Business Plan for Fast Track Couriers †A complete Case study

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Plan for Fast Track Couriers. Answer: Introduction Rapid changes in the business environment and emergence of globalization forces companies to plan in advance regarding expansion of the business in terms of launch of new products or services or geographic expansion. The business plan facilitates in proving information regarding business and performance objectives. Besides this, it also emphasizes on the estimated costs and income of the business generated from a given expansion. The following paper emphasizes on the business and communication plan of the Fast Track Couriers that operates in New South Wales region[1]. Background Fast Track Couriers is operating in the New South Wales region from past 15 years. It has built a good reputation in the market in the past 12 years. 80% of the customer base of the company is composed of small and medium sized businesses. The sales and profits of the company has increased by 5% on an average every year[2]. Business Products and Services The company deals with delivery of small, medium and large sized packages across Sydney due to which it has a strong goodwill in the market[3]. Marketing Activity The market for Fast Track Couriers is limited to New South Wales regions. The company promotes its products and services by the use of different promotional activities such as sales through telephone, internet listing, direct sales and mail outs. The company also receives feedbacks from customers through telephone follow up. This has resulted in an increase in the customer satisfaction rate. This action leads to increase in the retention rate of existing customers to 87%[4]. Business Operations The main motive of the business from the strategic point of view is to increase its business profits through expansion of its delivery routes beyond regional New South Wales in next three years. Besides this, the company also planned to start delivering its services to regional New South Wales within a year. The company also planned to increase its sales in next three years by 40%. In addition to this, the success of the company relies on the presence of small and experienced team. Besides this, it also has strong relationships with its customers as it provides services at reasonable low cost. The company has a small team of male employees who are provided with the opportunity to participate in different development programs. In addition to this, these employees are highly motivated due to which the company achieve success[5]. In addition to this, there are 20 male drivers with an age ranging from 25 to 65 years. Management and Organizational Structure Fast Track Couriers is a family owned business in which three family members compose the management board and have an authority to approve all the business decisions. The organization is composed of a managing direct who is responsible to take decisions related to day to day operations, Besides this, a logistics manager is responsible for scheduling of the trucks and drivers. Under logistics manager, there are 20 truck drivers. Along with this, there are 5 employees that oversee human resources, sales, administration and accounts[6]. Proposal In the present scenario, the company has allocated two drivers per truck for the purpose of loading and unloading of the heavy packages from it. But it is proposed that for the purpose of elimination of the two drivers per truck, the company will install an automatic lift gate on the truck at a cost of $10000 per truck. This will lead to allocate only one driver to one truck. The company also planned to purchase 10 new trucks for using the existing drivers at regional routes at a cost of $60000 per truck inclusive of installation of an automatic lift gate[7]. Financial Background Particulars Amount in $ Estimated Amount in $ Sales 17 million 22 million Cost 15.0465 million 16.0865 million Operating Cost 2.3 million Administrative Cost 0.1 million Loan Repayments 0.26 million Labor costs 0.0535 million 0.0535 million Total Cost 15.0465 million 17.76 million Net Profit $1.9 million 3.2 million Risks There are several risks associated with the business. There is an occurrence of large number of workplace injuries and drivers have a low employee engagement scores due to presence of pay issue. Although, there is a presence of low turnover of drivers in the company, several disputes occurred in the organization related to pay and other initiatives. In addition to this, there is a shortage of organizations in the industry that provide deliveries in the regions of New South Wales. Besides this, the company does not have strong financial position and a large experience in the industry due to which it lost contracts. The other reason behind it is that the company does not provide delivery services in Central West, Newcastle and Wollongong. The company is unable to meet the market demand in an effective manner. This results in the loss of some of its potential customers[8]. Licensing There is a requirement of attaining licenses for the truck drivers as without license trucks cannot deliver the products to customers. This has a significant importance as without a license business operations does not carried out in a smooth manner[9]. Conclusion It can be concluded that Fast Track Couriers is expected to get a growth in next three years. It mainly deals in the delivery of heavy packages in the regions of New South Wales. It lost its contracts and potential customers due to the reason that it does not provide delivery services in some parts of New South Wales. It can also be concluded that the company has a family owned business with three members at the level of management. In addition to this, an automatic lift gate is also fitted in the trucks which results in allocation of one driver per truck. Communication Strategy The key stakeholders of the company include head office employees, truck drivers, supervisors and HR and Logistics manager. E-mails are a source used to communicate the important and relevant information to head office employees. Besides this, newsletters are provided to drivers on a monthly basis for providing information related to the business operations of the company. In addition to the information regarding the policies and procedures are provided in the manuals which are kept in each truck. Besides this, copies of the manuals are circulated among office based staff to provide information regarding the policies and procedures carried out by the company. Along with this, a GPS system is fitted in the trucks in order to locate their locations for each pick up and drop off[10]. Along with this, drivers get information related to the details of the deliveries from the PDA system fitted in the trucks. This system also records the start and end of the job which is sent to the head office for the purpose of completion of the reporting regarding productivity. This change is not received by the drivers in a well manner as they believe that the officials of the company do not trust them but as the time passes they enjoy the work environment. Along with this, the logistics manager leaves the drivers to complete their assigned work. In addition to this, in the past the HR managers and supervisors motivate them to take active participation in different organizational activities[11]. Introduction of new technologies and internet for the purpose of communication of the relevant information to different stakeholders in a convenient manner due to which they can make instant decisions. This facilitates in improving the productivity and performance of employees and drivers. In addition to this, it also facilitates in minimizing the occurrence of human errors. It also helps in increasing the commitment and loyalty of the employees and members of the organization. Besides this, technologies like GPS and PDA helps in establishing communication between head office employees and truck drivers. Along with this, it also facilitates in communicating the information among truck drivers[12]. Bibliography Books Bennett, Braun , The Business Plan (Lulu.com, 2005) Finch, Brian, How to Write a Business Plan (Kogan Page Publishers, 2013) Blackwell, Edward , How to Prepare a Business Plan (Kogan Page Publishers, 2008) Zaharuddin, Harmaizar, Business Plan Analysis for Mini Market (Diskon 40% - 50%, 2009) Pinson, Linda, Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-step Guide to Building the Business and Securing Your Company's Future (aka associates, 2008). Abrams, Rhonda M., The Successful Business Plan: Secrets Strategies (The Planning Shop, 2003).