Unit 6: Research Paper Directions Select a product of which you will export to a foreign country. After your product is chosen, decide on a foreign country to which you will export. In developing your Export Business Plan, you will present the following information: I. Purpose – why has the plan been written II. Table of Contents III. Executive Summary – this is short and concise and covers the principal points of the report and is prepared after the plan has been written IV. Introduction – what product and foreign country did you select and why V. Situational Analysis – describe the product to be exported VI. Country History – present a brief history of the country as it relates to its origins and trade history VII. Cultural Overview – what are the norms, practices, social structure, etc. that may aid (or hinder) the reception of your product – Consumer attitudes toward product – Educational levels – ability to comprehend instructions, ability to use product – Languages – labels, instructions VIII. Political Environment – present an overview of the governance structure of the country along with any legal-political forces – Certain features required or prohibited – Label and packing requirements IX. Export Marketing Plan – present long and short-term goals, characteristics of an ideal target market for your product given the country selected, market screening X. Economic Development – how developed is the country and how will this influence the success of your product – Purchasing power – Wages – Infrastructure XI. Summary For further detail regarding the components of your Export Business Plan, please see pages 363-364 and 390 of our text. Your paper is to be a minimum of 5 pages in length and be in APA format to include: The use of headings and subheadings Times New Roman 12-point font Double-spaced lines Two spaces after punctuation 1 inch margins Paragraphs with a minimum of 3 sentences The first line of each paragraph should be indented 1/2 inch Include in-text citations for each thought that is not your own (information derived from another source) A reference (or works cited) page For assistance with APA formatting please review the following resources

 

Export Business Plan

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Course

Date of Submission

 

Export Business Plan

Purpose

As observed by Chwolka, A., & Raith, M. G. (2012), coming up with an export business plan is a significant part of any business set up striving to cover maximum stability in the marketing environment. Developing a detailed export business plan assist an organization in defining its export objectives and makes proper use of the available resources essential in the production process. Writing a business plan is also significant as it helps executives to efficiently manage the market segments they have outlined as a critical business. Controlling the available resources allows a company to consequently come up with timely responses and services to the targeted export customers and is also part of the technique that will assist in handling a variety of service providers. Export business plan singles a business as prime, realistic objectives, and programs developed to achieve them mainly (Chwolka & Raith, 2012). The project is significant as it defends a business’s marketing position from intense competition and other exporters, it lowers fixed cost, discovering modern technological skills, and also managing management efforts. Therefore, apart from the advantages mentioned above, this export business is essential to the Bavarian Motor Works company as it assists the organization affirming its global reputation.

Executive Summary

The primary motive of this export business plan is to develop, talk about, and evaluate the type of product that the BMW automotive company exports to South Africa. It will also examine the product regarding its characteristics and description, describe the country’s history, look at the cultural overview of South Africa, political surrounding, export business plan and finally look into the country’s economic development. Bavarian Motor Works car industry is viewed as a lucrative for the export business plan as it is considered one of the best automotive car brands more so in the manufacturing of luxury cars for customers across the globe. The business success past began in 1917 when the organization was developed in Munich, Germany.

 

Introduction

The first-ever Bavaria Motor Works M2 coupe is a product that has a combination of most preferred sporting prowess and adequately structured rear-wheel drive with the accuracy and nimbleness of any modern car having the ‘M’ logo (Jamrichova & Akova, 2013). The foreign country selected is South Africa as it is considered as a middle-income developing market with a heavy supply of natural resources, stable financial policies, authorized, communications, power, and transport sectors thus making it the second-best nation for business opportunities in Africa. Also, the company has plans in place to increase their branches and products in the country due to its continuous escalating technological skills and the growing population that makes it ideal to market BMW products. The industry’s group located within South Africa has an objective of increasing its information technology capabilities centers, Rosslyn plant as well as its SAP, and the shared service center located in Pretoria East. Moreover, the nation is an ideal place for exporting Bavarian Motor Works M2 coupe model as the industry’s Rosslyn has been the foundation and key driver of the BMW South Africa operations. Over the last period, the plant escalated from functioning as a completely knocked down motor vehicle production plant, gathering cars with limited customization capabilities for the local market, to a global class plant capable of producing customized vehicles for discerning clients across the globe.

Situational Analysis

The car is characterized with aprons typically made to optimize the airflow and aerodynamics together with the sportily-turned suspension and the strong M twin power turbo 6-cylinder petrol engine designed to ensure a marvelous performance. Regarding its design, the car is manufactured to incorporate power and dynamics where its exterior parts have the car’s sporty coupe line together with the muscular shape of its body (Wang et al. 2015). It’s inside the cockpit is composed of official racing descriptions, serving to define the car’s athletic presence. The product has front defenders that are flared to handle with the M axles and wide tires underneath. The product is typically a unique kind of Bavarian Motor Works that is manufactured to perform to its fullest as it offers high power even though not too much of it and a dominant impression from behind the wheel. Its small size and lively differential make the car very swift while the wide tires enable to have a steady grip and the breaks give a lot of stopping power.

Just like the 2-series upon which it is centered, the M2’s cockpit is fixed to allow stability, where the materials used, are stark; however, the front seats offer massive performance driving making this product unique in its way. The fit and finish are part of the classy BMW quality that is designed to bring excellent side support that keeps the passengers upright and in control (Wang et al. 2015). Regarding the safety of the product, the BMW M2 coupe has not been put into any test either by the agencies; however, structurally same 2018 2-series coupe has been tested and has positive ratings together with “advanced” rating for its front crash safeguarding system. The car has the usual six airbags including the front side, dual front, and the curtain side together with the adaptive speed control and a rearview camera. It is also significant to notice that a set of exclusive safety features is available for the executive package that incorporates lane changer warnings, forward collision warnings fitted with emergency braking together with the rear parking sensors. These are some of the features that the new 2018 BMW M2 Coupe is equipped with making it more popular and comfortable to the industry’s esteemed customers.

Country History

South Africa’s economy was anciently rooted in the primary sectors that led to the creation of wealth on mineral resources and active agricultural status; however, there has been a structural change in the level of output. Since the late 1980’s the country’s economic condition has been driven majorly by the tertiary division that incorporates retail and wholesale business, communication and tourism. However, in the recent times, South Africa is shifting towards a knowledge-centered economy, with much attention directed towards technology, electronic ways of marketing and other significant services. The country’s critical section of the economy is regarded as finance, real estate and other business-related services that results in 25 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (Mashilo, 2010). The state services then follow it at an average of 18 percent, then the sector of wholesale, retail and motor business, catering and accommodation at 14 percent. Typically, the automotive industry is considered as the country’s most significant sectors with a majority of its multinationals depending on South Africa to acquire machinery and pull together vehicles for both the local and global markets. The automotive and segments company is strategically located for investment opportunities where vehicle building companies such as BMW, Toyota, and Volkswagen have developed production plants.

A majority of the companies having their production plants within the country are organized to take significant benefit of the low assembly cost together with ready contact to modern markets due to business relations with the European group and the South African growth society free traffic area. Other advantages are centered in the invention of resources including automotive brace and apparatus. In 2012, the division of trade diligence incorporated the automotive product expansion program with an objective of enhancing the number of cars produced within South Africa to 1.3 million per annum by 2025 as well as to increase the automotive component chains. The developed body is a migration from the motor industry growth program that typically affected the second and third tier suppliers and original equipment producers (Mashilo, 2010). As observed by the national association of automotive producers, the manufacturing of light motor cars rose from 2014 due to the formation of the automotive production growth program.

Cultural Analysis

Bavarian Motor Works M2 coup is first-class for South Africa due to its past traditions and societies who are impersonated continuously with the industry’s cars, for example, one significance is how current the company’s products are typically evident through some slang words used within the streets of the black township. The brand is strategically nicknamed as “Be My Wife” that is centered on the notion that possessing a BMW car is a technique of attracting women and thus regarded as a unique motor car brand (Daniel et al. 2012). Through the national affirmative action program referred to as black economic empowerment, it has enabled equal distribution of more equitability that is considered as South Africa’s critical wealth from whites direct to the blacks. Consumer attitudes towards the Bavarian Motor Works products within South Africa have been stable more so with the help of constant advertisements including banners, videos, and rich social media. Through these advertisements, the M2 coupe has gained popularity within the country and various customers embracing the product.

Educational Levels

In the current set up, South Africa has invested heavily in their education as it has ever since the end of apartheid era; in 2013, close to twenty percent of the total country’s entire budget went to the knowledge which is relatively a higher figure by global standards. However, the progress being made to date is still considered as insufficient regarding the wants of the country and its dominated black population. The education standards are still, by any objective measure, not meeting the expected needs of the students and the state thus making the automotive business somehow tricky. Therefore, it forces the BMW industry to put more effort in educating their customers on how to use their products and this is part of the competitive strategy from other companies such as Volkswagen and Toyota.

Language Consideration

In any trading business, style is a significant factor as communication is considered as one of the analytical techniques through which industries get to acknowledge their esteemed customer’s needs and preferences. In South Africa, there are eleven known languages, and they comprise Ndebele, English, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Venda, Tsonga, and Tswana. One of the most spoken languages within the country is Zulu with an average percentage of twenty-three then followed by Xhosa with 17 percent (Daniel et al. 2012). However, English is considered as the fourth most popular verbal communication with a ten percent and at the same time spoken in several metropolitan areas and also as the main language used by the administration and in the media. The use of English is an added advantage to the company as a majority of their products is advertised using the same language.

Political Environment

The political set up of South Africa has over the past decades experienced a sustained alteration in the political environment due to the increase of stable democracies while other several countries are still one party democracies. The state has over the recent times been exposed due to their peaceful election processes as a result of the emerging opposition parties that typically help in affirming the nation’s political structure that is a significant factor in foreign investment. Political discovery assists in getting to understand the various types of political rules documented within a state before viewing it as a trade partner in the effort to keep a good commerce relation (Marais, 2013). South Africa’s government has created various divisions that typically deals with the scrutiny of foreign investors within the country, and these departments comprise of economic growth department that strategically has an objective of enhancing economic growth via active contribution, specific and synchronized economic policy for the benefit of all South Africa people. The administration also appreciates the efforts made by foreign investors and this has made the country to be ranked as the top location for foreign direct investment. Other global industries that have invested in the country include Mercedes Benz and Facebook that have decided to set up offices within the state. Regarding packaging, all imported goods should always follow the quality or standards qualification marking put in place by the South African Bureau of standards that is a specialized department of trade and industry. Also, all packaging made from natural supplies and fibers should have an authenticated certificate describing that the material has been purified. All labeling should have the trade name, code number, and net weight.

Export Marketing Plan

The management of Bavarian Motor Works has revealed the automaker’s plan for the coming years, all the way up to 2020. The industries have a short-term four-year consideration of fulfilling their yearly sales of 2 million vehicles by the end of 2018, and after this has been achieved, the company will have another seven years to accomplish the annual sales of 2.5 million by 2030. The organization plans to achieve these goals through enhancing the level of production at its plant in South Africa. The company also plans to expand its range of SUV with a small X1 model. Some of the characteristics that make South Africa an ideal target market for BMW M2 Coupe is due to its size and profitability where the country holds a substantial target market profitability due to the growth in some consumers. The state has practiced the development of middle-class individuals who not only motivated by the financial growth but also by the enhanced education degree. These fashionable men are viewed essentially regarding how they spend thus becoming a target market for a majority of BMW goods introduced within the nation with their number predicted to grow by close to 60 percent in the next period.

Economic Development

South African customers are typically well-informed thus making the nation’s dynamic economy to increase thus resulting into an increase in the consumer’s purchasing power and an increase of the black middle class that is considered to be having higher chances of disposable income and the love they have for BMW products. However, despite this expansion of the level of consumer pool, private usage within the nation has been developing at a relatively subdued annual degree of 3 percent over the past six years and close to 2 percent in the past two years which is less as compared to other Africa’s significant economies. The country does not have any minimum wage; however, there are given employment sectors that can come up with their minimum wages even though it can be complicated on how it works (Marais, 2013). These departmental minimum wages are significant in assisting the vulnerable, low-paid employees and are typically set through collective bargaining in private sector council or regulation from the state through strict adherence to the labor relations act and primary status of employment act. The wage will not substantially affect the purchase of M2 Coupe as the country economy is stable enough to accommodate the product. Compared to other African countries, South Africa has excellent infrastructure including an adequately developed network of close to 400,000 kilometers of roads and 25,000 kilometers of rail track. There are some global and national airports, a well-developed system of bulk water supply and other essential infrastructures within the country.

Summary

The export business plan is essential for any company that strives to gain marketing stability in an international level and is also considered as a sufficient and ideal goal for any automotive business thus should be embraced in various ways. The Bavarian Motor Works has several export techniques that assist in the distribution of its different car products across other countries and some channels that include franchiser and indicate rooms that distribute the industry’s products. Also, South Africa has been an ideal place for trade operations due to its constant development and stable gross domestic product that has made business opportunities to grow over the past decades.

 

References

Chwolka, A., & Raith, M. G. (2012). The value of business planning before start-up—A decision-theoretical perspective. Journal of business venturing27(3), 385-399.

Daniel, T. C., Muhar, A., Arnberger, A., Aznar, O., Boyd, J. W., Chan, K. M., … & Grêt-Regamey, A. (2012). Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences109(23), 8812-8819.

Jamrichova, Z., & Akova, E. (2013). Mechanical Testing of Natural Fibre Composites for Automotive Industry. University Review7(3), 20-25.

Marais, H. (2013). South Africa pushed to the limit: The political economy of change. Zed Books Ltd..

Mashilo, A. M. (2010). Changes in Work and Production Organisation in the Automotive Industry Value Chain: An evaluation of the responses by labour in South Africa(Doctoral dissertation).

Wang, Y., Liu, W., Ma, H., & Chen, L. (2015). Resonance analysis and soft-switching design of isolated boost converter with coupled inductors for vehicle inverter application. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics30(3), 1383-1392.

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