Business Management Internship Progress Report: P&K Liquor Analysis

This report details a student's internship experience at P&K Liquor, a New Zealand-based liquor firm, from July 6th to July 29th, 2019, totaling 94 working hours. The student, working as a store manager and participating in delivery, stock management, and order processing, reflects on their responsibilities and skill development within the company. The report includes a reflective journal analyzing the student's responsibilities, skill application (communication, negotiation, analytical, management, and decision-making), and knowledge application. Part 2 of the report provides an introduction to P&K Liquor's business processes, including business activities, functions, and key stakeholders. It then evaluates business process efficiency across various metrics. A SWOT analysis is also included, highlighting the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Internship Progress Reports
Internship Progress Reports
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Internship Progress Reports
PART 1: Reflective Journal Lo6
My responsibilities in the internship
As per the requirement of my diploma in business management, I took internship training
in a New Zealand based liquor firm, known as P & K liquor. I worked here as an
internship trainee from 6th July 2019 to 29th July 2019. My total working hours in this
company was 94 hours. I worked here as a store manager and also with delivery, stock
management and order processing team. The brand is known for delivering, importing,
marketing and selling liquor. While mainstream alcohols are at the maturity stage in the
market, our company introduced niche products like traditional Korean liquors to avoid
competition from rivals.
Being a part of our marketing team, I used to collect feedback from the consumers to help
in reviewing the new products. I select this organization for my internship training, as I
know Kiwis are very akin to new flavors of liquor and its crafting which will let me learn
about change in consumer trends and behaviors. Being a native Korean, I have also
interest and knowledge in liquor which enabled me to contribute to the marketing team.
Also, I prefer to gain experience in working in an agro-food market as this industry never
dies. Besides marketing, here I learned how to import the beverage in the market.
I chose P&K liquor because it is an appropriate firm for benefiting my other skill
development like store management, delivery, stock management and order processing.
Here, I developed my newly found skill set like stock management (Constantine &
Keilin, 1996); I learned from the manager which products have to sell and which products
have to put on stock and the logic behind it. Our company has seven categories of
products such as Beer, Wine, Liqueur, vodka, whiskey, and Tequila. When the market
price of a product is high, we stock that product beforehand in order to increase profit and
availability of the product. One of my responsibilities was to deliver the product. I took
more time in seeking the addressing and experiencing in the city of Auckland and larger
New Zealand, but delivering in the right place was the ultimate criterion of my job.
Skill analysis
During my internship at P&K Liquor, I handled a situation of difficulty in placing the
order, due to the change of price rate. Here, I have used these skill sets:
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Communication skill
Communication skillset consists of listening, speaking, writing and conveying the
message. This is a must-have soft-skill requirement for an individual in a workplace as
well as in society. In a business environment this skill is required for interacting with
people, exchanging or sharing information with no disruption. In beverage industry, this
skill is also important for satisfying the need of the customers, suppliers, and partners in
the time of dealing. During my internship, I applied this skill tactfully to handle a difficult
situation. Due to the rise in price rate, we faced difficulty in placing order. The customers
were refusing our company and switch to supermarket where they can get liquor at cheap
price. Part of communication skill is listening which I did carefully. I understand their
requirements and expectations of our customers, suppliers, vendors and other partners. By
doing so, I was able to draw attention of our customers and other partners in supply chain.
They got a sign of trust on behalf of my team and allow us to negotiate the issue for the
best solution. It increases my confidence in professional field.
Negotiation skill
As in my internship, I was in stock management, delivering, order processing and
marketing team, in this entire field I had to apply negotiation skills. Negotiation is the
backbone of making a deal in business. It is the base of a business relationship where
suppliers, customers, and partners find the company trustworthy. A good negotiation can
lead to a business transaction. It is only selling but also assurance of meeting all the needs
of the customer through interaction. During the rise of price rate, I negotiate with our
suppliers about the change in price and profit. I make them understand, how we do ethical
business by understanding them about the current situation. I negotiate how their
cooperation can satisfy both the parties in supply chain. I negotiate with the stock
management team about the product amounts and our capacity for taking orders. Then I
fixed the same price for the customers as I did not want to distract them.
Analytical skill, Management skill & Decision making skill
Analytical skill helps in thinking logically to solve a complex problem. It fragments a
complex problem into the part by part and demonstrates each part logically. It raises an
argument about a topic. This skill allows an argument in favour of the statement and also
against it. I utilized this skill while I decide not to change the market price of the product.
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I broke the situation into three steps: One is the owner’s situation, suppliers’ situation and
the rest is the customers; situation. I studied that, the owner of our company and the
suppliers both are in the same boat when the price becomes high. If we change our market
price according to our buying price, the customer will switch their cost by choosing other
sellers. So, I decided that we will bear the reduction of profit and maintained the same
M.R.P price of the products. My analytical skill prompts my decision making skill as it
indicates a course of action derived from alternative possibilities. My decision making
reflects my values to our customer and ethical business. Thus my management skill is
also proved through solving a problem with effective decision making and coping with
the team in the time of difficulty.
Knowledge application
The internship program gives me the best platform to apply my knowledge which I have
learned in the classroom. Here I put the theories into practice. I gained knowledge of
managing and adjusting when everything is against the plan. Through this internship
program, I came to know about the professional code of conduct in New Zealand and the
specific industry I worked. The knowledge I gained during this process, helped in
developing my confidence in working in real world. The internship program gave me the
experience of technology use in the industry. In classroom training, I have no idea about
how technology plays an important role in day-to-day industry operations. Here I gained
the knowledge of how the dally operation depends on the technology and how a
technological change revolutionizes the industry or disrupts the existing operations.
This experience will add a competitive edge to my portfolio when I will apply for work in
the near future. It would help in growing my professional network, especially in the
beverage industry as I am familiar with the skilled staff, suppliers, vendors, and
distributors of this industry. My possibilities are not limited to this particular field but I
can utilize the work ethics and soft skills in any industry. The internship knowledge opens
up the opportunity of getting job offer by the company, an individual is taking internship.
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PART 2
Introduction
P&K Liquor has got an ideal platform in their home country, New Zealand. It is
expanding its wine market by exporting the back of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and
Pinot Noir. The per capita consumption of wine has fallen in New Zealand and it drives
the revenue of exporting premium spirits, craft, and premium beer and cider. The wine
industry of New Zealand is seeking the introduction of its signature alcohol in global
market.
Requirement 1:
1. Business Process
The business process refers a set of interlinked activities which is ended in the delivery of
a product or service. A business process consists of a set of activities which is related to
accomplishing a company goal (Scannella, 2015). The business process directly or
indirectly adds the value of a service or product. The business process of P&K Liquor is
related to delivery, importing and marketing. The business process includes -
1.1 Business activities
Business activities define a course of action that was primarily done for making a
profit. This term indicates the economic activities operated by the business. Business
activities engage operating, investing, financial activities which creates value for the
stakeholders through the maximization of the profit (Troxler & Wolf, 2017). P&K
Liquor does not manufacture its products; it's business activities involved in providing
the goods in the market through distributing, marketing, selling and delivering to the
customers.
1.2 Business functions
Business function suggests several functions run by an organization apart from the
mainstream business. A business function is divided into the core business functions
and the support business functions (Parker & Pearson, 2013). The core business
functions of P&K is delivering the product to the customers and restaurants. Apart
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from that, the company runs several functioning departments like importing,
marketing, stock market, and order placing.
1.3 Key stakeholders
Stakeholders are referred to the investors, employees, consumers and the suppliers
who can be affected by the company decision or affect the company ("Business
Activities Definition", 2019). The investors of P&K are banks, angel investors and
NGO funds. The customers of P&K are the consumers of local Auckland citizens,
tourists, restaurants, and hotels. Employees are from local community and also from
offshore hiring. The additional stakeholders of P&K are the Kiwi community, New
Zealand government and Kiwi trade association.
Evaluate business process efficiency
As this is a retailing industry, the business process is evaluated in different ways:
Process effectiveness –
The process effectiveness evaluates the process performance to meet the need of the
customers. The business process has a purpose that describes a value proposition for
the customer. This process defines the customers and their needs.
Process alignment –
Process alignment determines the alignment level levels between the supplier inputs,
customers’ demands, and process outputs. The process delivery deadline is set by the
customer demand time-frame. In order to maintain the alignment between these three
levels, the management needs to judge the supplier input capability and then design
the process output ("9 Ways to Measure a Business Process - Business Enterprise
Mapping", 2019).
Process reliability –
Process reliability evaluates the process capability. It calculates the process accounts
every minute compared to its potentials.
Process cycle Time –
The components of the process from placing order to delivering products are part of
the process cycle. When the process cycle exceeds a deadline or gives time to a
customer, it misses a delivery date.
Product cost –
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The market price of a product includes the input costs, cost of process transformation
and additional cost that contribute to the process. The process effectiveness is
evaluated through the return on investment.
Process efficiency –
Process efficiency suggests how a process transforms their inputs into valuable
outputs.
Resource productivity-
The ratio of produced outputs and the resource consumed by the process is expressed
through resource productivity. The resource includes people, facilities, infrastructure,
information technology, etc.
Supplier effectiveness-
It evaluates the performance of the suppliers and how it meets the needs of the
customers.
Process compliance
This evaluation refers to the regulatory, license, environmental requirements, safety
compliance of the management.
Requirement 2
SWOT analysis
Strength-
 The customer segments are from various demographics (Mabbett, 1997).
 A large number of product varieties ensure sales.
 The sale of wine is not affected even in the time of recession.
 New Zealand wine market is favorable as the Kiwis seek for different tastes and
bottle designs for wine ("Liqour Store SWOT Analysis -
TheFinanceResource.com", 2019).
 The company can use advanced technology to create a new design of bottle and
flavor.
 The advantage of advertising on social media influences the business. Through the
use of a promotional campaign on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, the company
increases sell.
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Weakness –
 Abolition of direct advertising in some market in New Zealand affects the industry
 Importing and selling of the Liquor product is subject to licensing in New Zealand
 The industry has to bear different tax and transportation charges in New Zealand.
 The long shipping distance from western countries and other regional locations of
winemaking consumes huge import tax (Taylor, 2019).
 The traditional liquors take time to increase customer awareness compared to
mainstream brands.
 An imported Niche market product takes more time to build a business
relationship with suppliers and customers (Kozhan, 2015).
 The company has to depend on the third party for the manufacturing of the Liquor
and the bottle.
 The marketing team of P&K cannot fix the pricing solely as they had to negotiate
the pricing with the manufacturer.
Opportunity –
 Increase of disposable income rises the sale (Capelli & Vaggi, 2016)
 Religious has no objection for wine
 Demand for expensive premium spirits among New Zealand consumers indicates
the strength of the business.
Threat -
 Changing trends of the taste among youngsters arise the threat of the business.
 Awareness program on health criticizes alcoholic products
 The growth of global retailers of grocery items affects the beverage market in
New Zealand (Ge, Stringer & Ding, 2016).
 Change of government policy
 Change of consumer sentiments
 The rise of competitors
 The substation of the products or copying of business processes by the
competitors.
 The deficiency of fruits creates threats in wine-making.
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Requirement 3
Recommendations
 The consumers’ behavior or buying trend is determined by consumer sentiments.
It is an economic indicator that measures consumers’ feelings about their financial
health. The wine industry is largely driven by consumers’ sentiments (Prigge &
Whatley, 2016). The company should spend more time in understanding consumer
sentiments and then negotiate their budget of winery products ("What the Wine
Industry Understands About Connecting with Consumers", 2019).
 The company should estimate the budget of inventory cost before thinking of
shelving the products in high-end specialty stores (Samak-Kulkarni & Rajhans,
2013). The right calculation on turnover rates and customer appeal helps the store
manager to stock the right products in right amount.
 The company should ensure the liquor license of the suppliers, vendors, and
restaurants in its supply chain. The company should obey the guidelines of state in
selling or distributing liquors (Wilkins & Hall, 2001).
 The company needs to select the location and the size of the inventory properly
based on their market analysis.
 Awareness of selling gluten-free products and organic wine will enhance the
image of the company and will increase sales.
 The company should encourage the responsible practices of the wine industry. It
will increase brand awareness and will help in creating a green image to the
consumers. There are multiple ways of doing responsible practice. This paper
recommends allowing those practices that are directly connected to company
sustainability. For example, the company can contribute to mitigating the
challenge of insufficient labor in New Zealand wine industry. They should
educate the labor and give them training for winemaking (McMillan, 2019); Apart
from that, investing in educational campaigns, health, and safety program for
vineyard farmers will improve the sustainability of the business.
 The political dimension plays an important role in the wine industry. The
company should involve in CSR activities to get support from the state and
agriculture divisions of states so that they cooperate in the delivery process of the
wine (Ruiz Estrada, Park & Chin, 2017).
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 The frequent fluctuating price of the wine threatens the suppliers and the farmers
of the wine industry. The company is recommended to enable the Fairtrade
certification to support the livelihood of the suppliers and the farmers
(Storchmann, 2010).
 The company should create a range for local vintage which can curb the multiple
taxation and exchange rates of wine and gives more profit. Making an alliance
with local wineries will give the benefit of co-marketing and co-operation in sales.
 The root of the wine industry is embedded in society. The demand for wine is
depended on social demographic group ("Sharing Knowledge Between the Peers
of a Winery Network: The Case of Wine Routes in Northern Greece", 2012). The
company should emphasize on their market segments on social demographics, like
luxury wine segments.
 The company should allow online order placing as the users are preferring retail
buying through their smartphones. The management has to run CRM software or
customer relationship management software to keep record of the customers and
increase leads.
 The youngsters are easily swayed by the icons of their culture, like celebrities
from media and entertainment (Trad & Kalpić, 2015). The company needs to use
this trick tactfully for its promotional purpose. Inviting these icons and asking
them for endorsement for the brand would be impactful to the business.
Conclusion
This study analyses the business process of P&K liquor which is basically a wine retail
company. The individual is an intern trainee of that company who conducts a SWOT analysis
of the company and gives recommendations for the improvement of the business.
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