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Assignment
1: Company Description and SWOT Analysis
Due Week 3 and worth 100
points
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:
1.
Create your revised NAB company name and explain its significance.
2.
Develop your revised company’s Mission Statement and provide a
rationale for its components.
o Hints: Use the Statement
of Mission template on pp. 72-73 on the course textbook: Successful Business
Plan to aid your development.Click here for help
accessing a specific page number in your eBook.
o Extracting appropriate
information from the NAB company portfolio, where applicable. You should fill
in other required items in the template using your personal preferences.
3.
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.
o 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.
4.
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.
5.
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.
o 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?
6.
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.
o 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?
7.
Develop a SWOT analysis for your NAB company using the SWOT matrix
worksheet in the course text (p. 153 | SWOT: Strengths / Weaknesses /
Opportunities / Threats)
o 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?
o 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?
o 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?
o 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?
8.
Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements:
a.
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.
b.
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.
c.
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.
