Prime Movers Inc and Freight Forwarder Organization - Assignment Example

Prime Movers Inc and Freight Forwarder Organization I. BACKGROUND People need to communicate. But it is also important for people to have a means to send to and through each other bigger items either for personal or trade use. While the internet and mobile phone businesses have managed to bring people closer around the globe, there is another need that freight forwarders have addressed and cater to. Business will not thrive without the support of a freight forwarder. Goods will not reach destinations of various regions and countries around the globe without the aid of an organized and effective Freight Forwarder Organization Freight Forwarders are logistic providers for other entities. They are most of the time third-party organizations that charge certain fees basing on the cost of the actual service to be provided. They dispatch shipments through their owned means, or otherwise makes arrangements for these shipments through other resources (Freight Forwarder 2009). The key to an effective freight forwarding business is its ability to move around the goods being carried the fastest way, with the most cost efficient costs. Prime Movers Inc. sees an opportunity to join the list of Freight Forwarders in the country. As indicated in Entrepreneur.com, “the size and scope of the motor freight industry is almost overwhelming” (How to start a Freight Brokerage Business 2009). While trade continues to grow, freight businesses will continue to thrive in this country and globally. As such, it plans to establish a business that will provide the best freight forwarding service for small and medium enterprises, as well as for individuals. The strategy is to offer alternatives to current freight forwarders that charge huge costs for their services. II. Mission/ Purpose of the Business Basically, Prime Movers Inc. looks at being able to provide low-cost but competitive freight services to the market. Though not as big as its major competitors, the company will rely on partnerships with various freight service businesses and brokers locally and internationally to provide excellent service to its target market. III. General Market Area Prime Movers will basically cater to customers up to the regional scale, meaning all operational resources of the company right now are focused on establishing solid operations within the specified area. However, the management does not want to be constrained and be limited doing intra and inter regional transactions alone. Despite the budgetary constrains for this startup company, Prime Movers will establish partnerships with larger freight forwarders to also be able to serve the needs of its clients on a national, and even global level. IV. Basic organizational design Prime Movers inc. is a company owned by five individuals, who each have placed equal amounts as initial investment for the company. Eventually, it targets to offer stocks sharing to other interested investors, possibly after the first year of operations. Each of the investors will play a major role in the operations of the company, but they have chosen among themselves who would be the most appropriate Executive Director who will oversee the whole organization. Under the Executive Director would be five major divisions for the company: Sales; Marketing including Advertising & Promotions, Product Development and Business Development; Administration including Logistics and Procurement; Finance; and Customer Service. Each will be handled by a Senior Manager who will be reporting to the Executive Director. Sales Team will be in charge of looking for accounts, both individual and corporate, to bring revenue to the company. Marketing supports the organization by mobilizing each sub divisions to strengthen the brand, find innovative products and services, and introduce these to the market. Part of its functions is also to sustain market knowledge of the company. Product development handles research and finds a way to improve the services being offered, while Business Development is in charge of finding the right sales channels for the business to thrive. Each has their own important roles in ensuring that the company performs well in the market. Administration handles all logistical requirements of the company, and partners with other companies that complements Prime Movers’ operations. Another sub division of this is the Procurement group, who will handle transactions for asset acquisition. Finance will handle incoming and outgoing financial transactions. A sub division for Finance is Asset Management, which is very crucial for the company to maximize every resource available to achieve its targets. Lastly, but certainly not the least important, is the Customer Service Team, which will handle inquiries and after sales for Prime Movers. V. Competitive Analysis There are fourteen companies with similar services in Maryland as listed in directory.com (Freight Services Maryland. 2009). However, the types of services are diverse in nature. As mentioned in the same article, there are several ways by which these companies serve their clients. Services could be classified as Airfreight Companies, Expedited Freight or Express Delivery, Freight Forwarders, and Inter Modal Transportation, among others. Prime Movers basically cater to the second and third segment. It will serve the local manufacturers and food businesses to provide logistical assistance on mobilizing their goods. Prime Movers identify Ian Global Shipping Inc and Casey Overseas Corp. as its main competitors, being on the most similar line of services being made available in Maryland (Freight Forwarding 2009). Both have been present in the market for some time now, and already have a pool of regular clients. Both companies would challenge Prime Movers to achieve a remarkable place in the market. In as much as competition is stiff, and there are a lot others who also aim to provide cost efficient but quality services, Prime Movers is confident that it will be able to take a portion of the market through innovative campaigns and the concept of ‘business partnership’. With this strategy, the company will surely be able to establish relationships with partners and their customer base. VI. Marketing concept There are two major services to be offered by Prime Movers: first is its trucking services which will cater to companies, and second is package shipping, which will me more of a product for individuals. Trucking Services basically functions as a medium for products or goods to reach one destination to another at the most reasonable price and the least travel time (What is Freight Forwarding 2009). With this in mind, Prime Movers Inc. primarily targets food companies and manufacturers (possibly of electronic parts and semiconductors) that need to bring their items to various destinations within the locality or even regionally. As mentioned earlier, these are small to medium scale companies who are also conscious of the budget they spend to mobilize their operations. Prime Movers will offer reasonable costs for this group, and is in fact, more interested in establishing continued servicing than getting high revenues from a single transaction. Prime Movers puts emphasis on the frequency of the service it gives to its accounts rather than over pricing on every service. Trucking services may either mean leased transportation, or providing the service itself. The company will have dedicated trucks for leasing, and another group for a packaged and more personalized delivery service. This way, the company will ensure that no disruption will happen to the operations. Even manpower will be specialized, although multi tasking with be highly encouraged. Each will have specific assignments in the operations, yet they must have knowledge on the other operational functions as well. There will also be separate trucks for package shipping services, in terms of local and regional operations. Prices will depend on the destination, and for this, the company will maximize its ties with other shipping companies, and even airlines. VII. Description of the target market According to Maryland’s Official website, this state’s economy continuously “outperforms” the country’s economy as a whole (Maryland at a Glance 2009). It is home to numerous research institutes, manufacturers and is widely known for having a large food production sector (Maryland 2009) This state has approximately 140,000 private businesses as of 2007 (US Census Bureau 2009). Maryland is strategically located among other progressive states including Virginia, Washington DC and even New York. Baltimore is particularly the center for trade where transportation is a major activity. With such circumstances, companies, manufacturers and other entities are in need of a logistics service provider that will enable them to reach their business goals. VIII. The Pricing Concept Separate quotations will be prepared for each type of service. The goal is be able to offer the least expensive freight forwarding services, and it will engage the competition in price war. To ensure that despite the considerable price drop, the company’s operations and the quality of the services will not suffer. The company will look closely into operational costs and will establish partnerships and arrangements with suppliers to defray the costs of some items. IX. Promotional Positioning and Marketing Channels Prime Movers positions itself as an alternative Freight Forwarding Services company that will be partners to new and sustaining low to mid end companies. By alternative, it means that Prime Movers will definitely focus on providing their needed details at the lowest comparable cost possible. Prime Movers will engage in price wars, and will look for frequency rather than achieving revenues from single transactions. Prime Movers will utilize relationship marketing, and will form alliances with its accounts to appear as business partners, and necessary tools for these businesses to achieve their financial objectives. Admittedly, the target market may already have their own fleets of trucking services, but at this point when outsourcing has become a common practice for most businesses, Prime Movers sees the opportunity to engage in business partnerships with this group. The demands may also vary in scale of operations, but what is important is for the company to have a strong pool of client base which will allow the company to grow its assets while expanding operations and even product lines. As an introductory business, the key to effective marketing is to be able to do information dissemination using low cost media channels. First in mind is to utilize and maximize the corporate website to attract shippers and clients. The website must be both informative and interactive, user friendly and must be able to produce price quotations at such short notice. This will enable the customers to compare the prices, and decide right there and then which freight servicing company to utilize. The website must be able to sell by itself. Of course, to be able to advertise this website, an initial investment for above the line channels must be made. A week-long campaign will be launched in print and local TV, and will be sustained by banner announcements on billboards that are strategically located in areas where most of the target companies and present. At the onset, the company will also touch base with prospect clients and the sales team will have to do cold calls to the target companies to be able to present the company and its services. Building personal relationships is essential for the business, and the sales team must aim to present to the target market one-on-one the benefits of utilizing Prime Movers. There will also be promotional tie ups or cross promotions for a limited number of partners, and in the future, a loyalty program that would aim to provide business partners by engaging each company into partnering with other groups to achieve common goals. This ‘business circle’ will in fact bring benefits to all the partners, allowing them to grow with Prime Movers and also expand into other ventures. As a partner, Prime Movers is guaranteed to have more business transactions with these partners, This strategy is but appropriate to the target market, which are small to medium scale businesses, as these also have the same financial constraints when facing the need to fully mobilize their businesses. As such, they will search not only for service providers but for partners who will have a symbiotic relationship with them. Prime Movers sees this as an opportunity as it basically offers hands-down the lowest freight cost in the market, and will only have to get the chance to prove that they are as efficient as the others. Once the initial transaction is over and impressions are established, Prime Movers Inc. is assured of a steady pool of clientele which will bring the company closer to achieving its objectives. Reference List Freight Forwarder 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freight_forwarder Freight Services Maryland 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from http://articles.directorym.com/Freight_Services_Maryland-r1247275-Maryland.html Freight Forwarding 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/accredited-business-directory/freight-forwarding Maryland at a Glace 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/economy.html Maryland 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland US Census Bureau. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html What is Freight Forwarding 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-freight-forwarding.htm Read More