TASK

You are required to select a product of your choice.It might be an existing product or one that does not exist yet (i.e., you determine its design, colour and name). Please note that it does not need to be a complicated product. You can select a simple product.

INSTRUCTIONS/REQUIREMENTS

1. Provide detailed descriptions about your product and a visual/picture of it (this can be your own drawing or an image from the internet with a product brand/logo assigned to the image). Explain why you selected your product. Set out why you think there will be demand for it. How is it similar or different to existing products in the market? Explain the societal, environmental and/or financial impacts of your product.

1. Undertake thorough market research (i.e. search the internet) to estimate and calculate the standard costs and selling price of your product.
   1. Clearly list and determine the quantity and types of each direct material element, direct labour element and manufacturing overheads that will be required to produce one unit of your product and calculate your product's per unit standard cost.
   2. Explain the approach/method and activity level you used to allocate and calculate the overhead cost per unit and clearly differentiate and list fixed and variable manufacturing overheads.
   3. Provide detailed explanations of the process of cost estimation, any assumptions used, and where you obtained the cost information from (data sources), and justify why you think the data is reliable.
   4. Critically articulate how you determined the selling price:
      1. explain and justify the pricing method, cost base and mark-up you selected and used;
      2. set out how your products's price compares to those of major competitors.
   5. Your working and calculations for requirement 2 need to be completed in an Excel file
   6. In the the same Excel file but on a separate tab you need to prepare the master budget for requirement 3 below. Please ensure to use cell referencing to provide an audit trail of your data and calculations within and across the different tabs of your Excel file. DO NOT HARD-CODE CALCULATED NUMBERS.

1. YOU NEED TO PREPARE master budget for the first year the product will be offered to the market. The master budget must include all components relevant to your chosen business.
   1. Sales forecast/estimation needs to be explained and determined using market research (i.e., why and how you arrived at the sales estimation).
   2. All budgets are to be prepared using Excel and presented in a professional format.
   3. All data sources need to be properly referenced.