These are the Team’s notes breaking up the assignment Team we still need to sign up for parts of the paper. Here is where we are standing right now: Apple is the product the team is using for the Power Point For the paper: differences between the traditional media option and the new media option: audiencereach channel- This is my part content- This is the team’s notes When I looked up branding strategies the encyclopedia defined it as "The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. (https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/branding)" For Apple, Inc. it is the sign of an apple in different colors and sizes depending on the era. So we have to come up with slides to present why this is important. Does each of us want to do two slides? Introduction slide Where company started- This is my part Major impacts they have had-This is my part Products they have developed Why logo's are important Importance of Apple logo Possible new logo's Conclusion slide Reference slide (we will all take part in the reference slide) For the paper: differences between the traditional media option and the new media option: audience reach channel-This is my part content Marketing Plan Outline and Timeline MKT/571 Version 9 University of Phoenix Material Marketing Plan Outline and Timeline Marketing Plan You are expected to develop a marketing plan, according to the outline below, for a product or service of your choosing. The product or service must be identified by the end of Week 1. The product or service you select is used to develop the assignments for Weeks 2 through Week 6. References must be included for each section. There are no defined standards for the length of the marketing plan; however, your plan must disclose complete marketing strategies and provide reliable and valid references and data supporting the strategies to convince the target audience. The plan must be written in plain language that would be easily understood by stakeholders. Marketing Plan Outline Your final marketing plan must consist of the following sections. Refer to the timeline for due dates for each section and subsection. Assignments may include modifications to these lists. Please use lists provided in assignments only. • Executive Summary: o o o o • Situational Analysis: o o o o o o o o • Vision, Mission, Strategic objectives, Values Internal Analysis Strengths/Weaknesses Capability/Capacity Competitor’s Strengths/Weaknesses Technological Competency Product or Service Analysis Market Segments Research o o o o o o o o o o o • Strategic Objectives Products or Services Resources Needed Projected Outcomes Primary Research Secondary Research Consumer Analysis Customer Profile Continuous Consumer Monitoring & Research Environmental Scanning Identify Market, Economic, Technological, Regulatory, Legal, Social, and Ecological Forces Current Opportunities Potential Future Opportunities Current Threats Potential Future Threat Target Market(s): Copyright © 2016 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. 1 Marketing Plan Outline and Timeline MKT/571 Version 9 o o o o o • Demographics Psychographics Ethical Issues Legal Issues Social Issues Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Product Descriptions and Product/Service Mix Strategies Product/Service Determinants Creating a Brand Image Maintaining Brand Image Branding Concerns Distribution Strategies Channels, Mass, Selective, Exclusive Promotion/Integrated Marketing Communication Advertising Strategy/Objectives Push and Pull Media Strategy Advertising Execution Sales Promotion Direct Marketing Public Relations/Strategies Positioning Dynamic/Static Pricing Strategies Marketing Plan Timeline Week 1: Marketing Plan Topic • Consider your company and product or service selection in Week 1. You may select an existing type of product or service or a new product or service but it must be global or multi-regional. Once you have selected your product or service, you must define the size and type of company that provides the product or service (available from annual reports). This need not be elaborate but must include total number of employees, production volume, distribution methods, and so forth. Company and product or service selection is a critical part of this project. You must ensure your proposed company can implement the marketing methods discussed in the text. • Key to creating an effective marketing plan is the ability to analyze the environment in which the product or service will be offered. The Week 1 assignment allows you to begin to understand various reports and how they can be used in your marketing plan. Week 2: Understanding Target Markets • To develop effective relationship marketing, a company must first understand its targeted consumers’ buying influences and behaviors. In Week 2, create the Research section of your plan. In addition, create the first two parts of the Target Market section, which includes performing the demographics and psychographics analysis. Week 3: Promotion and the product life cycle • All products/services go through a life cycle of NPI (new product introduction), growth, maturity and decline. These various stages affect the marketing strategy and promotional efforts. In Week 3, you will incorporate a promotion strategy that addresses at least three areas of the product life Copyright © 2016 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. 2 Marketing Plan Outline and Timeline MKT/571 Version 9 cycle. Week 4: Price and Channel Strategy • How one goes to market and the influences of the channel (channel power, strength of channel, speed of channel, etc.) affects the pricing strategy of the product or service. In Week 4 your pricing and distribution strategy will be incorporated into the marketing plan. Week 5: Marketing Communication and Brand Strategy • Brand strategy and the communication of the brand is essential to understanding the various phases of a product or service (viz a viz the life cycle). Brand recognition is based in the marketing communication efforts of the firm. When you hear or see the word Coke, you immediately know it is Coca Cola. When you see five interlocking rings of different colors you know that is the symbol for the Olympics. In Week 5, you will develop a brand and communication strategy for your product. Week 6: Executive Summary, Legal, Social and Ethical Issues, Final Plan • Review your final plan. Does the plan effectively analyze market strategies? Are the social, ethical, and legal considerations valid and accounted for? What is the relationship among quality, price, satisfaction, and perceived value within the plan? Copyright © 2016 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. 3 Running head: WORKING CAPITAL:MANAGING GROWTH Working Capital: Managing Growth Robyn Ballew, Yvonne Caravella, James Pinegar & Steven Thompson FIN/571 November 28, 2016 Danica Djordjevich 1 Running head: WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH Working Capital Managing Growth Sunflower Nutraceuticals (SNC) CEO’s responsibility is to manage the organizations revenue, expenses and external financing in order to sustain consistent growth of the company. Our learning team was tasked this week with each team member performing a simulation from Harvard Business. The purpose of this exercise was for the group to apply concepts learned thus far in our studies and apply them to a business scenario. There are 3 Phases to the simulation that require us to consider sales, EBIT, Net Income, Free Cash Flow, and Total Firm Value outcomes for SNC. The member’s independent decisions and metrics are notated thus having provided us an overview of their individual results and effects on the organization. SNC or Sunflower Nutraceuticals, a privately held company based in Miami, Florida and founded in 2006, is currently a direct-to-consumer retailer and distributor of vitamins, herbs, and other supplements for women of all ages. The organization is currently straddled with stagnant growth of roughly $10 million in annual revenues. Since SNC is capital intensive in its organizational operations and has limited cash available to meet its operational objectives, they are looking at ways to stimulate fiscal growth by possibly tapping into such arenas as becoming a global distributor or big box store supplier. Steve’s Decisions and Metrics: In Phase 1 of the simulation, the decision was made to Leverage the Supplier Discount, Tighten Accounts Receivable, and Drop Poorly Selling Products. Since deciding to sell off our herbal nutraceutical line, our 2013-2015 sales dropped by $1000 from $10k in 2012 to $9k for the 3-year period. Keeping in mind all numbers are in thousands for the simulation. 2 WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH 3 Our opportunity EBIT dropped 4.3% from a 2012 figure of $650 to a constant $622 for the 20132015 periods. Opportunity cash flow also initially sharply decreased in 2013 but made positive gains for 2014 and 2015. By dropping Super Sports Centers, our accounts receivable decreased from $3014 in 2012 to $2219 for the next 3 fiscal years. When we dropped poorly selling items, our sales revenue in turn did decrease but increased our available cash that was tied up in the inventory. In 2012 we had $2305 for inventory costs and dropped to 14.4% to $1973 for 20132015. For Phase 2, years 2016-2018, it was decided to explore the opportunity of linking up with Big Box Retailers and increasing the ecommerce exposure. By becoming a supplier to Mega-Mart, Inc. and expanding the online presence, it is projected that growth will be on a rise in sales revenue from $9k in 2015 to $12150 in 2016, a 35% increase, $13770 in 2017- 13.3%, and $14701 in 2017-6.8%. Again, these are projections which are predicated on the market staying at current levels. The addition of Mega-Mart, Inc. also had a slight impact on EBIT margin. Overall EBIT was at a constant rate of $622 for 2013-2015. In 2016-2018, the EBIT margins decreased from 26.04% in 2016 to 6.85% for 2018. In Phase 3, we renegotiated supplier credit terms and adopted a global expansion strategy. By renegotiating credit terms with Dynasty Enterprises for fiscal years 2019-2021, we lowered our accounts payable balance from $1454 in 2018 to $324 in 2019, a 77.71% decrease. For 2020-2021, we had an increase of 18.21%, from $324 to $383. The EBIT margin increased 33.96% from 2018-2019, 3.06% for 2020 and 2012. In addition, by taking on Viva Familia, our overall sales increased from $14701 in 2018 to $15142 in 2019 and $15747 for 2020-2021. Here are your final metrics: WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH • • • • • • 4 Sales:$15,747 EBIT:$1,313 Net Income:$727 Free Cash Flow:$788 Equity Value:$1,837 Total Firm Value:$4,381 James’s Decisions and Metrics Phase 1 of the simulation presented opportunities to expand the firm within years ’13 to ‘15. The decision was made to acquire a new customer in Atlantic Wellness. This decision drastically increased the sales’ revenue and EBIT. The sales began at a balance of $10,000 in 2012. The sales end result in 2015 was $13,000. The EBIT began at a balance of $650 in 2012 and ended 2015 with a balance of $882. The second decision made was to take advantage of supplier discounts. This opportunity with Nutrilife created a surplus in EBIT, which allowed for the reduction in cash flow to be offset. The third decision made was to tighten accounts receivable to free up the cash flow. The final decision made during this phase was to drop poorly selling products. This decision negatively affected the sales volume, but freed cash that was tied up in inventory that was not selling. Phase 2 consisted of only one decision through ’16 to ‘18. The only decision made was to expand the online presence. This decision increased sales while also not negatively affecting the working capital balance. This was a critical decision in increasing sales and EBIT each year. The sales began in 2013 at $13,000. By 2018, the sales gained to $15,465. The EBIT began at 2015 at $882. The end result of EBIT in 2018 was $1,049. Phase 3 presented opportunities to renegotiate supplier credit terms and adopt a global expansion strategy through ’19 to ‘21. The new credit terms created a much lower WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH 5 accounts payable balance and improved the firm’s margins. The accounts payable lowered from $1,554 in 2018 to $433 by 2021. The global strategy created an increase in the firm’s top line sales, while only having a minimal increase in cash from inventory. The sales began at $15,465 in 2018. The overall sales finished 2021 at $16,567. Here are your final metrics: • • • • • • Sales:$16,567 EBIT:$1,434 Net Income:$795 Free Cash Flow:$860 Equity Value:$1,769 Total Firm Value:$4,313 Yvonne’s Decisions and Metrics In Phase I, decisions were made to acquire new customers, leverage supplier discounts, tighten A/R and drop poorly selling products. In order to increase sales SNC accepted to acquire Atlantic Wellness as its new customer. Prior to Atlantic Wellness, SNC sales remained motionless for several years at 10,000, however, after taking on Atlantic Wellness sales improved dramatically to 13,000 in 2013- 2015. Although sales looked favorable for SNC it did increase the companies A/R and inventory balances. When evaluating the increase in the companies A/R and inventory, the most advantageous move was to discontinue working relationship with Super Sports Centers (SSC) due to its 200 plus day payment history, which will improve the A/R and having an opportunity free cash flow of $1269. Selling its herbal nutraceutical product line to Nutrilife allowed for top-line growth but it still impacted SNC A/R and inventory balances. However, the strain on cash flow was moderately offset by an increased EBIT of $882 in 2013 – 2015. This resulted in favorable negotiations with Ayurveda Naturals. WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH Another factor that was evaluated in Phase I was the elimination of poorly selling products. Although sales volume was decreased, it did allow for cash allocated to inventory to decline to $490. In Phase II SNC focused on expanding an online presence and developing a private label product. Enhancing SNC’s online services will not have a negative impact on working capital however, will increases revenue in 2016 to $1300 with a 55% increase projection in 2017. By selling SNC private label to Fountain of Youth Spa has driven sales up from $13000. from 2015 to $14950. in 2016 with positive projections for 2017 and 2018. The sale has increase its EBIT to $1287, which is approximately a 46% increase from 2015 EBIT. Phase II net income was $656,000. In Phase III the company focused on renegotiated supplier credit terms and global expansion. Dynasty Enterprise is a primary vendor of SNC and renegotiating credit terms was imperative in order to reduce the company’s accounts payable balance and improve its EBIT margin. In doing so SNC’s reduced its 2018 accounts payable of $1685 to $400 in 2019 and there was a slight increase to $469. for the proceeding two years. The EBIT increased from $1452 from 2018 to $1837 in 2019. SNC’s took on Viva Familia as a new customer in an effort to start its global expansion. Sales increased roughly by 3% in 2019 and the proceeding two years illustrate favorable sale projections. There was a 1.8% increase in A/R and inventory in 2019 and in the forging two years there will be a 10% increase. Here are your final metrics: • • • Sales:$18,304 EBIT:$1,897 Net Income:$1,080 6 WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH • • • Free Cash Flow:$1,138 Equity Value:$2,734 Total Firm Value:$5,278 Robyn’s Decision and Metrics Overall the decisions made in the simulation worked well on the behalf of SNC. Throughout all 3 phases decisions increased the amount of free cash available and accessible to SNC, my decisions expanded or grew SNC’s customer base and reduced the amount of unwanted inventory on SNC shelves, freeing space for more product that sells. Finally access to more capital and more clients is great way to get access to even more capital which will get even more clients. Two challenges for SNC from my simulations are 1 dropped EBIT margins in Phase 2 which may give the appearance that SNC the company does not have earning potential. And 2 higher accounts receivables and inventory balances in Phase 1 because of all the decisions I made throughout the entire simulation resulted in capital growth, a new online presence an profitable new clients. Here are your final metrics: • • • • • • Sales:$19,247 EBIT:$1,525 Net Income:$797 Free Cash Flow:$915 Equity Value:$1532 Total Firm Value:$4076 7 WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH 8 Conclusion This simulation exemplified the critical role manager’s play within an organization. Management decisions have a direct impact on the long term sustainability of the organization. The goal is to expand and grow, but grow in a profitable and efficient manner. Mangers have to be able to accurately predict how business decisions directly affect other areas within the organization. Funds needs to be allocated accordingly to ensure the required capital is always on hand to fund its daily operations. This simulation illustrated the importance of capital requirements as well as dealing with competition to ensure long term growth. WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH Appendix Congratulations! - JAMES You've successfully completed the simulation. Here are your final metrics: • • • • • • Sales:$16,567 EBIT:$1,434 Net Income:$795 Free Cash Flow:$860 Equity Value:$1,769 Total Firm Value:$4,313 Congratulations! - STEVE You've successfully completed the simulation. Here are your final metrics: • • • • • • Sales:$15,747 EBIT:$1,313 Net Income:$727 Free Cash Flow:$788 Equity Value:$1,837 Total Firm Value:$4,381 Congratulations! Yvonne You've successfully completed the simulation. Here are your final metrics: • • • • • • Sales:$18,304 EBIT:$1,897 Net Income:$1,080 Free Cash Flow:$1,138 Equity Value:$2,734 Total Firm Value:$5,278 9 WORKING CAPITAL: MANAGING GROWTH Congratulations! ROBYN You've successfully completed the simulation. Here are your final metrics: • • • • • • Sales:$19,247 EBIT:$1,525 Net Income:$797 Free Cash Flow:$915 Equity Value:$1532 Total Firm Value:$4076 10 
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