Fast Track Couriers Business Strategies - Example

Name: Professor: Course: Date of Submission: Fast Track Couriers Business Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The courier industry continues to expand at a fast rate due to the increasing demand from the business community for transportation of goods and business documents. Several courier companies have expanded their operations to take advantage of the emerging regional and international markets. Fast Track Courier is a small courier company operating within the New South Wales but intending to expand its operations to take advantage on the potential in the regional market. The company has built a strong foundation in the local market, which has seen it achieve remarkable customer retention rates and profitability. However, it intends to venture into the regional market to increase its sales, profitability and check on customer’s exodus to regionally operating competitor companies. The company expects to increase its sales by 40 percent within three years upon execution of the regional expansion plan. The management will need to deal with change resistance among its employees that require creation of awareness and training of the drivers. INTRODUCTION In the wake of the globalization of world business chores, delivery and accessibility of information and trade goods has catalyzed the proliferation of professional transport. It appears thus imperative to subscribe to the emerging reality that the courier industry is tangibly flourishing and owing to the increasing demand from the business community for transportation of goods and business documents. Small courier companies previously dealing with transportation of documents and small luggage have seized the apparent profiteering advantage presented by the expanding demand for the transportation of bulk packages within the countries of their location and internationally (Sinclair and Ubels 166). The increasing competitive pressures attributed to the rising number of stakeholders in this market have courier services become more affordable. The courier service industry generally includes the pickup and expedited delivery of parcels, packages, letters and other crucial informational objects. Through expansionary capital commitments by large investors in the industry such DHL, stakeholders have expanded their scope of services to include shipment of bulk consignments. Despite the significant growth in the international market, expansion of courier services to other countries is still limited by General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) rules on treatment and market access. National treatment as stipulated by the law requires governments to provide a foreign courier service the best treatment to private domestic companies, a rule that has remained a great challenge for some governments such as China to implement (Schacter, Beebe and Zanasi 5). Such scenarios have limited the capability of many courier companies to expand their reaches by internationalizing their operations. The Fast Track Courier is a small courier company operating within the New South Wales, which intends to expand its operations in order to capitalize on the potential in the regional market. A business plan for the company instills the professionalism required to prepare any entity for sustainable and successful venture that satisfies its long-term business schemes while paving way for growth and development. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Fast Track Couriers is located in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and has been in operation for at least fifteen years managing to create a great reputation within the Sydney metropolitan. Some of the company’s capstone attributes within its area of operation include reliability and ability to offer its clients value for their money. Fast Track Couriers has also experienced tremendous growth and progressive increase in its profit margins since its establishment. The company further takes pride in its high customer retention rate, which is above 85 percent and which forms a strong foundation for the enterprise to spread its market reach without fear of losing its domestic stronghold (Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd 4). Fast Track Couriers has focused its operations in providing their services to small and medium-sized businesses perhaps due to the nature of services, which entail delivery of medium to large size packages. The company is strategically structured with the owners assuming the top positions as the management team but with a managing director operating under them. Owing to the steady growth in the company’s returns over the years, its management has been compelled to think of expanding its operations and exploit the potential in the New South Wales regional market in order to achieve the company’s goal (Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd 4). The eminent potential in the regional market provides the company with the opportunity to grow its sales and profitability as well as growing the company’s business. Some of the weaknesses facing the company include the unwillingness of the owners to take risks in their operations thereby limiting its speed of expansion. The focus on the metropolitan market also stiffens the competition faced by the company hence the need to expand to the regional market. The company’s threats in operations include the shift of customers to competitors in recent times especially those offering services within extensive market catchment. The trend in customer shift to regionally operating competitors threatens the company’s strong customer retention rate as one of its key strengths. BUSINESS OPERATIONS The Fast Track Couriers has experienced progressive performance in terms of profitability and sales in which it has attained three quarters of the estimated net sales ($17million). The company is currently operating with an annual net profit of $1.9million, which is far above its annual net profit estimates (Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd 6). The company has relatively performed well in limiting labor costs in which it has not experienced any additional costs. However, the company’s operating costs are particularly escalating particularly owing to the expected expansion, which requires purchase of new tracks to facilitate the larger regional venture. On the other hand, the company has performed extremely well in customer retention that is currently at 87 percent. COMPANY’S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The company’s strategic goal is to expand into the New South Wales regional market as one of the plans towards achieving business growth and increased profitability. The company aims at increasing its volumes by forty percent in the next three years (Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd 5). BUSINESS PRODUCTS Fast Track Couriers mainly deals with the pickup and expedited delivery of parcels, packages, letters and other medium to large size packages for small to medium-size businesses. The company offers delivery services for business luggage including commodities and sales consignments among other items that require transportation from one area to another. MARKET ANALYSIS Fast Track Couriers enjoys a significant command in the Sydney metropolitan courier market despite significant the competition from the regionally operating companies domiciled within the same market. Due to the company’s good reputation in the local market, it continually faces serious challenges in sustaining its high customer retention rates, as customers prefer companies that can deliver goods both within the local and regional market. However, the company has identified the strengths in the greater market reach particularly to control the customers’ exodus to competitor firms. Having realized that the movement to the competitor companies is due to demand for services reaching out to regions outside the current operational area, the company will expand its services to cover the entire NSW regional market. The management intends to purchase and launch ten new trucks to enhance speed of delivery of services in the newly targeted market. Competitors Fast Track Couriers (FTS) Company faces stiff competition from companies capable of delivering products in areas outside the metropolitan including Wollongong, Newcastle and the Central West. The companies have been able to attract customers from Fast Track Courier, particularly those in need of delivery services to such areas. MARKETING STRATEGY FTS will make use of several strategies in its marketing plan as it enters into the regional market. The company will use its current strategies including internet listings, telephone, direct sales and mail-out, which have proven successful in the local market thus far. With personal contacts for the mailing-out strategy, and the follow-up telephone calls that have proven to be effective in ensuring consumer satisfaction and high consumer retention rates, FTS will root in the larger market easily (Sinclair and Ubels 167). The company has an existing website that will require significantly targeted advertisement in order for the internet listings marketing strategy to be effective. In addition, the company will ensure the direct sales strategy is extended to the regional markets in order to transfer similar influence on sales in the local market to the regional market. Pricing Strategy The company will focus on offering highly competitive prices for its products through analysis of the prices in the market and analysis of clients’ demands. The company will attempt to offer lower delivery service costs without compromising on the quality of the services. Goods transported in bulk will enjoy huge discounts to encourage transportation of bulk that would be more economical for the company. RESOURCES REQUIREMENT In order to achieve its goals of expanding its business into the NSW regional market, the company will need to purchase new tracks to ply and facilitate delivery of commodities, parcels and other goods in the new market. The company will also need to install GPS systems in the trucks and automatic lift gate, which is estimated to cost $10,000 per each. The new trucks will be purchased at $60,000 for which the company expects to raise the funds through securing a bank loan. This is expected to increase the company’s loan repayment expenses, which are already estimated to be significantly high. RISKS ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FTS faces the risk of its workers’ rebellion especially the truck drivers particularly because of its attempts to embrace technology in the delivery process. Many of the truck drivers like applying the old manual system, and have expressed discontent in the automated system that some feel may render them jobless. However, this challenge can be overcome through creation of awareness and knowledge about the importance of technology for both the company and employees as well. The company can also use incentives to change the drivers’ attitude towards organizational change. Since it will be difficult to recruit drivers with the skills and knowledge of applying the suggested technology, the company should recruit new drivers to operate the new trucks and induct them through a training process before commencing their operations in the new market. Work Cited Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd. “Business Plan: Quality Training”. Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd, 2010. Web. Sinclair, Joseph and Ron, Ubels. EBay Global the Smart Way: Buying and Selling Internationally on the World's #1 Auction Site. New York, NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2004. Print. Schacter, Noel, Jim, Beebe and Luigi, Zanasi. Globalization and the North: Impacts of Trade Treaties on Canada's Northern Governments. Ontario: Canadian Centre Policy Alternatives, 2004. Print. Read More