General Questions 1. The company name has been changed to: ABC

Transcription

1 General Questions 1. The company name has been changed to: ABC ABC provides excellent service and delivers a high quality product by using predominately local sourced products and companies.

2 2. Background 2.1 ABC is the trading name of ABC Pty. Ltd. 2.2 There are three streams of ABC that all share the main core focus. [Removed]. 2.3 The office is at [Removed] and operate predominately within the Ballarat region but also throughout Victoria. & ABC was established in June 2010 and started trading in October of that year. 2.5 Our workforce has expanded from family in the early days to 70+ employees with twelve being full time. 3. Business Planning 3.1 The main objective for our business plan is to help focus on our vision as we find that when getting the job done we don t have time to focus on the long term goals. When we notice scenarios starting to unfold, our business plan enables us to quickly put into place well thought out plans. We understand our plans have got us to where we are today and that we must continue to evolve and to develop our plans to keep our growth on track towards our long term vision. We are interested in continuing to expand our business opportunities over the next five years and to enable successful growth we need to ensure the business is configured in a way that aligns our people, internal systems, process and performance. We have built several scenarios into our business plan and are able to act effectively, efficiently and in a timely manner because we prepared for a variety of outcomes, when we had the time. Our business plans have had phases, not necessarily years, which had various steps and plans that have helped us achieve where we are today. The phasing allowed us to keep progressing through major milestones much faster than we could have without a plan. After taking major steps towards completing our vision, in February 2013 the board of ABC collaborated to reset the goals of the organization and to start the process of planning for our next phases. It is fair to say that the new strategy is only in the early stages of adoption within the organization and is still within planning stage. Whilst the strategy is not completely new, below are the goals as they stand. ABC is a respected business where staff, customers and suppliers are valued and treated with respect ABC a premier destination that attracts people from across Victoria ABC continues to strengthen and develop business ventures for delivering and advancing the ABC experience 3.2 The scenarios we use do not to tend focus on one area; some are financial, ratio or sales related such as number of customers, sales revenue or profitability while others are triggered by total working hours of key employees, bottle necks within [product development] and output capacity, particularly at certain times. An example would be when we reviewed our lunchtime sales revenue against initial forecast, we determined that we needed to increase the number of [removed] customers. We decided to bring forward our plan to open the [removed], to increase the offering to our [removed[ customers. Having already planned a mock roster in the planning stage well before the opening and we were able to identify the staffing requirements (i.e 5 x 38 hours for full time roles) and quickly act on the additional training opportunities such as apprentices. 3.3 With the larger triggers to our business plan relating to scenarios and phases it s very clear at what stage we are within our plan. For example, phase five of an early business plan was to open a [removed] operation and keep the existing operating to the standard we had set. We regularly review business objectives with our accountant and business advisors and after much consideration we decided to leap from an established yet growing company (phase three) to phase five, skipping phase four a supplementary smaller step Additionally, the business plan is consistently operational with the ratios, targets and phasing we need, to establish how each element is progressing. The staff ratios are reviewed daily by shift management and weekly by directors. We are in a fortunate position of not having to target growth due to organic growth so management of sales forecasts can be completed monthly. 4. Financial management 4.1 We plan our income and expenses on a project basis that relates to phases within our business plan. The main reason for this is that we have been in a rapid growth phase based on opening the new [business model] and increasing the offering of our rolling oven, to include more catering. Cash flow management has been key within the past 18 months, due to required capital purchases and our need to grow our working capital, particularly stock on hand. Whilst the three streams have predominately operated in the past on a scenario basis, rather than aligning with the financial year, we are now able to plot monthly income projections against expenses more accurately due to our historic data, ratio targets and identified seasonality. The forecast for the next 12 months is currently being revised based on recently released figures relating to our staff wages and the detail of the business decisions we are making as a result of these changes.

3 4.2 Due to increased stock on hand requirements (reflective of higher than expected sales) we have had to increase our stock on hand considerably over the year. This is due to a combination of additional sales, stock availability and additional product lines. Stock and Order sheets are prepared each day and are monitored daily by the operations manager. Stock ordering is completed by the Operations Manager daily based on the sheets, stock on hand and ordering schedules for each item. The regular stock number and appropriate build-to levels have been set for each item, and each product has a usage/cost analysis before sale. This means Accounts can now monitor month on month purchases and collate that against sales and/or stock take. Purchases, trends and ratios are also monitored monthly by finance, with specific attention paid to inconsistencies and unexpected variations over time. Wastage reports are completed where appropriate, the main area being returns from the rolling oven and events. 4.3 Operating within the [removed] industry, the large majority of purchases tend to be cash or card via merchant services. Some corporate customers choose to pay via cheque or pay on invoice but these orders are predominately organised and paid in advance. Standing accounts organised specifically with finance only require a purchase order or written agreement prior to purchase. 4.4 We use several ratio analysis in our regular day to day operations and monthly reporting expressed as a percentage of turnover ex-gst. We ve taken some regularly used industry standard benchmarks, some provided by the ATO and adapted them slightly to suit our operations. It s pretty simple and expressed as COGS 30% Labour 40% Overheads 15% Capital/Profit 15%. Consideration is also given to product development and perhaps over-investment in labour, such as staffing to assist (or sometimes to hide) training and processes that are still within development. We believe these ratios will change slightly with our planned phases, each requiring different levels of capital investment and subsequent improvements to profitability based on the capital investment. 5. Promotions 5.1 Our marketing plan could be quite complex but the basis of it is incredibly simple. The guidelines we use are inherit within ABC ethos - is it something that feels right and is it worth it? This relates to the type of specials, the type of events we are involved in and even the perceived marketing in the public domain. We do operate predominately below the line and are quite active in marketing even though the relevant spend would be less than 0.5% of sales. You could argue if it seems like advertising it is something we shouldn t be doing, if the Return on Investment stacks up (both time and money) and it still seems like marketing, we either don t do it or we have fun with it so it does fit ABC. Another consideration of our marketing guidelines would be that if we don t undertake an activity how else that potential customer will find out about us, such as [be in a place where we could be found]. 5.2 More than a demographic, our target market is much easier to describe by saying it s those who love good [service] with good people. It s the customer who appreciates value and top quality [products] and has the ability to pay for it. We certainly don t pretend to be cheap and any customer wanting a buy one get one free doesn t tend to be our regular. Our pricing is set to a fair price based on the premium product but also balanced with target audience expectations. Our customers see authenticity as soon as they walk in, it's what they see, it's what they hear and it's the feeling that we are marketing to them in everything we do. For example a lot of customers are parents or parents who do not have kids living at home so [we ve done XYZ] When pushed by our web developers to define the target market, we offered to have them in our store [for a specific time] so they could see the customers, feel the vibe and see why a label on target market didn t really matter. We understand that at times we need to define this, particularly in relation to [specific activities] and corporate audiences. 5.3 Social media forms a large part of our marketing and assists greatly in connecting and understanding our customers. We listen to feedback, respond where appropriate and encourage positive word of mouth. We regularly use twitter to engage with customers, reviewers and suppliers and we share our Facebook updates with [number of] users who Like ABC. [Removed additional social network use]. We regularly appear [high] in our region category and have recently received a [removed] meaning we are one of the top 10% of all businesses worldwide on that network. A vital cog in our marketing plan really comes from our customer service manifesto. We aim to keep all of our customers happy, sometimes going above and beyond what is required; follow up phone calls, bills waived completely or a full refund. Promoting positive feedback is one aim but negating the negative feedback is equally important. It s marketing because it can fuel to word of mouth, a bad review on social media or chatter between friends that we don t hear about. It s not possible to fix all situations but we try our best, we put ourselves in the position of unhappy customer and realise that if the response from ABC is generous or even reasonable, then the unhappy customer may be less likely to repeat their story to others. 5.4 Our [product] creates our differentiation. We are consistently trying to improve our product, every [item] and our service but it is being true to ourselves that sets us apart. The pride, hard work and cheeky attitude of the [example[ is encouraged every day and we believe the staff feel it, show it and are one of the best reasons why ABC is differentiated from the pack. The little touches no doubt play a part in our differentiation, the packaging using [specific details], staff uniforms and our [specific] style also help differentiate in an authentic way.

4 6. Staff 6.1 Particularly in relation to our staff being authentic, understanding and positively training staff has helped attract applications without having to advertise specifically for some time. When we had to increase from 25 to 70 employees we had to advertise but since then a slow consistent intake of staff and encouragement for existing to spread the word amongst their circles. The permanent and full time staff that are most successful within the organisation have clearly defined job descriptions and have had them prior to starting. This brings a clear picture of what is required of their role and expectations which enables them to fully understand their commitment. We encourage all staff to work when they want to work and are very clear when the hours are available and in what roles. 6.2 We have split the roles with the main areas to encourage staff competencies in different areas. Within each role there are specific trainers, processes and training procedures that enhance the quality and standards of our staff. For example there is a set [process] for our [specific roles] and there are other appropriate [processes] for [different roles] and schedules for [specific roles], and they are trained by those responsible and skilled in each area. 6.3 Training from our staff exists beyond the four walls and requirements of the business. We communicate with all staff to understand the areas they are interested in and train staff accordingly where possible in-house. Several of our staff are completing [specific training] as part of their employment at ABC. Other training examples include business planning support to staff who are thinking of starting their own business, off-site development and team building on specific projects and staff are offered other training sessions from business organisations. [Additional specific]l training has also been made available and will continue to be provided to key staff. 6.4 We have embraced cloud based rostering software and time-sheet management, this allows staff to manage their own employment and empowers the staff to work [at ideal times]. It also enables this with minimal effect on the business meaning the manager s role is easier and helps the managers communicate the ABC requirements promptly and efficiently. The software certainly has an effect operationally but more than that, it empowers the staff to be in control of their time. We regularly use informal processes to listen and learn from staff. At the end of their shift, each employee is offered a [way of debriefing where ] issues are discussed. We encourage the employee to [engage] and we informally discuss with them what they are doing or how they believe processes can be improved. Staff operating outside their area, whether it s [a or b], being shown how to do it often brings up an interesting dialogue and a lot can be learned from the questions during this time. The sharing of skills and collaboration preparing [products] helps get spirits up as does trying the new [products]. I guess the [incentive] also helps lift the spirits of all at ABC. 7. Quality 7.1 There are a number of health and safety standards that must be applied first and foremost within our business. For example the scheduled maintenance and cleaning, recording and monitoring supplies can assist with maintaining our quality to a safe standard. Higher standards of quality beyond safe standards are often greatly affected by staff rostered on each shift especially given the size of the [operation]. Training staff across roles and areas allows for appropriate staffing levels which improve the quality of our product and service but there is more to it than that. Increasing the amount of cross training of our staff has led to more eyes on the product and more staff awareness of the standards of each process. The processes used to train staff also underpin quality, specifically regarding our newly developed [process] which allows all staff to know [the status] 7.2 Putting ourselves in the customer s place is how we set our standards from day one. From a service point of view we wanted to provide service as we would like it as customers, once we had established the processes that allowed us to maintain these standards. Being authentic to our own standards obviously helps, but listening to our customers helps refine the standards. For example discussing with [our customers], customer reviews on social media, and programs such as the [industry] awards provide external feedback that can be incorporated into future training. 7.3 Setting the fair price for [product] relates quite specifically to the cost of goods sold, labour ratios and the time taken to prepare the [product] affects the price we set for the customer. Sometimes the [product] does not sell or we hear feedback on the price being too high from our customers. Explaining the pricing structure helps, but we also explain we are trying to work out ways to get a similar product cheaper, or that it s local or that we are working on ways to make the product more affordable. It may seem cheap or expensive in some regard but we have four different [x] suppliers and several [y] suppliers, all because we want to keep the standards high. Using the ratios to establish our pricing allows customers to make their own choice for the [product] we use. There are some options that cannot be sustained and we either have to adjust the price, reinvent the product or simply [discontinue it].

5 8. Community Benefit 8.1 In the past twelve months the community would have seen the [products] at several events. Some of these events are [income generating] but often our time is donated to help [...] at events within the community. Of course there are vouchers and requests that we regularly donate and the sponsorship options that arise for sporting organisations are also treated as donations as we do not ask for anything in return. Contributing to the local business community is important for us and we are also active through member associations. We are also more than happy to speak to local media about our stance on local government issues and are open to dialogue with our local representative. 8.2 We are very proud of purchasing history and over the last 12 months know that at least 60% of our spend is with local and regional businesses. Buying local is important to us, [delivery carbon footprints] are considered along with authenticity, quality and price. We have a Local or [specific] policy which is implemented by managers. Our philosophy regarding purchases is to always seek local and you'll see evidence of this [within our range] as we support local suppliers where possible. The policy regarding purchases is that if we feel we must purchase outside of the region, we give local suppliers the opportunity to supply and in some cases provide that same choice to our customers. [Example removed] 8.3 Having explained our [philosophy] and our procedures relating to our [pricing], this really only means it s our overheads and capital purchases that require monitoring. We have asked all local suppliers to quote on all capital expenditure. There are some sustainability and availability considerations but we do spend local the majority of the time. For example, our [supplier] provide the majority of [equipment], the tradesmen are of course local and when we must shop outside the region, we would have already investigated if we can go local first. 9. Sustainability 9.1 We ve taken a sustainable approach from our [z] suppliers by being local where possible. [x] is not transported from [specific locations] and only necessary transport links are taken to get the supply to our door. We aim to go direct to the manufacturer or the first wholesaler if appropriate, which does take further investigative work in some cases but it does remove unnecessary transport and added distribution expenses. Our recycled [product ABC] is not the cheapest but sometimes cost is not the only issue and other factors needs to be considered. [Removed example] is not always the easiest method but it fits with our authenticity and contributes to effective use of already used resources. Even the paper we use is recycled. It is more expensive but it is that authenticity we need if we are serious and doing what the customer wants and what we feel is right. 9.3 Plans for the future to increase the sustainability of our business include down-sizing our [car] used for supplies, moderating and systemising business practices to reduce the amount of weekly deliveries required. For example we are duplicating some equipment and scheduling [to reduce the need for] deliveries. The use of electronic processes helps to improve our paper usage, for example using a cloud based [information technology] helps with the above mentioned scheduling but it will also mean a reduction in printing a prep list, order list and supplies log book. We are currently investigating modifications to our [equipment] use less [xyz] and are working with suppliers to change some of the detail of our purchases that will have an impact on our sustainability and balance it with operational considerations, these could include [example]..

6 Innovation & Entrepreneurship A. ABC takes a simple attitude towards innovation. We think of the ideal best case scenarios and work out how we can get to that level. For example, our [production is more] than the comparative Melbourne [operations] at a high consistent quality. the volume didn t start out like this, we got our product right and then we started to innovate. The custom built point of sale, the [promised date calculator] and even the innovations in training which mean a school aged part time worker, with assistance can [create] like an experience [professional]. Being authentic to ourselves mean we can re-invent the wheel, take best practice from our industry and learn from experts in our field and combine them to create something beyond the some of the parts. Staff are encourage to identify problem and put it out there what might fix it, regular questions at the end of each shift staff mean these can be discussed in a non rigid format. Our [process] is pretty straight forward in the industry but this has been adapted by staff within their training program, the fact we are open to change and continue embrace change helps the organisation takes steps to improve productivity. B. Over the last twelve months with the addition of the new site, innovations were plentiful, some of necessity and some to enhance our offering. Reconfiguring our [system] was a simple but standard innovation that helped reduce confusion amongst customers and helped educate [the customers]. The [system] helped our staff provide a more accurate collection time to customers which obviously helps manage expectations. Given the ratios and method we use to assist with pricing (See 4.4) it is sometimes necessary to innovate our process to make a product more affordable. The example may be [removed] and can be labour intensive. Having already had the design of a prototype for [equipment] completed last year, we had a financial set back getting the prototype ready. In 2013 we purchased a 3D printer specifically to help us finalise the design and ultimately increasing the viability of the [product]. I m sure our customers notice the happy staff and one reason is our new cloud based rostering as mentioned in section 6.4, hours can be confirmed by SMS or and availability updated easily. With the timesheets being monitoring electronically management can see how each [business team] is performing in real time and schedule or move staff as required, like [when resources needs to be redeployed] a staff member may travel to help out. Whilst the output might be possible without the cloud based innovation, it s the speed of information gathering that allows something to be done about it that can affect the customers experience. C. Our digital operations are increasing affecting our ability to continue to be innovative and operate efficiently across multiple locations. Google drive has helped increase efficiency but it also means we have been able to develop quite simple ordering spreadsheets that allow our staff to take their iphone into[specific areas], complete a basic stock count on it, which in turn drafts prep sheet and it some cases place the order direct with a supplier. At times the process of working out the best system can be complicated however it is the simple solution that makes the innovation worthwhile and embraced by the organisation. [Example removed] Continuing to evolve, both simply from [product[ angle and in more complex operations the small innovative steps we take does help the bottom line and make it harder for competitors to replicate what we are doing but more importantly we are improving customer experience on a continuing basis. D. Identifying problems, bottle necks and best case scenario questioning is often the first step in getting the staff on board with the innovations. The staff know that we can design a lot of the tools we work with so are themselves part of the solution early on. [example] then requested if he speak with the programmer to see if we could update the software in order to streamline the process even more. Allowing access and opening communication channels is the main reason why our staff to continue help innovate the business. E. In terms of the innovation that the customer sees, we believe it really should be seen in the product or service as a benefit to them and it many cases only if necessary. For example, would a custom really care if we designed a prototype that helped make us make their [product], or would they just prefer a simple [product]. We have an open dialogue with our customers, we are on show for the majority of the time. We are happy to explain how we do things and why we ve done things in a certain way, this adds to the authenticity. In relation to specific innovations, like the newly developed [product x], we do offer trials to our customers, but rather shouting about our innovations, we prefer to get the basics right first and if the customer finds out just how innovative we are, so be it. Appendix 1 - ABC Experience diagram extract from our Strategic Plan 2013 [removed] Additional appendices removed