow Fruit Drinks which target the younger and more conservative market share.

· Problems Addressed and Overcome.

The biggest issue identified is coping with the high expenses while transitioning from a start-up to a large scale producer. By outsourcing supply and distribution, we get the opportunity to familiarize with the market while avoiding risks. Initial capital to set up the company is also quite high, and this is overcome through investors through a strong brand portfolio.

Technology Plan

· Software Needs.

The innovation arrangement ought to be such that they offer help to the company in making its business activities all around, efficient and planned. Vegetus Oasis Company intends to utilize "Log Files." Log documents use your Internet Protocol (IP) location which is a specific number that automatically appointed to your computer by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Fizzle soda will utilize databases such as demographic information that analyses your sex, date of conception, social media habits and postal codes to name a few. We will use cloud storage technology to save our server information since it requires less space as opposed to hard drives which are also relatively more costly. An outside dealer will, therefore, provide cloud technology. The Vegetus Oasis Company will utilize a robotized remote framework as a part of a request to collaborate with other bottlers in the market. For accounting needs, payroll services and on-line banking the company will use Quickbooks accounting package.

· Hardware Needs:

The quality of hardware brought is paramount to the smooth operation of business, and if anything goes wrong, Vegetus Oasis Company may end up incurring a significant amount of loss. Vegetus Oasis Company has utilized every one of the six hardware categories, for example, Output, Input, storage devices, information transfers, focal handling unit and joining devices. All of these classifications are crucial and cannot be ignored. Vegetus Oasis Company will utilize state of the art computers which will be set up in a network with shared internet access and a file server. For the production processes, we will use various technologies such as Koch Membrane Systems for filtration purposes and Meheen fully-automated, pneumatic powered filler for bottle-filling.

· Telecommunication Needs:

Suitable communication is a necessity in every business construct. We must, however, keep in mind security should have the highest priority so as to safeguard the company and its client's personal information. Phone communication is critical since every business wants to give the perception of being established and more importantly reachable by your customers. Vegetus Oasis Company has an interactive website where customers can serve themselves and have a look at the services we offer. You can alternatively contact Vegetus Oasis Company using our email address which we regularly archived as per the regulations put forward by the government. Vegetus Oasis Company has adopted a high-speed internet connection to ensure uninterrupted connectivity using fiber cables that will enable us to take advantage of online backup, VoIP, and other technologies.

· Personal Needs:

Vegetus Oasis Company will outsource its systems for both hardware and software since outsourcing is more cost effective than acquiring them. The company will rely on IBM programming and equipment to cater for our database needs and provide coordinated effort devices that will assist in maintaining the business group functional and equipped with fingertip access to the data and assets we need. The company has also set up a software-based firewall for every computer and a hardware firewall for our network. To reinforce the firewalls, an anti-virus software which comes bundled with various features to detect phishing and other online threats has been put in place. For the purpose of safeguarding our information, Vegetus Oasis Company ensures all data is backed up, and a recovery plan in place in case of emergencies.

Management & Organization

· Key Management and Employees:

The key management of Vegetus Oasis Company is a president who oversees all operations, VP Operations, VP marketing, comptroller and VP human resources. The president is the person with the most authority hence he interacts with other departmental heads to help and review the company’s costs and outputs. Under VP sales come sales representative. After VP marketing then comes graphic designer and assistant marketing director. Under VP human resources there comes training director while under VP operations there comes technical director and plant manager. Right under comptroller there is an accountant and a purchasing manager who deal with all accounting and procurement business of company respectively.

· Board members and advisors

Board members comprise of the president who acts as the board secretary. A chairperson elected by the other executives heads the board under the assistance of a vice chair. Each department namely; marketing department, sales department, comptroller, operations department and the human resources each have an elected board director who oversees the activities of his/her respective department. Advisors on the board include assistant marketing director, purchasing director, training director, technical director and sales representative.

· Management structure and style

Vegetus Oasis Company follows the hierarchal organizational structure based on operations, responsibility, and authority. The president has the highest powers and duties followed by the vice presidents from each of the central departments. The vice presidents have personal and direct interactions with the president. Each unit functions independently of the other by keeping different books of accounts, inventories, and budgets. The marketing department handles package development, marketing, and advertisement. The Vice President Sales brings business deals to the company by managing all client communication and sales. The VP operation takes care of research and development, production, and shipping. The comptroller takes up purchasing and accounting responsibilities while the human resources department is concerned with skills development and personal training.

Figure 1. Management hierarchy flowchart.

References

Pepsico’s technology trends and innovation strategies: A brief walkthrough | Stellarix. (2016). Stellarix.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016, from http://www.stellarix.com/blog/pepsicos-technology-trends-and-innovation-strategies-a-brief-walkthrough/

The complete technology book on Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages. (2008). Delhi, India.