Business Management: Analysis of a Trade Show Project Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of a trade show project focused on warehouse automation. It outlines the project background, rationale for exhibiting, and key milestones. The report details the project plan, including budget estimation, scope, assumptions, and success criteria. It utilizes project management tools such as Gantt charts and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) to illustrate the project schedule and hierarchical task breakdown. A cost-benefit analysis is presented to demonstrate the potential return on investment (ROI). The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizes the importance of effective project management for the successful execution of the trade show, which is planned for the last week of August 2020. The report highlights the financial feasibility and potential benefits of participating in the trade show, including increased sales, networking opportunities, and brand awareness.

Running head: TRADE SHOW
Foundations of Business Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
1. Project Background/Business Case Company.................................................................2
2. Findings Related to Managing Trade Show....................................................................3
2.1. Rationale for Exhibiting the Trade Show.................................................................3
2.2. Project Milestones....................................................................................................4
2.3. Potential return on investment (benefits for the company)......................................4
2.4. Project plan and Budget Estimation.........................................................................6
2.4.1. Project Scope.....................................................................................................6
2.4.2. Project Assumptions..........................................................................................6
2.4.3. Success Criteria.................................................................................................7
2.4.4. Budget Estimation.............................................................................................7
2.5. Gantt chart................................................................................................................8
2.6. Work breakdown structure (WBS)...........................................................................9
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................12
References..........................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Trade show is an event that is held with an aim of bringing together the members from a
particular industry for displaying, demonstrating and bringing together the latest product and
services from the industry. The report aims in discussion of the various aspects of a trade show
that is related to demonstration of the products linked with warehouse automation. The report
provides a thorough understanding of the relevant management tools such as Gantt chart and
WBS in planning and scheduling the proposed trade show. Project management can be indicated
as a process of controlling the project, by planning and scheduling its activities (Heagney 2016).
Project management has gradually developed into a subject discipline of other management
functions and is responsible for project success (Mir and Pinnington 2014). In the following
paragraphs, the rationale of exhibiting the trade show is discussed. The report provides an
understanding of the key milestone and the schedule of the project. A work breakdown structure
is prepared that provides a detailed understanding of the key work processes associated with the
trade show. Execution of this trade show is justified as the company will gain a positive ROI
with the successful execution of this show.
1. Project Background/Business Case Company
The undertaken project aims in planning and execution of a trade show that aims in
planning, management and execution of a trade show. The trade show event named London
Technology and AI trade show will take place in last week of August 2020 and project
scheduling is done accordingly. This particular project aims in demonstration of the working
principles and need of a warehouse robot in automation of all the major work process of a
warehouse. The budget set for execution of this project is £85,060.00. Although the trade show is

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to take place in last week of August, the planning and preparation for the project will start from
March 2020.
The trade show plans in demonstration of the functional benefits of Warehouse robots,
which include accuracy and uniformity of the key work processes, increasing the productivity,
reliability and consistency of the work processes. The trade show is organized at a convenient
location to make it easily accessible to the intended audiences (Tafesse and Skallerud 2017).
Participation at a trade show although require a subsequent investment, it offers a significantly
huge business benefit. One of the key business benefit that participation at a trade show can
provide include a boost in sales, valuable networking and gaining an exposure for business.
2. Findings Related to Managing Trade Show
This section of the report provides a detailed idea of the rationale of the trade show. In
the following sub section, the key milestone, business benefits in terms of economic investment
and a detailed project plan is discussed. The Gantt chart prepared represents the schedule of the
project. The trade show will be a success only if the project is planned effectively and all the
phases are implemented under the governance of project manager (Joslin and Müller 2015).
2.1. Rationale for Exhibiting the Trade Show
Participation in this trade show is beneficial for the company as it will help in enhancing
the business exposure. It will enable the company to gain exposure and enhance the business
network (Witt and Rao 2015.). This trade show is particularly important for the company to
develop a brand awareness among the key decision makers. The success of the trade show will
further indicate an increase in sales (Alberca-Oliver et al. 2015). The trade show will
demonstrate the importance of warehouse robots to collect feedback from the users. Thus, the

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tradeshow will provide the needed exposure and a valuable networking opportunities to the
company. Therefore, successful execution of this trade show project is a necessity.
2.2. Project Milestones
The entire project is divided into four broad phases and the proposed trade show project
has four milestones. The milestone of the trade show project and their expected completion date
is indicated in the following table-
Milestone Expected Completion Date
M1: End of Initiation Phase Fri 17-04-20
M2: Approval of Project Plan Fri 05-06-20
M3: Successful Execution of the Trade Show Mon 31-08-20
M4: End of the Project Wed 23-09-20
Table 1: Representing the Key Milestone of the Trade Show
2.3. Potential return on investment (benefits for the company)
The expected expenditure of the project considering the fixed costs, and the resource cost
is estimated to be £85,060.00, a cost benefit analysis for the proposed project is done to get an
idea of the expected benefits for the company. The cost benefit analysis is indicated in the figure
below (all the values in the cost benefit analysis below are considered in £)-

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Figure 1: Representing the Financial Analysis of the Investment in the trade Show
The financial analysis (benefits to the company) is calculated on basis of the following
assumption-
1. The project will require an investment of £10,000 for the next three years. The
intended benefits is estimated to be £1, 00,000 per year.
2. The discount rate is considered to be 6%
On basis of the above assumptions, a cost benefit analysis is undertaken that indicates
that the proposed project has a positive ROI. The payback for the project will start from the first

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year itself and therefore, it is beneficial for the company to invest in this trade show. The positive
ROI confirms the financial feasibility of the proposed project.
2.4. Project plan and Budget Estimation
Managing projects within time, cost, and performance is easier when it is effectively
planned (Kerzner 2017). Development of a feasible plan requires clear identification of the
scope, goals and objectives of the project. Along with that, having a clear communication among
the project team is a necessity for effectively managing a project (Meredith, Mantel Jr and Shafer
2017). Management of this trade show project will incorporate effective project governance to
multiple its chances of success (Too and Weaver 2014). This section of the report will provide a
detailed understanding of the scope, assumptions, and budget and success criteria of the project.
2.4.1. Project Scope
The in scope requirements of the trade show project are indicated as follows-
 To develop a feasible plan for the trade show Project
 To successfully secure a stand
 To advertise the trade show project in social media and through flyers
 To execute the trade show
 To collect feedback and analyze the feedback
2.4.2. Project Assumptions
The key assumptions considered for developing the project plan is indicated as follows-
1. The expected project duration is 6 months, which include planning, execution and
closure

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2. The human resources will be readily available throughout the project execution phase
3. The budget of the project is £85,060.00
4. The team will be able to secure a stand in the trade show
2.4.3. Success Criteria
The success criteria of the trade show project are indicated as follows-
 The project is successfully executed within a budget of £85,000.
 The feedback analysis reveals that buyers and investors are interested in the
warehouse robots
2.4.4. Budget Estimation
The budget set for the trade show project is £85,060.00. The budget breakdown is
elaborated in the following table-
Item Cost
Stand Cost £21,000.00
Advertising Cost £2,100.00
Hotel Cost £1,080.00
Travel Cost £120.00
Cost of Food £360.00
Equipment Cost £10,000.00
Project Management and Staff Cost £50,400
Total £85,060

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Table 2: Budget Estimation of the Trade Show Project
(Created by author)
2.5. Gantt chart
The Gantt chart in the figure below demonstrates the schedule developed for the trade
show project-

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Figure 2: Showing the Gantt chart of the Trade show Project
(Created by author)
2.6. Work breakdown structure (WBS)

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The hierarchal representation of WBS for the trade show project is indicated as follows-

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Figure 3: Showing the WBS of the trade show Project

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(Created by author)
Conclusion
The report provides a detailed overview of the key considerations of the trade show
project. The rationale behind arranging an exaction of the trade show project is discussed. The
report provides a detailed overview of the schedule and the budget requirements of the project. A
financial analysis has been undertaken to calculate the return of investment from the trade show
project. A multilevel work breakdown structure reveals the key work processes of the trade show
project. The event is expected to take place on last week of August 2020.

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References
Alberca-Oliver, P., Rodríguez-Oromendía, A. and Parte-Esteban, L., 2015. Measuring the
efficiency of trade shows: A Spanish case study. Tourism Management, 47, pp.127-137.
Burghate, M., 2018. Work Breakdown Structure: Simplifying Project
Management. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 3(2).
Heagney, J., 2016. Fundamentals of project management. Amacom.
Joslin, R. and Müller, R., 2015. Relationships between a project management methodology and
project success in different project governance contexts. International journal of project
management, 33(6), pp.1377-1392.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Meredith, J.R., Mantel Jr, S.J. and Shafer, S.M., 2017. Project management: a managerial
approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Mir, F.A. and Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking
project management performance and project success. International journal of project
management, 32(2), pp.202-217.
Tafesse, W. and Skallerud, K., 2017. A systematic review of the trade show marketing literature:
1980–2014. Industrial Marketing Management, 63, pp.18-30.

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Too, E.G. and Weaver, P., 2014. The management of project management: A conceptual
framework for project governance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8),
pp.1382-1394.
Witt, J. and Rao, C.P., 2015. Trade shows as an industrial promotion tool: A review and a
research agenda. In Proceedings of the 1989 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 392-396). Springer, Cham.