business proposal strandmöllen ab, pdf
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Project Management: A business proposal for Strandmöllen AB
Erika Egonsson
Kim Hansen
Mikael Tran
Theresa Thomasson
Ting Ting Ly
Executive summary
The marketing channels of the company Strandmöllen AB include for example fairs such as
Elmia and the company website (www.strandmollen.se). Because of the few marketing
channels it is essential to use these resourcefully. Strandmöllen AB has a lot of beneficial
values for their customers, these are however not conveyed and promoted clearly enough
through the company website. The consequences of this might be that there is a gap between
Strandmöllen AB‟s true identity and how the company image is perceived. The solution is to
connect the company identity and image through an improved, internationally oriented and
user-friendly website. This will be done in cooperation with the consulting web designing
company, Pixelant, using their Content Management System, TYPO3, an open source
solution, which provides a well performing website with preserved independence.
Index of Business Proposal
Background ................................................................................................................................ 1
Method of investigation ............................................................................................................. 1
The problem ............................................................................................................................... 2
What increases the appeal of a website?................................................................................. 2
The gap between Strandmöllen AB and their website ........................................................... 3
The solution ................................................................................................................................ 4
Pixelant ....................................................................................................................................... 5
TYPO3 .................................................................................................................................... 5
Why Pixelant? ......................................................................................................................... 5
Risk analysis ............................................................................................................................... 8
The value proposal ................................................................................................................... 10
Costs during the project development stages ....................................................................... 10
Benefits in the future ................................................................................................................ 12
How will this solution affect/improve the competitiveness of Strandmöllen AB? .............. 12
If dismissal of the solution; what future consequences might this have? ............................. 13
Implementation Plan ................................................................................................................ 14
Reference .................................................................................................................................. 15
Appendix 1 - The Kano Model ................................................................................................ 16
1
Background
The gas providing Danish company with more than 90 years of experience, Strandmöllen AB,
has recently entered the Swedish market. The production facility in Ljungby, Småland, was
founded and finished in 2011. So far the company has about 20 employees in the Middle- and
South of Sweden. Strandmöllen AB has established themselves internationally with
worldwide partners, customers and market share. The vision is to be flexible, highly
trustworthy and responsible. In addition to the gas products, the company offers service,
support and education for their customers. Current marketing strategies are conducted through
fairs such as Elmia and the website supported by direct sales. In addition to these
Strandmöllen AB has expressed the wish for a future online ordering tool. Another important
aspect is that Strandmöllen AB is aware of the importance of positive word of mouth.
Method of investigation
A number of information channels were considered for the analysis; interviewing and
pursuing e-mail contact with sales- and marketing director Niclas Sjöstedt, and searching for
information on the internet, including the company website. Different options were
considered in order to find the most suitable solution, and the thorough investigation yielded
results in form of a tailored offer for Strandmöllen AB.
2
The problem
What increases the appeal of a website?
There are several dimensions which influence the attitude and online appeal of a website.
Some of the more influential are listed as follows (Kim and Stoel, 2004);
how interesting the website is;
how informative the website is;
the web appearance;
the security of transaction on the website
the trustworthiness that the website emits.
Also, key words such as clarity, consistency and simplicity are listed as being essential for a
superior website (Cappel and Huang, 2007).
Strandmöllen AB has high-quality information on their website. However, the information is
incoherent, the website lacks a good structure and an explicit organization of the information.
Furthermore, retrieving information is truly complicated, possibly resulting in confusion for
the customer and other potential visitors. Additionally, the web appearance is not eye
catching, and customers may perceive it as uninteresting. The security is well developed
through having online support. The news is not up-to-date, and this function could be
connected to the management of information. The website ought to reflect the performance
and the identity of the company. If the features are not up-to-date this reflects negatively on
the perception of the visitor. A well developed and professional website will increase the
trustworthiness of the company; - an important piece and positive contribution to the activities
in the company of building a strong brand – Strandmöllen AB.
Key words important for Strandmöllen AB
Well-designed and informative
Web appearance; layout and design
Security of transaction
Trust of website
Clarity
Consistency
Simplicity
Table 1: Key words important for Strandmöllen AB
3
If the company‟s website lacks characteristics such as the ones mentioned in table 1, users of
the website might get confused and/or frustrated and will possibly chose to use a competing
company‟s website instead (Cappel, Huang, 2007.).
The problem is further enlarged through the fact that Sweden is a country that puts the web
and internet to use the most (CNN, 2012), and the time spent on internet is continuously
increasing in Sweden. An unexciting website is likely to fade away as noise among all the
other messages on the web. Hence, improving the website of Strandmöllen AB is likely to
improve their chances of differentiating their message through a superior website.
The gap between Strandmöllen AB and their website
Strandmöllen AB does have a very well developed organization with many competitive
advantages and value adding features for the customers. In a research by Wells, Valacich and
Hess, it was concluded that website quality impacts on consumers‟ perceptions on product
quality (Wells, Valacich and Hess, 2011), hence the website can be seen as representing the
company itself. Strandmöllen AB use their website as a marketing tool, and due to that, the
website lacks essential aspects. The danger is that it might fail to communicate the benefits of
the company properly. The GAP model is a model used in businesses to illustrate a
company‟s identity (from the company view) versus the perceived company image (from the
customers‟ and surrounding interested parties‟ view) (Fog, et al., 2010). Strandmöllen AB
may be argued to have the identity of offering quality products and providing high flexibility,
true responsibility and trustworthiness. However, if the website does not live up to these
standards, there may be a gap between the company identity and the perceived company
image. If the website does not portray the beneficial features in an accurate way, how shall the
customer learn about those?
4
The solution
We have identified several aspects which should be considered to be improved/included on
Strandmöllen AB‟s website. These aspects are explained and elaborated according to the
KANO-model, see appendix 1.
The solution would be further developed through consulting a web designing company.
The proposed web designing company for this project is Pixelant.
An improved, internationally oriented and user friendly website
5
Pixelant
Pixelant has its head office in Malmö and a support office in Karlskrona. Their customer base
of approximately 400 clients varies in types of businesses; whether they operate locally or
globally as well as in company size. The website of Pixelant provides examples of customers
they are working with in the present, and just to mention some: bigtravel.se (a travel agency),
tepekids.com (a dentist organization), natverketgoran.com (a large network organization),
fridfreud.se (educates in rhetoric) and notified.se (a social media specialised company).
TYPO3
Pixelant is specialized in web-publishing and digital information management. The company
uses a program called TYPO3. This is the coding base of the Content Management System
(CMS) used for the web design and web-publishing. Pixelant is providing an open source
code solution.
Why Pixelant?
Pixelant emphasizes their ambition of helping their customers with marketing and business
advantages on the internet. Their offer includes value adding services and features listed as
follows:
1. Highly flexible:
The system is very scalable, making it suitable for any type of business regardless of
size. Pixelant provides solutions differing in size and complexity. They have
confirmed that they are capable of developing a tool for online ordering and have done
similar projects for other customers.
2. User friendly:
When using this system the user can easily log in through any browser to make
changes on the website directly on the internet server.
TYPO3 is built with an open source code (i.e. without license fees). It is very flexible
and therefore also very user-friendly.
3. Superior product and service:
A complete installation of TYPO3 is performed.
Programming of the template is completed.
6
4. Education of staff:
The employees of Strandmöllen AB will receive the required education in order to be able
to use the system themselves. The structure of how the education will be carried through,
is designed based on customer preferences.
5. An all-inclusive solution:
Pixelant provides consult support in all phases in the process of developing the website.
According to which extent Strandmöllen AB wishes to exploit the professional consult
services, experiences and knowledge of Pixelant. Pixelant offers support for:
- Online strategy
- Pre-study
- Evaluation
- Migration and updating
- Workflow and (business) process analysis
- Technical consulting for:
System optimization
Security
Integration in intra- or extranet
Integration to other systems
Compatibility with different web browsers
Search engine optimization
Pixelant provides guidance for a tailored solution of which hosting partner to choose for
the website.
Additionally the hosting of the website is free of cost for a year when choosing Pixelant‟s
start package.
6. After-sales support:
Pixelant is very customer focused and highly flexible, therefore after-sales support is
tailored for each particular customer based on their specific needs and demands. When
signing a support contract, after-sales support is provided by Pixelant in the form of
phone- and internet support whenever needed. Furthermore, Pixelant provides these
support packages, as shown in table 2:
7
Availability Response time Time for action*
Silver 8-17 weekdays 8 hours 46 hours
Gold 8-17 weekdays 6 hours 36 hours
Platinum 8-22 all days 4 hours 26 hours
Table 2: Adopted from Pixelant, 2012
7. Pixelant has received good feedback from previous completed projects:
The WOM and feedback for the services of Pixelant are very positive, as displayed on
their website:
- Marcus Norrving, Co-founder at Notified: “We are able to easily update our website
thanks to TYPO3”.
- Kajsa Hindberg, web director at TePe: “We had a constructive and well established
cooperation with Pixelant throughout the entire process, from idea to launch, and we
are looking forward towards a continuous development.”
- Jessica Östergren, marketing director at BIG Travel: “With the help of Pixelant, we
have now taken a huge step in the right direction”.
8
Low
infl
uen
ce H
igh in
fluen
ce
Risk analysis
Figure 1: Risk analysis for Strandmöllen AB of adopting the solution, (as adopted from
Kristoffersson, 2012)
R1: Dissatisfying website
R2: Negative feedback from customers
R3: Pixelant seize to operate
R4: Customers not up-to-date with online ordering
R5: Cost loss
R6: Time consuming
Overall the majority of relevant risks are either low probability or little affect, these might not
even appear as a problem if Strandmöllen AB and Pixelant can create a positive relationship
and cooperate well; the website will be satisfying since it can combine the expertise of
Pixelant with the preferences and know-how of Strandmöllen AB.
R1, R5, R6 are low influence and low probability if the willingness to cooperate exists. In
order to avoid the risk of creating a website that is not satisfying for Strandmöllen AB (R1), it
requires that Strandmöllen AB and Pixelant work closely together when creating the website;
use Pixelant‟s expertise in designing websites and put forward requirements and desires for
how the website should be structured satisfyingly. The cost of a new website is not avoidable
and it takes time to design and produce it. On the other hand, the website is the face outwards
and therefore a very important part to invest in. Depending on what kind of applications and
R4 R6
R3
R1, R5
R2
High probability
Low probability
9
features Strandmöllen AB wants, the cost might increase, but the company will gain these
applications as a competitive advantage.
R2: Feedback from customers means possibility to adjust and require the possibility to satisfy
customers. If the customers give feedback, it is important for Strandmöllen AB to handle it
well and improve accordingly. This will indicate the willingness of Strandmöllen AB to
increase their customer focus. In addition, the TYPO3 is composed in a way that changes
could easily be made. Word of mouth can be a negative effect when customers have bad
experience using the website, therefore, feedback regarding opinions on the website should be
taken seriously and put into modification accordingly.
R3: The probability that Pixelant would seize to operate is low. If this scenario would appear,
the complications for Strandmöllen AB would not be severe since they have received
education of how to operate the system combined with the simplicity of using the system. It is
important for Strandmöllen AB, which currently does not have a webmaster of their own, to
hire a web-designer that is safe on the market. The company (Pixelant) is well established on
the market with a long and broad customer list. Furthermore, the fact that the production of
the website is based on TYPO3, as mentioned above an open source solution, Strandmöllen
AB will be free to choose another partner whenever the situation eventually would differ in
any way in the future. Strandmöllen AB is in that way not depending of any specific provider
of web services, including Pixelant. In this aspect the TYPO3 solution is a flexible, safe and
secure choice – e.g. Strandmöllen AB is now in the position to make a confident and
independent strategic business decision.
R4: Adding a tool for online ordering is something that Strandmöllen AB is considering as a
future project and would therefore not be implemented along with the changes proposed
earlier. The fact that some customers are not up-to-date with online ordering could rather be
ignored. Even if customers are not yet ready to order online this is a feature adopted by
competitors and therefore, should also be adopted by Strandmöllen AB to at least stay on the
same level as their competitors - or naturally and preferably, to outpace them. In addition to
this, gradually an increasing number of users will be very comfortable with online ordering –
they will even, in a not that remote future, expect the online services provided as a natural
ingredient in the interaction between themselves and their suppliers.
10
The value proposal
The website layout is essential to communicate the superior product offer of Strandmöllen AB
to their customers. Pixelant will in the new web design improve the layout and accessibility,
and also facilitate the usage of the website for national, international, current as well as
potential, customers. The design is fully installed and programmed, and due to the open
source code and the education of the employees of Strandmöllen AB, it will be highly user
friendly. TYPO3 further facilitates the usage of the website for the employees of
Strandmöllen AB. Based on requirements and demands of the company Pixelant is able to
provide tailored after sales support. Strandmöllen AB will receive one year of free hosting,
and Pixelant will offer additional support for which hosting partner to use, according to
Strandmöllen AB‟s preferences. During all phases of the project, Pixelant is competent of
providing professional consulting, all in tune with how Strandmöllen AB wishes to proceed
with the project.
Costs during the project development stages
The cost for the solution is set between 25.000-35.000 SEK depending on the complexity and
content of the task. The graph illustrating the time frame (see figure 2) is an example of how
the cost and time differs based on the requirements from Strandmöllen AB during the course
of the project. Usually one payment is made during the process of constructing the website
and then a final payment is made at the finalizing stage of the project. Note that the second
arrow suggests a further payment in the case of added features and changes of the website.
Figure 2: The cost- and time-frame for the project
11
The value equation
The cost of the project has been estimated to 25.000-35.000 SEK. The values and benefits of
the project weighting against the cost have been discussed earlier in the proposal, and are
illustrated in the value equation, see figure 3.
Figure 3: The value equation of the business proposal
Value of solution Cost of solution
25 000 – 35 000 SEK
High flexibility and independence
Communication base of company values
User friendly
Complete installation and programming
Education for staff
Expertise and consulting in all phases
Guidance of hosting + 1 year free hosting
Well developed after sales support
Good reputation of Pixelant
12
Benefits in the future
How will this solution affect/improve the competitiveness of Strandmöllen AB?
The representative from Strandmöllen AB, Niclas, during an interview at Elmia, informed that
the only marketing of the company is in fact fairs such as the Elmia fair and their website. An
appealing website which is available at all times is a greater opportunity of attracting the
customers‟ attention. There will be greater chances to promote the company. The improved
website will better present the potential benefits for the company‟s customers. It is clearly a
competitive advantage for Strandmöllen AB to have a well designed website where their
values are properly presented. A website that is up-to-date and interesting will catch the eye
of a current customer as well as a potential customer. The improvements will be beneficial for
Strandmöllen AB at many levels.
Potential benefits for Strandmöllen AB of an improved website.
Some of the benefits of having an improved website;
The benefit of this change is that the company will reach a broader audience, including
the opportunity and possibility to get the attention of defined target groups in new
markets. Nevertheless, when communicating with new potential customers on new
potential markets in Europe, or even in more distant potential markets and countries in
the world, step number one, and the most crucial challenge is to present Strandmöllen
AB – the company and its business proposition – in a well established, professional
and representative way. Basically - no matter what marketing channel, sales activity,
opportunity or situation the company might find itself in – the main goal is to gain
confidence with its existing and potential business partners.
As it is today, the website is only available in Swedish and Danish. The new website
will be available in an additional language (English) which will make it more user-
friendly for international visitors.
The website will be easier to navigate for customers and other interested parties.
If the website is updated with news the trustworthiness and credibility of the company
will increase.
13
If dismissal of the solution; what future consequences might this have?
The current website, representing the company, widens the gap between what the website
presents Strandmöllen AB as (the company image) and what Strandmöllen AB actually is (the
company identity) or what the company wants it to be (the company profile) e.g. the
company‟s work of positioning on the market / markets, and establishing an attractive profile
to match the customers‟ expectations.
Focusing on the website, impressions based on the company‟s websites will be made, and
customers can make comparisons of the competitors‟ websites in the market. The risk is that
Strandmöllen AB could fall behind and give competitors an advantage in attracting customers.
The desire of expanding and becoming bigger with a good image requires time, effort and
financing the investment. The probability of losing a potential customer is high, since the
ordering online application is missing today. An online ordering application would facilitate
the ordering for customers, since this could be done whenever it suits them. The possibility of
losing these customers is therefore high since they do not have that application today. The
new website will be trilingual, many international businesses are today establishing or have
established themselves in Sweden. If Strandmöllen AB chooses to dismiss the proposal they
can potentially loose these important customers. The new website that is offered in the
business proposal will also be easier to navigate. Time is essential for all companies, so if you
can reduce time on any aspect, it should be considered. The dismissal of the navigation offer
will lead to customers not knowing where to look to find important information, and will
therefore email or call instead. This will take precious time from both Strandmöllen AB and
the customers.
14
Implementation Plan
If you decide to implement the solution for Strandmöllen AB the first step of realizing the
plan is to initiate contact with Pixelant. We have been in contact with Robert Lindh, who
naturally is familiar with the project at hand. The detailed course of action is to be discussed
with Pixelant, and they have emphasized their ability to design solutions based on the
customer‟s needs and wants (see page 6-8). When we were consulting Robert, he said that the
time required to develop and implement the solution depends on the complexity of the task;
however he indicated that a relevant time frame for the project would be around one month.
As estimated, the budget plan would be calculated to approximately 25.000-35.000 SEK also
of course, depending on the complexity and content of the task.
You may choose to use the suggested improvements developed in this solution (see appendix
1), and/or incorporate your own suggestions, and with these in cooperation with Pixelant and
utilization of their expertise and knowledge, develop a modified proposal to fit the exact
needs and demands of your company.
15
Reference
- Cappel, J., Huang, Z., 2007. A usability analysis of company websites. Journal of Computer
Information Systems, Fall 2007, pp.119-123
- CNN, 2012. Web-Index. [online] Available at:
<http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/05/tech/web/web-index/index.html> [Accessed 25 October
2012]
- Dran, G., Zhang, P., Small, R., 1999. Quality Websites: An Application of the Kano
Model to Website Design. AMCIS 1999 Proceedings. Paper 314.
-Figure 1: Kristoffersson, B. 2012, 04-Risk analys- time schedule-BK, 2FE120 Advanced
Technical Sales. Linnaeus University, unpublished.
-Figure 2: The cost- and time-frame for the project.
-Figure 3: Alsén, J. 2012, Introduction to sales, 2FE120 Advanced Technical Sales. Linnaeus
University, unpublished.
- Fog, K., Budtz, C., Munch, P. and Blanchette, S., 2010. Storytelling- branding in practice.
Fredriksberg: Samfundslitteratur.
-Kim, S., Stoel, L., 2004. Apparel retailers: website quality dimensions and satisfaction.
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 11, pp.109–117
-Table 1: Key words important for Strandmöllen AB
-Table 2: Pixelant, 2012 [online] Avaliable at: <http://www.pixelant.se/> [Accessed 21
November 2012]
- Wells, J., Valacich, J., Hess, T., 2011. What signal are you sending? How website quality
influences perceptions of product quality and purchase intentions1. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 35,
No. 2, pp. 373-396
16
Appendix 1 - The Kano Model
(Dran et. Al. 1999)
Category Expected Quality:
Normal quality:
Exciting quality:
Navigation • Consistent use of link
colours
•„Verksamhetsområden‟
in two places on the
website.
• Not use the links in
doublets in several
places.
• Cleaner look in order
to increase effective
navigation.
• Links or guide to the
depots and sales offices.
• Direct links to the
PDF from the pages
with product
descriptions.
• A tab of job
application, which
includes contact
information to whom to
send the application to.
Appearance • Make use of the
colours in the logo.
• There should be a
consistency in the
website. Blue, black
and light grey seem to
be the right colours
reflecting the logo.
Yellow contradicts the
logo and since it is
considered a warm
colour, whereas blue
and grey are
considered cool
colours.
• Make available in
Swedish, Danish and
English.
• Table of content is
fairly good, but a tab for
sustainability could be
an advantage for
Strandmöllen AB. With
this additional tab it
stresses Strandmöllen
AB‟s goal to work
towards flexibility,
credibility and
responsibility. The table
of content should be
moved to the side,
vertically due to many
subtitles that covers the
rest of the website when
navigating there.
• Become more eye
catching.
• Instead of one
slideshow replace it
with a bigger picture in
the middle of the
website that runs from
one side of the screen
to the other side.
Professional pictures in
the layout.
Credibility • Layout the certificates • Place out logos and
17
that Strandmöllen AB
possesses: ISO
Certificate, one of the
cleanest gases in the
market, quality policy
and meets all the
required qualities. Show
the credibility using
references.
increase brand
awareness using the
website.
Organisation and
presentation of
information content
• Visitors should not
have to scroll on the
start page of a website.
• When clicking on one
of the table of content
tabs you should be able
to enter a page of the
tabs and not be forced
to choose one of the
subtitles to be taken to
another page.
• Inform and publish the
people involved in the
organisation with their
contact details. Avoid
that emails are sent to
one e-mail address
which then has to be
forwarded to someone
else.
• Regarding the search
box, it should be
visible at all times so
that the visitor does not
have to click it for the
actual search field to
appear.
• Use more exciting
pictures.
Characteristics of
information content
• News have to be
updated more
frequently.
• A tab with R&D and
one with sustainability
should be included.
• To promote the
company better these
aspects should be
included:
environmentally
friendly, recycle
policy, quality policy,
most modern
production facility in
northern Europe within
health care, 7 bullet
system, new scanning
system, education of
their staff. Two
possibilities of
packaging, certificates
and vision.
• The content of the
website should be
dated.
• Mention
Strandmöllen AB‟s
partners.
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