Research paper: Blue Water Yacht Management, Incorporated Strategic Plan

Buyer Power
The power of customers can drive down a business’s prices. This is driven by the number of buyers and the importance of each individual buyer to a business. At Blue Water Yacht Management the team works very hard to keep up their excellent standard of work, and to keep their clients happy. Even thought the company has a good size client base, to lose a client would somewhat hurt the company.

Substitute Availability
Blue Water Yacht Management full service yacht Management Company. The company will take care of all necessary requirements small or large, which entail managing a yacht. Substitute availability for a client would be to hire subcontractors for each job, or to maintain his or her yacht him or herself.

Competitive Rivalry
In the yacht management industry there are many competitors, and they offer equally attractive products and services. Blue Water Yacht Management stands behind their high quality of work, and their excellent reputation in the marine industry. The management team and employees at Blue Water Yacht Management treat their clients like family, and each client’s yacht as if it were his or her own.

Operating
Competitors
The company offers yearly budgets for managed yachts on request. These budgets are determined using specific vessel operating information, and experience from years of chartering. An assessment of each project done on a boat or yacht will result in a fair estimate of yearly costs. Despite that Blue Water Yacht Management is competitive with their prices; the company is every so often priced a little higher than their competitors. This is on the basis that the company stands behind their high-quality of work.

Creditors
Blue Water Yacht Management has a good credit standing. The company has accounts with several Marine Suppliers in which they are billed monthly. Management each has their own company credit card for work- related expenses.

Customers
Blue Water Yacht Management realizes that knowing and understanding the client’s needs is the center of the company’s success. Management uses this to persuade potential and existing customers who have Blue Water Yacht Management as their yacht management company is in their best interests.

Labor
At Blue Water Yacht Management the company prefers to hire employees with some marine industry background but is willing to train someone who is new in the marine industry.

Suppliers
Blue Water Yacht Management uses the following marine suppliers; National Marine, West Marine, Boat Owners Warehouse, and DS Hull. These companies are the leading suppliers in the Marine Industry. Blue Water Yacht Management is very confident in using these companies’ products.

Internal Environment
Tangible Assets
Items that could be tangible assets at Blue Water Yacht Management would be the work trucks the employees drive during working hours, equipment and tools needed to perform daily tasks on the boats. Additionally, the computers the employees work on to record all work, and cell phones to communicate with each other and clients.

Intangible Assets
At Blue Water Yacht Management the intangible assets would be Captain Bill Blacketer and Captain Donnie Meister’s extensive experience in the marine industry, the skills of the company employees, and Sherrie Sheehan’s administrative skills.

Organizational Capabilities
Marketing and Sales
Blue Water Yacht Management will expand our customer base and enhance the company by using several marketing strategies to promote business such as wireless, Internet, print, radio, television, and by word of mouth.

Finance and Accounting
Most of the financing and accounting at Blue Water Yacht Management is done by management. Additionally, Management has hired an accountant, which they meet with on a monthly basis to look at the company books to make sure the accounts are correct.

Production, Operations, Technical
Small Business Operations covers the core activities of operating a small business, including production, systems, and processes. Items covered in small business operations include productivity; management issues, and efficiencies in a small business (Business Week).
Blue Water Yacht Management is a mobile service so there will never be a problem for a client to have his or her boat or yacht serviced regardless where it is located such as behind a customer’s home, or a marina. The company brings in all product vendors to train Blue Water Yacht Management employees on how to use the products so damage is not done to the boats or persons. The company will send employees to school for any necessary training or licensing.

Personnel
Blue Water Yacht Management has employees on staff that specializes in detailing and maintenance for all boats. The company will also contract a boat/yacht mechanic that can perform simple to complex mechanical repairs on-site on behalf of their customers. They also have two licensed captains, and crew members available for owners to use.
Quality Management
Quality management focuses not only on product/service quality but also the means to achieve it. Blue Water Yacht Management uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality.
Information Systems
If a client needs to schedule services, talk to management or one of the captains at Blue Water Yacht Management, the best suited channels for a client to contact the company would be to call, visit the office directly, or by sending an e-mail. The management and captains can be reached on their personal cell phones 24 hours a day. There will always be someone available to help the clients.
Organization and General Management
At Blue Water Yacht Management Captain Bill Blacketer and Sherrie Sheehan are the company owners. They are responsible for holding together and ensure that the business runs smoothly and profitably. Because of the small size of the company there are not tiers to the company’s management. Captain Bill Blacketer has 22 years of experience in boating and Sherrie Sheehan has 15 years of corporate and administrative experience for the organization to benefit.

 

SWOT ANALYSIS
Internal
Strengths Weaknesses
Ӣ good reputation among customers
Ӣ strong brand names
Ӣ access to high grade natural resources
Ӣ favorable access top suppliers
Ӣ lack of access to top suppliers
External
Opportunities Threats
Ӣ an unfulfilled customer need
Ӣ coming of new technologies
Ӣ slacken off of boating regulations

”¢ shifts in consumer tastes away from the company’s products
Ӣ new boating regulations
Ӣ coming out of substitute products



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