The Business Position of Zaet Mobile - Assignment Example

Zaet Mobile home accessory: Business Plan Table of Contents Industry analysis 4 1.The Business’s position within 4 2.The of the economy 41.3.Market trends and opportunities 4 1.4.Competitors 4 2.Product analysis 4 2.1.Product /service range 4 2.2.Benefits offered 5 2.3.Protection from competitors 5 2.4.Sources of competitive advantage 6 3.Market research 6 3.1.Analysis of customers’ questionnaires 6 3.2.Analysis of market share 7 3.3.Sales forecast 7 3.4.Cost of sales 8 3.5.Potential market growth 9 3.6.System for monitoring growth in penetration 10 4.Marketing strategy 10 4.1.Pricing 10 4.2.Target customer groups 10 4.3.Which benefits are going to be used to increase sales 10 4.4.Sales tactics 11 4.5.Warranty policies 11 4.6.Advertising budgets 11 5.Processes 11 5.1.Information flow 11 5.2.Equipment essential for efficiency 11 5.3.Quality control 12 6.Personnel 12 6.1.Short curricula vitae 12 6.2.Organizational chart 12 6.3.Job responsibilities 12 6.4.Training requirements 13 7.Finance 13 7.1.Budgeted accounts 13 7.1.1.Pro-forma income statement 13 7.2.Cash flow forecast 14 7.3.How is any shortfall to be financed 15 7.4.Break even position 16 8.Action plan 16 Reference List 17 1. Industry analysis 1.1. The Business’s position within Zaet Mobile home accessory is a new company in this industry. A thorough trend analysis has revealed that the business is strongly positioned in the market. Mobile and accessory repairing is a booming business and this is evident from the amount of revenue generated by other companies based in this sector over the past five years. Therefore, the industry looks very prospective. This aspects combined with the unique services provided by Zaet Mobile home accessory includes 24/7 customer service, mobile phone pickup and drop facility, annual maintenance contract, extended warranty, free mobile phone pickup and drop facility for registered customers are sure to enable the managers to position the company competitively in the market. 1.2. The state of the economy Currently, the US economy is considerably stable with an invariable interest rate. Inflation rate is also very less compared to other countries. The lower interest rate and inflation will allow the company to reduce the operating costs as well as the cost of sales which in turn will enable the managers to increase the margin of profit. The economic legislations in the US are considerably flexible and it encourages new business to come forth and set up their foundations which in turn will add to the growth of the economy. 1.3. Market trends and opportunities Given the fact that San Diego is the third most populated city in California, it provides Zaet Mobile home accessory with enormous scope to target a large base of potential customers. The total number of households in this part of the country stands at nearly 1 million with an average household income of $61,426 (Simons, 2011). The middle class to upper middle class income range stand between $75,000 and $215,000 (Pontuch, 2012). The high income earners earn more than $215,000 per year (Sillard, 2013). The large population combined with a high concentration of stable income households provides a ready market for Zaet Mobile home accessory which can be targeted in order to achieve business development and growth (Sillard, 2013). 1.4. Competitors Zaet Mobile home accessory faces steep competition from rival companies like Patio production, Skylar’s home and patio, Jerome’s Furniture, Aztec appliances and machine alley shop. 2. Product analysis 2.1. Product /service range Zaet Mobile home accessory will be primarily engaged in the repair and maintenance services of mobile phones. The services will be extended to households in San Diego California. In addition, the business will also be selling mobile phone accessories such as cases, headphones, chargers, Bluetooth headsets and earphones. Alongside providing repairing and maintenance services of mobile phones, the company will also be providing consultancy services to its customers regarding the optimal usage of mobile phones and other associated accessories. Experts working in Zaet Mobile home accessory will provide knowledge solutions to the customers regarding using products in the most efficient manner so that energy is saved. As far as repairing services is concerned, the following products will come under the service criteria of the company: Mobile phone brands: Samsung, Microsoft/Nokia, Apple, LG, Google Nexus, HTC and Sony. Repairing services offered on: Hardware malfunctioning, software malfunctioning, operating system protection, virus protection. Mobile phone parts are repaired by trained engineers in Zaet Mobile home accessory. They have the expertise to identify the problem in quick time and more often than not mobile phones are returned back to their respective customers within 24 hours. The parts that cannot be repaired will be fully replaced with newer parts. Maintenance services offered: Operating system updates, antivirus update, data processing system update and so on and so forth. Mobile phone customers can come to the outlet and get their software updates within a span of thirty minutes. They will be welcomed by trained ushers and technical associates who would deal with the issues with immediate response. 2.2. Benefits offered The major benefit offered by Zaet Mobile home accessory is the range of products for which repairing and maintenance service is provided. Most of the mobile phone repairing outlets in San Diego is engaged in the repairing and maintenance of few or a particular mobile phone brand. On the contrary, Zaet Mobile home accessory will provide repairing and maintenance services of almost all Smartphone brands that are sold in the contemporary world. The business will have its own customer care department that can be contacted 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week. Therefore customers can place their complaints as and when they want and their issues will be dealt within the next 24 hours. The company takes pride on its swift service as it also offers pick up and drop service where ushers pick up mobile phones from the customer’s house upon receiving complaint. The same mobile is returned to the customer at their address where the final payment is made. This is one service that distinguishes Zaet Mobile home accessory from other mobile phone repairing service centres in and around San Diego. 2.3. Protection from competitors Competition has intensified tremendously over the past decade or so especially in the mobile phone repairing and maintenance service sector. Therefore to say that Zaet Mobile Phone accessory is protected from the competitors will be equivalent to lying. The company faces intense competition from various mobile phone repairing and maintenance outlets in San Diego. However, the a high concentration of middle and upper middle income population in this part of the country provides Zaet Mobile Phone accessory with the opportunity to target a large base of customer with higher purchasing power. The unique benefits provided by the company place it in an advantageous position when compared to the competitors, and this is the strength that the company will be tapping on mostly (Lowson, 2011). 2.4. Sources of competitive advantage There are several sources of competitive advantage for Zaet Mobile home accessory. The 24 hour customer service, repair and maintenance service for all smart phone brands, sell of mobile phone accessories of all brands and the pickup and drop facility are some of the sources of competitive advantage for the mobile phone servicing company. In addition, Zaet Mobile Home accessory also shares yearly contracts with several mobile phone retailer and dealers in the vicinity. The contract enables the owner of Zaet Mobile home accessory to provide services to the customers of the local mobile phone dealers. By extending this network of contacts, the company wishes to increase its market share (Lymbersky, 2009). 3. Market research 3.1. Analysis of customers’ questionnaires Zaet Mobile home accessory has conducted a market research with the help of a third party market researcher. The market research was conducted on the basis of telephone survey where households all over San Diego were surveyed regarding their willingness to register for mobile phone repairing and maintenance services in the local service centres. The questionnaire revealed that 68% of consumers were willing to get their mobile phones repaired by local service instead of getting it done through authorized company service centres. However, the consumers would enrol for this service only after the company warranty is over. This is because service within the company warranty comes for free. Therefore they would like to avail the free service which comes for a year. After the warranty coverage is over, consumers would like to get their mobile phone repaired through local service centres due to number of reasons (Mullins, 2009). First of all local mobile repairing and service centres are easy to access. Second and perhaps the most important reason is that service cost charged by local service centres is considerably lower than the price charged by authorized company service centres. Therefore consumers would always like to get their mobile repaired at a lower price provided that they get equal quality service (MacMillan and Venkataraman, 2009). The survey also revealed that consumer would also be willing to register for yearly contracts with mobile phone repairing and maintenance centres in San Diego if the contract prices are lucrative. This is an opportunity for Zaet Mobile home accessory to prepare lucrative contracts in order to influence the purchase behaviour of the local customers. The market research has also revealed that less than ten percent of the population is in poverty level. The average income of a middle income household was $62, 962. The survey revealed that the market in San Diego is very prospective with the increasing number of mobile users every single day. This provides ample opportunities to Zaet Mobile home accessory to target a larger customer base with the underlying aim of increasing the company’s market share. Therefore, given the fact that Zaet Mobile home accessory has the expertise to provide repairing and maintenance services to virtually all mobile phone brands, this puts them ahead in the race against competitors such as Patio production, Skylar’s home and patio, Jerome’s Furniture, Aztec appliances as well as machine alley shop (Pontuch, 2012). 3.2. Analysis of market share The following table provides the market share of the five competitor service centres mentioned above. Company Market share Patio production 25% Skylar’s home and patio 23% Jerome’s Furniture 19% Aztec appliances 18.5% Machine alley shop 15% The five companies mentioned above have generated a combined revenue of $15 milion. This indicates the prospect of the market in San Diego and therefore Zaet Mobile home accessory has the option to tap such a prospective market. It is evident from the performance of the five organizations that there is a lot of scope to earn huge revenues and translate the same into equivalent profit by reducing the cost of sales. Zaet Mobile home accessory is expecting to realize a market share of 4.5% in the first year by generating revenue of $676,000. The analysts are predicting that the market share of Zaet Mobile home accessory will hit double figures in the upcoming years. The managers will be attempting to lead in terms of the market share onwards the sixth year of its operations. 3.3. Sales forecast Figure 1: Monthly sales forecast for year 1 (Source: Author’s creation) As is evident from the figure given above, Zaet Mobile home accessory’s monthly revenues are expected to grow drastically over the first twelve month of its operations. The revenue is expected to be at the peak in month 6, month 7 and month 9 as the company expects a growing number of people to avail the company’s yearly contract in those particular months. This is particularly because Zaet Mobile home accessory was able to learn about the date and months in which a particular customer bought his/her mobile phones. Zaet Mobile home accessory’s managers were able to identify that the warranty coverage of majority of the customers will be over in the months that have been mentioned above. Therefore, the managers are expecting these customers to come and register for annual maintenance contract that will be offered to the customers. Figure 2: yearly sales forecast (Source: Author’s creation) As is evident from figure 2 given above, the managers of Zaet Mobile home accessory are expecting that the company will generate revenue of $845,000 in year 2. This value will increase further in year 3 where the company will generate revenue of nearly $1 million. The underlying reason behind such healthy anticipation is the growing number of mobile phone users in this part of the world. In addition to tha, with the arrival of more and more Smartphone companies who are offering mobile phones at a cheaper price, people would need post sales and repairing services after the warranty coverage is over (Ireland and Sexton, 2010). This is the window of opportunity for Zaet Mobile home accessory as many mobile phone users cannot afford the services provided by the brand authorized service centres. It is up to the ability of Zaet Mobile home accessory’s managers to prepare a lucrative annual maintenance contract as well as place an affordable service charge for walk in customers in order to boost sales and henceforth increase their market share. 3.4. Cost of sales Zaet Mobile home accessory managers are expecting to keep the cost of sales at 40% of thetotal sales. This includes the direct cost of services provided to contractual customers as well as the service rendered to walk in customers. Below is the table that will show the yearly anticipated cost of sales for both categories of customers. Direct cost of sales Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Annual maintenance contracts $ 141,960 $ 177,450 $ 209,108 Walk in customers $ 128,440 $ 160,550 $ 189,193 Total cost of sales $ 270,400 $ 338,000 $ 398,300 (Source: Author’s creation) As is evident from the table given above, the cost of sales is expected to grow steadily over the first three years of the company’s operations. This is precisely because the company’s is anticipating a growth in the number of customers (Guffey and Loewy, 2010). This would require the managers to develop additional facilities within the service centres aimed towards enhancing the quality of service provided to the customers (Kerner, 2007). Moreover, due to the incessantly growing number of customers, the managers of Zaet Mobile home accessory would be considering an expansion plan which would require the manager to open other repair and maintenance centres in the locality (Henderson and Hooper, 2006). Thus the managers are expecting to incur additional cost while setting up the additional repairing and service centres. 3.5. Potential market growth The market has a huge potential to grow considering the fact that the number of mobile phone users are increasing with every passing day. Therefore, it is expected that there will be an equivalent growth in the number of customers for Zaet Mobile home accessory. Moreover, the potential for market growth will be determined by the quality and variety of services provided by the company (Clarke, 2010). Therefore, it can be said that the twenty four hour customer service provided by Zaet Mobile home accessory will prove to be one of the fundamental determinants of market growth. This service is sure to influence the buying behaviour of many customers as considerable proportion of mobile phone users encounter mobile phone defects at unusual times (Smith, 2011). Secondly, the pickup and drop facility is another service that is sure to grab the attention of a lot of customers. This is precisely because; this is one service that is provided by no other service centres. Availing the pickup and drop facility will not require a user to be present at the service outlet. Instead, they can avail the pickup and drop facility and get their phone picked up and received both at their home as well as their offices depending on their schedules (Dess and Lumpkin, 2009). This service will be particularly beneficial for office goers who find it extremely difficult to deal with such issues and be at office on time. Therefore this service is considered as another determinant of market growth (Goksoy and Ozsoy, 2007). Lastly, the inexpensive annual maintenance contract offered by Zaet Mobile home accessory will surely lure in increasing number of customers which in turn will also contribute towards market growth for Zaet Mobile home accessory. 3.6. System for monitoring growth in penetration In the monitor business development and growth, the parameters that will be considered are sales, gross profit, EBITDA and net income. These figures will be constantly monitored through the use of analytical tools prepared by third party developers. The analytical tool will enable the analysts to study the trends which in turn will pave way for accurate prediction of the future. Not only will the analysts be able to predict the future growth in demand, they will also be in a better position to forecast the requirement of employees and finances. 4. Marketing strategy 4.1. Pricing Zaet Mobile home accessory will mainly be following a competitive pricing strategy by keeping the prices of its products relatively lower than its competitors. This is precisely because it is a new business and at this moment the fundamental objective of the managers will be to increase their customer base (Augenti, 2010). The annual maintenance contract price will also be comparatively lower than the price at which contracts are offered by repairing and service centres. Zaet Mobile home accessory has also decided to offer the pick and drop service for free for the first year to the customers who would register for the annual maintenance contract (Williamson, Cooke and Jenkins, 2012). 4.2. Target customer groups During the initial phase of the operational life cycle, Zaet Mobile home accessory will be targeting households from all income groups. The company will be targeting customers on both the Smartphone and non Smartphone segment. Nonetheless, in the future the company will only be focusing on the Smartphone segment. During that phase, Zaet Mobile home accessory managers will mainly be targeting households belonging to the middle, upper middle and higher income group. The underlying strategy behind such target market segmentation is for the mangers to be able to establish a robust foundation during the initial phase. This will help the company to increase the revenue thereby augmenting the profits of the company (Shrader, Taylor and Dalton, 2009; Schnaars, 2007). Once the company attains a stable market share then the managers would plan to focus on particular segment of customers (especially the upper middle and higher income households) which in turn will the managers to establish a sustainable source of revenue. 4.3. Which benefits are going to be used to increase sales The facilities and benefits offered by the company will definitely boost the sales figures in the future. The managers of Zaet Mobile home accessory expect that their 24/7 customer service facility will definitely be helpful for a lot of customers. This is because many customers encounter problem with their mobiles at unusual times. The mobile phone pickup and drop facility is expected to influence the purchasing behaviour of maximum number of customers owing to convenience that the facility offers to the customers. The annual maintenance contract of Zaet Mobile home accessory has the lowest price of all the maintenance offered by other mobile phone service and repairing centres. 4.4. Sales tactics As far as sales tactics is concerned, Zaet Mobile home accessory will initially have two outlets in a very commercial place in the city of San Diego. Not only will the business be selling its products and servicing them through the brick and mortar stores, but the products will also be sold over online platforms like Amazon and eBay. Cross sales will also be done where customers coming from mobile phone servicing and repairing will be encouraged to buy other accessories such as earphones, Bluetooth headsets and headphones. 4.5. Warranty policies The products that are sold in Zaet Mobile home accessory outlets comes with a standard one year warranty coverage offered by the product brands. However, Zaet Mobile home accessory will also offer extended one year warranty coverage for the product to the customers who would be registering for the annual maintenance contract 4.6. Advertising budgets Initially due to lack of funds, the company’s products, services, discounts and offers will only be advertised through hoardings and billboards in the city of San Diego. In addition, advertisements will also be sent to potential customer base via automated emails to their respective email addressed collected from the telephonic survey. Furthermore, the managers of Zaet Mobile home accessory have also decided to distribute flyers and pamphlets in the households within the 5 km proximity of the retail outlets. As of the present day, the company is anticipating an advertisement cost of $125,000. 5. Processes 5.1. Information flow As far as information flow is concerned, the managers will be setting up three groups comprising engineers, technical associates, supervisor and an immediate manager. The managers will be reporting to the owner. Therefore, three groups will have three middle managers who would be responsible for reporting the progress that is being made by the company on a weekly basis (Barringer, 2010). A meeting will be held twice in a week with managers from all the departments who will not only report the company’s progresses but will also convey the company’s financial position as of that week. Any new information will be communicated over company emails and employees can establish contact between each other within the company premises through a chat portal developed by the company itself (Barrow, 2011). 5.2. Equipment essential for efficiency Zaet Mobile home accessory will have adequate number of computers powered with high speed internet connection that will allow the associates to explore the internet without any lag. In addition, the company will have to incorporate every advanced technological gadget that is required to repair and maintain mobile phones and its accessories. Zaet Mobile home accessory managers have also decided to have adequate numbers of motorcycles in place, in order for their ushers to pickup and deliver mobile phones to the users in a short timeframe. 5.3. Quality control As far as quality control is concerned, the management of Zaet Mobile home accessory will be setting certain standards or benchmarks for services. It will be the duty of the supervisor that the set standards are being adhered to by the employees while offering services to the customers. In addition to that, the supervisor will also be responsible for ensuring that all products that are sold from the store are genuine branded products and that no duplicate products are being sold from the retail outlets. 6. Personnel 6.1. Short curricula vitae In order to ensure that the quality of service is top notch, the managers of Zaet Mobile home accessory will only be certified engineers with Master Degree and certified mobile repairing technical associates with relevant training. The supervisors will have to have Masters Degree in management or Postgraduate diploma in management. The middle tier managers will have to have prior experience in the field of human resource management. Lastly, the ushers who would be responsible for catering to the issues of the customers will have to have relevant training. The pick and drop service providers should have adequate experience in supply chain and delivery services. 6.2. Organizational chart 6.3. Job responsibilities The top tier managers will mainly be responsible for overseeing the organizational operations The three middle managers will be responsible for overseeing the operations of their respective department and will be reporting the progress to the top tier manager. The engineers and technical associates will be responsible for identifying the issue in the mobile phones and thereafter would be sending to the relevant department for repairmen and maintenance. The supply chain and delivery managers will be responsible for overseeing the delivery operations and the ushers will be engaged in the pickup and drop service. Accountants will be looking after the company accounts and the financial analysis will be predicting the future financial performance of the company as well as forecast the requirement of funds in the future. 6.4. Training requirements As far as training requirements are concerned, the engineers and technical associates will have to go through a short round of training where they will be trained regarding the use of advanced gadgets that we have in order to repair the mobiles. The financial analyst and accountant managers will also be provided with adequate training regarding the accounting portals and financial platforms in which the company works. 7. Finance 7.1. Budgeted accounts 7.1.1. Pro-forma income statement Pro forma income statement year 1 year 2 year 3 Sales $676,000 $845,000 $995,750 Cost of sales $270,400 $338,000 $398,300 Gross margin $405,600 $507,000 $597,450 Expenses Payroll $96,545 $115,855 $165,855 SG&A expenses $125,000 $95,475 $65,845 Depreciation $3,500 $3,000 $3,000 leased equipments $15,785 $12,548 $12,000 insurance $25,000 $20,000 $27,000 utilities $27,500 $22,000 $22,000 payroll taxes $22,450 $22,000 $25,000 rent $95,000 $98,000 $98,000 miscellaneous $150 $275 $300 total operating expenses $410,930 $389,153 $419,000 Profit before interest and taxes -$5,330 $117,847 $178,450 EBITDA -$1,830 $120,847 $181,450 interest expenses $47,522 $52,458 $76,589 tax expense $0 $24,512 $38,450 net profit -$49,352 $43,877 $66,411 7.2. Cash flow forecast Pro forma cash flow statement year 1 year 2 year 3 Cash Sales $676,000 $845,000 $995,750 Subtotal Cash from Operations $676,000 $845,000 $995,750 Additional Cash Received $ 2,545 $ 2,685 $ 2,479 Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received $3,215 $4,589 $6,985 New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0 New Current Borrowing $74,520 $0 $0 Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $15,000 New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 New Investment Received $0 $25,000 $0 Subtotal Cash Received $ 756,280 $ 877,274 $1,020,214 Expenditures year 1 year 2 year 3 Expenditures from Operations Cash Spending $96,545 $115,855 $165,855 Bill Payments $314,385 $273,298 $253,145 Subtotal Spent on Operations $410,930 $389,153 $419,000 Additional Cash Spent $0 $0 $0 Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $3,215 $4,589 $6,985 Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $ 3,520 $0 $0 Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 Purchase Other Current Assets $0 $ 15,000 $ 18,500 Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $ 35,855 $ 35,986 Dividends $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash Spent $ 6,735 $ 55,444 $ 61,471 Net Cash Flow $ 749,545 $ 821,830 $ 958,743 7.3. How is any shortfall to be financed Although Zaet Mobile home accessory managers are not expecting any shortfall in finance, they still have contingency plans in place in order to tackle an unanticipated financial downturn. In case if there is any shortage of funds, the managers will first bridge the financing gap using funds from the company savings. If the company savings is not adequate enough to bridge the financing gap, only then will the managers be resorting to external borrowings from banks as well as other interested third parties. Given the fact that the interest rate is relatively stable in the US currently, availing external borrowings would not affect the financial performance of the company. 7.4. Break even position As far as the breakeven position is concerned, Zaet Mobile home accessory will achieve this in year 2 of the company’s operational lifecycle. This is evident from the margin, fixed costs and variable costs figures depicted in the following table. Break even analysis year 1 year 2 year 3 Sales $ 676,000 $ 845,000 $ 995,750 Cost of sales $ 270,400 $ 338,000 $ 398,300 margin $ 405,600 $ 507,000 $ 597,450 Fixed costs $ 265,930 $ 221,253 $ 284,000 variable costs $ 192,522 $ 244,870 $ 250,039 total costs $ 458,452 $ 466,123 $ 534,039 earnings $ (52,852) $ 40,877 $ 63,411 8. Action plan Given the current stable economic of the country, it is extremely important that the managers emphasize on setting up the business as early as possible. They should pool adequate amount of finance in order to finance the operations. The managers must maintain a good mix of capital by pooling up funds from the company savings as well as from external sources (Taylor and Wills, 2008). Given the fact that the interest rate is considerably lower, it will be beneficial for the company to avail external borrowings during the initial phase of the operations (Pinson, 2010). However, later on the managers should decrease their debt obligations as the interest rates may increase in the future. The managers should emphasize a lot on recruiting high skilled personnel with relevant training and experience. In addition to that, they should develop proper training and development programmes in order to train the new recruits regarding the ways to provide efficient and quality service (Schoenecker and Cooper, 2010). The primary focus should be given on enhancing the buying experience of the customers with the underlying aim of enhancing the level of customer satisfaction thereby influencing their purchase behaviour (Pakroo, 2012). The annual maintenance contract should be prepared appropriately. The price of this contract as well as the price of services for walk in customers should be placed competitively. All these factors will enable the company to increase market share in the future. Reference List Augenti, L., 2010. 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