Sample International Business Plan

Sample International Business Plan

Contents

Business Description

Competitive advantages

Organizational structure and legal form

Near/long-term objectives

Targeted market

Analysis of market size and growth potential

Report of the competitive environment

Description of the Service

Demonstration of market readiness

Appendices

References

Business Description

At [Company Name], we provide plumbing solutions for commercial and residential buildings. We developed the world’s smartest water leak management and control platform called [Company Name], which detects water leak issues, notifies homeowners, remotely turns off the water in less than five seconds, and dispatches a plumber certified to repair the damage. 

We offer a service that consists of installing smart valves in the main water intakes of commercial or residential buildings, also installing smart sensors for flow measurement and pressure and acoustic monitoring. Smart sensors connect to our monitoring center, sending notifications to stakeholders through our company app. 

Our current and prospective clients are insurance, property management and construction companies located Ontario and other provinces in Canada. We are planning to extend our business to The United States.

Competitive advantages

The following competitive advantages allow us to be the best solution for our clients:

The immediate availability of highly qualified professionals

Our collaborators are certified plumbers who provide a high-quality professional service to our clients. They go immediately are notified to fix the issue if the fault is detected. It allows our clients to have the confidence and assurance that their problems will be solved immediately by professionals. 

High-quality product and service  

The quality of our materials and tools used for the installation of the monitoring system guarantee our clients obtaining a reliable, durable, and beneficial service for their pockets. 

Customer-oriented approach 

At [Company Name], we train ourselves to detect and satisfy the needs and priorities of our clients. Our niche is the residential and commercial real estate development and management sector. 

Organizational structure and legal form

The team has a line organizational structure, which is the most traditional structures that businesses apply. With this structure, there is an executive whom its subordinates report directly to him/her. Under the executive, there are managers and teams who work for a specific department. This is a structure in which each employee takes instructions from and communicates with its immediate supervisor. Since there is no horizontal communication given the line diagram, everything must be coordinated directly to the managers or immediate supervisors. Below is the management team and their responsibilities:

  1. Project Leader – assigns to formulate the planned objective of a project while taking into consideration the approved budget.
  2. Operations Manager – responsible to utilize the available resources such as time, budget and people while accomplishing the core operations of the project like staffing, recruitment, financial and logistics.
  3. Sales and Marketing Manager – tasks to accomplish marketing and selling objectives by planning, developing, implement and evaluating sales action plans and promotional advertisements
  4. Finance Manager – takes charge of producing financial reports that involves the project budget and implements strategies that will minimize financial risk
  5. Human Resource Manager – handles and coordinates with administrative functions of an organization by overseeing the recruiting, interviewing and hiring of new staff. They are also the bridge between an organization’s management team and its employees.

Below is the Management Team who will execute the business plan for [Company Name]:

Near/long-term objectives

Short Term:

  1.  [Company Name] is planning to extend its business to other Canadian provinces besides Ontario.
  2. Besides water leak detection (Building iQ), [Company Name] plans to provide other detection systems such as smoke detection or home protection systems as well based on the same concept.

Long Term:  In terms of the market, the company also aims to extend its business across borders to the United States particularly in the East Coast which is closer to Canada. Likewise, the researchers figured that there are 14,000 Americans experiencing water leak at their homes or workplace every day.

Targeted market

Our customers are Business to Commercial (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B), providing services to residential and commercial owners. Our platform is used by residential and commercial owners to manage and monitor their property infrastructure. With our two (2) market segments, commercial property owners are less price-sensitive than residential owners. Each market segment requires different capabilities, generates various opportunities, and will demands different approaches. Properties in both market segments can be newly renovated and has existed for a number of years. Our price is also tailored based on each market segments.  

Commercial property (B2B) are customers owns and operates small to large properties. These properties can be situated in rural as well as urban areas. Our commercial customers must be the owner or has legal authority to make decisions regarding infrastructure changes or additions.  Our commercial market segments consist of real estate used for business purposes, retail, hotels, shopping malls, office spaces, or other spaces used for business purposes. We also serve and partner with insurance companies, construction firms, building management firms and affiliate programs.  

Our residential market segment (B2C) includes homeowners or owners of property for non-professional uses. They also target residential owners that are in both rural and urban areas. The residential market segment comprises of apartments, single-family homes, and condominiums. 

Analysis of market size and growth potential  

The demand for building services such as water leak detection is enormous in the United States, especially in big cities like New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia. There are large number people who greatly care about the environment and would therefore, be highly interested in supporting business that they believe are geared towards supporting that such as saving water from would be lost from aging pipelines. Additionally, based on our research there are approximately 14,000 people within the US that often experiences water damage emergencies, whether at their homes or within their office building on a daily basis. In addition, 98% of basements in the US are expected to experience some type of water damage during their life spans. We also saw where 37% of America homeowners made claims because of water damage. As a result, we believe that the US market very much feasible and would bring great potential growth for water leak management solution systems like ours.   

We also foresee great potential growth because geographically it is the closest country to Canada, which would reduce our logistics expenses thus produce more profit. Furthermore, Canada and the United States are similar in values and culture. There is also the fact that both countries have numerous trade agreements removes certain restrictions and costs. We know that our company is not the first business to provide water leak detection service in North America. However, we seek to benefit and gain potential growth from first-mover advantages, in regard to providing certified plumbing services alongside with the water leak management solutions. Our ability to automatically dispatch unassigned job orders to certified plumbers which we intend to use as a differentiation strategy could also aid in our growth potential.     

Report of the competitive environment  

As previously mentioned, we are not the first to enter the market with this kind of product and services, but we consider ourselves to be the most intelligent. Our main primary competitors include:  

  • ADT Water Leak Detection Systems owned by Telus which installs flood detector behind areas such as washing machines, dishwashers and or water tanks and would only notify building owners when the area is flooded. They currently serve approximately 500,000 residential and business customers within the market.  
  • Monnit Remote Monitoring Systems for Water Leak Detection operates similar to ADT, installing wireless sensors that are activated by water presence and provide instant alerts of water presence to building owners.  The company have a wide range product category namely sensors, gateways, software and accessories. They are caterings industries such as manufacturing, facility monitoring, food service, convenience store, HVAC, and commercial refrigeration. 
  • Bell Business Water Leak Detection Solution which are more focused on smart city arrangements rather than home and building settings. The company maintains and modernizes water system which allows them to provide fast and real-time information to their customers. 
  • SeaLevel Water Management Solution which conducts data trend analysis to predict equipment failure or maintenance need for proactive measures.   

We have established our secondary competitors as Best Buy, Home Depot, and Amazon, selling do it yourself tools for customers who all are competing for the market share in the same industry. The relative strength of our company and our competitors are to mainly address a common problem by homeowners and establishments of which is water leak damages. There is not much information on the quality of our competitors’ products or service. Based on the product supplied in the market, we believe that we are likely to be around the same or similar level. What distinguishes us from our competitors is the high level of quality service we provide. Our marketing and brand awareness will be a critical factor us to stand out from our competitors and gain more market share. Furthermore, we have plumbers that we send to our customer’s home or commercial building to resolve the water leak problem whereas ADT, Monnit, or others just notify that the customer has a water leakage or problem and expects the customer to find solutions on their own.    

Description of the Service

[Company Name] is a water leak and flood detection solution. It detects water leak issues, notifies homeowners, shuts off water remotely in less than 5 seconds to minimize issues arising from leaks. It sends a certified plumber to the location to resolve the issue, and accordingly, it reduces insurance claims, and so premiums.   

It is not the first water leak monitoring and management platform operates in North America, but they claim to be the most intelligent.   

[Company Name] works with residential and commercial buildings. There is a hardware and a software component to our product. How the Building IQ work is the company installs a smart communication hub which comes with a wireless connection to approximately 150 sensors. Those 150 sensors then send all information to the company’s cloud-based monitoring system. As soon as the system detects any water leak, the system shuts down the water in the building through the company’s smart valves attached to the water pipes. The system does not just send messages to the company but to the users or customers of the company. The company then dispend the necessary plumber to the client’s residence or commercial building.      

What makes [Company Name] different from there competition is the fact that [Company Name] has certified and equipped plumbers partnering with the company to provide services to their clients in case of any water damage. Other companies in the industry or market does not.   

After the smart hubs have been installed, the company monitors the platform 24/7 as well as the company has a network of certified plumbers available. The company ensures that it follows up with its clients to ensure that the system is working as it should. Since the clients are also notified when there is a leak, they are advised as to how the system works. In addition, [Company Name] provides 100% guarantee. In case of any failure or a problem with any of the company’s smart hub or valves, the company would either repair or replace the hardware.  

Demonstration of market readiness 

We are planning to expand to the US market. 14,000 people in the US experience a water damage emergency at home or work each day. 98% of basements in the US will experience some type of water damage during their life spans. 37% of US homeowners claim to have suffered losses from water damage. The average cost of a home water damage insurance claim is $6,965. These are some of the reasons why we think US market for water leak management solutions is feasible. Besides, geographically it is the closest country to Canada, so logistics wouldn’t be a huge issue. We believe expanding the business to each coast of the US (e.g. New York) is easier than expanding to west coast of Canada (British Columbia).  

However, we are not market-ready yet. Expansion is being planned for after settling the business and customer base in Canada. To get market-ready for the US, we’ll follow the following steps:  

  • Develop market research to identify the main competitors, opportunities, and strategies in the US market. 
  • Conduct phone and virtual surveys of property managers, builders, and insurance companies in the US to identify their needs and wants. 
  • Carry out virtual interviews with potential customers to gather information on the US markets.  
  • Apply the Delphi Technique to a group of experts on the US market to make correct decisions. 
  • Conduct a focus group to gather information on the US market. 
  • Develop a business plan to enter the US market successfully. 
  • Find a location for our office in the US market.  

We are of the opinion that the US and Canada have society that share similar culture and values, so CREEEPS should not be a problem.   

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