I.

Introduction

The Plant-Titas and Titos community have risen during the quarantine (Pelayo, 2020).

More homes and offices integrate the idea of nature, bringing cozy green oasis indoors and

bringing the natural beauty to our living spaces. By creating texture and balance, a room or patio

can be transformed into an environment that comforts and welcomes. In fact, caring for a living

plant gives you a sense of personal fulfillment especially if you see that they’re thriving.

Therefore, Phytophile Essentials Corporation is here to cater your needs and fulfill your duty as

Plant-Titas and Plant-Titos. The company name (Phytophile) means a person who is fond of

plants or simply plant lovers and refers to the Plant-Titas and Plant-Titos essentials for their plant

needs such as pots, shelves and potting soil.

Phytophile Essentials is a manufacturing business offering customers a collection of

quality products at an affordable price. From indoor and outdoor pots to gardening tools.

Introducing varieties of pots such as plastic, terracotta and wood planters which converts

simplicity into creative and attractive plant pots. According to Vinje (2019), pairing plants with
the right pot will enhance their health and make them a hardworking accent in your décor. In

addition, potting mix and plant shelves are also offered by the business. Therefore, the quote

theme of the business is “Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace”. Sometimes, the plants in

the wrong pots can still be healthy and alive since it depends on the owners on how they take

care of the plants. Moreover, the corporation is located in South Cembo, Makati City. It is a

perfect place for the business for the reason that it is located in highway wherein customers can

easily stop by. However, there are also different medium wherein the customers can order such

as Lazada and Shopee, the company has website also but it is only for Business-to-Business

Transactions.

II. Product Offering

A. Terracotta Pots
 Phytophile Essentials offers terracotta pots that are made from clay. It is available in a

variety of shapes and sizes, terracotta pots look great just about anywhere because of its designs

and it will enhance the beauty of almost any plant. It has the ability to breathe, which keeps

potting soils cool and wicks excess moisture away from plant roots, keeping them healthy. In

fact, the corporation let the customers decide what layout they want or what the theme of the pots

is. For instance, the picture above is the sample of the minimalist plant pot selection. And the

following are the inventories needed to produce the product:

Containers as molds Terracotta clay Cling film

FIMO tools Sponge

B. Plastic pots

Plastic pots are lightweight, strong and flexible. They are available in every color of the

rainbow to coordinate with interior and exterior decor. Plastic does not have the wicking action

that clay has making them an excellent choice for moisture-loving plants or for those gardeners

who water infrequently. Plastic pots are also good for plants that you will need to move

frequently between indoors and outdoors, due to the light weight of the containers. The design of

this plastic pot is minimalist as well and the company offers different colors wherein the

customers can choose. And the following are the inventories needed to produce the product:
Corrugated Plastic Geometric Patterns Painters Tape

Scissors Silicone Caulk Mesh Drywall Tape

Pencils Cutter Caulking Gun

C. Wood Planters

Wood planters are elegant and rich-looking, and are generally long-lasting too. Cedar

wood is commonly used for contemporary gardens because of its durability and natural

resistance to rotting. This pot is perfect to use indoors and outside, aside from its rich-looking,

this is also beneficial for the plants for the reason that it can insulate plant roots from heat of the

summer sun. In addition, some wood must uses paint which makes it waterproof to treat the

wood stains which are toxic to plants. However, Phytophile Essentials uses cedar planters that

can be used without primer as they are resistant to rot. And the following are the inventories

needed to produce the product:

 Cedar Wood Measuring Tape

Pencil
Vinyl Screen Hammer

Galvanized Screws Wood Paint

D. Plant shelves

Phytophile Essentials provide Plan-Tita’s and Plan-Tito’s to beautifully display multiple

plants through plant shelves. It has numerous benefits such as:

 Adds a comfy, natural feel where placed

 Welcomes guests at entry ways

 Brightens up dull corners when placed there

 Ideal for apartment or condominium living

 Great for small balcony, deck or yard spaces

 Groups plants for efficient watering

 Moreover, Phytophile Essentials offers different styles of Plant shelves depending on the

taste of the consumers. Aside from the designs made by the company, consumers can ask for

customization as well. And the following are the inventories needed to produce the product:

Pencils Measuring Tape

Cedar Wood

Wood Paint Hammer Galvanized Screws

E. Potting mix

Potting soil, also called potting mix, is a soil less blend of ingredients used to grow plants.

There are numerous potting soils offered in the market and each has different texture, nutritional

content, density, and water-holding capacity. Therefore, Phytophile Essentials carefully select

the ingredients and combined them in correct ratios to provide the specific need of the plants.

However, the potting mix that is offered is perfect for houseplants and cater only houseplants.

And the following are the inventories needed to produce the product:
Sphagnum Peat Moss Perlite

Agricultural Lime Granular Fertilizer

 III. Product Management

a. Inventory System

Just-in-Time conserve working capital because it doesn’t need to hold safety or buffer stock

and a business can continuously has low inventory levels (Cho, 2020). Phytophile Essentials

Corporation chose this inventory system for the reason that the selling strategy of this product is

B2B which is Business-to-Business. According to Bajenting (2020), many have turned to urban

gardening as a way to destress from this global health pandemic. However, some turned this

hobby into a profitable venture at this time when the economy has been brought to a standstill.

Numerous new businesses today are selling succulents or plants that are perfect for indoors.

Therefore, the company decided to look for partnership with different stores or businesses that

sell either indoor plants or outdoor plants for the reason that it is a fast moving strategy wherein

the company can sell bulk orders. In addition, this corporation is customer friendly in the sense

that we value the taste and preference of our partners. Whereas, they can customize, give us the

designs or layout they preferred or let them choose in the themes that company set for the pots

and racks.

Just-in-Time fits the corporation because of B2B and the materials that will be needed for the

production are only few. Therefore, the company don’t need to keep stock of various raw

materials, so it can produce a greater variety of products and variants at any one time. In the

same manner, the table below shows that there are only few suppliers and materials needed for

the production and these are the following:

LightScope Hardware Joros Enterprises Marivic Arboloado

Wood Paint Pencil Granular Fertilizer

 Hammer Cutter Agricultural Lime

Galvanized Screws FIMO tools Sphagnum Peat Moss

Cedar Wood Sponge Perlite

Measuring Tape Cling film Terracotta clay

Silicone Caulk Painters tape Containers as molds

Vinyl Screen Scissors

Mesh Drywall Tape Rulers

Corrugated Plastic

Caulking Gun

However, this corporation also offers retail orders yet few. The left items or materials that is

bought from previous order will be used. According to Davis (2020), due to the pandemic, many

businesses shifted to online platforms already. In the same manner, according to Zoleta (2020),

Shopee and Lazada are considered the biggest e-commerce figures in the Philippines. Therefore,

Phytophile Essentials decided to launch the products in the two e-commerce aside from the

website wherein the B2B will conduct to gain more exposure in the market and to easily reach

the market. The channel of distribution will be from the company directly to consumers.

Wherein, the products will be market through Lazada and Shopee. By that, the courier of Lazada

and Shopee are in charge of the delivery of the item to the customers. On the other hand, those

transactions made in the website of Phytophile Essentials are subject to the courier of the

company since the customers in the website are the partnered businesses of Phytophile

Essentials. However, consumers are given a chance to pick up their orders at the production site

or storage place which is located in South Cembo, Makati City.

 b. Inventory Management Process

Inventory management refers to the process of ordering, storing and using a company's

inventory. This includes the management of raw materials, components and finished products, as

well as warehousing and processing such items (Hayes, 2019). The figure above shows the

inventory management process of Phytophile Essentials. The first process is purchasing materials

and these are the raw materials, components and even the indirect materials. From that, the staff

in the receiving are will recheck the quality or if there’s a broken piece from the orders. After

checking, it will be placed in the storage wherein it is designated. Thus, the stock rises. However,

during the production, the materials needed will be pulled out from the inventory to build the

product. In there, there are two process involved or directs. First, the inventory drops and needed

to reorder so that company will purchase materials again. Second is the way to finished goods.

Followed by quality assurance and checker, to check if the product met the quality and standards
set by the company. If so, it will be outbound for orders. After that, the inventory is reduce that’s

why, the company needs to rebuild again.

References:

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boom

Cho,S. (2020). Inventory Management Techniques That You Need to Know About (5 of them &

counting. Retrieved from https://emergeapp.net/inventory-reports/inventory-management-

techniques/

DIY Potting Soil: 6 Homemade Potting Mix Recipes for the Garden. (2019, March 02).
Retrieved August 24, 2020, from https://savvygardening.com/diy-potting-soil/

Expert, T. (n.d.). Wood Plant Stand Indoor - Ideas on Foter. Retrieved August 24, 2020, from
https://foter.com/wood-plant-stand-indoor

Hats, J. (2020, February 02). 50 Wooden Planter Box Ideas and DIY Designs of Every
Geometric Form. Retrieved August 24, 2020, from https://freshpatio.com/wood-planter-
box-ideas/

Hayes, A. (2019). Inventory Management. Retrieved from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inventory-

management.asp#:~:text=Inventory%20management%20refers%20to%20the,warehousing%20a

nd%20processing%20such%20items.

Maui, T. (1970, January 01). Top Ten Benefits of Plant Stands In Your Home or Garden.
Retrieved August 24, 2020, from http://gardenlivingstudio.blogspot.com/2013/06/top-ten-
benefits-of-plant-stands-in.html

Planters, A. (n.d.). Wood planters & planter boxes add natural charm. Retrieved August 24,
2020, from https://www.all-about-planters.com/wood-
planters/#:~:text=Characteristics%20of%20Wood%20Planters&text=provide%20great%20versat

ility%20for%20combining,heat%20of%20the%20summer%20sun

Vinje. (2019). Choosing the Right Pot for Plants. Retrieved August 24, 2020, from
https://www.bioadvanced.com/articles/choosing-right-pot-plants

ZoletaVenus is an experienced personal finance writer with a background in digital marketing.

(2020, July 01). Lazada vs Shopee: Where to Score the Best Deals and Promos. Retrieved
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