Business Cases Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative June 2012 Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative Almost Home Shelter 5/13/2011 University of Illinois—BADM 533 Sustainable Business Plan Nick Chin, Joy Daniel, Katrina Epperson, Jenna Goebig, Aslihan Karatas, Jenny Koys * This case is based on a comprehensive business plan developed by a student group in the course entitled Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces under the supervision of the instructor, Madhu Viswanathan. The case was prepared by Madhu Viswanathan, John Clarke and Srinivas Venugopal and copyedited by Tom Hanlon. We gratefully acknowledge the organizational sponsor of the project and the students who contributed to it. Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative| Business Cases Page 1 Business Cases Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative June 2012 Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 Situational Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 Seamless Transitions Team ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Micro Environment—Internal Strengths and Weaknesses ................................................................................................. 8 Macro environment—External Opportunities and Threats ............................................................................................... 10 Mission/Objectives in terms of Profits, People, and Planet ............................................................................................. 17 Market Research .............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Virtual Immersion ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Preliminary Criteria and Idea Generation ......................................................................................................................... 21 Market Research ............................................................................................................................................................... 23 Field Research Preparation ............................................................................................................................................... 24 Field Research .................................................................................................................................................................. 27 Learning and Reflection from Field Research .................................................................................................................. 28 Product Development ....................................................................................................................................................... 36 Concept generation and screening .................................................................................................................................... 38 Criteria Ranking ................................................................................................................................................................ 40 Focused Concept Generation ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Concept Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................................... 48 Trade-Off Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 Prototype and Technical Specifications ............................................................................................................................ 51 Positioning ........................................................................................................................................................................ 57 Target Market Selection .................................................................................................................................................... 57 Sustainable Marketing Mix ............................................................................................................................................... 61 Action Plans ..................................................................................................................................................................... 63 Sustainable Product Design .............................................................................................................................................. 68 Sustainable Value Chain ................................................................................................................................................... 72 Design of the Value Proposition ....................................................................................................................................... 75 Communication of the Value Proposition ......................................................................................................................... 77 Manufacturing Plan, Product Forecast and Launch Schedule .......................................................................................... 78 Life Cycle Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 88 Material Processing ........................................................................................................................................................... 89 Material Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 89 Financial Forecast ............................................................................................................................................................. 91 Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative| Business Cases Page 2 Business Cases Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative June 2012 Ecological (Planet) Impact Forecast ................................................................................................................................. 94 Societal (People) Impact Forecast..................................................................................................................................... 95 Implementation, Controls, and Evaluation ...................................................................................................................... 97 Measures of Performance ................................................................................................................................................. 97 Monitoring and Evaluating Performance .......................................................................................................................... 97 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................................................ 100 Benchmarking ................................................................................................................................................................. 100 Evaluating User Learning Methods—Assembly Manual ............................................................................................... 110 Shelter Dimensions ......................................................................................................................................................... 113 Marketing Communications ............................................................................................................................................ 114 Field Notes—Trip to India (Dec 2010-Jan 2011) ........................................................................................................... 116 End Notes ....................................................................................................................................................................... 165 Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative| Business Cases Page 3 Business Cases Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative June 2012 Executive Summary Seamless Transitions seeks to provide affordable, culturally sensitive disaster relief solutions for subsistence communities that aim to minimize socioeconomic disruption. Our organization is guided not only by a mission to provide relief to survivors of a disaster, but to do so sustainably in terms of the Triple Bottom Line. Our mission is thus to consider the long-term social, economic, and environmental implications of disaster relief. Expertise With experience ranging from construction management to economics and industrial design, our team is equipped with the expertise necessary to analyze subsistence marketplaces and determine market needs and opportunities. From this we ideate and evaluate a multitude of product concepts, choosing only those that