iMBA Group Coursework Report: RGD Sports Trading Business Plan

This assignment presents a comprehensive business plan for RGD, a sports trading company. The plan includes an executive summary outlining future steps to gain market share and increase profits. It analyzes the company's current market position, identifies major risks like staff turnover and decreased profits, and proposes funding sources. The plan covers market analysis, including competitors and sales figures, and proposes marketing strategies like segmentation, targeting, and positioning. It also includes a VRIO analysis to identify the company's competitive advantages and weaknesses, focusing on operations and strategic alignment. The business plan also includes a group peer review form and an individual reflective report. The peer review form assesses group dynamics and contributions. The reflective report provides an overview of the assignment's outcomes and learning experiences.

ORGANISATIONAL
CONTEXT
Contents

COMPONENT 1.............................................................................................................................1
Group Peer review form..............................................................................................................1
Business plan...............................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
Component 2..................................................................................................................................14
Individual reflective report........................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

COMPONENT 1
Group Peer review form
iMBA Group Coursework Report Form
Provide a brief answer to the following questions
1. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the way your small group worked together to
complete the Group Work?
One of the main strength of the group is its ability to perceive and vision. There was not
much difference in opinions regarding strategies and decisions among the members.
Whereas adaptability could have been much better among the group members.
2. What difficulties, if any, arose in your group? How were these addressed?
Due to adaptability issues, delay in executing decisions took place quite frequently.
However these were duly addressed by undertaking group discussion and planning
activities extensively.
3. How well do you think you each member contributed as a group member? What was the
main roles played in the group?
Each member contributed to the fullest during all stages of the simulation. The main roles
played by groups were that of leader, manager, communicator and conflict resolver.
4. What did the group learn more generally about how to work effectively in a team and what
would you all change in the future to improve the outcomes?
The group learned to navigate through business challenges effectively that arise within the
business environment on a continuous basis. In order to improve the outcomes in future,
more choices can be added which can further improve the quality of decisions made.
Business plan
Executive Summary
This Business Plan summarizes upon the future steps of RGD which it aims to undertake
so as to gain a substantial market share as well as increase company’s profits over the course of
next three years. The company is a Sports Trading business with four product lines viz.
Skateboards, Inline Skates, Tennis Rackets and Ice Hockey Sticks. The company aims to expand
its product offerings to another demographic aged between 12 to 30 years with income level
more than £1,000. The overall profitability and performance of the company are low specifically
due to unstable market growth and thus it needs to refurbish its strategies in an effective manner.
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Some of the major risks identified within RGD include staff turnover, decreased profits and
unsatisfied customers. These can harm the business and its investors. The two main sources that
have been identified for funding are bank loans and selling old business assets as they are
pocket-friendly and easily available.
The Business
RGD, is an organisation which trades effectively in offerings related to sports. The prime
products which the firm deals are Skateboards, Inline Skates, Ice Hockey Sticks as well as
Tennis Rackets. The current market position of the firm is quite weak, seeing the supply range
within the company is way less than the demand of its products in the market. Hence, the firm is
quite ineffective in gaining a competitive edge within the market. In context with the
performance of the company, it could be said that the firm is quite ineffective as reflected from
the firm’s balance sheets. The figures are consistently being on the downside, seeing its negative
operating profit, resulting in the firm operating in loss (Burns and Dewhurst, 2016).
Markets and Competitors
While operating all the business activities it is very important for business entities to keep
detailed information regarding the market in which all of them are operated and other companies
which are dealing in same products or services. It can help to formulate strategic decisions for
future so that business can grow faster and reach to long term business objectives. RGD is a
trading company which is selling sport products to the customers. As mentioned in the graph
below, it could clearly be denoted that its products have quite high demand within the market as
well as against the supply. This is because the supply of products within the company is very low
in terms of all its products, which reflects its inability to assess needs of the market and work
towards the same as required (McKeever, 2016).
There are various competitors of RGD in the market which are dealing in same products and
affect revenues and profits. Moreover, as per the stock listing, there are quite effective
companies that are way better and higher in terms of productivity and performance. Out of all the
companies, Strength, ASD, PSM and MMKS, are the organisation that are quite effective in
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terms of handling their market share pretty well and enhance their performance. In order to deal
with higher level of competition it is very important for RGD to enhance its supply so that large
amount of revenues could be generated. For this purpose, market analysis could be conducted
which can help to analyse market situations or conditions and collect information regarding it.
With the help of it, decisions for success in long run could be formed and implemented for the
attainment of success (Ward, 2016).
Sales and Marketing
Sales refer to an activity of selling an organisation’s offerings in the marketplace to be
consumed or used by the customers. On the other hand, marketing refers to appropriately
communicating a firm’s offerings among the consumers. In context with RGD, the sales figures
of the company are quite poor. Currently, the firm is failing miserably in terms of selling its
commodities against the market demand.
As far as marketing is concerned, currently the company is adopting promotional
activities like Direct Marketing and Social Media Campaigns. The agenda of the company is to
send standard message to its customers regarding its products. Moreover, on an average, £600
are being currently spent by the firm on each of its offering in terms of marketing them
effectively in front of customers as well as potential customers (Brinckmann and Kim, 2015). In
addition to this, the company is required to developed new strategies in terms of marketing,
which contributes towards enhancement of sales effectively. Thus, along with the techniques
which are being adopted by the organisation, RGD must also adopt for market segmentation,
targeting and positioning technique. This technique is discussed in brief below:
 Segmentation: This step undertakes appropriately dividing the market into several
segments, or groups based on certain characteristics that are analysed below:
o Geographical: The first and very foremost segment would be the one which is
divided on the basis of geographical location of the customers. RGD would be
dividing the market based on the Urban and Rural areas of the United Kingdom
(Camilleri, 2018).
o Demographical: This market segment is divided on the basis of the demographic
characteristics of individuals, for instance, age, population, gender, income, etc.
In context with its sports offerings, the firm would be dividing the market based
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on general customers of the UK, aging from 12-30 and with income level more
than £1,000.
o Behavioural: In this segment, the firm would be dividing the market on the basis
of the behavioural characteristics of their customers. For instance, the firm would
be focusing on groups which are highly associated sports and are inclined
towards getting quality sports products (Schlegelmilch, 2016).
 Targeting: It can be defined as the process of selecting potential customers within the
market. Targeted customers of RGD are professional athletes, sport persons etc. In order
to meet their expectations, the organisations try to manufacture the products according to
their requirements.
 Positioning: It can be defined as the set of activities which are conducted by the
companies to position their products in the mind of customers. For this purpose, RGD is
offering good quality of sport items to them so that a good image of brand can be
established in the market.
While conducting marketing activities all the above described activities such as segmenting,
targeting and positioning are conducted by RGD as it helps it to aware customers regarding its
products and meet their expectation level. It guides managers and other employees of the
organisations to select right market segment and then identify targeted customers so that its
products could be positioned in their minds.
Management
While running a successful business it is very important for all the managers to make sure
that operations are managed properly so that all the goals and objectives could be attained. If a
company is not able to manage the activities in a proper manner the it can result in monetary as
well as non-monetary losses for business (Shelton, 2017). RGD is operating all the activities in
the market since last two years. In order to manage all of them in upcoming years the company is
require to analyse all its sources of competitive advantage so that strategies of proper
management of them could be formulated. For this purpose, VRIO model could be used as it
guides to identify competencies of the business.
VRIO analysis: It is a strategic management tool which is used for the purpose of
identifying the sources which can help to enhance competitive advantage of the business. All of
them are analysed on the basis of four different features which are valuable, rare, inimitable and
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organised. If a sources is having all these qualities, then it can result in higher level of
competitive advantage of the company. An analysis of different factors of RGD on the basis of
these features is as follows:
Sources Valuable Rare Inimitable Organised
Market growth ✓ X X X
Profitability ✓ ✓ X X
Technological development ✓ ✓ ✓ X
Employees ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Valuable: There are four different sources of competitive advantage for RGD these are
market growth, profitability, technological development and employees. All of them are valuable
for the organisation as with the help of all of them operational activities are conducted in
appropriate manner (Knott, 2015).
Rare: Market growth of RGD is not rare because there are various other organisations
which are having higher market growth. Profitability, technological development and human
resource are rare factors for the enterprise as for all the companies it is very difficult to acquire
higher level of them. Another reason behind rareness of them is that RGD is paying attention
towards them to manage performance of the entity.
Inimitable: Profitability is not inimitable for RGD because any other competitor in the
market can attain same level of profits which is generated by the organisation by formulating
effective strategies. Technological development and employees of the enterprise are inimitable
because it is very difficult for other firms which are operating business under same sector to copy
these forces or acquire them (Chen and Kodono, 2014).
Organised: Technological development is not organised by RGD in appropriate manner
because trends in the market changes frequently and for the organisation it is very difficult to
modify its products according to them quickly. Human resources are organised by the enterprise
in appropriate manner which is not easy for all the companies to do the same as it requires high
time.
From the above analysis it has been determined that strength of RGD is organising
human resources in appropriate manner which helps it to execute all the operational activities
effectively and generate higher revenues. Weakness of the company is unstable market growth
which results in fluctuations in profitability.
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Operations
All the activities which are performed by business entities for the purpose of attaining
long term business goals are known as operations (Thébaud, 2015). In order to manage them it is
very important for companies formulate strategies which can help to attain growth and reach
predetermined objectives. For this purpose, enterprises are required to analyse strategies and
strategic alignment. In order to find different options for executing operations and achieving
growth Ansoff’s Growth Matrix could be used by managers or other top level executives of RGD
(Yin, 2016).
Ansoff’s growth Matrix: It is a strategic planning tool which is used for the purpose of
finding best suitable option for growth of business. With the help of it managers in RGD will be
able to determine different alternatives to carry out operations in upcoming years. It is a
combination of four strategies which could be used by enterprises for developing business in an
effective manner. Detailed discussion of all of them in the context of RGD is as follows:
 Market development: According to this strategy a company can move to a new market
and launch its products there for the purpose of attaining growth in long run. It helps to
capture more market share and increase number of customers. RGD can use it for the
purpose of expanding its business in a new geographic area to generate additional earning
for the organisation. With the help of it different customer segment could be catered
(Chiang, Chen and Ho, 2016).
 Market penetration: In this type of strategy companies launch their existing products in
the current market place. For this purpose, organisations may reduce prices of the items
and achieve competitive advantage. RGD can adopt it for the purpose of taking part of
market share of one of its major competitor. Ain benefit of this strategy is that it can help
to attract new customers from existing marketplace by motivating current clients to utilise
the products more and more. It is considered as the strategy which consist low level of
risk for growth of business.
 Product development: This strategy of Ansoff Matrix states that by using it companies
can sale new products in their existing market place. For this purpose, some
modifications could be made in existing items or new ones could be launched in the
market. Managers in RGD can use this strategy by introducing new products to existing
customers so that all of them could be retained and potential clients could be attracted for
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the purpose of increasing market share. There are various advantages of selecting this
option because the company is already aware of the taste and preferences of customers so
it do not have to conduct research and development activities. It helps to save monetary
resources which could be spent by organisation on R & D.
 Diversification: It is last strategy of Ansoff’s growth model in which an organisation
launches a new product in a new marketplace. There is high level of risk involved in this
option of growth because the companies which may select this strategy have no
information regarding the market. It could be used by RGD to leverage brand name of the
enterprise. If it is selected by the entity then high monetary resources are required to be
invested in marketing, research and development activities (Lidstone and MacLennan,
2017).
From all the above described strategies of growth RGD should select market
development as it can help to expand business in a new geographic location and capture a larger
share of marketplace. While using this strategy, organisation is required to make investment in
marketing activities to aware customers regarding new products. It can also help to save
production costs which is very high.
Financial Forecast
Financial forecasting can be defined as the process of estimating future expenses and
incomes. With the help of it, organisations formulate strategies for upcoming period so that
possibility of unnecessary expenses and losses could be reduced (Uhl and Gollenia, 2016). It is
very important for RGD to conduct a financial forecast so that supply, demand and sales for
future could be estimated. For this purpose, forecasting of its four different products Skateboard,
Inline Skates, Tennis Racket. Ice hockey stick etc. is done which is as follows:
Forecasting for skateboard:
Years Demand Supply Sales
Unsold
inventory
1 420 0 0 0
2 416 500 416 84
3 395 584 395 189
4 492 689 492 197
5 375 199 199 0
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6 376 2 2 0
7 335 2 2 0
8 319 2 2 0
9 313.7512 -59.6144 -44.0895 -15.5248
The above table shows forecasted demand, supply, sales and unsold inventory of
Skateboards of RGD. According to the estimated figures demand in next year for it will be
around 313.75 of 314. Projected supply is showing negative figures because from last three years
it is constant which is 2. The organisation is planning to convert it in positive statistics by
conducting market research and making changes in its marketing strategies to attract large
number of customers. Due to adverse supply sales and unsold inventory are also showing
negative balance.
Forecasting for Inline Skates:
Years Demand Supply Sales
Unsold
inventory
1 320 0 0 0
2 349 500 349 151
3 373 651 2 278
4 524 787 524 263
5 584 313 313 0
6 644 50 50 0
7 718 50 50 0
8 795 50 50 0
9 865.928 -4.4677 69.6428 -24.288
From the above table it has been observed that in 9th year demand of Inline Skates may
get increased up to 865.928 or 866 units. Supply of them is showing adverse figures but the sales
will be enhanced up to 70 units in next year. It has also been forecasted that in future unsold
inventory of Inline will be around -24.288. In order to deal with all the negative balances RGD
have planned to incorporate new features in it so that supply of it could be increased.
Forecasting for Tennis Racket:
Years Demand Supply Sales Unsold
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inventory
1 470 0 0 0
2 483 500 483 17
3 2 517 2 515
4 693 1015 693 322
5 726 323 323 0
6 724 1 1 0
7 680 1 1 0
8 704 1 1 0
9 863.702 -60.684 -4.336 -27.391
The above table states that demand of tennis racket of RGD will be increased in 9th year
up to 864 units. On the other hand, the estimation is showing negative figures for supply, sales
and unsold inventory. Balances of them are -61, -4 and -27 respectively. In order to reduce the
adverse statistics organisation is planning to increase supply of sport items. For this purpose, top
level executives have planned to increase investment in business.
Forecasting for Ice Hockey Stick:
Years Demand Supply Sales
Unsold
inventory
1 380 0 0 0
2 387 500 387 113
3 0 613 0 613
4 555 1113 555 558
5 581 564 564 0
6 490 6 6 0
7 464 6 6 0
8 447 6 6 0
9 600.478 -56.375 18.2695 -38.831
From the above table it has been analysed that in 9th year demand of Ice Hockey Sticks
will be increased. In next year it will be 600 units and sales will be 18 units. It has also been
estimated that supply and unsold inventory will be negative in upcoming year. In order to reduce
possibility of it RGD is planning to meet the demand and sale products according to it.
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Business model canvas: It is a tool which is used to line up all the essential sources of a
business. Currently RGD is mainly established in London, United Kingdom, furthermore, within
the market, its stock value is decreasing compared to other competitors which further reflects its
inefficiency within the market. As far as its operations are concerned, there is a decline in the
accounts receivable from all the operational activities performed by RGD. Thus, it could be said
that its current business model is quite ineffective. In order to make it effective a new modified
canvas model is created which is as follows:
Key partners
 Suppliers
 Employe
es
 Marketer
s
 Sharehol
ders
Key activities
 Selling
sport items
to
customers
 Promotion
s
 Marketing
Value propositions
 High quality
of all the
items which
are sold to
customers
 Affordable
price
 Properly
managed
supply chain
Customer
relationships
 Providing
them
different
range of
products
 Aggressiv
e strategy
in
acquiring
brands
Customer
segments
 Professi
onal
athletes
 Sport
persons
Key resources
 Finance
 Human
resource
 Sport
items
Channels
 Social
media
 Physical
stores
Cost structure
 Cost of marketing
 Cost of research and development
Revenue streams
 Sales of different sport items
Financial Requirements
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