Comprehensive Business Plan Report: Smooth Drinks Limited Strategies

The report provides a comprehensive business plan for Smooth Drinks Limited, a non-alcoholic beverage company. It begins with an introduction to the company and its focus on the non-alcoholic beverage industry, specifically soft drinks. The discussion section outlines the operational plan, emphasizing key aspects such as supply, efficiency, adaptability, and quality. It also addresses cost and time efficiencies and competitive advantages within the industry, highlighting the importance of product uniqueness and effective marketing. The technology plan details software needs, recommending cloud computing for its cost-effectiveness, scalability, and security. It also specifies hardware and telecommunication requirements. Furthermore, the report outlines personnel needs, emphasizing the importance of customer relationship management and inventory management systems. The management and organization section covers key management levels, board members, and advisors, as well as the flat organizational structure adopted by the company. The report concludes by summarizing the operational, technological, and management plans, emphasizing their role in achieving business goals and objectives.

Running head: SMOOTH DRINKS LIMITED
Smooth Drinks Limited
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Operational Plan..........................................................................................................................2
Key Aspects of Operation........................................................................................................2
Cost and Time Efficiencies......................................................................................................4
Competitive Advantages..........................................................................................................4
Problems Addressed and Overcome........................................................................................5
Technology Plan..........................................................................................................................5
Software Needs........................................................................................................................5
Hardware Needs.......................................................................................................................6
Telecommunication Needs......................................................................................................7
Personnel Needs.......................................................................................................................8
Management and Organization....................................................................................................9
Key Management and Employees...........................................................................................9
Board Members and Advisors...............................................................................................10
Management Structure and Style...........................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Smooth Drinks Limited is a Non-Alcoholic Beverage (NAB) company. This company
broadly includes hot drinks and soft drinks. Hot beverages include tea and coffee. Soft drinks or
commonly termed as cold drinks, comprises of non carbonated or carbonated water, a distinct
flavor and a sweetener (Ashurst, 2016). The category of soft drinks is dominating the whole non
alcoholic beverages industry and it involves carbonates, sports drinks, energy drinks, bottled
water, juice and readymade tea and coffee. Soft drinks are mostly called as Liquid Refreshment
Beverages or LRBs.
The report outlines a brief overview of the business plan of Smooth Drinks Limited
Company. This is a brand new company in the non alcoholic beverages industry. The report
covers the operational plan with details, where the advantages of competition are given and the
development activities are mentioned for the company (Sharma, 2012). The report also contains
a detailed discussion of the technological plan of Smooth Drinks Limited, where the type of
technology is mentioned. The report further covers a clear management plan, where the
management structure of the company is provided with appropriate functional level strategies.
The discussion of the report is given in the following paragraphs.
Discussion
Operational Plan
Key Aspects of Operation
There are some major features or aspects in operational plan of any company. Since,
Smooth Drinks Limited is a non alcoholic beverages company; the four important features that
are to be kept in mind are as follows:

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a) Supply: This is the first and the most important feature for any organization. Smooth
Drinks Limited should focus on the supply of their raw materials for their business. The supple
should be cost effective and dependable so that the business can get the best resources in
affordable prices (World Health Organization, 2012). The supply should not mitigate or reduce
at any point of time.
b) Efficiency: The primary goal of any organization in their business operation is
efficiency. All the workers and the staff member of Smooth Drinks Limited should be efficient
enough to produce the best result (Ni Mhurchu, 2013). When all the workers will be efficient, the
organization is bound to bring profit.
c) Adaptability and Reliability: Any business operation should be reliable enough, so that
the consumers feel safe about the products. Supervisors should check the progress report on a
regular basis (Sharma, 2012). On the other hand, the operations of the business need enough
adaptability so they can alter themselves with the change in the market necessities and
technologies and can embrace innovative ideas.
d) Quality: The fourth important feature of business operations is the quality. Smooth
Drinks Limited is producing beverages that are consumed by customers (Ashurst, 2016). They
should focus on the quality of the raw materials and resources, so that there should not be any
kind of health issues for the customers.

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Figure 1: Operations
(Source: Wheelen, 2017)
Cost and Time Efficiencies
Cost and time are the two most important features of any business. The cost and time
efficiencies of any business refer to the fact that how efficiently cost and time are utilized in the
business (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). In this case, Smooth Drinks Limited should be cost and
time efficient to achieve their business goals and objectives.
Competitive Advantages
Competitive advantage in any business is the hold or grasps that the particular business
has over its competitors. Smooth Drinks Limited is a non alcoholic beverage company and it also
has many competitors (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2012). The main competitors of this company
are the Coca-Cola and the Pepsi Company. Competitive advantage can be obtained by providing
the customers better quality of products at better prices. Advertisement of products also plays an

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important role in such cases. Target markets identify these major unique products. Business level
strategies detail actions taken to provide value to customers and gain a competitive advantage by
exploiting core competencies in specific, individual product or service markets (Hill, Jones &
Schilling, 2014). Functional business strategy is an area of operational management based on a
specific department or discipline within an organization, such as human resources, finance or
marketing.
Problems Addressed and Overcome
Every coin has an opposite side. Smooth Drinks Limited makes soft drinks and hot
drinks. It may so happen that the company faces many problems (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014).
The major problem that the company might face is the quality of the drinks. Once, the quality of
the drinks gets infamous, it becomes very difficult to get back to the previous position in the
market. The only solution to this problem is to ensure that the resources and the raw materials are
up to dated and of good quality (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2012). The second problem in any
beverage company is the competition. Many companies are in the leading position in the market.
Therefore, it is necessary to bring uniqueness in the product, so that the company stays popular
to the customers. The solution to this problem is to change the strategy of the business on a
regular basis.
Technology Plan
Software Needs
Cloud computing would be the best option in software needs for Smooth Drinks Limited
(McGrath, 2013). The major advantages of cloud computing are as follows:
 Cost Effective: Cloud computing is much cheaper than any other software.

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 Scalability: Cloud computing enables flexibility and scalability in business.
 Security: Cloud computing is extremely safe, secure and reliable for any business.
 Efficiency: Cloud is very much efficient for any business.
 Easy Updates: Cloud computing can easily access its updates automatically.
The best cloud architecture for Smooth Drinks Limited would be Software-as-a-Service
or SaaS as SaaS is the most efficient architecture in time and cost (McGrath, 2013). Moreover, it
is extremely reliable.
Figure 2: Advantages of SaaS
(Source: Wheelen, 2017)
Hardware Needs
The hardware that needed for Smooth Drinks Limited are as follows:
 Carbonated Soft Drink Plant
 Artificial Beverages Plant

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 Bottle Preparation Equipment
 Mixing Equipment
 Soda Water Plant Machine
 Basic computer system (Processors, printers, UPS, mouse, keyboard, monitor, scanners,
hard disk)
Telecommunication Needs
Telecommunication is an important need for any business as it helps the business to be
connected with rest of the world. Smooth Drinks Limited needs telecommunications for their
business but at an affordable price (Sholtis et al., 2013). Some of the cost effective
telecommunications are as follows:
 Access to Mobile: The workers and the contractors should be able to communicate
amongst each other. Moreover, the customers can also communicate with the company.
 Internet: This is the most effective way of communication in modern world (Kirchmer,
2012). The company should have its website launched over the internet, so the customers
can view their products and services easily all over the world and can easily contact them.
 Live Chat: The Company should implement an auto respond and live chat for the client
for 24/7, so that time gap does not create a problem for the business.
 Email: Smooth Drinks Limited should have their official email account, where the clients
can contact them easily (Wheelen, 2017). These mails should be replied on an immediate
basis. This will create a positive impact on the minds of the customers.

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Figure 3: Telecommunications
(Source: Wheelen, 2017)
Personnel Needs
The term personnel refer to the workers or the staff members of a particular organization.
They are the assets of a company (Kirchmer, 2012). Without the personnel, it is not possible to
run a company. A business needs to focus on various activities like manage the personnel, take,
fulfill and track orders, provide customer service, communicate with customers, manage the
inventory, produce the product (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). All these activities need perfect
technology and management. Any kind of dealing with customers can be done with the
Customer Relationship Management or CRM. It helps to keep a steady relationship with the
customers. The inventory management and tracking or products can be done with the Inventory

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Management Systems. This technology helps to keep a track on the inventory and the products
that are sold. The personnel of the company can be managed with the Information System
(Sholtis et al., 2013). CCTV cameras should be installed in the company, so that a regular watch
is kept on the workers. The human resource tam of the company should be strict while hiring the
personnel of Smooth Drinks Limited and the marketing team should be efficient enough to
advertise the products of the company.
Management and Organization
Key Management and Employees
There are three levels of management in any company. They are as follows:
i) Top Management: This section of management remains in the top level. The President,
CEO, or the MD of a company belongs to this level.
ii) Middle Management: The Vice President of different departments and the Controller
of the company belong to this group (Gollenia, 2016). They control the managers.
iii) Lower Management: All the other employees and the workers are controlled by this
management. The managers of different departments belong to this group.

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Figure 4: Different Levels of Management
(Source: Hollensen, 2015)
Board Members and Advisors
The board members of a company are the top level and higher middle level management
(Wheelen, 2017). The Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman, the Chief Financial Officer and
the Vice President are the board members or board of directors of a company.

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Figure 5: Board Members of a Company
(Source: Hollensen, 2015)
Different advisors are present for any company for advising them about their business.
There should be a financial advisor, who can advise on the financial and the economic growth of
the company (Sholtis et al., 2013). There should be a legal advisor, who can guide on the legal
activities of the business. There should be a banking advisor, who can guide on the banking rules
for the business.
Management Structure and Style
The management structure of Smooth Drinks Limited is the Flat Organizational Structure
(Hollensen, 2015). This structure is also known as the horizontal structure as the top level
management remains in the top and the lower level remains in the bottom in a horizontal manner.
Figure 6: Management Structure
(Source: Hollensen, 2015)

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Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that, Smooth Drinks Limited
can obtain its business goals and objectives through the operational, technological and
management plans mentioned. The operational plan will help them to understand the key aspects
of operations, the cost and time efficiencies, the competitive advantages and the strategies to
their problems. The technological plan will help them to understand how they can manage their
personnel, inventory, and items tracking. It also helps them to understand the software, hardware
and telecommunication needs for the business. The final management plan helps them to
understand the basic management structure and the key management people of a company.

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References
Ashurst, P. R. (2016). Chemistry and technology of soft drinks and fruit juices. John Wiley &
Sons.
Gollenia, L. A. (2016). Business transformation management methodology. Routledge.
Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an
integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2012). Strategic management cases:
competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning.
Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.
Kirchmer, M. (2012). Business process oriented implementation of standard software: how to
achieve competitive advantage efficiently and effectively. Springer Science & Business
Media.
McGrath, R. G. (2013). The end of competitive advantage: How to keep your strategy moving as
fast as your business. Harvard Business Review Press.
Ni Mhurchu, C., Vandevijvere, S., Waterlander, W., Thornton, L. E., Kelly, B., Cameron, A.
J., ... & Swinburn, B. (2013). Monitoring the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods
and non‐alcoholic beverages in community and consumer retail food environments
globally. obesity reviews, 14(S1), 108-119.

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Sharma, K. R. (2012). Preparation of Emulsified Encapsulated Nanoparticles of Bovine Serum
Albumin of Bound Glucose Oxidase and their Application in Soft Drinks/Non-Alcoholic
Beverage. J Biotechnol Biomaterial, 2(126), 2.
Sholtis, S. A., LeClair, T. F., Ihrie, R. W., & Del Favero, J. R. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,554,644.
Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2017). Strategic management and business policy. pearson.
World Health Organization. (2012). A framework for implementing the set of recommendations
on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children.