Unit 17 Project: Aroma Premium Perfume Launch for Strategic Managers

This project focuses on the development and implementation of a new product launch for Unilever's Aroma Premium perfume in the UK market, managed by Nexus Ltd. The project encompasses various stages, including analyzing factors influencing project selection, developing project specifications, creating detailed project plans, resource allocation, and cost management. It also covers the implementation phase, monitoring progress, and evaluating project outcomes. The assignment includes market research, competitor analysis, financial considerations, marketing strategies, and quality control measures. The primary aim is to successfully launch Aroma Premium, expand Unilever's product line, and improve its financial standing in the UK market. The project follows a structured approach, addressing objectives such as market analysis, project planning, implementation, and evaluation to ensure a successful product launch and achieve Unilever's strategic goals.

Introduction of Aroma Premium
EDSML Level-7 Unit 17 Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1.............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Analyze the factors that contribute to the process of project selection.......................................2
1.2 Develop Outline Project specifications for the implication of new product..............................6
1.3 Produce a specification for an agreed project to implement a new product...............................7
2.1 Produce a project plan for an agreed project............................................................................10
2.2 Match appropriate resources to a project..................................................................................13
2.3 Costing of all resources required for implementing lunching of Aroma plan..........................16
2.4 Agreed timescales for the management and implementation of launching of Aroma..............19
2.5 Plan appropriate strategy for the implementation of a project.................................................27
TASK 3...........................................................................................................................................29
3.1 Implement a project in accordance with an agreed specification.............................................29
Human resource involvement.........................................................................................................33
3.2 Appropriate measures to monitor and evaluate the progress of new product launch project
and its outcomes.............................................................................................................................33
3.3 Monitor the implementation of a project..................................................................................35
Task 4..............................................................................................................................................38
4.1 Analyze the outcomes of a project in terms of the original project specifications...................38
4.2 Evaluate the outcomes of a project...........................................................................................39
4.3 Justified recommendations for improvements..........................................................................40
Task 5..............................................................................................................................................40
5.1 Report of all project procedures used.......................................................................................40
AC 5.2 Outcomes of the project in presentation.............................................................................42
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................54
References.......................................................................................................................................56
1

INTRODUCTION
Project development is part of project management in which transportation takes place along
with improvement through construction. For effective development and implementation of
projects it is important to form appropriate and meaningful strategies. On the other hand,
project is a temporary task which is designed to form a unique and innovative product or
service. Project development and strategic management are interrelated to each other and
their combination gives produce a meaningful and unique product (Boulmetis and Dutwin,
2014). The current research project is based on project management in which it focuses on
Nexus Ltd. which is a management consultancy and training company based in London. This
organization provides support to their clients for developing business in different areas
especially in the launch of new products and services. Unilever is a client of Nexus and wants
to launch its Aroma Premium perfume in UK. Therefore, entire research will focus new
product launch project of Unilever in London by Nexus. In the end, study is concluded in the
form of summary which includes major outcomes and key findings. Research will focus on
planning, implementation and evaluation of project outcomes and reviews.
Major goal of this project is to introduce a new premium perfume in the UK market for loyal
customers. For attaining this goal project manager will focus on different objectives such as
diversification and increment of the product line. To increase the salesand profitability of the
organization and to develop a strong brand image in the UK market, etc.
Reason behind the selection of this project is that organization wants to expand its business in
UK market as well as also want to expand its premium product line (Davenport, 2013).
Appropriate planning and management of the different activities before and after the
production of Aroma perfume, organization can attain all the above discussed objectives in an
effective manner.
TASK 1
1.1 Analyze the factors that contribute to the process of project selection
Nexus ltd. is working for Unilever to launch a new perfume called Aroma Premium in the
market. Unilever aims to launch Aroma perfume in the UK market as along with lots of other
products and services in the market mainly through big retailers in the UK. This product will
attract premium customers because its unique quality as high quality raw materials will be
used in the production. Organization will use only natural resources for producing this
perfume but assure about the go green concept as well as sustainable development of the
2

company. In addition, company will use plant and flowers as a source of essential oils and
aroma compound (Restuccia and et.al, 2015). Its packaging will also be a unique feature
because company will use crystal bottle with silver coated cap for presenting the rich and
premium look of the perfume. Along with this company will assure about the appropriate
storage of fragrance in packaging.
Rational: Unilever wants to launch Aroma Premium perfume in UK. Major reason behind
this project is expansion of the business. Along with this, organization wants to diversify its
business in new product line also. So, organization has selected this project because it helps
in increasing financial performance of Unilever as well as also helps in developing good
image in mind of customers. So, for getting success and good return on investment Unilever
has decided to launch Aroma Premium perfume in UK. Regarding this, Unilever has hired
Nexus Limited which is a management consultant and will help in developing plan for
launching this product into market (Davenport, 2013).The entire project will be based on
following aim and objectives:
Aim and Objectives:
Aim:
Major aim of this project is to launching aroma premium perfume of Unilever in UK
market.
Objectives:
 To determine different factors that can affect the launch of aroma premium perfume in
UK market.
 To introduce project plan for launching aroma premium perfume in UK market.
 To estimate the required investment and cost for produce launch of aroma premium
perfume.
 To discuss major impacts of aroma premium perfume on Unilever.
Research methodology: Nexus ltd. will use suitable methods of investigation which will help
in collecting facts and figures about new product launch project. Following methods will be
used by researcher at the time of developing project plan for launching aroma perfume in UK
market:
 Data collection: Nexus limited will use appropriate methods for collecting suitable
information for launching Aroma Premium perfume in UK market. Management
consultants will use primary and secondary data collection methods for getting
3

information about customer’s needs and requirements, market trends, competitor’s
strategy, etc. For collecting primary information researcher will use questionnaire and
survey methodology. It will help in collecting new and fresh information about the
research subject (Restuccia and et.al, 2015). For collecting secondary information
author will obtain facts and figures from different sources such as websites of
competitors, journals, books, etc. Data collection process will play important role in
developing project plan for launching Aroma Premium perfume in UK.
 Market research: at the time of analysing market researcher will focus on existing
competitors and their strategy. It will helps in developing marketing and production
planning for this project. For analysing market researcher will use appropriate
techniques such as swot and pestle analysis. These methods will help in analysing
internal and external market of Unilever in effective manner.
 Competitors: at the time of launching aroma perfume into the market Unilever will
face a very tough competition from existing companies (Kerzner, 2013). Major
competitors will be Procter & Gamble, Revlon, LOreal, Zacobi, etc. competitor
analysis will help in determining various strategies of competitor which will play
important role in developing own strategy.
There are number of factors that management consultant at Nexus ltd. needs to consider for
the successful launch of the Aroma perfume, and some of these are as flows; Financial Factor: Finance is the backbone of each business and this helps to make
financial decisions especially for the launch of new product or service. As management
consultant for Aroma various financial aspects that may need to consider to come up on
the decision for example payback period, internal rate of return, profit and loss,
consideration of inflation impact over the project time, impact of recession on project,
depreciation of assets and money over the time period. All these financial factors needs to
be considered well in advance and should add up in the cost of the project to make sure
that all finances are arranged in the beginning. All financial factors need to get agreed
with the client. As of the launch of Aroma £100,000 are set to invest. This involves all the
costing of technical resources, human resources, and any other costing factor that may
effect on the financial statement of the project file. Marketing Factor: While formation of any new product launch, Nexus ltd. needs to focus
on marketing factors to determine customer needs, innovativeness, competition,
substitutes, etc. Nexus ltd. should advise Unilever about pricing strategy of Aroma during
4

the launch period and then after the launch, they also work on product life cycle, impact
of new product on customers, market structure, size of market, and to identify target
audience etc. Most of the Unilever products are available through well-known UK
retailers, and Nexus will help launch the Aroma using the same marketing strategy to
make sure all stakeholders are satisfied and can play their role in the success of the
launch. Technical Factors: Manufacturing process of perfume includes different processes such
as collection, extraction and aging, etc. these procedures require latest technologies so,
management consultants of Aroma perfume needs to focus on these technologies also.
Nexus should also shed light on different type of techniques, machines, software,
applications including their installation cost for this project (Johnson, 2015). Cost: Nexus Ltd. will pay appropriate attention towards the management of cost because
inappropriate management will increase the total cost of the product which leads high
price and low demand. It will have negative impact on total income and sales. So,
organization will use appropriate method of costing such as activity based costing for
allocating financial resources on different activity which will reduce the total cost.
Including this, Nexus needs to reduce the unnecessary cost burden, defects and wastage
of resources which will help in reducing the total cost of the Unilever. Time scale: Before the selection of project it is important determine required timescale
needed for successful competitions of that particular project. Unilever has sufficient time
for launching Aroma in UK market and has decided to move towards this project. There
are number of techniques which can be used by Nexus ltd. such as scheduling, PERT and
Gantt chart, etc. Resources: Project management is all about managing all resources carefully. Thus,
Nexus ltd. needs to focus on identification and arrangement of all necessary resources in
effective manner. Nexus should assure about that weather all the resources which are
required for this project is available or not (Davenport, 2013). Including this,
management consultant needs to assure that Nexus ltd. must be capable enough to
managing all resources such as financial, human, technological and operational resources. Quality: Management of quality of products and services is significant for satisfying
customer’s expectation by providing valuable product for their purchase money. For
maintaining high quality management consultants needs to focus on reduction of defects
and wastage of resources. As per the management consultants of Aroma perfume,
5

Unilever can use six sigma analyzes because it is one of the important tools for managing
quality by reducing defects in total production of Aroma perfume.
 Target market: Aroma Premium is an extension to Unilever’s premium products line-up
as result this product will target high end customers who prefer expensive product and
Aroma will be available in high profile area and store in London such as, Harrods,
Westfield Shopping Centre and The Perfume Shop.
After considering all these factors the purpose of this project is to expand Unilever’s product
line and business in UK market. Aroma Premium will help in diversify its business in
different product line. It provides an opportunity to improve financial and economical
position of the Unilever against its rival. Along with this, Aroma will help in attaining
mission of Unilever which is ‘feel good, look good and get more out of life’. .
1.2 Develop Outline Project specifications for the implication of new
product
The current project is based on the new product launch project of Unilever. Regarding
this, it, Nexus Ltd. will help in completing this project in effective manner. Project will
comprise planning, implementation, analysis, evaluation and review of findings of the new
product launch project of Unilever by Nexus. Below are the project specifications for Aroma
perfume; Cost: New product launch project will be connected with various types of cost which
are required to manage at the time of launching. These costs include labour cost,
technological cost, marketing cost, etc. The estimated cost of this project will be
£100000. Time-scales: The time required by this project for completion is 70 days for all phases
of the project starting from Generation of Idea to commercialization. Resources: Nexus Ltd. will require different resources for launching Aroma premium
of Unilever in the UK. This includes human resources, financial resources and
technological resources (Schwalbe, 2013). Human resource for this project will
comprise Marketing Manager, Project manager, Technical staff, Admin officer and
Contract officer. Funds are the major financial resource for this organization and these
are required for purchasing machinery, computer systems and other technical
equipment for this project. Quality: Quality plays important role in product launching. The quality of the product
6

should be properly measured by the company by using various quality techniques
such as six sigma, Lean methodology, total quality management, etc (Chengand
Teizer, 2013). For the current project, manager will use the Total Quality management
approach and six sigma analysis. Because, TQM will help in managing, controlling
and monitoring quality of the product and services in effective manner. Monitoring of the project: Monitoring the progress and performance of each and
every task and activity is one of the major requirement of this project. So, project
manager will use Gantt chart for monitoring every activity. It includes activities and
duration which is required for completing different task. So, it helps in monitoring the
progress of the new product launch project in effective manner. So, project manager
will use this method and manager is totally accountable for the monitoring session
because manager is capable enough to identify the any required changes in the
implementation for improving the performance of new product launch project
(Restuccia and et.al, 2015).
 Stakeholders. For this project major stakeholders include customers, employee,
shareholders, government and competitors. Project manager and Unilever needs to
focus on needs and requirements of customers towards this Aroma perfume.
Management consultants of Unilever need to assure about the health and safety of
customers at the time of using this product. Including this, Unilever should provide
appropriate benefits to every employee for improving their outcomes. In addition,
organization needs to provide suitable dividend to shareholders for their invested
funds. Along with this, company should follow all rules and regulations of the
government which have developed for health and safety of customers and Aroma
perfume. Therefore, Unilever needs to focus on interest and power of every
stakeholder at the time of launching Aroma perfume.
 Outcomes of any previous experience, Project manager has conducted large number
of projects related new product launch in different products category. So, he has
experience of project outcomes. As per the experience delay in project completion is
one of the major problems for such kinds of project. However, for this product project
manager needs to be very careful and assure about the completion of each and every
task on time because it is the first time he involved in Launching of a perfume.
7

1.3 Produce a specification for an agreed project to implement a new
product
The objective of this product is to expand Unilever’s premium product line and
business in the UK market. This product will help in diversify its business in different
product line. It provides an opportunity to improve financial and economical position of the
organization. Along with this, this product helps in attaining objectives of Unilever in proper
manner. The specifications for Aroma Premium are as follows. Success and Failure Criteria: There are number of factors which can affect success
and failure of the project. Success criteria focuses on different functions, features,
timescale and operational standards, etc. completion of the projection time and with
estimated cost leads successful completion of this project. On the other hand there are
number of factors which can negatively affect the performance of project plan and it
will lead failure of aroma perfume project. These factors include lack of involvement
of employees, incomplete requirements and specification, lack of resources and
technical incompetence, etc. so, at the time of developing a project plan Nexus limited
needs to focus on all these factors in effective manner (Davenport, 2013). Integration of human and material resources for success: Involvement of human
resources is required for completing different activities of project on time. Similarly,
appropriate arrangement of material and other resources are also necessary for
launching aroma premium perfume in UK market. Inappropriate integration of human
and material resource can delay the entire project (Johnson, 2015). So, management
consultants of Unilever need to focus on appropriate allocation of all these resources
in effective manner.
 Cost: Total estimated cost of this project will be £100,000 this cost is mainly based on
previous product launch experience and will start from beginning of the project to
until closure of the project. Moreover, estimated 14.23% cost will be incurred from
technological resources and transportation, 55.7% from salary, 10.07% from
administration and 20% for advertising and promotion of Aroma premium.
Table 1: Cost Specification
Particular Cost £ Cumulative Cost
Staff salaries 55700 55700
Marketing materials 10070 65770
Advertisement 20000 85770
Technical resources 430 86200
8

Transportation 13800 100,000
Total Cost Estimated £100000
 Human resources: For formulation of this product, major human resources will
include project manager, Marketing Manager, Technical staff, Admin officer and
Contract officer. In which, project manager will be responsible for developing
appropriate budget, allocation of resources and effective time management which will
help to reduces the total cost of project. Manager needs to allocate every task as per
the field and expertise of workers (Kerzner, 2013). By deciding schedules according
to the time-scale of project for each task, organization needs to develop a project plan
for new product launch. Project manager needs to decide the technologies required for
product formation and launching which also reduce the time and cost. Marketing
manager is accountable for advertising and promotion for the launch of new product
in the London market. Along with this, manager of marketing department needs to
take decisions for hiring of new employees and training regarding this project. Health
and safety of employees is also prime responsibility of manager which he needs to
follow (Davenport, 2013). Marketing manager will use social media and digital
marketing activities for the promotion of aroma premium perfume. Technical staff
will be responsible for managing all activities related to technology. It will help in
improving the production and operation of the company. Admin officer will have a
responsibility of maintaining all records and document of entire project of new
product launch of Unilever. Further, Contract officer will be accountable for
completing each and every task on time for completing the contract of project on
specific and given deadlines.
Role Person required
Project manager 1
Project Launch Coordinators 2
Marketing managers 2
Area Managers 4
Sales Managers (in shops) and Sales assistant 35
Logistic manager 1
Transportation manager 1
Admin staff 5
Technical staff 3
9

Contract officer 1
Table 2 HR Specification
 Timescale:
Estimated time to complete this project effectively, formulated based on our previous product
launch experiences. As per the estimation this project will be completed in 70 days. As per
this estimation project manager can allocate time to every activity of this project. These
activities and their respective duration are as follows:
Table 3: Specification for timescale (for more information please see page no 9)
Activity Timescale
Generation of Idea 9 days
Screening of different available options 13 days
Evaluation of idea 9 days
Analysis of Unilever business 19
Implementation of idea 15 days
Commercialization 16 days
 Stakeholders The major stakeholders of launching of new Aroma perfume are
customers, shareholders, employees, owner of the company and government. At the
time of launching of new perfume, the interests of all stakeholders will take into the
consideration.
Stakeholders Interests
Customers Ensure product safety
Shareholders Better dividend/increase sale or profit
Employee Work place safety/better salary
Government Timely tax payment/respect to the law of the
country
Table 4 Specification for Stakeholders
2.1 Produce a project plan for an agreed project
Project planning and monitoring:
10

The current project is based on launching aroma premium perfume into UK market.
For developing this plan management consultants will use appropriate methods which are
PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Techniques). This method will be appropriate because
it will help in identifying specific activities and mile stones for entire project. Along with this,
it will focus on determining proper sequence of all activities and estimating appropriate
duration for completing each task. Therefore, this is an important method for developing a
new project plan for launching aroma premium perfume into market. Similarly, Gantt chart is
a most suitable method for monitoring all activities of project plan (Restuccia and et.al,
2015). It helps in conducting regular monitoring of progress of each and every activity of the
project. It includes activities and required duration for completing these activities in effective
manner.
Risk analysis:
Risk analysis is process of identifying and quantifying different types of risks and
uncertainties which can affect final outcomes of the project of aroma premium perfume. Risk
analysis has reflected that there are number of risks which can affect the entire project such as
lack of resources, inappropriate estimation of time, delay in project completion, technology
changes, lack of management and control, etc (Davenport, 2013). All these uncertainties may
affect the final outcomes of the entire project. So, management consultant Nexus ltd. needs to
focus on appropriate management of all these risks. It will help in improving overall
outcomes and final results of the project.
Project plan for launching aroma premium perfume in UK market:
Project plan leads to proper planning of activities with their time of completion. Along
with this, project planning focuses on aim, objectives, timescale, deliverables, milestones,
quality standards and control, etc. According to the assumptions management consultants
have estimated that aroma premium perfume launching project will be completed in 70 days.
Major milestones of this project are generation of ideas, screening, evaluation, analysis,
implementation and commercialization, etc. along with this, management consultants also
focuses on developing appropriate plan for assuring about attaining al quality standards.
Therefore, project plan which is required for launching of Aroma are explained below with
time period (Kerzner, 2013).
Table 5: Project plan
Activity Activity Time needed Predecessor
11