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Corporate identity research [Example 2] |
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Report excerpts “Prospect Identification & Screening”
Contents:
- Intro.
- Regional Market Overview — Odessa.
- Competitive Environment.
- Recommened Company Profiles:
- JV BELL
- Bestal
- Krok Ltd.
- Pako Links
- JV Raduga
- “STANDARD” Trading Company
- Potential XYZ — Client Distributors Comparative Screening Grid
“STANDARD” TRADING COMPANY
xx, Evreiskaya St. Tel/Fax: (0482) xxx —xxx
270011 Odessa
Mikhail G., Director
Igor V., Finance Director
Main Business Activities
Large and small wholesale of imported food products.
Current Product Range
Tea ("Dilmah"), beer ("Beck's"), Finnish halvarine ("Finea Mix"), chocolate, cocoa, natural juices and soft drinks, pasta, cheese. The firm's policy is to supply only imported goods that have a good consumer reputation.
Legal Status
Privately owned trading firm, set up in 1994 by the present management.
Management and Personnel
Relatively young and extremely enthusiastic, the two owners and hands —on managers of the firm create the impression of savvy and determined business people, knowing the business they are in and the markets they are serving. The firm employs 20 people with college education, including 3 bookkeepers, 2 trade managers, 1 customs broker and 4 service managers. The office is well organized and shows signs of thorough activity.
OPERATIONAL CAPACITY
Storage/Warehouse Facilities
STANDARD leases 300 sq. meters of storage space at a state warehouse. The near future plans include the construction of their own bonded warehouse.
Transportation
To customers within Odessa goods are delivered with own trucks (one GAZ truck and one Mercedes van). Deliveries outside Odessa are carried out either by the customers or, alternatively, by trucks rented from a local ATP. The managers mention a stable working relationship with a number of local ATPs.
Financial Strength and Reliability
During the two years of its activity, STANDART has built up a considerable operation — being the main supplier of such products as halvarine and Dilmah tea to Odessa — and the present volume of trading is described at about two 40 — footer containers and two to three TIR truck loads per month (one truck load ? 20 m. tons). All transactions between the foreign suppliers and STANDART are done directly through traditional banking mechanisms such as L/C and wire transfers.
Customers
STANDARD focuses mainly on local retail customers — Odessa food stores. The firm became a traditional supplier of the products mentioned above and supplies on an on — going basis to over 250 food stores in the city. This large retail customer base is supplemented by wholesale buyers outside Odessa: STANDARD ships product to the Southern regions of Ukraine, as well as to wholesale buyers in Lviv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk. The philosophy of the management is: "The state trade has given up every possible market segment and it would be silly not to grab the market while it is hot." The approach to customers appears to be quite elaborate; STANDART service managers are in permanent contact with the retail customers advising on the appropriate assortment of goods that "ought to be on display in a modern store", thus providing operational support and implicitly generating business.
Business Reputation in Odessa
Six out of eight interviewed store managers were familiar with STANDARD, and none had negative comments about the firm. The firm is known among the retail community for its active participation in promoting the brand names it offers and by offering convenient purchase schemes (deferred payment, frequent supply in order to avoid stock — piling, advertising support of products sold).
Willingness/Terms on Which Interested in Expanding Client's Operations
They are interested and willing to enter into a reliable relationship with a Western tobacco supplier, but would prefer consignment or at least deferred payment terms. They view the tobacco trade as a possible enhancement of their overall business operations and are willing to invest infrastructure, market knowledge and, possibly, financial resources.
General Impression and Reasons for ADG Recommendation
STANDARD has worked exclusively with Western suppliers and high — quality product. It has an impressive customer base in Odessa and is focusing on the retail sector. In order to cope with the challenges of a relatively small but reputable company it has invested largely in the infrastructure (communications include pagers, cellular phones, call — back service, reliable transportation) and personnel (own customs broker, computer — literate staff to operate accounting and financial software). The management indicated willingness to provide credentials from foreign partners. It also stressed that the philosophy of the firm is to watch out for those market segments which are ignored either by the state trade, or by private firms in Odessa (STANDART is the only firm from among the ones we met that mentioned the term "our market niche" when referring to small — scale wholesale). That in addition to trying and "beat the competition by offering quality products". The importance given to sound, long — standing relations with customers is also a plus. The aim of STANDART management is to be "able to stock a store from A to Z".
Potential XYZ — Client Distributor Table & Screening Grid
Prospect Screening Grid Notes and Terms
| SCREENING CRITERIA |
DEFINITION OF CRITERIA |
| Background |
Assessment of primary business focus combined with general capabilities of the firm in a free market environment. |
| Operations |
Compatibility with expected ??? requirements of entrepreneurship, infrastructure, skills and staffing. |
| Financial Strength |
General level of activity and financial position in the local economy, based on revealed numbers as well as subjective evaluation of observable operations and staffing. |
| Experience |
Overall professionalism, age and size of general business operations. |
| Storage |
Availability of or access to appropriate storage or warehouse space. |
| Transportation |
Structure, reliability, and capacity of transportation systems. |
| Communications |
Awareness of importance of communications and existence of/familiarity with reliably functioning systems. |
| Personnel |
Subjective assessment of number and distribution of professional staff, and level of importance conferred to personnel issues. |
| Market Access |
Diversity of customer/market segments reached, as well as geographic range of customers. |
| Subtotal |
Raw point total; objective ranking. |
| Multiplier |
Subjective assessment based on ADG's regional and operational experience (multiplier of 1.0 indicates neutral appraisal). |
| Total |
Refined total; combined objective and subjective ranking. |
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