Shipping Global Business
Executive Summary
The shipping company is an industry which caters for both the online and physical representation of the customers. The shipping company will be identified as best low priced, on point customer service provider and environmentally friendly company in the global business. The shipping company has already identified practically three key identifiers of success which will be very vital for the success of the business (Hill et al., 2013). The first and most important is to offer the market required services that will be accomplished through reasonable market prices for shipping services. Second is to make sure that the services offered by the company are very convenient to develop and retain customer loyalty. Convenience is very important to ensure that the key players in the industry who are the customers become regular customers which can only be obtained through customer services. The third and most crucial for continuity of the business is to implicate strict financial control standards. A business that respects the rules and regulations hereby set by the company with regards to the country policy is headed for success.
The shipping company will be targeting at least three categories of customers who are basically the new eBay customers and the already users of eBay. Each category of the group will have as many reasons as possible as to why they should use Kingsway auction and shipping company. Identifying that the two are very different groups is important since the target will be very different as well (Poulsen & Johnson, 2016). The so-called new users of eBay have more than 12,000 users who are very potential who have a growth rate of about 16 percent while the already users of eBay range above 8,000 and a potential growth rate of above 10 percent. The third group of potential customers is the other group which has a growth rate of above 6 percent and a general potential figure of over 20,000 people.
Competition is one of the many advantages and disadvantages a shipping company experiences. The first type of competition involves the companies that offer shipping services as an extra service to the customers. In many cases, customers would prefer to use the same company which the business was transacted to ship the products thereby leading to loss of an opportunity. Many of these types of companies offer shipping services as an auxiliary type of service (Yang et al., 2016). Second is the major type of competition which involves the franchise operations which focus on the shipping and packaging of customer goods and services. This type of service providers faces and convinces a customer on why they should use their services as long as one is willing to pay for the cost of service.
The shipping company has engaged in one of the best business people who are entrepreneurs and who have an experience in this field. The individual will be very successful in making sure that the business is successful through laying down the best strategies in place to deal with the issue of competition and other market-related challenges. The educational standards of the individuals will be responsible for steering the company to earn an income of more than 300,000 dollars in a period of 1 year.
Mission statement
The shipping company mission is to be the best in terms of shipping and quality customer service in the industry. This can only be achieved through being the best in maintaining a customer satisfaction of above 100 percent, prices are reasonable and the service is done through the fastest ways possible.
Company name, product or service description
The company will be known as Kingsway auction and shipping company. The services offered are very identical to the Mailboxes, but company services are practically geared towards the auction based transactions. The containers and materials to be used will generally be recycled. This type of service is very crucial since it will allow the company to save in terms of the cost used in shipping and auctioning of the products. By use of recycled materials, the company is saving on the environmental hazards which would cause pollution. While shipping into South Africa, there are several issues that a company must consider to fulfill and which has allowed Kingsway auction and shipping company to operate in this country. Some of the legal issues include having a bill of lading, commercial invoice, insurance certificate, and at least three copies of packaging list (Poulsen & Johnson, 2016). Not at one time does this country accept the importation of goods such as the illegal substances like heroin where a violation of such laws could cause the termination of services and jail time of the involved party. The country expects the company management to uphold the ethical standards which include following rules and regulations and the maximum amount of cargo any inland service vehicle should carry. Market entry into the country is somehow very challenging but the set laws can help in making the business a success. Some of the policies include the fact that there are many business organizations which have basically concentrated their efforts on the major metropolitan regions making it difficult (Roy, 2015). Price is very sensitive on its part so the prices on our side must be regulated at all costs. Consumer protection laws are vastly present in place ready to act on any violators. Basically, these are the risk analysis that the company will have to consider in its operations in South Africa.
Company structure
Chain of command for the shipping company will be simple but very clear for the staff and any interested party. It will involve the board of directors who will oversee the running of the business, a managing director in the specific country. The director will be tasked with ensuring that the finance, production, packaging, marketing, and the personnel including the customer care services are operating in the best way possible (Yang et al., 2016). The type of company structure is a limited liability company. In this case, any member of the company will not be held accountable for the goods or the debts the company incurs. This structure is one of the best in such a company since the type of goods carried could be perishable making it very risky while in transit. With this ideology in mind, the company will be able to undergo its operations not fearing that the goods could cause a loss to the company.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a type of regulation law that was developed in the late 70s in order to make it illegal for persons and the entities who want to make payments to the officials of foreign governments for the purposes of retaining the business or obtaining a business. This is specific in the anti-bribery situations where the involved parties will make some payments to the foreign officials and make it possible for the officials to allow the continuation of services under the illegal means of operations (Lee at al., 2014). Corrupt services are strictly prohibited in many countries according to this act and any kind of corrupt services could render a company out of services and freezing of assets. This applies to the foreign international businesses which have unclear motives in their activities. All the activities conducted must be lawful and according to the set rules and regulations.
Market analysis
Kingsway auction and shipping company will be targeting two market segments for the continuity of the business both the new users and the already present or users of eBay. The eBay has created a substantial number of customers with the capacity of holding millions of information and customer order including the transactions done. This is a very open kind of a market where an investor can make money using the right media (Yang et al., 2016).
Kingsway auction and shipping company will be honored to serve the three kinds of customers. The company is by huge levels very convenient when it comes to offering the services which will be very fast an environmentally friendly kind of services. Shipping market is huge and therefore the best opportunity for the business to survive. Almost more than 90 percent of the services offered by the online transactions are fully sorted out by the actions of shipping companies. According to the market research, the incoming number of people to the services of the eBay is rising at a high level and therefore convenient to offer the services for the industry.
|
Potential clients |
Growth rate (%) |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
|
Upcoming users |
16 |
11,300 |
12800 |
15,000 |
|
Already users |
10 |
8,000 |
8,200 |
8,700 |
|
Others |
10 |
24,000 |
25100 |
27000 |
|
Total |
12.1 |
43,300 |
46,100 |
50,507 |
Looking at the above figure, it is evident that the market is growing to huge levels and it is the high chance for the company to take advantage of the future of this business.
According to the company market segmentation, there are many open opportunities for the company which would make it perfect in competition. New users of the services offered by eBay are generally new to the industry making them a good market target. These people might have been purchasers but in this case, they might be valuable in terms of selling to the auctions. Offering services that will be very helpful in terms of packaging and shipping are very important for the industry. On the already users, it is a market segment that has very active sellers on the eBay market (Poulsen & Johnson, 2016). Offering the services which will be flexible in terms of price and shipping is very important to secure a large market. On the other users or those interested in the eBay services, the gap exists between the buyer and the seller for shipping making it an open market for the company to operate. Considering the strength of the market, sustainability is one of the strengths of the business including having a strong brand name in terms of functionality. Impairments getting lost or damaged is a weakness of the company but as much as there are weaknesses, there are many opportunities for the company. Opportunities include acquisitions and partnering with major inland transport companies to transport the goods and services at a reduced cost. Threats include having the trade policies of protectionism increased in some countries.
Estimated annual sales have increased the probability of the company succeeding.
Considering the above figure, it is evident that the market will keep increasing to higher levels as time goes. The annual sales will continue to increase for the benefit of the company. The advantage of the company distribution channels is the fact that there are no middlemen in this business. In many cases, middlemen affect the prices of the commodity in transit without adding value to the products.
Taking advantage of the growth in the internet industry in technology is vital for the success of the company. Use of web is important to allow access for potential clients to get services from the company. Increasing the awareness through communication and submission of the company details for customer service is important (Lee at al., 2014). The development of a website is very simple and straight since the company information is readily available. Prices for the services will vary from country to country since each country has a different currency and the exchange rate can be different.
Foreign exchange market
Currencies in every market and especially the foreign market are determined by the demand and supply of the commodities and government interventions. Players in this field are the banks and other brokers in the currency industry. Most of the transactions will be determined against the dollar both in the country and outside the country according to the involved state of transit. Dealing with foreign exchange types of risks is paramount for the company (Gabaix & Maggiori, 2015). Many investors face this type of risk in the market and it is the company to identify ways of coping with this risk. Translation of the financial statement is very risky in a foreign state. This, in turn, causes a difference in the company stock prices. Internet services are basically the best but in many cases, they are affected by the issue of being hacked and data sent to the wrong people. Some of the risks involve having the information falling into the wrong hands making the company vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Potential international sources of financing
Debt and equity is a source of international funding. In many cases, international companies invite people to buy shares in order to continue the business stock capacity. Shares increase the source of earning for the company thereby making the company successful through various means of earning capital or revenue.
Exit strategy and feasibility of the business
Acquisition and merger is a mode of exiting a business and which would be very efficient for the business. Several companies are in this business of shipping and it would be preferable to merge with one company to allow the continuity of the business and customer services. In many cases, shutting down operations is considered as a way of exiting the market but it has diverse challenges such as the lack of trust from the customers (Gabaix & Maggiori, 2015). The company has the possibility of increasing the operations. The business is prone to success and so venturing into it will mean that it will be a success. The continuity of the business is based on the kind of management the business possesses. In many cases, business does not shut down for petty reasons but when there is a failure in the management.
References
Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J. R., Rammal, H. G., & Rose, E. L. (2014). International business. Pearson Australia.
Gabaix, X., & Maggiori, M. (2015). International liquidity and exchange rate dynamics. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(3), 1369-1420.
Hill, C. W., Cronk, T., & Wickramasekera, R. (2013). Global business today. McGraw-Hill Education (Australia).
Lee, C. B., Wan, J., Shi, W., & Li, K. (2014). A cross-country study of competitiveness of the shipping industry. Transport Policy, 35, 366-376.
Mallam, S. C., Lundh, M., & MacKinnon, S. N. (2016, September). Supporting Participatory Practices in Ship Design and Construction–Challenges and Opportunities. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 1004-1008). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Poulsen, R. T., & Johnson, H. (2016). The logic of business vs. the logic of energy management practice: understanding the choices and effects of energy consumption monitoring systems in shipping companies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 3785-3797.
Roy, M. (2015). Maritime Security in South West Asia. Institute for.
Sornarajah, M. (2017). The international law on foreign investment. Cambridge university press.
Yang, C. S., Lu, C. S., Haider, J. J., & Marlow, P. B. (2013). The effect of green supply chain management on green performance and firm competitiveness in the context of container shipping in Taiwan. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 55, 55-73.
