In this assignment, you will conduct
a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis for the type of
beverage you have selected, and for your company overall. As you work on the
assignment, consider why you have chosen one type of non-alcoholic beverage
over another and the reasons for that choice. As you complete your SWOT
analysis, be sure to include external factors such as industry / market trends
and competition, and internal factors such as your capabilities or abilities to
reach certain market segments.
Write a three to five (3-5) page
paper, in which you:
- Create your Non-alcoholic
Beverage (NAB) company name and explain its significance. - Develop your company’s Vision
and Mission Statement and provide a rationale for its components.
- Hints: Use the Statement of Mission
template on pp. 72-73 on the course textbook: Successful Business Plan to
aid your development. - Extracting appropriate
information from the NAB company portfolio, where applicable. You should
fill in other required items in the template using your personal
preferences.
Describe the trends in the
non-alcoholic beverage industry, especially the specific type of beverage
category you have chosen. Justify at least three (3) reasons why you have
chosen this type of non-alcoholic beverage. USE PICTURES
- Hints: Research and outline beverage
industry trends. Consider the size and growth rate of the industry overall
and the specific beverage type you have chosen. Use the worksheet in the
course text (p. 88 | Past and Future Growth of Your Industry) to
help you project the future growth rate. Consider the use of industry
associations and search engines to find reliable, recent data.
- Choose one (1) strategic
position from the course text (pp. 142–143) that you believe is the best strategic position for
your company. Explain the approach you will use to implement this
strategic position in order to distinguish your beverage from other
non-alcoholic beverages.
What makes a company different? Is it the nature of its products or
services? The quality or cost? The geographic area or type of customers served?
Perhaps the company has proprietary products customers can’t find elsewhere.
There are many ways to distinguish yourself from your competitors, including:
?
Customer Perception Factors ? Market Segment ? Market Share
?
Operational and/or Technological Advantages ? Proprietary Products, Technology,
Abilities, or Relationships
?
Sales Channels ? Business Model ? First-Mover Advantage
?
Lean Start-Up ? Branding
- Provide an overview of your
company’s distribution channels. Explain the manner in which your product
will reach end users. Provide a rationale for your chosen method.
- Hints: For example, will you sell
your beverage in grocery stores, restaurants, or sports venues? If so,
describe the types of resellers and distributors who will sell to
resellers and fulfill their orders. If you are attempting to sell
direct-to-consumers, such as online via a monthly subscription, how will
you manage warehousing / fulfillment / shipping? USE A DIAGRAM
- Outline at least three (3)
types of risks (including any regulatory risks) that your business faces.
Describe your company’s plan to mitigate such risk.
- Hints: You may refer to the types of
risk listed in the course text (pp. 148–149) as well as any risks not
listed in the text. Regulation weighs more heavily on beverage and food
businesses than many other types of companies, so be certain to consider
any regulatory risks your type of beverage faces. For example, what kind
of regulation and / or risks are you likely to face if you make health
claims about your beverage?
- Develop a SWOT analysis for
your NAB company using the SWOT matrix worksheet in the course text (p.
153 | SWOT: Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats) PROVIDE
5 TO 10 EXAMPLES FOR EACH SWOT
- Hints: What are your company’s likely
strengths? Have you chosen a beverage segment that is growing and lacks an
entrenched competitor? Are you in a niche market that has great potential?
What are the strengths that you and other team members bring to your
company? Do you or other team members have previous experience in the food
and beverage industry? - Hints: What are your company’s likely
weaknesses? Is the competition in your industry segment entrenched? Is
your own management team inexperienced? Will it be challenging to actually
produce your product and maintain quality? - Hints: What are your company’s
opportunities? Does your segment have more demand than supply? Have larger
corporations stopped serving smaller or niche markets that you could
enter? Is a new market emerging because of demographics, immigration,
changing tastes? - Hints: What are your company’s
threats? Is there a clear market leader that will be hard and expensive to
displace? Are downward-pricing pressures in the segment making profit
margins slim? Are there little or no barriers-to-entry for new
competitors; if you have a novel idea that succeeds, can the competition easily
enter your market? If you have a global aspect to your company, do factors
such as currency fluctuations, political instability, offshoring or
outsourcing pose threats?
- Format your assignment
according to these formatting requirements: - Be typed, double spaced, using
Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides;
references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your
professor for any additional instructions. - Include a cover page
containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the
professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the
reference page are not included in the required page length. - Cite the resources you have
used to complete the exercise. Note: There is no minimum
requirement for the number of resources used in the exercise.
The specific course learning
outcomes associated with this assignment are:
- Analyze the role of a company
mission, vision, and objectives and the impact to business strategy. - Describe strategic planning
techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve
stated business goals. - Analyze the external and
internal environment for opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses
that impact the firm’s competitiveness. - Use technology and information
resources to research issues in strategic management. - Write clearly and concisely
about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.
