FACULTY OF BUSINESS

MAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

PROPOSAL ON DESK RESEARCH IN LIEU OF

GENERAL MANAGEMNET AND LOGISTICS AND
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT INDUSTRIAL
ATTACHMENT (MGL443 and MGT450)

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 PREAMBLE ............................................................................................................... 2

2 DESK RESEARCH TASK ......................................................................................... 2

3 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................ 3

4 SITUATION ANALYSIS .......................................................................................... 3

4.1 Industry analysis ................................................................................................. 3

4.2 Competitor analysis of the potential market ...................................................... 3
5 MARKET ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 3

6 EVALUATE AND SELECT TECHNOLOGIES ...................................................... 4

7 LOCAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS ................................................ 4

8 AGRO-PROCESSING BUSINESS PLAN ................................................................ 5

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1 PREAMBLE

Traditionally industrial attachments have been conducted in-person at a host organization’s

workplace. This has been the practice in the Faculty of Business. Under normal
circumstances the student produces an attachment report which is a document derived from
work undertaken by the student at the host institution.

Under the current circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic everything has changed rapidly.
Almost all aspects of life took a sudden turn for the worse. Social distancing, remote
working from home and virtual meetings have now become a way of life. These
circumstances preclude an in-person experience and implies that traditional on-site field
attachments cannot be easily and safely accommodated. Added to this, many companies
have suffered financially making it difficult to host students in reduced operations.

It is against this background that the Department proposes to create a business simulated
independent study (desk research) for the Logistics and Supply Chain students, in lieu of
an in-person attachment. The use of desk research to substitute industrial attachments is
not new. It is being used in the other programmes in the Faculty including ACC443,
BIS443, MGT443 and MKT443 under the following conditions: if students fail to get
attachment places or if they are unable to go to the field for reasons considered by the
Industrial Attachment Coordinator to be sound enough to warrant such permission. This
proposal is based on the existing Desk Research courses with added international
dimensions.

2 DESK RESEARCH TASK

A local start-up company is considering getting into the agroprocessing business. However,
it has not decided which products it will deal in. Previous reports have indicated that a lot
of farm produce has gone to waste during bumper seasons. Unfortunately, Botswana
remains a net importer for most food products. The road to economic diversification and
import substitution hasn’t been an easy one. We have also seen statutory instruments passed
that prohibit importation of some products. A processing plant set up in Selibe Phikwe

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processing plant was one step in the right deirection in attaining food security. However,
the market remains ripe for more private sector participation.
The company has approached you for consultancy services. Your task is to advise them on
how to navigate the business environment to realise this dream. The work will require you
conduct a comprehensive research on the market potential of this idea. At the end of this
exercise, you and your team are expected to produce a comprehensive report which
includes the following:

3 BACKGROUND

A brief historical background on the start-up company, its founders and their aspirations.
You are allowed to make assumptions of the size of operation.

4 SITUATION ANALYSIS

4.1 Industry analysis

Analyze the industry in which the company will operate in terms of size, nature of products
sold, applicable laws and regulations, technologies, economic and socio-cultural trends etc.
Use tools such as PEST. PESTEL is an acronym that stands for Political, Economic, Social,
Technological, Environmental and Legal factors.

4.2 Competitor analysis of the potential market

Identify the firm’s major competitors’ in the potential local market destination, including
their characteristics. Using tools such as Michael Porters’ Competitive Forces Model,
analyze the relative power of competitors operating in the industry. Porter's five forces are:
1. Competition in the industry
2. Potential of new entrants into the industry
3. Power of suppliers
4. Power of customers
5. Threat of substitute products.

5 MARKET ANALYSIS
Identify and evaluate products that the company can venture into. Consider the following:

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 1. Size of the potential market in terms of number of products and value (consider
data from import statistics and other retail reports)
2. Size of local produce. Is this sufficient for the proposed size of operation? If not
are there alternative sources of supply?
3. Identify distribution channels for the proposed products.

6 EVALUATE AND SELECT TECHNOLOGIES

You are to identify technology needed in this project. The operations require sourcing an
agro processing plant. It is important that the right technology is selected considering
context, efficiency, costs and technical support. Benchmarks on technologies adopted in
the region can be conducted.

7 LOCAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

Conduct a business environment analysis to determine the extent to which is supports or

inhibits the proposed project.

Some of the data points considered in a country analysis are:

 Economic Indicators: Indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP),
consumer price index (CPI), inflation rate and producer price index (PPI) help in
gauging a country’s economic health. High GDP growth, low inflation and high
CPI are favorable for companies and investors. These indicators also reflect job
availability and standard of living in the country.
 Government Policy: Governments often introduce policies and programs to
promote the growth of agro processing. Favorable government policies (such as
subsidies and tax rebates) attract multinational and domestic companies.
 Industry Association Support: An industry association not only works towards
enhancing opportunities, but also lobbies the government for easing regulations.
 Financial Markets: The extent of regulations, liquidity and volatility determine
how reliable the financial markets in a country are. The efficiency of the financial
market is a critical determinant of the risks faced by companies and investors.
 Trading Conditions: Poor trading conditions adversely impact the profit
generating capabilities of businesses.

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  Human Capital: The availability of skilled human resource and the salaries drawn
by them reflects the heath of a country.
 Infrastructure: This includes data points such as condition of roads, number of
ports, educational institutions, penetration of the Internet and availability of
support services.
 Political Scenario: Political stability offers a favorable backdrop for businesses to
thrive. The political climate and risks and the future developments form critical
data points for decision making.

8 AGRO-PROCESSING BUSINESS PLAN

 Business Model – Develop a fitting business model that will facilitate

exploitation of this opportunity.
 Business Strategy – Develop a business strategy that creates a competitive
advantage for the firm.
 Resources – Develop a resource plan that includes human and capital needed to
execute the business strategy.
 Implementation – Draw up a plan for implementing the chosen business
strategy.