Research and Development Plan of Juicy Lucys - Paper Example

The company will employ a vertically integrated manufacturing system that does not produce wastes into the environment. The system will maintain a low costs structure and enable the company to maintain competitive prices. The manufacturing department will acquire readily available and cheap resources in the neighborhood. Raw materials include cooking oil, caustic soda, water, fabric softener, dyes/fragrances and moulds of the shapes that the soap will resume. The moulds will be penile and vagina models for curving the shapes. The moulds are available and will be purchased online.

Manufacturing will start from collecting and assembling resources, from various sources. Care will be a guarantee in assembling to ensure that only quality raw materials enter the manufacturing system to guarantee high-quality products.

The manufacturing process will require the use of warm water to ensure that all ingredients retain their natural ingredients. Using warm temperature will speed up the manufacturing process and ensure that the soap is completely ecological.

After dissolving the caustic soda in with the water, it will be mixed with the used cooking oil after the impurities are taken away. The mixing will be an average of 15 minutes, then the next step will be to add softener and dye for fragrance and color. Once it is completed, the product will be nearly finished. It will be ready to go into storage vessels which will be penile and vaginal moulds where they will be allowed to rest. The soap will rest in conducive conditions to allow it to cure fully and dry for two days. Two weeks after being stored, the product will be finished and ready for distribution. Prior to distribution, the soap will be passed through laboratory tests to confirm its safety for use. Then the packaging begins which will be a fishnet bag to hold multiple soaps since a box wouldnt be wise to hold all these different shapes.

Juice Lucys will be located on a spacious ground floor that can adequately house manufacturing, packaging and loading products for transportation. Space will also be sufficient to allow for fulltime operations for all stages of the manufacturing process. The oil will be acquired from the neighborhood. The business seeks to work with waste oils from multiple restaurants to recycle resources that would otherwise go to waste and dump the environment.

The manufacturing sector will be having twenty employees working as human labor. The company will purchase machines and equipment for production. Human labor will include machine operators, supervisors, factory line workers and those working in the packaging department. Employees will be hired on the grounds of merits depending on professional qualifications and for manufacturing department the firm will hire casual laborers. The business will provide workers with protective wear while in the factory and offer training for the workers on the use of equipment and safety measure while on the premise. Packing will be done on the premise, and the soap will bear the name and logo of backpackers.

Research and Development Plan

Juicy Lucys will invest in research to various degrees. To begin with, enormous research will be done on the product to examine its quality and safety for human consumption. Also, research and laboratory tests will be done to test for a variety of product that would meet client needs. The marketing department will also focus on market research to provide the business with information that is crucial in making of an expansion plan.

Researching New Market: Carrying research in about new markets will be important as it will help Juicy Lucys target the right group that will consume the products. The research will help the firm identify and understand unmet needs for potential markets. Information acquired from the field might help Juicy Lucys develop a preliminary version of the soaps that the firm will originally introduce into the market.

Researching Market Trends and Market Size: Through research, the business will manage to identify a specific group and market segments and their unique features and preferences of the soaps regarding color, fragrance, and size. The researcher will also identify cultural and sub-cultural differences and tastes. Also, having updated research informs better about trends in the market and popular events like cancer awareness events. In events of this nature, the company can manufacture soaps that fit the event and promote itself and product while creating awareness about cancer and its roles in the fight against the disease.

Customer Feedback: The firm will also use feedback acquired from customers and lines of distribution to manufacturing soaps that better fit their needs and tastes. The information will be useful in determining the best methods to meet needs of target markets and clarify the position and course that Juice Lucys holds regarding cancer awareness and environmental conservation.

Conducting market research will help the firm develop by investigating the level and nature of competition. The firm will be assessing products, marketing techniques, promotion, and marketing methods as well as services that competitors provide to customers. With the information, Juicy Lucys will commit to providing better services and superior marketing strategies.

Collectively all the information acquired from the research will contribute to the development of Juicy Lucys.

Organization Structure and Ownership

Ownership and The Executive Staff

Juice Lucys business will be a small-scale business whose ownership is by four individuals A, B, C, D. The owners will be funding the initial startup of the business, but a fraction will be funded using a bank loan. Member A will be the managing director. As the manager, he will be charged with duties implementing operations activities like manufacturing, packaging, and distribution. Executive member B will hold the position of an administration manager, and his responsibilities will include managing finances of the business. The administration manager will also handle the human resources aspects and ensure the business runs efficiently. Partner C will be the assistance administration manager. The roles of C will focus on assisting the administration manager; he will be the authority to whom the administrative manager will delegate duties. The two will ensure that the daily operations of the business run smoothly. Partner D will have the role of operation coordination. The position will require knowledge for planning and operational management. It will involve solving issues with the manufacturing department and ensure a constant supply of resources for manufacturing of products.

Organization Structure

The business will be structured as a small business enterprise the firm will be managed by the executive members who are also the business owners. The executive members will have different roles as described in the ownership section above. The organization will have various departments under four main departments each managed by each partner. The departments will include executive staff, driver, factory line workers, human resources and marketing/sales.

The manufacturing department will include the biggest number of workers. It will have an administration manager and an assistant administration manager. The department will cater to manufacturing. It will be divided into operations department the human resource department.

Human Resource Department: The human resources department will have many duties that will focus on sustain efficient operations in the business. The human resource department will align workers with an individual and at a team level to ensure that they all work towards achieving sustainably as it is a fundamental goal for Juicy Lucys.

The supervisor will be required to report to the executive staff daily and prepare weekly reports. Upon updating the executive staff on the ongoing of the business, they will ask for clarification on various issues and matters at hand. The production department will hire causal laborers to recruit lucrative workers. Casual laborers will also assist in the distribution of the soap while promoting the product in the local market.

Marketing Department: The marketing department will focus on consulting research on festivals happening in the region. After establishing this, the marketer will contact the logistics staff of each event and inquire about the procedure to get a chance to distribute soaps to the festivals given that these events are the prime target of Juice Lucys business. The marketing team is answerable to the executive board and the factory supervisor to have the products ready and packed for shipment on their due date.

The marketing department will incline to sell the company and the business including the course to which the business is committed. The department will ensure that it sells the company as an eco-friendly and philanthropist firm and not another sexual business. The risk of having customers perceive Juice Lucys as obscene will be the priority for the team to neutralize. The goal will be achieved about the PR management strategy. The basis of forming public relationship will be the firms course and its environmental sensitivity. The marketing dirtiest will, therefore, be required to apply a variety of techniques like conducting and attending awareness initiatives and fundraisers to offer sexual education and support campaigns that fight cancer.

Transport Department: The transport department will be operated by the driver. His role is to transport produce from the firm to the designated destination. When packaging soaps he should ensure that the shuttle is full and packaging is right before and that everything is according to the requirements before leaving for the distribution roles. He will also be required to pick employees from a meeting point and drive them to the firm. Juice Lucys will remain in operation during weekdays with all departments running normally.

The firm will adopt an organizational structure that respect and values open channels of communication through these channels, all stakeholders will be free to give and receive feedback as it will be important for the stability and growth of the firm. Transparency in communication will curb possibilities of a crisis situation in the workplace and even when such occurrences take place the policy will assist in resolving the situation amicably. There will be a policy in place for solving crises and conflict resolution.

Risk Recognition and Risk Reduction Strategies

Risks that Juicy Lucy will face will come from sources like competition, unsafe procedures by workers causing harm to themselves and the business, ineffective management and effects of the loan. Recognizing these risks is crucial as it will be the focus to help the business manage and mitigate the risks.

Competition poses a risk for market operations of Juice Lucys business. Although Juicy Lucy has a unique product, it still has competition from all other soap manufacturers. Roughly all soap industries distributing in Australia poses competition. Competitors include Simply Natural Soap Making supplies, Underwood and QLD Redox among others. All companies pose unique threats depending on their mode and field of specialization. The most significant is competitors who are investing in soap supplies and large-scale production of a wide variety of soap products. Them activities overlap with the interests of Juicy Lucy. Further, the business considers major brands like Dove as competitors since they also pose a threat to Juice Lucys brand. The competition from various sources is perceived as risks since they have the potential to slow down or negatively affect the development plan for Juice Lucys brand. Mitigation stra...