Description of Business
Starbucks is a chain of coffee houses that operate both in United States, the mother country, and on other international markets around the globe. The corporation was founded in 1971 with the flagship coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington. Although the corporation is famous for its coffees, it also sells blended beverages as well as teas. The revenue of the company totaled to 21.1 billion dollars in 2015. The corporation has 22,557 stores around the globe. The corporation is very popular in the United States of America where it has a market share of 42.4% (Statista, 2015).
Description of Industry
The production of coffee globally was estimated at 143.37 million bags. Some of the key regions where coffee is produced include brazil where the production was 43,235 sixty kilogram bags (Statista, 2015). The average price of Brazilian coffee beans was 1.32 dollars a pound compared to the 1.52 dollars a pound charged for the Columbian coffee beans (Statista, 2015). The coffee industry in the United States is characterized by a per capital consumption of 7.5 pounds and a general consumption of 20,837 bags. The main competitors in the industry for Starbucks are J.M. Smucker who reported sales of 299 million dollars and Keurig Green Mountain whose sales amounted to 1,324.3 million dollars. The sales of Starbucks amounted to 553.9 million dollars (Statista, 2015).
Technology Plan
Technology will be part of the operations of the new coffee house. The grinding of coffee beans, frothing of mill, and the mixing of ingredients will be done using electronic equipment. The coffee shop will also feature an espresso machine (Lister, n.d.). Technology will also be used in the processing of payments. The coffee shop will install a near-field communication to enable the customers to pay their bills with their smartphones (Lister, n.d.). The coffee shop will also accept the use of credit cards for those who want to swipe their cards. The coffee house will also track the consumer transactions to enable improve services such as loyalty schemes and also targeted marketing (Lister, n.d.).
Marketing Plan
The marketing of the coffee house will seek to exploit the brand image of Starbucks. However, this will be complemented by specific strategies to endear the product to the local population. The launch of the brand will be enhanced with the selection of a superior location and an ambient of the coffee house. The marketing of the coffee house will also be done through local print media such as billboards and newspapers, broadcast media such as local radios and televisions, and through direct selling (Ogden & Rarick, 2010).
Financial Plan
Starting up the business in a new market requires both short term and long term asset. The following tabulation shows the financial requirement for the business.
Production Plan
The production schedule will be determined after the first week of operation. During this period, the manager and supervisors will track the demand for various products that the coffee shop offers to determine if it is above or below the baseline projections. During this week, the beverages will be prepared in batches to avoid wastages in the event that the demand is lower than initially projected. The procurement of the raw materials will also be done one a biweekly basis for the first month to enable the manager determine the optimum inventory to run the coffee house without holding too much inventory or running out of suppliers.
Organizational Plan
The coffee house will be headed by a manager. The manager will have executive power in the coffee house. This means that the manager has the power to make decisions on behalf of the corporation, the power to hire and dismiss, and to make decisions on investments. The manager will appoint supervisors of two shifts. Each shift will be manned by a supervisor. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the preparation and service of the beverages and other products is done in accordance to the policies of the corporation.
Operations Plan
The coffee will be run on two shifts. The first shift will be run from 0400 hours to 1200 hours. The second shift will run from 1200 hours 2200 hours. The baristas, supervisors, cashiers, and cleaners will be divided into the two shifts so that they can work on alternate shifts. The coffee shop will run for the seven days in a week. The employees will get a one-day paid off in a week.
References
Lister, J. (n.d.). Coffee business technology. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/coffee-business-technology-73452.html
Ogden, J. R., & Rarick, S. (2010). The entrepreneur's guide to advertising. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.
Statista. (2015). Statistics and facts on the coffeehouse industry. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/1670/coffeehouse-chain-market/
