Analysis of Putney Inc.: Resource Allocation, CRM, and Expansion

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Putney Inc., a small pharmaceutical company specializing in pet medications. It examines the company's resource planning and allocation strategies, emphasizing the importance of workforce management, outsourcing, and business plans. The report delves into customer relationship management (CRM) processes, evaluating tools like email marketing and social media engagement to enhance customer interactions. Furthermore, it explores the potential for international expansion, discussing the benefits and drawbacks of transnational business operations, and highlights the role of support networks like the Enterprise Europe Network. Financial aspects are also covered, including cash flow analysis, break-even analysis, and the interpretation of financial statements. Finally, the report considers the implications of legislation and regulations on small businesses, providing a holistic view of Putney Inc.'s operations and strategic considerations.

Managing and Running SME

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Discussion of main consideration of a small business when planning and allocating
resources......................................................................................................................................1
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................3
P2 Evaluation of processes of customer relationship management for small business..............3
P3 Developing of a business transitionally along with its benefits and drawbacks....................4
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................6
P4 Producing an itemised cash flow analysis showing fixed and variable costs relating to
business ......................................................................................................................................6
P5 Application of break-even analysis........................................................................................7
P6 Interpretation of financial statement and their contribution to success of a firm..................8
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................9
P7 Implications of legislation and regulations on small business...............................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is defined to be a capacity of an individual to turn an idea into actions.
A person with appropriate amount of creativity, innovative and risk-taking approach will
definitely be able to achieve pre-determined objectives (Ali and Babiker, 2017). It has been
identified that entrepreneurial skills are not confined to particular domain or discipline and are
most general in nature. The entrepreneurial skill set does not carry a specific definition are
known to be an ideal combination of personal, management and technical skills. This assignment
focuses on Putney Inc. which is a pharmaceutical company known to sell prescription medicines
for pets. The assignment will focus on manner in which a small business allocates its resources
so that their goals are accomplished. Evaluation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
will be carried out and various obstacles will be discussed along-way. Development of cash flow
forecasting, break-even analysis and interpretation of financial statements will be carried out.
Lastly, influence of legislation on small business will be discussed.
LO 1
P1 Discussion of main consideration of a small business when planning and allocating resources
Resource Planning is defined to be an approach in which resources which are essential
for successful delivery of project are identified and fulfilled so that goals are achieved. The
planning segment in small scale organisations consists of major elements such as workforce
along with their roles and responsibilities, equipment and inventories. It defines the time under
which specified activities will be completed in a detailed manner along with mentioning amount
of resource required (Chauma, 2017). This has emerged to be a very crucial segment as it leads
to ideal management of resources and helps in fulfilling tasks efficiently. The resource planning
also assists a small business in predicting the duration when they wish to scale up their resources.
Moreover, the identification of crucial resources will assure that needs of consumers are fulfilled
in a justified manner.
Another crucial segment which is often emphasised in planning and allocating resources
is culture of an organisation. Culture of a business organisation takes into consideration shared
values and beliefs which assists a business into sharing framework with which goals and
objectives will be fulfilled. It is a crucial segment while planning and allocation of resources as it
gives an overview of business along with communication which helps in adopting a
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contemporary approach of carrying out tasks. It directly impacts the quality of performance
which has been delivered by employees in a positive manner.
Human Resource Management is a concept which revolves around recruitment and
retention of employees with an enterprise. Putney is a small organisation which is known to
deliver specialised prescription for drugs. This small organisation is known to carry out its
operations with the help of its 57 employees. A small business can take assistance from outside
sources and outsource crucial tasks so that they can be carried out in a specialised manner.
Outsourcing is generally practised as it leads to increased efficiency and costs could be
controlled leading to achieving a superior business position in the market. It is to make sure that
all the activities and tasks related to workforce of an organisation must be conformed to
legislation which has been formed by the government. The elements such as equality and
diversity are to be emphasised so as to avoid legal trouble.
It is essential for a small organisation to make use of tools and techniques so that
planning and allocation of resources is being carried out in the effective manner. The Gantt chart
and project resource planning software will be helpful in allocating appropriate time and
resources to each of the activity. The benefits which have been provided through use of planning
tools and software is that it ensures that organisational resources can be preserved in the best
manner. They can appraise their schedules and can practice improved staffing within
organisation. This will results in bringing together various feature of production and avail better
results.
Business Plan is referred to an formal statement which is released by business which
encompassed goals and objectives which are to be fulfilled in a specified time frame (Cojoacă,
2017). It may also contain means through which organisation is attempting to fulfil the same. A
business plan consists of numerous element which acts as a roadmap to accomplishments of
goals and objectives.
Executive Summary This defines the major segment about a roadmap which is to be
considered. Putney focuses on provided specialised pharmaceuticals
services in the market of United Kingdom. This organisation have
emphasised on value proposition to clients.
Business
Description
The company is known to deliver qualitative drugs for pets. The company
is making its efforts to meet medical needs of pets through forming
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generic medicines.
Market Analysis It is essential to conduct market analysis so that factors which carries a
direct influence upon this business are identified and countered.
Management It is very important to depict that this business possess right set of tools
and knowledge to manage its resources to achieve best results. To
impress the stakeholder it is necessary to perceive as expert.
Sales strategies This organisation is forming partnership with veterinary practitioners so
that quality medicines are being provided to pets particularly cats and
dogs.
Funding
requirements
To carry out services in an improved manner it is essential to avail
funding ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 euros.
Financial
projections
Financial projections takes into consideration information which are
related to revenue which could be attained by business conforming to
market trends.
LO 2
P2 Evaluation of processes of customer relationship management for small business
Customers relationship management is defined to be an action plan which is adopted by
businesses which aims to understand customers and optimisation of interactions with the
concerned. This approach focuses on taking advantage of technology so that it results in forming
stronger relations with the consumers and could be capitalised upon in near future. It is a
marketing strategy which assures that customers are served in the manner they desire. Customer
relationship management relates to activities which assists in managing customer relationships in
an ideal manner (Durst, Yip and Lee, 2015). The organisation in this approach aims to develop
methodologies and tactics through which customers needs are addressed in a suitable manner.
There are numerous set of tools and relating to software and internet capabilities so that right
relationship are formed with consumers.
Customer Value Assessment is an approach which helps in availing detailed report
relating to views of customer towards an organisation. This feature helps in identifying aspects
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which are well appreciated by customers and areas which carries a major scope for improvement.
They values relating to business are also provided in the report which later supports in uplifting
stature of culture and brand (El-Rafei, and et. al, 2017). Putney have always emphasised in
conducting a customer value assessment so that opinions and views of consumers relating to
drugs (Medicines) could be identified and can further be improved upon. The various procedures
which could be employed in conducting an examination of customer value are surveys,
benchmarking, attitude rating, conjoint analysis and preference regression.
It is a challenge for organisation to effectively communicate with its customers. The
consumers prefers communication to be more accessible and convenient so that it could be
carried out with minimal effort. This does not mean that a business should adopt exclusively to
on-going trend of opting for digital measures. It is essential to optimise communication channels
adopted so that it is sufficient to form a right communication medium with the consumers. The
combination of communication channel is adopted which helps in identifying customer
requirement at the same time saving time on process itself. The engagement of consumers have
identified as one of paramount approaches which assures that they will be retained with business
for longer duration. Customer care programme are approaches through which helps in delivering
expertise to consumers and assure success of business through customer success.
Digital communication are known to be a contemporary approach of interacting with
consumers. Here is an brief description of tools which are employed by Putney in attempting to
maintain customer relationship.
E-mail marketing: it is referred to be one of the most commonly preferred approach in
which large number of consumers are imitated with informative and promotional messages
(Javaid and Iqbal, 2017). This approach tend to build loyalty and commitment among employees
and provides with a suitable communication platform.
Social media: As the name suggests, which marks presence of people from all over the
world. The presence of Putney over these platforms assures that prospects are imitated with
products and services of a brand along with analytical tools which helps in identifying their
effectiveness.
Chat and discussion forms: Chat and discussion forms are two distinct platforms which
lead to communication of between concerned parties. Chat is a private channel through one is
informed where discussion involves large number of people aiming to resolve a problem.
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P3 Developing of a business transitionally along with its benefits and drawbacks
Development of a business transnationally means to expand business over the boundaries
of a nation. Putney is a small organisation therefore it is comparatively difficult to enlarge their
operations internationally. It has been identified to be a latest trend in the market in which
organisations are enlarging their operation over international boundaries so that better
profitability could be attained. A business which is known to be transnational carries out its
operation in numerous regions considering distinct coordination and strategies (Ludmila and
Stanislava, 2015). The business of such organisation relies upon cost advantages which are
achieved along with availing inputs from local markets and sales are driven along with suitable
marketing tactics so that better results could be availed.
It has been identified that internationalisation is preferred to be one of the greatest way
through which prosperity could be attained along with achieving sustainability in business
operations. It is defined to be an approach through which competitiveness in contemporary
market could be availed. Putney is small pharmaceutical organisation carrying out its operations
in confined market therefore it has become extremely difficult to compete with other mega
corporation. The reason for which small businesses should expand internationally is that there is
an positive link identified between performance of a business and its international expansion. It
assures that a business adopts financial gains along-with identification of enhanced public
awareness relating to brand. It is necessary for government to enhance awareness relating to
international expansion and cater them with aid in the form of financial support mechanisms.
Putney is known to deliver quality drugs in the veterinary section and carries a tremendous scope
of growth in the international market.
The small and medium enterprises are a little hesitant when it comes to expanding
globally due to their small scale and unfavourable policies of governments worldwide. Such
factors emerge as a major drawbacks which hinder international expansion. The Enterprise
Europe Network refers to a link which encourages internationalisation. They provide with
support in technological and innovative technology which encourages reaching to international
markets (Small business benefits from internationalisation, 2010). The Uppsala model is
employed to identify process of internationalisation for a small enterprise. The major steps which
are involved in this process are as follows:
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Stage 1: This is the first stage which refers to a business does not conduct any export
activities are confined to operating within the country only. The benefits which can be evaluated
from this approach is that organisation is able to maintain its determined level of profitability but
at the same time lacks opportunities for growth.
Stage 2: This is referred to be second stage in which exporting of commodity of
organisation are carried out through independent representatives. This stage is commonly known
as export mode. The benefit which can be availed by an organisation at this stage is that it is able
to achieve a bigger market share with lesser risk. The challenge is that control of supply goes in
the hand of individual representatives and cannot be controlled by leaders of this organisation.
Stage 3: when a business is able to experience positive results from at their exporting
mode. The organisation takes initiative and opens a subsidiary in the overseas market which
turns out to be biggest step of venturing into international market. The control is the primary
benefits which can be availed at this stage. But the challenge for a small organisation is that it
involves great deal of investment to venture into another nation.
Stage 4: Organisation prior to forming subsidiary and exporting products to host nation
analyses response of people towards products and services. After establishing a appropriate
customer base production and manufacturing units are shifted into the internation for further
strengthening the market. The organisation is now able to entertain great deal of profitability and
market share. On the contrary, they have to now compete with organisation who are operating at
a much larger scale.
However it can be said that it is crucial to evaluate customer relationship management
through consideration of the elements. A brief analysis of crucial CRM elements are as follows:
Know: it is referred to be the first stage which aims to gain an understanding of the
audience. The trends along with preferences and choices will be analysed. This element is crucial
as it helps in assuring that right services and products are delivered leading to fulfilment of
organisational goals.
Target: Now that a business have understanding of the customer segment, the efforts are
derived into formulation of offer which is expected to be appreciated by the prospects. The
achievement of favourable perception by consumers will make sure that better results are
achieved.
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Sell: This element focuses on the acquiring of customers with the use of suitable
marketing measures. The number of sales of a company determines its success and failure in the
target market.
Service: This element focuses on retention of consumers with the organisation. The
communication and grievance handling are the measures through customers can be retained and
leads to sustainability of the business.
In order to expand business transactionally managers of Putney Inc. has to select best
way through which can be done. There are some strategies which are discussed as under-
Licensing- Licensing is the way through which Putney Inc. gives permission to other
individual to run business on their behalf. In lieu of this permission, managers of Putney Inc. has
to give some fees in lump sum or on the basis of percentage. If this strategy is adopted by Putney
Inc., then its advantage is it helps to enhance brand awareness and encourages new consumers.
While disadvantage is it private information gets delivered to third party which may become
competitor in near future.
Franchising- Franchising is kind of licensing. In this there is specific right to third party
through which they can replicate business of Putney Inc. and pay fees in lieu of it. This fees
includes flat amount of commission. If this strategy is followed by Putney Inc., then advantage is
Putney Inc. can get variety of market which helps to enhance sales among new customers. While
disadvantage of franchise is that it restricts working style of organisations.
Strategic Alliances- Strategic alliance is the agreement among two parties to conduct
same business for achieving aims and objectives being independent parties. If this strategy is
followed by Putney Inc., then there is improvement in current working style of company as there
is distribution of risk. While disadvantage is there are possibilities of misrepresentation of
partners among one another. So strategic agreement may get fail.
From the above strategies, licensing is the best. This is the best way through which
Putney Inc. can operate successful and expand in market. In order to overcome with its issue,
they have to deliver authentic information t third party and maintain confidentiality.
Managers of Putney Inc. has to consider foreign investment because this is the way which
enhance brand image in market. This is the best way to work in order to achieve aims and
objectives.
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LO 3
P4 Producing an itemised cash flow analysis showing fixed and variable costs relating to
business
Finance plays crucial role in uplifting stature of an organisation. It assures that major
day-to-day activities are carried out in an error-free manner (Nowotarski and Paslawski, 2015).
The major sources of finance for start-up and small businesses through which a business can
raise funds are as follows:
Own savings: Most of business people raises capital from their own pocket but it also
includes risk with it as incurring of losses will disrupt the functioning of business person on a
personal level.
Loans from banks: In this context, another way funds can be raised that is taking loan
from banks. However it is comparatively difficult for a small business to raise funds from banks
due to complex procedures and low credibility.
Borrow from family or friends: Money can be borrowed from family or friends as well
through which finance can be raised in order to start or run business in successful manner.
It is essential for a business to take assistance from the forecasting and budgeting tools so
that future requirements of business could be identified. The various tools which could be
employed in this business situation are as follows:
Time series data: Times series is an set of numerical data which has been presented in
sequential form. It is generally employed to identify the changes which are taken place in a
security over a period of time. It is referred to important tool which helps in identifying changes
in value of asset.
Sensitivity analysis: sensitivity analysis determines the changes in a variable with due to
alterations in the dependent variable (O’Connor and Kelly, 2017). This approach also known as
'what-if' analysis which leads to change in a variable will impact another variable as well. For
instance: Putney can determine the effect of marketing strategies upon the sales of product using
this analytical tool.
Calculation of moving average: it is a tool of forecasting trends in the marketplace. For
instance an organisation possess sales data for over a period of time so that future of a business
could be identified. It aims to calculate average mean of data so that idea related to trends could
be identified.
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Forecasted Cash flow Statement
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