section 1:

• Decide to open a new business/Product.

Product Description

'SmartMow1.0' is a Smart-Robotic Lawn Mower we are introducing in the market under our brand SmartMow. The conceptual machine is based on some of the service robots already there in the market.

Robotic lawnmowers are an excellent home improvement that brings many benefits to the customers. The robots are used to cut grass automatically and conveniently. Lawnmowers usually consist of two or more blades that are used to cut grass evenly. Usually, the users have to wire around the lawn areas that need to be mowed. These robots can maintain up to 30,000 m2 of grass with the capability of controlling and adjusting the setting of the mower through their smartphones.

• Search the market, segment the market and identify the customer and the portion of the market that you want to cover.

Primary Market

Professional landscaping companies, Golf courses, sporting arenas, property management and public parks with a focus on the US and UK (two largest markets).

Luxurious hotels and resorts.

Secondary Market

Residential homes.

Retailers.

Market Opportunity

One of the largest segments of the installed base of Service Robots is under the lawnmower segment. The Global Robotic Lawn Mower Market is expected to rise from its initial estimated value of CAD 533 million in 2018 to an estimated value of CAD 820.26 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 13.27% in the forecast period of 2019-2026. Increasing safety concerns over traditional lawnmower are the major factor for the growth of this market.

Our aim is to introduce our first model 'SmartMow-1.0' by the first Quarter of 2021 targeting customers in a wide range of applications from Professional Landscaping contractors, Property Management Companies to Luxurious Hotels, Resorts, and residential homes specifically in North America. We are expecting a 10% market share for the Robotic Lawn Mower segment by 2023 competing with the other major companies already in the market.

The product is designed to provide the most convenient usage with smart functions, equipped with cutting adjustment features. In addition to all benefits, advanced manoeuvrability, long-lasting battery life with an extended warranty compared to the competitors is something that differentiates our product from the others.

• What is important for the selected customers?

Demanded Quality	Importance
Well-finished cutting	8
High battery capacity	8
Product Warranty	6
Variety of cutting choices	5
Low-Cost	5
Connectivity with phone	3
Lightweight	2

• What is the best supply structure to support your market goals? Centralized, decentralized, or hybrid?

Centralized structure is vital and easy to implement because the goal is to provide a high standard product and every year. Now if centralized organization like apple turns to decentralized than the higher authority will lose their power and the lower level employee will lose their sight for goal and will turn into a disaster as they won't be able to complete their manufacturing at the targeted time bond also customers has set a standard for the apple products and as the idea may conflict and at some point product won't be able to meet that standard.

As we are launching a new product in the market it is very necessary not to go off track in terms of strategy and goals, if everything goes well we can later switch to hybrid or decentralized as per the situational call.

• Who are your competitors/rivals? How is your position compared to them?
• John Deere Lawn Mowers - Offers much reliability and low repair cost
• Husqvarna Lawn Mowers - Offers wider cutting and hp but costly
• Cub Cadet ZT1 42 Zero-Turn Mower - Zero-Turn Riding Mower.
• Ventrac 4500 Tractor with Brush Mowing - Clearing Brush

Section 2:

• Decide your organization goals and strategy.

Product Description

A fully robotic lawn mower for maintaining lawns in different sizes and patterns with the purpose of making it sustainable, minimizing human effort, time efficient and minimizing power consumption.

Key Business Goals

• Product introduced in Q1 of 2021.
• Target market : US and North America
• 10% market share of Robotic Lawn Mower by 2023 (among the major companies).
• Maintain a price range of 1000-1500 CAD.

Business Strategy

• Competitive price
• Unique design
• Smart function with advanced technology
• Delivery at time
• Considering sustainability
• Decide your supply goals and strategy.

Supply Goals

• Quality supply of materials/equipments at right quantity at right time
• Efficient transportation and logistics cost
• Achieving sustainability (environmentally and socially) in manufacturing

Supply Strategy

• Outsourcing of materials with respect to cost-value analysis approach
• Effective handling of transportation and logistics
• Possible cross-dock of supply materials/equipments
• Acquisition of raw materials, MRO with effective lead times at reasonable costs.
• Integration of all relevant functional areas throughout the cycle in order to maintain an uninterrupted flow

• What is the best organization structure for the entire business (including your procurement office) to achieve your organization goals and strategy, and your supply goals and strategy.

Since our brand is new to the market, the organization is structured in a centralized way, such that all the operations and activities will be controlled by the Chief Executive Officer till the growth stage.

• Which parts and services will be made/bought/insourced/outsourced? Why?

As shown in the below figure this are all the parts that would be required to make a lawn mower now as being said that it is a Robot lawn mower there are chances of the system of getting hacked so all the highly risk factored things like software would be made/insourced, also we have to take care about the competitors as being a new product in the market there are chances of duplicacy therefore some of the hardware elements like sensors and battery should made within the company. All other remaining parts which are any way standard should be outsourced, cause being standard the service for the customers would be easy and the company can save some time by not producing these products and spend more time in R&D.

• Identify its required materials/products/services.

• What is the difference between deciding as a single company or as a supply chain for your business/product/service? Please use some examples.

The main difference b/w thinking as a single company and as a supply chain is that we think about everything that is happening outside the organisation and are more concerned about delivering the product when talking about supply chain whereas in a single company, we are more concerned about what is happening inside the company and make decisions accordingly. It is the objective of a successful Supply Chain Strategy to align both the goals. For eg.: In case of our product, it may be more viable from the company's point of view to obtain a certain part required for manufacturing such as a fan casing or suction pipe from a nearby vendor as it would certainly reduce the time needed for manufacturing the end product. However, the supply chain manager may suggest that we procure the parts from a distant vendor as it would be cheaper and ascertain better overall quality. Supply chain management activities are generally the same across industries; however, a single company's roles and responsibilities can vary widely depending on the product or service the business produces.

Section 3:

• Select one item (part/product/service) in your business and explain/decide the steps to supply that item.

Here I am taking the fan blades which are required for the cooling purpose in the mower.

• The first question is are we going to buy it or make it, for this product we are going to buy it.
• So we are buying the product. Do we need a standard product or a special? It would be easy for customers to get the parts if the product is standard.
• We are choosing quality over cost.
• As it is a new product we have no idea about the market demand and so going for JIT would not be the best idea.
• We don't mind if our source is centralized or not until and unless they are close to the manufacturing center.
• As we don't know the future or present demand we are going to keep some inventory of the blades just in case.
• It's a standard product and the cost of the blades should be standard.
• The company is in Canada and that too in Ontario , so there are many manufacturing companies who can provide us so we will go for local insourcing.
• Initially it would be the sole source but after doing the research if we are not benefiting from that source we might go for a multi source.
• The supplier should be a big supplier in the market as the demand can rise during its maturity period and so they should have the ability to fulfill it.

• Explain the criteria to identify the needs for your selected item.
• Standard product.
• Standard price.
• High quality.
• Easiness of availability.

• How do you describe the need for your selected item? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your selected description method?
• The product should be standard so that it is easily available when customers need it and also if the company wants to change the source.
• As being the standard product we expect that the price of the blade is standard and affordable when we happen to buy it just a single piece.
• Quality matters the most here as it should be long lasting once assembled.
• We don't want the customers to not use the mower just because they aren't able to find the blades cause this will affect the demand and sales.

Disadvantages:

• Product being standard competitors can buy it and try to make a replica of it.
• The triangle of quality, cost and scope keeping in mind, if we are trying to get best quality it will surely affect the cost of it.

• Which technologies will you use for your procurement process? Be realistic please.
• As mentioned earlier, the company would be using a single source for the procurement of its fan blades initially.
• Being a startup, implementing an ERP system to the whole company would be an expensive option.
• As opposed to that, Cloud Computing systems for procurement, spend analysis and control, inventory management, transportation, and forecasting and planning systems would be a better technology as it provides the benefits of cost-effectiveness and flexibility.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) applications on the cloud available to the user on a Pay-for-use basis so expensive capital investments in new systems can be avoided.
• Cloud computing is also faster to implement, easier to learn, low maintenance, and can be added to other areas in the future.
• Communication and transparency in the supply chain are more reliable as compared to traditional methods of procurement.

• For your selected item, how often do you need to revise make/buy/insource/outsource decision?
• As we know there are 4 stages of any product and the plan is to revise the make or buy decision at the end of quarter period of the respective stage.
• How do you ensure the quality of your selected item, before sending it to the manufacturing unit (or next stage of the supply chain such as a retail store)?
• It is mandatory for every supply chain to provide a 3rd party inspection result sheet to the company and if needed an in house quality team will perform quality test.

• What is the best method of delivery to either retailer or final customer (please select only one) in your business? What about supplier to manufacturer?
• Being a new product in the market the psychology to the customer would be to test the product see it in the real life and buy it so we are planning to do the business in the conventional way brick and mortar, but if necessary roadways transportation would be the best idea to supply it locally considering the cost of delivery in mind.
• Also aforementioned the suppliers are locally situated so road transportation from supplier to manufacturer would be the best and convenient way.

• List at least three main suppliers for your item.

1. Universal fans & blower limited
2. Airdex corporation
3. Canada blower

• Decide the criteria to select the suppliers for your item.

1. Locally situated (Ontario).
2. Price and quality should be standardized
3. Aligned Values and Broader Purpose
4. Strong service and clear communication
5. Ability to cope with volatile demand.

• Decide which supplier you will select.
• We have selected Canada blower which is situated in Burlington, ON.

• For your selected supplier, what is the best type of relationship between your business and the supplier? Why?
• "Industrial, process & commercial fans, blowers & ventilators ready for quick shipment. Centrifugal Air Handling Fans, Axial Fans, Single Stage Pressure Blowers, Material Handling Fans, Fiberglass (FRP) & PVC Fans, Super High Temperature Fans, Super High Pressure Blowers, Modifications & Accessories"this can be seen on the site of the company and as it says the products are ready for the quick shipment which mean their supply and our organizational strategy and goal have the similarity and it can uplift each other.

• How can you apply sustainability in the procurement process of your business?

Procurement is considered sustainable when an organization broadens its framework by meeting its needs for goods, services, works, and utilities in a way that achieves value for money and promotes positive outcomes not only for the organization itself but for the economy, environment, and society.

Keeping the above postulate in mind, we'd go for a more supplier based approach in our procurement process. This would include the following points:-

• Checking upon the CSR scores of the firm from which we are buying our products. This measures the environmental and social risk a supplier may impose upon us when we are buying any products from him.
• On-site audits programs managed internally or through third parties. This would allow us to ensure that the concerned party is doing everything to a certain level of acceptability.

All of this being said and done is not without a prerequisite to the entire charade, i.e. The products adhere to our satisfactory levels of quality

Financial projection

Based on the above market plan, our financial forecast for the coming year is divided into two parts (assuming we have completed R&D and outsourced production work). The first part is the revenue forecast for the coming year and the next three years, and the second part is the cost and expense forecast. In the cost&expense part of the forecast, we will divide the expenses into three parts: one-time expenses, fixed expenses and variable expenses.

1. Revenue forecast

A) Avg. price of the product.

We have different levels of robots, the range of price is between 1000-1500 CAD, as our prediction, the average price per product would be around 1200 CAD.

B) Number of customers.

According to the marketing situation, we predict that the first year, we would sell around 5000.

In the first 3 years, we are confident that we would sell no less than 20000 to the final customers.

C) Total revenue

According to the prediction above, the revenue for our first year would be: 6,000,000CAD, and considering the increase of market share, the revenue of 3 years would be 24,000,000 CAD.

1. Expense Forecast
2. One-time expenses, We only have to pay once for this part, including the upfront office decoration cost, office deposit, office furniture, etc.

Office decoration	50,000CAD
Office furniture	50,000CAD for 30 staff
Office deposit	6250 CAD (half month rent)

1. Fixed expenses.This part of the cost includes fixed monthly or regular expenses, including rent, staff salaries, etc.

Office rent	75,000 CAD/year
Office supplies	5,000 CAD/year
Salaries (30 staff)	1,800,000 CAD/year

C)Variable expenses

Cost per product	200 CAD/product
Channels fee(Sales rebates to channel partners)	2,000,000 CAD/year
Transportation fee	20 CAD/product
Advertisement	1,000,000 CAD/year

In the first year, according to our projection, we would earn a net profit of 20,000 CAD (before tax). This means we are self-funded for the first year and have enough cash flow to continue with the second year of business. From the above assignment How can I implement the plan? For example, if the plan calls for adding television advertising, an implementation might involve contacting an ad agency and arranging a meeting, agreeing on objectives, targeting audiences, and scheduling a flight of advertisements.