Citations (12/12) 1Another student's paper2Another student's paper3Another student's paper4Another student's paper5Another student's paper6Another student's paper7Another student's paper8Another stu

Citations (12/12)

1. 1Another student's paper
2. 2Another student's paper
3. 3Another student's paper
4. 4Another student's paper
5. 5Another student's paper
6. 6Another student's paper
7. 7Another student's paper
8. 8Another student's paper
9. 9Another student's paper
10. 10Another student's paper
11. 11Another student's paper
12. 12Another student's paper

Running Head: 1 OPERATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT PLAN 1

OPERATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT PLAN 3

2 The operation, Technology, and Management Plan

1. 4 Create an operations plan for your NAB company using the template in the text as a guide (p. 214 | Operations Plan Preparation Form - Click here for help accessing a specific page number in your eBook). 5 Extract appropriate information from the NAB Company portfolio, where applicable. Other required items in the template should be filled in using your personal preferences.

4 Key Aspects of Operations (possibilities include facilities, product process, equipment, labor force utilization):

Life Drink will conduct its business operations from its owner’s home in Daytona Beach, Florida. The small home office shall serve the startup purpose providing the business startup team with a place to run their operations. Also, the company shall utilize the garages and the basement for storing inventory and packaging operations. This shall be a small working area, and the company will move to larger space upon expansion.

2 Cost and Time efficiencies:

Upon the packaging of the company’s products, the beverages will be kept cool at room temperatures awaiting distribution. Also, Life Drink products shall be refrigerated to increase their shelf life awaiting their distribution to the final consumer. This shall help in reducing the cost of the product going bad. In the initial startup stages, product packaging shall be done manually with anticipation to upgrade in the future to enhance on-time efficiency.

Competitive Advantages:

6 Our competitive advantage is that our business product is processed and packaged locally as well as with sustainable packaging, to ensure that our business products are environmentally friendly. Also, our business product is poorly natural which increases the health benefits. 2 We will also own the business premises which allow us to significantly reduce our on operating costs. This way, we shall be able to provide Life Drink products at affordable prices.

2 Problems Addressed and Overcome:

Our main challenge is distribution as we need to produce and ship as fast as we advance. In addition, we will need a larger space and equipment for our business expansion. 7 To overcome this, we have a van to help us haul the ready to drink product to the retail stores.

2. 5 Provide a rationale for the competitive advantages section using appropriate functional-level and business-level strategies to explain the competitive advantages.

· Note: 4 Much of the research pertaining to the hints provided here can be found in the NAB company portfolio.

· Hints: 4 Consider whether you will rent or buy your facilities or outsource production to an existing company.

The rationale for our competitive advantage is based on the fact that we shall own all of our office and storage spaces from the beginning of the business. 8 The office space has been inherited by the owner, which helps in reducing the company’s operating costs and providing more resources to be spent on product development as well as distribution. We will distribute our company’s products in our surrounding areas through the use of a van which was also inherited from the owner. Also, we shall also work with other distribution company’s help with distribution. Outsourcing shall only be done once we have reached sales and peaks that are not manageable with the current resources in terms of human and other resources.

7 We are currently packaging our product ourselves, however when we grow – we will need to invest in a bottling machine. We plan on taking out a personal loan from the owner’s parents and paying them back within 1-5 years, so we can invest in a used bottling machine. We will still continue to package and label the product ourselves until we scale into Phase II of business growth. To ensure that are we meeting the required quality standards, we shall clean our packaging equipment on a daily basis have clean packaging. 7 This will require a lot of manpower and cleaning supplies – but this is something we believe we can manage in the early stages of growth, with our small team and support system.

The company’s product distribution method is convenient for the business startup stage. However, with our future growth plan, we will need to hire more part time employees to ensure distribution efficiency. Upon entering the second business growth phase which means a tremendous increase in business sales, we will invest in machinery to enhance the process effectiveness. However, this process may be an expensive one requiring more funds.

3. 5 Describe your research and development activities and explain how they will contribute to the company.

We recognize research and development as crucial elements in our company. This will allow us to understand the non-alcoholic beverage market along with prevailing business trends so as to stay up to date. We plan on doing this by investing our time on the internet to grasp the upcoming industry updates. In addition, we shall continually monitor our market to identify any upcoming industry trends. 9 In addition, we plan on staying up-to-date with the setout regulations by attending seminars and subscribing to online magazines and newsletters. This will ensure our compliance with all regulations and laws, as well as taking advantage of the available marketing forum which can be used in increasing sales.

Technology Plan.

4. 4 Create a technology plan for your NAB company using the template in the text as a guide (p. 2 227 | Technology Plan Preparation Form ). 5 Extract appropriate information from the NAB Company portfolio, where applicable. Other required items in the template should be filled in using your personal preferences.

Software Needs:

Life Drink is a highly innovative as well as efficient profit making company which sets its primary priority as keeping the business costs down at all operations. 8Some of the computer software needed to enhance business efficiency is the Microsoft Office Suite which shall be used for all word processing, letterhead, and memos. 2 Also, the company shall also ensure its privacy of its business information by using cloud based technology such as Google Docs. 9Cloud technology shall be used to centralize and share viable business information including word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online which shall be made accessible to all employees and compatible with Microsoft Office products. 3 To keep track of our sales, generate sales reports and produce invoices, Life Drink Company shall employee the use of Bitrix24 which is a free customer relationship management system. Our internal organizational communications shall involve the use of Slack tool, which is a communication tool that helps in tracking a company’s internal communications and conversations.

Hardware Needs:

2 Our hardware needs are computers, printers, and cell phones which shall be used in the overall business operations. Our business hardware is a refurbished equipment which helps in reducing the business startup costs.

Telecommunications Needs:

7 We shall use one phone for our local number and we will also have our own cell phones as employees – paid for by the employee. We will also have an eFax, and email provided by Gmail.

Personnel Needs:

In terms of human resources, Life Drink Company shall need a management team, supervisors and employees. 7 Also, in addition to conducting our business in an environmentally friendly manner, we aim at becoming a supporter company of our community and one way we can do that is by providing internship and job opportunities to the local community. 3Our staff is small and we will also be having many interns and volunteers helping out to support growth and expansion while contributing towards community skill development.

5. 5 Provide a rationale for the personnel needs section by incorporating appropriate functional-level strategies.

· Hints: 4 Consider the type of technology your company will use to conduct the following activities: manage personnel; 2 take, fulfill, and track orders; manage inventory; 2communicate with customers and provide customer service; 10 and produce your beverage.

During the startup phase, the business will not require large workforce. 7However, as we grow and advance our business, we will need to efficiently operationalize our work team to achieve maximum yields form the workforce. 2One employee shall be responsible for purchasing the company’s ingredients, the other employee shall be in charge of processing and tracking orders, we will have a sales team in the field. The business founder has a strong operations and marketing background. As a result, he will take on the role of overseeing the business operations and also marketing. 7 We will hire per diem staff and also interns to help as needed and to fill positions for packaging, labelling, cleaning, and shipping. We will also have a small customer service team responsible for managing the business relations with our customers.

11 Management & Organization 6. 4Create a management plan for your NAB Company using the template in the text as a guide (p. 2 248 | Management Plan Preparation Form). 5 Extract appropriate information from the NAB Company portfolio, where applicable. Other required items in the template should be filled in using your personal preferences.

List the key members of your management team, with a brief description of each persons’ relevant business background, responsibilities they have in your company, and the compensation they receive:

2 Our management team shall consist of 3 people. The management team shall be headed by the business founder who will lead the business operations, finance, and marketing. 7 The founder will also oversee all legal services as well as research and development. The business founder has a strong background in operations, sales, and marketing from a previous position as regional director in a University. His vast experience has helped prepare him for the many responsibilities he is taking on. Following his strong desire to succeed in business, the business founder shall not take a salary until we have reached Phase II of business growth, which is a milestone of $1million in sales within a year. He will then take an appropriate and fitting salary, ongoing of $75,000/annually.

The second management person will be our sales manager whose role shall be to support the business sales and growth. 7 This person also has a strong sales background from working at a for-profit University in an admission setting and previous insurance sales prior to that. This person will take a $50,000 salary annually starting off with bonus options. 2 The third member of our management team shall oversee production and shipping. 7 The manager has a strong background in working for a local clock manufacturer that is internationally known. The person was responsible for shipping thousands of clocks and purchasing from tens of vendors – internationally – this person brings a great deal of experience and will take a salary of $40,000 annually starting out.

Collectively, the three persons will act as key decision makers in Life Drink Company. Each member will head a team of individuals to support the operations of their respective departments.

7. 2 Using the flow charts on p. 4 242 as a guide, outline your company’s management hierarchy. Note: 4 Charts or diagrams must be imported / included in the MS Word document.

8. 12 Provide a rationale for the management structure and style section by incorporating appropriate functional-level strategies.

3 Life Drink has a transparent and casual management style with a laidback office environment. 7 There is no dress code, but warehouse workers must be dressing appropriately, and sales agents should be dressed professionally. 5 As business growth continues, things will change and an HR department will form a larger sales team with ongoing training and support, as well as purchasing and production. 7 We will outsource as needed, however the faster we grow, the more business advancement opportunities will arise.

References

Berry, D. (2016). Beverage trends in 2016. Retrieved on July 18, 2019, from

http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/news_home/Consumer_Trends/2016/01/Beverage_trends_2016.aspx?ID=%7B1A678673-9FCB-425B-B902-11F7DE1840D6%7D&cck=1.

City of Daytona Beach Community Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.codb.us/commdev.aspx.

Hartline, M. D., & Ferrell, O. (2011). Marketing Strategy (5 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western

Cengage Learning.

Iacobucci, D. (2014). MM4: Marketing management (4th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.