Assignment 1 Company description and SWOT Analysis

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Assignment 1: Company Description and SWOT Analysis
Due Week 3 and worth 100 points
In this assignment, you will conduct a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis for the type of beverage you have selected, and for your company overall. As you work on the assignment, consider why you have chosen one type of non-alcoholic beverage over another and the reasons for that choice. As you complete your SWOT analysis, be sure to include external factors such as industry / market trends and competition, and internal factors such as your capabilities or abilities to reach certain market segments.
Write a three to five (3-5) page paper, in which you:

Create your revised NAB company name and explain its significance. Describe the non-alcoholic beverage you will produce and sell. 
Develop your revised company’s Mission Statement and provide a rationale for its components.

Hints: Use the Statement of Mission template on pp. 72-73 on the course textbook: Successful Business Plan to aid your development. Click here for help accessing a specific page number in your eBook.
Extracting appropriate information from the NAB company portfolio, where applicable. You should fill in other required items in the template using your personal preferences.

Describe the trends in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, especially the specific type of beverage category you have chosen. Justify at least three (3) reasons why you have chosen this type of non-alcoholic beverage. 

Hints: Research and outline beverage industry trends. Consider the size and growth rate of the industry overall and the specific beverage type you have chosen. Use the worksheet in the course text (p. 88 | Past and Future Growth of Your Industry) to help you project the future growth rate. Consider the use of industry associations and search engines to find reliable, recent data.

Choose one (1) strategic position from the course text (pp. 142–143) that you believe is the best strategic position for your company. Explain the approach you will use to implement this strategic position in order to distinguish your beverage from other non-alcoholic beverages.
Provide an overview of your company’s distribution channels. Explain the manner in which your product will reach end users. Provide a rationale for your chosen method. 

Hints: For example, will you sell your beverage in grocery stores, restaurants, or sports venues? If so, describe the types of resellers and distributors who will sell to resellers and fulfill their orders. If you are attempting to sell direct-to-consumers, such as online via a monthly subscription, how will you manage warehousing / fulfillment / shipping?

Outline at least three (3) types of risks (including any regulatory risks) that your business faces. Describe your company’s plan to mitigate such risk. 

Hints: You may refer to the types of risk listed in the course text (pp. 148–149) as well as any risks not listed in the text. Regulation weighs more heavily on beverage and food businesses than many other types of companies, so be certain to consider any regulatory risks your type of beverage faces. For example, what kind of regulation and / or risks are you likely to face if you make health claims about your beverage?

Develop a SWOT analysis for your NAB company using the SWOT matrix worksheet in the course text (p. 153 | SWOT: Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats) 

Hints: What are your company’s likely strengths? Have you chosen a beverage segment that is growing and lacks an entrenched competitor? Are you in a niche market that has great potential? What are the strengths that you and other team members bring to your company? Do you or other team members have previous experience in the food and beverage industry?
Hints: What are your company’s likely weaknesses? Is the competition in your industry segment entrenched? Is your own management team inexperienced? Will it be challenging to actually produce your product and maintain quality?
Hints: What are your company’s opportunities? Does your segment have more demand than supply? Have larger corporations stopped serving smaller or niche markets that you could enter? Is a new market emerging because of demographics, immigration, changing tastes?
Hints: What are your company’s threats? Is there a clear market leader that will be hard and expensive to displace? Are downward-pricing pressures in the segment making profit margins slim? Are there little or no barriers-to-entry for new competitors; if you have a novel idea that succeeds, can the competition easily enter your market? If you have a global aspect to your company, do factors such as currency fluctuations, political instability, offshoring or outsourcing pose threats?

Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.
Cite the resources you have used to complete the exercise. Note: There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in the exercise.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Analyze the role of a company mission, vision, and objectives and the impact to business strategy.
Describe strategic planning techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve stated business goals.
Analyze the external and internal environment for opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.
Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.