Flower Retailing and Delivery - Internal and External Business Environment - Example

Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : xxxxxxxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2013 Table of Contents Flower Retailing and Delivery: Company description 3 Aims of the strategic plan 4 Internal and external business environment 5 Strategic operational details (new systems and procedures) 8 Human resources 9 Financial requirements 9 Technological requirements 10 Monitoring and evaluation 10 References 11 Flower Retailing and Delivery: Company description The need for flowers of all kinds will always be there. Happy occasion events like weddings and other ceremonies need flowers and so do occasions of sadness like funerals. There is therefore a huge potential for the start and growth of a small flower retailing and delivery venture. The flower shop will be started in a kiosk in downtown Sidney where there is a lot of drive by traffic and walk by traffic. It will be rather small to save on startup capital. This is possible because most of the sales will be done online and deliveries of flowers will be accomplished by car and/or bicycle. All types of flowers will be on sale and will include kangaroo paw, flannel flower, roses, alstroemeria, amaryllis, carnations, daisies, daffodils, lilies, roses, gladiolus, oriental lilies and the various types of chrysanthemum. The stall will be open during the daytime hours and closed at night. As different customers need different flower designs, custom bouquets will be created each working day as well as bunches that are ready made. The business will also involve catering for small scale events like birthday parties for children and adults and ceremonies for example mother’s day celebrations. During these events, design layout and flower transport and set up will be the main activities to be performed. Due to the labor intensive requirements of the business, one assistant will be hired to assist in the running of the business and arrangement of the flower shop. This will ease the available workload as chores will be divided. It will therefore allow one individual to concentrate on the flower delivery while the other person is dealing with the flower shop. The produce will be got from the flower market in the city and wholesalers. These will provide flowers that have been freshly cut and potted flowers. Free advice and information on plant nutrition, soils, and temperature and light requirements for the flowers will be provided to the customers. The materials that will be utilized in the business will include containers for the flowers, floral foam, cardettes, wire, delivery tags and business cards and wrappings for the flowers. Equipment that will be required for the business will be locally available and include knives, bunch cutters, scissors, staplers and trash cans. Aims of the strategic plan One aim of this strategic plan is to accelerate business growth of the flower kiosk into a fully-fledged floral shop. This can be accomplished by increasing the amount of revenue obtained from the kiosk. Increasing the sales made by the kiosk will mean more profit hence improved expansion potential. Another aim is to expand the market for the flowers by diversifying in the types of floral services handed out to customers. This will provide a larger base of customers for the business which will result in larger sale volumes and profit margins for the business. Raise more capital for the business venture by looking for investment from other sources or looking at options to align the business with established floral business and organizations. Come up with a unique branding for the business to enable its marketing in online sources and across the existing customer bases in town. This will enable the business to be recognizable across all bases and ease the marketing of the business and its brand. Internal and external business environment The business external environment will affect the operation of the business as it is made up of all the conditions that are outside the business sphere. These operations are beyond the power of management but it still operates within it. Internal environments are within the business management control. The external environment of the company will encompass the sociocultural, demographic, technological and legal factors that will influence the business. Socio cultural factors consist of religions, leisure activities, consumer attitudes, gender issues and the attitude of the public towards environmental issues. Some religious activities and ceremonies will increase the market for flowers. Decorations of worship’s places will create a large market base for the flower industry, which will be fully taken advantage of by the business. During religious ceremonies like the Christian Easter, Chinese New Year day and orthodox Easter, flower designs are changed to march the activities that will be carried out by the church. Leisure activities like gardening and flower replacement also affect the marketing and sales efforts of the organization. Environmental issues will also be of concern to the growth of the business as a public with concern issues about the cutting of fresh flowers may reduce sales. Valentine’s Day, Christmas and mother’s day are some of days that flower sales will be at its peak. Demographic factors also affect the flower business. The population of Sydney has been increasing steadily since the 2001 census and is projected to increase until 2056. The average age as of the 2011 census is 36. These demographics paint a good picture for the floral business as a rising population increases the market for the flowers. More people will mean a higher number of customers for the business. The presence of more middle aged individuals also provides a good environment for the growth and expansion of the business. This is because middle aged individuals tend to buy more flowers than other age groups as they buy flowers for their lovers, families and places decorations for their houses. Another external factor that will have an impact on the business will be technology. More established global floral businesses utilize online retailing and supply to market and sale their produce. Huge relay floral companies have an established marketing, sales and delivery network all over Australia and this competition negatively affects the business. This lack of technology limits the growth of business hence there is need to develop a website for the company and make it as unique as possible to offer something new to the flower market. Being placed centrally with individuals from all walks of life passing by the location, the business is bound to do well. This is supported by the fact that Australia is one of the most developed countries in the world. The economy of Australia is annually growing hence the populous continues to have more cash to spend hence the need to attract these individuals to spend on flowers. The strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) analysis reveals important points for the business. The strengths for the business include the fact that it is located in a major city with a high middle age population that forms a large part of the target market. The business is not complex to manage and has manageable labor requirements that can be met by two individuals. Also, the website for the business is easy to create and manage with a unique brand of advertisement being employed to attract customers. As the flowers will be sold locally, packaging will not be necessary hence reducing the amount of capital used on packaging. Flower businesses are some of the only businesses that waste is recyclable and this will be one of the major strengths of the business. Weaknesses of the business are also of concern. The kiosk/ stall the business is started in gets smaller by the day as there is an increase in customer demand and there is need to increase the stock of cut and potted flowers for sale. There is therefore a need to move to larger premises which are unaffordable. As a start up business without established customers, the business will struggle at the beginning and will need a lot of patience before it gets off the ground. There is also an issue of the business being over dependent on two key personnel. Absence of one of the personnel leads to important assignments not being accomplished. The website created for the business, even though easy to create, needs to be accessible to large groups of people. The marketing of the website through popular sites will be a little hard to achieve hence putting the marketing campaign of the business at a disadvantage. The threats faced by the business are multifaceted in nature and need serious consideration. The completion offered by major players in the floral market industry like the flower company will have to be dealt with decisively in order to get customers and ensure the growth of the business. During summer, business in flowers is tedious, requires a lot of resources, is labor intensive and usually falls prey to global market conditions. This will negatively affect sales and hence the growth and development of the business. The development of plastic flowers to rival the fresh flowers is also a threat to the burgeoning business and will significantly cut down on the number of customers that are available to the business (Straub, 2009). Even though the weaknesses of the flower retail and delivery business are numerous and the threats facing it are serious in nature, the opportunities created by this business are also significant. The department of primary industries gave an estimate of A$ 202.7 million to A$ 800million each year for the cut flower industry in the country. The flower retail business is therefore a growing industry and wise investment in the venture is certain to produce good results. The quick delivery side of the business has great potential and will be one of the main reasons for the expansion of the business. There is therefore an opportunity to increase the delivery channels available to the business (ABS, 2012) Strategic operational details (new systems and procedures) This business will be facing challenges as outlined in the SWOT analysis above and will therefore need a strategic plan in its operations and procedure to overcome them and be a successful business venture. One of the first strategies aims at dealing with the intense competition and offering the flower retailing service country wide. This will involve paying to team up with already established floral retail companies in Sydney to become a member of their relay system or network. Even though this will mean sharing the profits, this partnership will enable the business to access a countrywide delivery system and an improved marketing and sales network. The development of new styles and techniques in the design of floral products will provide a unique type of service that will help in the attraction of more customers for the business. Floral designs will be based on different backgrounds of people found in Sydney which will enable the business to cater for the diverse groups of people in the city. Innovative hand attachment bouquet techniques as well as fresh design methodologies that do no utilize foam as a base material will be developed. This will get rid of the issue of floral foam not breaking down effortlessly and the fact that foam is an environmental hazard. Human resources The labor requirements for the business will only involve two individuals who will carry out the day to day running of the business. While the retailer will be involved with the arrangement, cutting, design, flower handling, customer interaction, record keeping , profit planning, cost management and attracting customers the second partner will be involved with collecting orders and delivering the cut and potted flowers to the specific locations requested by the customers. Online marketing strategies and activities will be done by the partners in consultation and the best ideas incorporated. Financial requirements The lease of a small kiosk will require a sizable but affordable amount of money. Considering that a flower business will need to be established and natured for a long period of time, the lease should be for a considerable amount of time. The stall should also have coolroom storage for perishable cut flowers. Capital for equipment like knives, bunch cutters, scissors, staplers and trash cans should also be considered. Containers, floral foam, cardettes, spools of wire, delivery tags, business cards, a computer and wrappings should also be budgeted for. Working capital including packaging, fertilizer for potted plants, power and pesticide should be provided for. Technological requirements The business will not require a substantial amount of technological equipment or know how to run. The utilization of online marketing and sales as well as cool room storage will essential encompasses the only technology the business will utilize. Monitoring and evaluation The level to which scheduled activities are successfully implemented, process monitoring, progress monitoring and impact of the business on its beneficiaries should be done. The operational constraints, business problems and business successes experienced since the start of the business venture should be carefully monitored and an extended SWOT analysis done. The SWOT analysis should be continuously revised for operational prudence and action revision. Planned activities and business operations should be revised based on monitoring and evaluation results. References Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, international relations: Australia’s economic interests, Retrieved from: Read More