2013.02.27 POA Version 1 Group C Docx

Plan of Approach Business Development Plan

Aanenuitbesteden.nl BV Version 1

Irma Sefrinta (2435016)

Maartje Slot (2432682) Mai Ngan Ha (2435124)

Nina Mols (2432515)

Aanenuitbesteden.nl BV Saxion University of Applied Sciences Deventer

IBMS Mr. Pliester

February 2013 / June 2013 6th March 2013

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Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Objective of the assignment ................................................................................................................. 4

3. Objective ............................................................................................................................................... 4

4. Central research question ..................................................................................................................... 4

5. Sub-questions........................................................................................................................................ 4

5.1 Market research ............................................................................................................................ 4

5.2 Company name ............................................................................................................................. 5

5.3 Sales Strategy ................................................................................................................................ 5

5.4 Customers ..................................................................................................................................... 5

5.5 Revenue Model ............................................................................................................................. 5

5.6 Plan................................................................................................................................................ 5

6. Methods of Research ............................................................................................................................ 6

7. Project organization ............................................................................................................................ 11

8. Planning............................................................................................................................................... 11

9. Constraints .......................................................................................................................................... 13

10. Preliminary table of contents of report .......................................................................................... 13

11. References ...................................................................................................................................... 15

12. Statement of Approval .................................................................................................................... 16

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1. Introduction Business Planning has been regarded as an important subject to focus on in the business world for quite sometimes. In order to ensure that the students are well prepared to face a real life situation, this semester the students are required to set up a business development plan for a real company. That will involve the learning of strategic thinking. Skills from all courses, such as Management Control, Strategic Management, Human Resource Management, International Law and Sustainable Business Ethics will be combined to support the completion of the project. To develop a further and deeper analysis of this subject, one main research question has been set up together with several sub-questions. Based on these questions, the analysis will be conducted, to get some insights, and cover every part that needs to be addressed within the final report. This way, the group hopes that the final report will be able to fulfill every requirement and expectation, to improve student’s understanding of how to set up a business development plan and prepare them to develop and improve their skills as entrepreneurs. The company the students work with for the following semester is Aanenuitbesteden.nl. It is an internet-based company, connecting construction companies with each other. The company has been established in Rijssen, the Netherlands, in 2005. Erik Nieuwenhuis is the founder and director of the company. At this moment, the company is only operating in the Netherlands. In principal, Aanenuitbesteden.nl is a tender platform for main contractors and subcontractors. It offers a database for contractors, which contains subcontractor’s information that might be interested to work with them. The process begins when a contractor uploads its project on the website and sends it to several subcontractors that might be a suitable partner to accomplish the project. Then, the selected subcontractors can react to it by sending their quotations via the database to the contractor. The main contractor can then choose with whom he would like to work with, according to the best tender.

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2. Objective of the assignment

2.1 Problem description Aanenuitbesteden.nl is currently the market leader with the service it is providing. By the end of the year 2013 they project to reach a market share of approximately 40% within the Netherlands. The company is convinced that its service providing strategy can be implemented worldwide. At the moment the company is lacking of foreign market information and business developing skills to expand its business to an international level.

2.2 Objective To create a business development plan for www.aanenuitbesteden.nl within 14 weeks period that consists of ideas and recommendations on how to extend the activities of www.aanenuitbesteden.nl to Germany and the Republic of Ireland as the first steps to go international.

3. Central research question What is the best approach for Aanenuitbesteden.nl BV to expand its online service to Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

4. Sub-questions

4.1 General information about company 1. What is the vision of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 2. What is the mission of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 3. What is the strategy of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 4. What is the market of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 5. What is the business model of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 6. What is the revenue model of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 7. Who are the competitors in the Netherlands for Aanenuitbesteden.nl? 8. What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Aanuitbesteden.nl?

4.2 Market research 9. What are specific local industry characteristics and cultures in Germany and the Republic of

Ireland? 10. How does the construction tender procedure work in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 11. What is the competition in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 12. Are there online or other forms of services available in German and the Republic of Ireland? 13. What subcontractor databases exist in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 14. What contractor databases exist in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 15. What is the geographical spread of the competition in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 16. What is their customer service portfolio in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 17. What functional focus in the services is provided in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 18. What repro services are offered in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

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19. What calculation offices exist in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

4.3 Company name 20. What is the best approach and the reasoning to name the company branch in Germany and the

Republic of Ireland? 21. What is/are a suitable name(s) for the company?

4.4 Sales Strategy 22. What sales strategy should the company adopt in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 23. Why or why not should the company work with a local partner? 24. Why or why not should the company invest in search engine advertising? 25. Why or why not should the company use social business networks?

4.5 Customers 26. Who are the potential contractors in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? 27. Who are the potential subcontractors in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

4.6 Revenue Model 28. What is a suitable revenue model fitting to the local situation in Germany and the Republic of

Ireland? 29. What should be the main source of income for the new branch in Germany and the Republic of

Ireland?

4.7 Plan 30. What steps does the company have to perform to enter the market in Germany and the

Republic of Ireland?

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5. Methods of Research To be able to find answers to the central question and sub questions, different methods and their procedures have to be used. For that reason, the desk research will be done more frequently rather than the field research. For the field research, one entrepreneurial interview needs to take place. The group is planning on having an interview with Erik Nieuwenhuis, the director of Aanenuitbesteden.nl about entrepreneurship and the construction industry. Secondly, the group will have an expert interview with a professional in the field of the construction industry in Germany and the Republic of Ireland. The desk research will include literature study, including primary and secondary data. Secondary sources such as books for classes (‘Making a business plan’ by Grit, ‘Strategic Marketing’ by Bradley, ‘Strategic Management’ by David) are going to be used. Tertiary sources, similar to encyclopedias, will be used to get a better understanding of the construction tender market itself and the theories, which need to be applied. For the literature review, process keywords need to be generated and defined before the search will be conducted. After that the literature will be obtained, evaluated and recorded. Internet research will be used to gain additional information on construction tender market. However, the group needs to be aware that the found information is reliable and based on facts. Sources have to be checked on validity. The Saxion library is also a source of information that can be used for the project. An explanatory research will be done by conducting a business development, which includes the current market situation and a strategy how to approach the market in a different country. The research time horizon will be cross sectional because the research will only be done once and not more often. The research choices will be according to the mixed methods because more than one data collection technique and data analysis procedure will be used and also qualitative and quantitative data will be of importance. The research approach will be inductive. First of all, the data will be collected and structured. Following this step, the group will try to understand and interpret the data and then put together a business development plan for the company. All in all applied research will be done for this project because it should lead to the improvement of understanding of a particular business problem. It will result in a business development plan. The findings could be of practical relevance and value to the company. The course coordinator predetermines the objectives. Finally the research has to be fulfilled in a tight time scale.

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The table below shows how each sub question is approached.

Central research question

What is the best approach for Aanenuitbesteden.nl BV to expand its online service to Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

Topic Sub question Purpose of research Way of data collection

A. General information about the company 1.

What is the vision of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

Interview Internet research

2. What is the mission of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

3. What is the strategy of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

4. What is the market of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

5.

What is the business model of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

6.

What is the revenue model of Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

7.

What are the competitors in the Netherlands for Aanenuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

8.

What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Aanuitbesteden.nl? Descriptive

B. Market research 9.

What are specific local industry characteristics and cultures in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

Descriptive and Explorative

• Primary source □ Entrepeneur interview □ Expert interview • Secondary source □ Course books • Tertiary source □ Encyclopedias □ Internet research

10.

How does the construction tender procedure work in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


11.

What is the competition in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


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12.

Are there online or other forms of services available in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


13.

What subcontractor databases exist in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


14.

What contractor databases exist in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


15.

What is the geographical spread of the competition in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


16. What is their customer service portfolio?


17. What functional focus in the services is provided?


18.

What repro services are offered in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


19.

What calculation offices exist in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


C. Company name 20.

Why or why not should the company have a different name in Germany and the Republic of Ireland or an international name? Explanatory

□ Internet research □ Creative thinking

21.

What is/are a suitable name/s for the company? Explanatory

D. Sales strategy 22.

What sales strategy should the company adopt in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?

Descripto-explanatory

• Secondary source □ Course books • Tertiary source □ Encyclopedias

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□ Internet □ Logical thinking

23.

Why or why not should the company work with a local partner? Explanatory □ Conclusion

24

Why or why not should the company invest in Search Engine Advertising? Explanatory

• Primary source □ Expert interview □ Internet research

25.

Why or why not should the company use social business networks? Explanatory □ Conclusion

E. Customers 26.

Who are potential contractors in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


• Primary source □ Expert interview □ Internet research

27.

Who are potential subcontractors in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


F. Revenue model 28.

What is a suitable revenue model fitting to the local situation in Germany and the Republic of Ireland?


• Secondary source □ Course books • Tertiary source □ Encyclopedias □ Internet research

29. What should be the main source of income? Explanatory □ Conclusion

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G. Plan 30.

What steps does the company have to perform to enter the market in Germany and the Republic of Ireland? Explanatory

□ Creative thinking □ Conclusion

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6. Project organization

Name: Student- No. Contact (e-mail)

Nina Mols Group Leader 2432515 [email protected]

Maartje Slot Group Editor 2432682 [email protected]

Irma Sefrinta Group Member 2435016 [email protected]

Ngan Ha Mai Group Member 2435124 [email protected]

For the second semester of the third year, the group is with four members: Nina Mols, Maartje Slot, Irma Sefrinta and Ngan Ha Mai. Nina Mols -as the group leader- is the person, who contacts Mr. Pliester, to make appointments and to inform him about the progress. She is responsible for organizing tasks among the team members, organizing team sessions, control the work of the team members, and control the work schedule. Maartje Slot-as the group editor-is the person who collects all the documents from other group members in the Dropbox-account on dropbox.com and makes them into one finished document with chosen font and style. Doing it that way, it is assured that the milestones will have a common layout. A group meeting will be held every week on Monday and Wednesday in the MIM area. Here the work of each other will be checked as well as the grammar or spelling mistakes. Every Wednesday there will be an appointment with Mr. Pliester.

7. Planning

7.1 Deadline procedure

Week External deadline Internal deadline

3.1

3.2

VACATION

3.3 Milestone 1 Sunday 19:00

3.4 Milestone 1 Wednesday 12:00

Milestone 2 Sunday 19:00

3.5 Milsetone 2 Wednesday 12:00


3.7 Milestone 3 Tuesday 12:00

RETAKES

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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EXAMS

4.1

4.2

VACATION

4.3

4.4


4.6 Milestone 4 Wednesday 12:00

4.7

RETAKES

EXAMS

4.10

Milestone 1 = Plan of Approach Milestone 2 = Interview with entrepeneur Milestone 3 = Market research Milestone 4 = Final report

7.2 Group planning

Week Subquestions Tasks Groupmember

1 2 3 4

3.1

3.2 Write PoA

VACATION

3.3

3.4 Deliver M1

Elevator pitch

Prepare entrepeneur interview

Conduct interview

3.5 Deliver M2

1 to 9 Market research

3.6

10 to 19 Market research

3.7 Deliver M3

SWOT analysis

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RETAKES

EXAMS

4.1

12 to 22 Explanatory

research

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6 Finalise report

Prepare presentation

4.7 Deliver M4

Presentation

Together

Germany: Nina, Maartje

The Republic of Ireland: Irma, Ngan-Ha

8. Constraints The constraints for the project are the time limitation, various cultural backgrounds and cash limitation. Regarding time limitation, the report has to be turned in before Wednesday 12.00 o’clock, on week 4.6. Besides that manpower is a precondition. Subsequently, the group has to work in total with four people with a different cultural background that might cause different opinions and approaches to handle this project. It has to be taken into account that money is limited as well. Besides those constraints, there are some requirements the group has to meet as well. It is a condition of the project to interview one entrepreneur and the APA reference style must be applied throughout the whole report.

9. Preliminary table of contents of report 1. Executive summary

2. Introduction

2.1 Introduction of the company 2.2 Introduction of the problem 2.3 Introduction Business Development Plan

3. General information about the company

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3.1 Vision 3.2 Mission 3.3 Strategy 3.4 Market 3.5 Business model 3.6 Revenue model 3.7 Competitors 3.8 SWOT analysis

4. Market research 4.1 Introduction Market research 4.2 Construction tender business 4.3 Competition including customer portfolios

4.3.1 Direct Competition 4.3.2 Indirect Competition 4.3.3 Repro services 4.3.4 Calculation offices

5. Company name

5.1 Introduction to company name 5.2 National/International 5.3 Company name suggestions

6. Sales Strategy

6.1 Introduction to sales strategy 6.2 Best approach 6.3 Search Engine Advertising (SEA) 6.4 Social Business Network

7. Customers

7.1 Introduction Customers 7.2 Contractors 7.3 Subcontractors

8. Revenue Model

8.1 Introduction Revenue Model 8.2 Source of Income 8.3 Best approach

9. Plan

9.1 Introduction Plan 9.2 Future Steps 9.3 Conclusion

10. Research Methods and theoretical basis (Phase 1-8)

11. References 12. Personal work statement

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10. References International Business and Management Studies (2013). In Saxion Course Guide "Business Planning". Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. (5th ed.). Essex (UK): Pearson Education Limited Aanenuitbesteden.nl - In minder tijd, meer doen, geld over! (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2013, from https://www.aanenuitbesteden.nl/

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11. Statement of Approval Project member 1 Project member 2

Name Nina Mols Name Maartje slot

Title Ms. Title Ms.

Function Group leader Function Group editor

Date 06/03/2013 Date 06/03/2013

City Deventer City Deventer

Project member 3 Project Member 4

Name Irma Sefrinta Name Ngan Ha Mai

Title Ms. Title Ms.

Function Group member Function Group member

Date 06/03/2013 Date 06/03/2013

City Deventer City Deventer

Teacher

Name Rogier Pliester

Title Mr

Function Supervisor

Date 06/03/2013

city Deventer

Hereby declares a full approval with the plan of approach and all of its content. After approval the project members have full authority to continue the project. Signature project member 1: Signature project member 2: ……………………… ……………………… Signature project member 3: Signature project member 4: ……………………… ……………………… Signature teacher: ………………………

2013.02.27 POA Version 1 Group C Docx

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