Managing a Start- Firm Tasked Preparing Operating

¶ … managing a start- firm tasked preparing operating plan import coffee U.S. Brazil. The plan intend operate coffee import business "Inventory Warehousing policy."

Startup

The organization will be importing coffee from Brazil and selling it into the United States. The idea behind this strategy is based on both cost efficiencies, as well as the long lasting history of Brazilian coffee, which is highly respected across the entire globe.

Still, in order to ensure the final success of the company, it is necessary to devise a strong strategic plan focusing on a multitude of aspects. Some of these aspects include the selection and motivation of the staff members, the purchase of the machineries, the renting of the space and so on. Each of these issues is dealt with in precise order, based on priority and importance.

At the present moment, the priority is represented by the creation of an operating plan in regards to inventory and warehousing. This plan would be devised in such a manner that it responded to both policy requirements, as well as practical features. In this order of ideas, the plan comprises of nine stages, as follows:

The purpose of the plan

Storage area

Responsibilities of the staffs

Training of the staff

Insurance

Information technology

Electronic commerce

Banking and payment mechanisms

1. Purpose of the plan

The scope of the current plan is to prepare the organization for the future logistics operations that would be involved in the import of coffee beans from Brazil. The benefits of the plan are those of planning ahead, envisioning situations and preparing for them. This plan is designed for both management as well as staffs, and its scope is that of familiarizing the organizational parties with the complexities of the future operations.

2. Storage area

The coffee beans to be imported from Brazil would be stored in the storage space attached to the operational facility, which is virtually comprised from the space for serving customers, the space where customers can drink their coffee-based beverages, the offices of the employees and the storage facility. The storage facility is of a dimension of 90 square feet, divided into three partially separated places. The separation of the space supports a better classification of the coffee beans based on various criteria, such as price, popularity, presence in the storage facility and so on.

3. Responsibilities of the staff

The staff members are required to fully commit to completing the tasks which had been assigned to them. These are detailed in the job descriptions for each position, which had already been forwarded to the employees. In other words, the inventory and warehousing operations do not influence the personnel responsibilities.

At the particular level of the inventory and warehousing staffs, their responsibilities include the following:

Processing orders as received from the sales staffs and/or customers

Communicating with management regarding the available inventory

Computing estimates on inventories required and transmitting the figures to management

Ensuring the adequate storage of the coffee beans, in adequate spaces, light and aired in accordance to legislation.

4. Training of the staff

The employees to be working in the inventory and warehousing department would not be subjected to specific training programs. Since the company is a startup, it possesses limited financial resources to invest in the professional formation of the employees. Emphasis would as such be placed on the selection and hiring of employees who already possess expertise in the field. They would have to have been employed within the field for at least five years.

5. Insurance

The company would sign insurance contracts with insurance providing firms in order to safeguard both its assets, such as spaces and equipments, but also the coffee beans which it imports. In this setting, an important feature is represented by insurance policies which safeguard the coffee beans throughout the transportation process as well, and against various risks, such as automobile accidents, natural calamities or any other risk which could damage the cargo.

6. Information technology

The technology to be used in the inventory and warehousing processes can be divided into two categories. First of all, there are the machineries used in the processing of inventory and warehousing data. These include machineries such as computers and scanners.

The second category of technological elements to be used is represented by the software applications utilized to manage the inventory and warehousing of the imported coffee beans. These include primarily the traditional applications and solutions, such as excel files. In the future, the company strives to acquire a new software application that would compute the needs of the inventory and transmit them to the suppliers in Brazil. Such a solution would create more efficiencies, but it is yet inaccessible to the firm due to its increased costs.

7. Electronic commerce

At this stage, the firm would not focus on electronic commerce, as all its sales operations would be completed within the store to be opened. Within this location, the company would also store its coffee beans.

8. Banking and payment mechanism

The payment for the coffee beans would be completed with the aid of banks in the United States of America, rather than banks in Brazil or in other global regions. The firm would contract the services of banks which are specialized in international transactions and which could offer the necessary support. At this level, it is important to note the mechanisms of payment and imports, as follows: