Business Plan

BUSINESS PLAN

Management Team

CEO and founder - Roop . He first worked in the food retail industry while completing a BA in Food and Retail Management at The Platt College . After academic studies in 1995 Roop went on to work at chain of upmarket pizza and pasta business . Roop was working on the expansion strategy during a period of rapid growth in the chain , and gained extensive experience of food retail management and operation . Roop 's next venture was crackers . In 1999 , two of his corporate gift pack customers complained that there

were no good gourmet crackers on the market - and so The Original Biscuit Company was born . Perhaps when one notices the progression from desserts to crackers , his most recent venture into the dog biscuit business will not be a surprise

Chief Operating Officer - Manfred Rodriguez . He brings his vast knowledge of inventory management and product fulfillment to his role of managing operations and purchasing activity . Prior to founding Four Legged Barkery , he worked for Platt College where he was responsible for systems and network support in the IT department . He is accountable for meeting department 's goal and responsible for productivity and profit . A hands-on manager with excellent people skills , Mr . Rodriguez will make sure that business processes and shop-floor practices are in tune with each other

Chief Financial Officer - Nathalia Sutedjo . The finances are under control of Nathalia Sutedjo . She has a strong financial background , a chartered accountant with extensive experience in the food industry . Her last job was with Nestle Ltd where she worked for four years - during which time she completed her MBA with Platt College . Nathalia 's key role is to provide financial support to the senior management team and influence future business growth . She will also provide financial control of the overall business as it grows , evaluating performance to achieve high returns on the investment

Marketing and Sales Director - Nenad Sekulic . Nenad Sekulic has a marketing degree and a vast experience in sales . He has six years experience working in Project Management , Marketing , Sales and Service Delivery . He has been responsible for substantial growth in a number of companies in various industries . Nenad also has a strong knowledge of Finance Business Management Software and CRM applications . His IT background coupled with his marketing experience will be invaluable in creating customer database and collecting and manipulating information for market research . Nenad will also take the duties of Human Resource Manager to ensure , that staff are fully trained on quality service to enhance the image of the company

Four Legged Barkery will also be employing a chef and two assistants The head chef will be assisted by two second-chefs who are the second in charge in the bakery . The chefs need to have wide ranging experience with various bakery operations and an excellent track record Flexibility , innovativeness and quality will be the defining factors , as they will need to not only produce a good range of pet food , but also make baking designed by celebrity chefs . Their duties will include discussing food preparation issues with managers ing food , kitchen supplies and equipment , working out food costs selecting and training kitchen staff explaining and enforcing hygiene regulations

Head Office will need an increase in personnel to assist the growth of the company . However , the management team expect to cover all the necessary tasks between themselves during the early stages . We anticipate to start recruiting Head Office personnel after the first 12 months so the full employment costs will not be incurred for the first year . The necessary increase in employee headcount is unclear at present . Management further acknowledges the need to use consultants in other fields as we appreciate the value brought by expert advice and services . We plan to use consultants in the following business activities

Public relations expert to help with the promotion of the concept and brand development

Design consultants to work with our Chief Operating Officer and chef to design the outlook of the bakery and shop , interior decorating and design of our variety of food products , logo etc

Pet nutrition consultants to work with chef to improve the quality of food production

Legal expert to advise on the various regulations prevalent in the industry and their implications

Architects and building experts will help with the plan of our first bakery

Critical Risks

Very risky situations for our dog bakery can be a result of a number of different internal political and economical affairs in U .S . as well as global . Recession would have a major strike on pet-food business because would result in unemployment , falling incomes , higher prices , more savings and less expenditure . Clearly this is not a desired environment for the market . Direct link with income puts the demand for the pet-food under threat . The prices go up and it may be hard and expensive to keep a dog bakery

Economics . Economical factors will influence the future potential profit of our business . The level of consumer demand is a key variable affecting the quantity of sales and the price of our services and food Interest rates will determine the cost of finance to the restaurant Final profits will be taxed by the government . The economic cycle of recession and recovery is an important influence on the opportunities and threats to the organization . However , we do not believe that if the country does enter a recession that our business will be unduly affected . Since our products are ones that help contribute to and maintain good health for pets , we believe that people will continue to buy our products over traditional pet-food . We are operating in a niche market , and in addition , the price of our treats although slightly higher than traditional pet-food they are not positioned as expensive luxury items

Production , Food Safety and Hygiene . In the dog-bakery business , the risk of selling distasteful pies would be considered a business risk . We would be expected to know what consumers like and what kind of stuff sells . The risk of food contamination is termed as an operational risk A bakery has stringent procedures on food handling as well as procedures that ensure compliance with regulatory requirements concerning hygiene standards . This slew of policies and procedures are effectively hedging mechanisms that aim to reduce the impact of food contamination risk Governments may monitor manufacturing methods more closely , since the logs kept allow government inspectors to verify if a company is respecting food safety laws over a period of time as opposed to only on the day of the inspection

Hazard Risks . Hazards , which are divided into three categories (biological , chemical or physical , may be present in raw materials or introduced during the processing or distribution stages . It is by analyzing the hazards and evaluating the associated risks that critical points to be controlled may be identified . Manufacturing tolerance criteria (such as minimum temperature , also known as critical limits are established at each critical point to be controlled in to eliminate or considerably reduce any risks . These limits are monitored throughout the manufacturing process . Corrective action is taken should these limits not respect the established criteria

Competition . Four Legged Barkery can face with some problems with competition

First , losing our competitive advantage . Although Four Legged Barkery is the only company currently producing organic dog treats in local area the company is aware that other baking makers could follow on our success . Our plans to stay one step ahead of the competition by introducing at least eight new dog treats every year . Second , people don 't like our product . There 's always the risk in the pet food industry that pets won 't enjoy a product . Four Legged Barkery conducted preliminary market research , including multiple focus groups , to gauge public reaction . Over 76 of respondents said they would be willing to purchase the product themselves , or recommend it to someone else . The company plans to continue this type of research . Third , failure to generate publicity through "Furry Friends Celebration Day " Much of Four Legged Barkery 's advertising and publicity budget is tied up in "Furry Friends Celebration Day " While the company feels secure that Day will be a success , it has created contingency plans with our advertising counsel that will focus more directly on traditional tactics

Social and Promotion . Consumers reflect changes in lifestyle over time This means business must observe shifts in the characteristics and habits of the population , especially where these influence segments of the existing market . Nowadays , consumers are more health conscious they demand good and quality food for their pets . Demographic variations may also represent a threat to the company , and our target market is expanding

Government Regulation . There are virtually no federal regulations for the pet food industry . Pet food is regulated state by state in the U .S At least one representative from each state 's department of agriculture belongs to the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO which is not a government agency . AAFCO , in association with the U .S Food and Drug Administration (FDA ) Center for Veterinary Medicine , is the only governing body that oversees pet food ingredients , ingredient definitions , food additives , preservatives , and labeling . These two agencies ought to provide adequate oversight , but pet food manufacturers follow AAFCO standards only on a voluntary basis . Law does not require following the standards

Finance . This problems will occurred when a company run out of money or mismanage their money in some way or money resources going over the budget . It is clear that when Four Legged Barkery made a profit , it will need additional income or capital to expand is there sufficient for their next two years needs available now . intend to buy or lease a shop with the current economic climate of low interest rates and low inflation it would be tempting to buy the shop outright on a commercial mortgage , however there is uncertainty at the moment on how long interest rates will remain low and if the current government can keep inflation down , current economists insist that we are heading for recession , this would effect high street stores very badly and with the addition of cost from new stores is there enough net profit to pay out the additional costs whilst sales are down

Transportation and Distribution . In terms of transportation there could be such problems as failure to supply wheat , different ingredients furniture etc . from suppliers . To prevent this we need to find reliable suppliers with good reputation . In the launch to Four Legged Barkery we decided to use a local food brokerage firm rather than trying to establish our own sales force . This was a wise choice as the launch was too important to take a chance on a substandard sales performance . Also implementing a sales team would have taken much time away from matters of quality control and product management and incurred approximately the same costs as hiring the brokers . But to have sustainable business in future Four Legged Barkery needs own distribution service . It will reduce probable problems and risks with dog baking delivery to our customers in future . Additionally , manufacturers often extend credit to their distributors . To minimize the legal risks associated with dealer termination and related statutes , yet empower a manufacturer to terminate for failure to pay a credit account , a distribution policy should expressly permit termination for non-payment

Human Resource . First of all , there could be some problems with hiring professional staff . For example , when nobody could satisfy the requirements for good chef . When employing a larger number of staff the possibility of sickness , theft and loss of staff through loss of enthusiasm or lack of job satisfaction is very probable , although if staff were employed on the basis they could work at any branch , then the initial problem of staff shortage could be moved sop that an over staffed store could replace the staff shortage . At the same time , most time intensive administration job within a business is human resources It is required , when legislation changes on a daily basis . With the addition of more staff then we would not be able to keep control of all the payroll and other employee needs (pensions , health and safety holiday pay etc , there would probably be a need for an administration team to help with this side of the business

Company 's legal structure

Four Legged Barkery will be a limited company . We have chosen this form of ownership because of reduced taxes and national insurance liabilities that this form of ownership provides . Furthermore , the personal assets of the shareholders are viewed as distinct from those of the company This means that the directors are not personally responsible for the company debts in the unlikely case of failure . The new tax incentive scheme means that we have the following option . As the business is making a solid net profit a bank would advance us the money we need however they would require a bond or guarantee , as they both have equity in the house then that would be the bond the bank would probably ask for but this would mean as a partnership that they would lose their house if things went badly . An option would to become a limited company , there are currently tax concessions for doing this and this would also limit their liability to whatever they have invested within the company although full accounts would need to be audited every year and a copy sent to companies house . The bank though would probably hesitate at lending money to their firm even though they are established without the security of their house

Thus , the company is organized as a limited liability company , an `ltd The decisions must be made from the four-person council that has equal parts of the company . The company in to be flexible and efficient it has to have four limited partners , meaning that they would be accountable for their part of the company against its debts , and one partner who would be fully accountable even with his personal belongings against the debts of the company . Each year the council would set one of them as the manager of the company and he would be the fully accounted partner of the company for that year . In such a manner all the partners have an equal share in the management and the liabilities of the company . The council has to decide about the legal representative of the company . This could surely be a law office in our town , a local one for the start . Cooperation , understanding , faith and trust must be the words that characterize the relationship between the members of the `ltd ' in to succeed in their goals , which are entering the international or even global market

Bibliography

Wysong , R . L "The 'complete ' myth " Petfood Industry , September /October 1990 , 24-28

Hall , D Jones , R Raffo , C . Business Studies . Causeway Press , Lancs 1997

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets . 1994 Commercial Feed Analysis Annual Report . Albany : Division of Food Inspection Services , 1995

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