Discount Pharmacy and Jolly Java and Bakery Business Plans - Report Example

Business plan (Course Instructor) (University Affiliation) (Student’s Name) Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Pharmacy business plan 5 The plan’s strongest components 6 The business plan’s weakest components and how to improve 7 Bakery business plan 8 The plan’s strongest components 9 The business plan’s weakest components and how to improve 10 Challenges Faced 10 Lessons Learned 10 Demonstrated Competencies 11 Conclusion 11 Reference 13 Executive Summary A business plan is a statement that gives an outline of organizational goals and the means to attaining the goals. A good business plan is one in which the layout is clearly understandable and whose objectives are achievable. A business plan constitutes a brief history of the organization, its management structure, operational structure, sources of funds and the initial cost outlay as well as the cash inflows. An examination into the two business plans in this report has shown that there is no direct relationship between organizational success and the business plan. This implies that a business plan does not necessarily spur an organization to success. An organization owes its success to the clarity of the plan as well as the strengths and the weaknesses of the plan. Discount pharmacy is a company incorporated in the United States of America. The company’s business plan outlines how the company will achieve its main objective of prescribing the cheapest medication in the market. Jolly’ Java and Bakery based in Washington on the other hand has an objective of supplying their consumers with coffee products and pastry. Each of the organization’s business plans gives an outline of how their organizational structures, their cost outlays as well as their operations, which form the basis for the writing of this report. The business plans of both companies have the strengths and the weaknesses that the organizations build on and those that they need to improve for them to have a competitive edge. The objective of this business plan is to have a discussion of two business plans. The plan will first discuss the importance of a business plan, how to come up with one and later compare the two business plans. In the comparison, the report will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the two plans. The report will also dwell on the challenges and the lessons that can be learnt from the business plans. Introduction A business plan can be defined as a statement of objectives that outline why the objectives are attainable and the mechanisms that are in place to ensure that the objectives have been attained. A business plan also contains the background information about the firm under consideration as well as the individuals who will implement the plan (Tusin, 2006). Being a decision making tool, the format as well as the content of a business plan is dictated by the target group as well the objectives. The preparation of a business plan sources knowledge from a number of disciplines such as personnel management, finance and marketing among other disciplines. According to Barrow, Barrow & Brown (2008), a good business plan does not necessarily guarantee business success, but can to a large extent reduce the chances of failure. A good business plan is credible, easy to understand and can easily attract the attention of individuals who are not familiar with the business. According to studies, writing a splendid business plan does not in any way guarantee that the business would score financially, but rather how the plan will be implemented without straining organizational resources (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2008). Research has shown that there is no direct relationship between organizational success and the business plan. This implies that a business plan does not necessarily spur an organization to success. An organization owes its success to the clarity of the plan as well as the strengths and the weaknesses of the plan (Cohen, 2002). Comparison of two business plans can be made based on the way they articulate their plans towards attainment of organizational objectives. The main aim of having a business plan is not only aimed at having a roadmap to success but it also attracts funding from investors. This is due to the fact that through the business plan, the investors will be able to tell the amount of risks that they are subjecting their money to. It is for this reason that the investors will usually be seen to compare the business plans of more than one organization (Cohen, 2002) . This report will focus on two business plans. One is a business plan while the other is a bakery’s business plan. The first business plan belongs to Discount pharmacy which is a company incorporated in the United States of America.The company’s business plan outlines how the company will achieve its main objective of prescribing the cheapest medication on the market. Jolly’ Java and Bakery based in Washington on the other hand has an objective of supplying their consumers with coffee products and pastry. The report will concentrate on each of the two business plans by focusing on how the two plans made it possible for the organizations to attain their goals. The report will go ahead to compare and contrast the two plans as well as looking at their strengths and weaknesses and later the challenges in the implementation of the plan. Pharmacy business plan The name of the pharmacy is Discount pharmacy. The main objective of the of the pharmacy is to provide clients with medication at the least cost possible. The business is an Oregon liability company with John Reeleaf being the majority shareholder. The main cost elements at the start up include office ware, computers, printers, assorted bottles and envelopes, rent and other utilities (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2008). The company will be run by John Reelaf, who holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Through his leadership, the organization aims to minimize the costs of operation and attain profitability in its second financial year of operations and massive sales by the third year of doing business. The objective of the business exceeds the expectations of the customer, increase the customer numbers by 30 percent and lastly to develop a business structure that survives its own cash flow. The key mission of the organization according to the business plan is to provide their clients with the best prices for their prescription for their medication (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2008). The mission further states that the services provided are meant to exceed the expectations of their customers. Discount pharmacy has two main modes of operations; those that visit the stores in persons and those who place their orders which will be mailed to them. The company intends to employ qualified, knowledgeable and friendly personnel which, along with the discounted prices will enhance customer loyalty (DeThomas & Derammelaere, 2009).. With the cost of medication skyrocketing all over the world, the company’s decision to reduce their prices will hopefully attract more consumers to the company’s products. The marketing strategy of the company will be through advertisement through magazines especially those who intend to save more cash through cheap, discounted goods (Cohen, 2002). The plan’s strongest components The way that the plan is formulated is a very clear indication of strength. It begins with very clear objectives of the organization as well as the mission statements which states that the organization intends to start making profits in as early as their second year of operations. The plan has outlined how it intends to offer their products at discounted costs, which is a major marketing technique considering the high cost of medication in the country (Cohen, 2002). According to the plan, the board chair is an MBA holder with a wealth of experience in pharmaceuticals and this is a major boost in terms of providing the organization with the much needed leadership skills so that they could easily shake off competition from other firms in such a competitive environment (Cohen, 2002). The number of people seeking medication is ever increasing and so is the demand for medical facilities. A good business plan and implementation will definitely go a long way into making Discount pharmacy one of the leading pharmaceutical dealers in the region. The business plan’s weakest components and how to improve One of the weaknesses of the plan is on its pricing policy. In the business plan, the discount pharmacy intends to use pricing policy to increase their sales and eventually profitability (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2008). This is not the best policy since the pharmacy like any other business is subject to the dynamics of the market, which in most cases can be turbulent leading to increased prices and in some cases lower prices. Worse still, the competitors of the company can also decide to engage in price wars which can have adverse effects on the sales volume of the pharmacy. The other weak point in the business is the over dependence on the expertise and experience of their leader. In most cases, any failure on the part of the leader without alternative leadership is likely to lead to the financial crisis in the organization (DeThomas & Derammelaere, 2009). The first solution to the above weaknesses is for the company to engage in non- price wars which will not have an effect on the company’s products in case of an economic downturn. Concerning decision making, the chairman of the organization should not be the sole decision maker in the organization. Bakery business plan The name of the bakery is jolly’s Java and quality (JJB). The bakery is situated in Washington and is aimed at providing coffee products and pastry to its customers. This section will focus on a description of Jolly’s Java and quality (JJB) as well as the business plan and how the plan will aid in its success. The company is incorporated in the state of Washington in the United States of America. The company is co- owned by two partners, Mr. Austin Patterson, who has a wealth of experience in management as well as sales and marketing and once a vice president in charge of marketing with a number of organizations which include food joints. Mr. David on the other hand is experienced in the finance field as well as administration including a brief opportunity as the officer in charge of finance with flax field roasters and Buzz cups. The company also plans to hire two bakeries on a full time basis and six other workers to handle matters on customer service on a part time basis (Cohen, 2002). JJB according to the business plan offers a range of coffee and espresso products sourced from the high quality Columbian market. The organization will cater for the provision of the customers with the products in accordance with their preference and cost elements. The organization intends to establish a large and regular customer base and will therefore concentrate their marketing on the local residents. This way, the company aims to establish a consistent flow of revenue that will include 35 percent of which comes from the tourist traffic (Barrow, Barrow & Brown, 2008). Concerning JJB’s capital structure, the organization intends to raise 110,000 dollars from their own sources and then borrow 100,000 dollars more and this according to the plan will provide the majority of the capital requirements. The plan’s strongest components This section will be used by the writer of this report to showcase the strengths that make the business plan a credible statement. The components include its ability to communicate to the consumers’ information clearly for purposes of avoiding any future misunderstandings (Cohen, 2002). The other strength concerning the plant is the immense experience possessed by the co- owners of the business especially in the finance and marketing fields that will enable the business to thrive more than the competition. The business’s component of strength also is its ability to easily obtain the capital to finance their businesses without many problems. Its decision also to target the local consumers is a strength component since it ensures that there is a continuous flow of revenue. Lastly, the tourist traffic that accounts for thirty percent of the revenue is another major boost of revenue to the company (Cohen, 2002). The organization will cater for the provision of the customers with the products in accordance with their preference and cost elements. The organization intends to establish a large and regular customer base and will therefore concentrate their marketing on the local residents. This way, the company aims to establish a consistent flow of revenue that will include 35 percent of which comes from the tourist traffic. The business plan’s weakest components and how to improve The major challenge the business plan is competition. With the dynamic nature of the current business environment, it is difficult for a business to make sales projections due to the fluctuations in the market. The weakness can be improved by making sure that marketing research is constantly done and the products improved in order to create customer loyalty (Cohen, 2002). Challenges Faced One of the major challenges faced in this case include the difficulty in drawing a comparison between the two business plans because of the difference in the details provided as well as the format. For instance, JJB provides its capital structure while Discount pharmacy does not and this makes it difficult to compare. The other challenge is the difficulty of the writer to interpret the accounting terms used in the cash outlay. This is due to the fact that the writer of the report has no knowledge on accounting terms (Mullins, 2006). Lessons Learned There are a number of lessons learnt in the process of making the report. Apart from the popular narrative on the difficulty of making a business plan, the writer has realized that the opposite is true if the writer of the business plan has the right information. The other lesson learnt is that there is no standard format for writing a business plan. Each and every organization decides what to include and what not to include in the plan. The third lesson learnt is that a lesson plan is a public relations tool especially when the organization is seeking funding. A credible business plan is therefore likely to attract more funding. Demonstrated Competencies The key competencies in a plan is the ability of the business plan to outline all the details of the company in a summarized way so that the reader does not have to struggle to get the information that is critical to their decision making (Cohen, 2002). The other competence includes its ability to communicate to the consumers’ information clearly for purposes of avoiding any future misunderstandings. The business’s component of strength also is its ability to easily obtain the capital to finance their businesses without many problems. Its decision also to target the local consumers is a strength component since it ensures that there is a continuous flow of revenue (Cohen, 2002). Conclusion A business plan is a statement that gives an outline of organizational goals and the means to attaining the goals. An excellent business plan is one in which the layout is clearly understandable and whose objectives are achievable. A business plan constitutes a brief history of the organization, its management structure, its operational structure, sources of funds and the initial cost outlay as well as the cash inflows .An organization owes its success to the clarity of the plan as well as the strengths and the weaknesses of the plan. Comparison of two business plans can be made based on the way they articulate their plans towards organizational objectives. The main aim of having a business plan is not only aimed at having a roadmap to success but it also attracts funding from investors who get attracted to the organized business plan. This is due to the fact that through the business plan, the investors will be able to tell the amount of risks that they are subjecting their money to. It is for this reason that the investors will usually be seen to compare the business plans of more than one organization Reference Barrow, C., Barrow, P., & Brown, R. (2008). The business plan workbook the definitive guide to researching, writing up and presenting a winning plan (6th ed.). London: Kogan Page Publishers. Cohen, L. (2002). Writing your business plan. Nature Biotechnology, 20(6), BE33–BE35. doi:10.1038/nbt0602supp-be33 DeThomas, A. R., & Derammelaere, S. A. (2009). Writing a convincing business plan (3rd ed.). Minneapolis, MN, United States: Barron’s Educational Series Inc.,U.S. Mullins, J. W. (2006). The new business road test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (2nd ed.). Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Tusin, J. (2006). Book review: Writing and presenting a business plan. Business Communication Quarterly,69(2), 226–229. doi:10.1177/1080569906287907 Read More