Thursday Meeting

We will need to meet tomorrow Thursday to complete the integrated plan, assisting HR with their plan (if possible), and finalizing the paper. I believe that Bennett has class and will not be able to make it. Kristen, Kim, Greg and Myself have all agreed that we can meet at 6PM.

Matt- I still need to hear from you.

Tina – I still need to hear from you.

I would like this to be a productive meeting time. Please come prepared with quantifiable data (numbers) that we can put into the integrated plan. Bob stated that he wants to see how we generate/save money in all disciplines using numbers and not just a narrative.

Call me if you need to I Sent this to everyones email

Drive-Thrus

Marketing Team-

Have you quantified the increase in sales from adding drive-thrus to 61 stores. Using the Starbuck's article that one of you gave me Tuesday 3/4/08 I come up with $18,731,247 annually. Does that jive with your thinking/numbers?

Has anyone that about a time line for these (when they will start opening) or a costs for the construction and equipment

HR

I would guess that the addition of Drive-Thrus to 61 stores would affect your payroll.

Sample Table of Contents

I sent a sample Table of Contents for the paper to everyones' email addresses.

I will have the financial plan written for our meeting on Tuesday.

Customer Internet Access

I have one small issue now. Does the company really want the registration function for the public internet access? I checked the pricing and it will cost an extra $1400 per store compared to just having open access. Let me know what the group thinks.

Franklin Live

I have never done Franklin Live. Will the microphone on my webcam work. I don't have any other mic.

I think that the saturday meeting needs to be discussed with the weather that is up and comming. Is there any ideas on reschedueling or franklin live?? If there are 6-12 inches of snow, I dont think we should meet. However we need to meetin some form.

New website...very helpful

From my contact at Nestle:
www.thecoffeeguide.org

Man...

Talk about being a PR pimp. Starbucks related

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/us/04barista.html?ex=1362373200&en=c0a732568c89729f&ei=5124&partner=digg&exprod=digg

Logo colors

Green and Brown appear to be good color selections for our Logo. I stayed away from the Starbucks signature green.
Green
Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color.
Brown
Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather.
Green and Brown appear to be good color selections for our Logo. I stayed away from the Starbucks signature green.
Green
Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color.
Brown
Solid, reliable brown is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather.

Greg's Porter's 5 Forces, well 2 of them

The Power of Suppliers

The power of suppliers, as it pertains to competitive forces, refers to the ability of an industry’s suppliers to usurp retailer’s profits by raising prices. According to Michael Porter in The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy, an industry’s suppliers are powerful if:

• It is more concentrated than the industry it sells to.
• The supplier group does not depend heavily on the industry for its revenues.
• Industry participants face switching costs in changing suppliers.
• Suppliers offer products that are differentiated.
• There is no substitute for what the supplier group provides.
• The supplier group can credibly threaten to integrate forward into the industry. (Porter, 2008)

The first point refers to the availability of multiple suppliers. Coffee suppliers are not particularly concentrated. Therefore, coffee retailers have several options when looking for a supplier; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Crimson Cup, Stone Creek Coffee, and Kaldi just to name a few. This enables management to shop for the best deal among many suppliers.

The next four points from Porter’s list above can be answered in a favorable fashion for coffee retailers. Suppliers do depend on the industry for their revenues, switching costs are minimal, all suppliers basically offer the same products (although many suppliers try to differentiate their products with unique names), and substitutes are plentiful.

The final point from Porter’s supplier power list does provide reason for concern for coffee retailers. It is very easy for coffee suppliers to integrate forward and become retailers as well as suppliers. This is evident in the fact that two of the industry’s main suppliers; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Crimson Cup, have opened coffee shops.

Overall, suppliers to coffee retailers do not have significant power. Competition is considerable and switching costs are minimal. The main area of concern is the suppliers’ ability to integrate foreword.

The Power of Buyers

Buyer’s power pertains to the ability of buyers to negotiate lower prices. Michael Porter (2008) has also provided a list for determining if an industry’s buyers have power:

• There are few buyers, or each one purchases in volumes that are large relative to the size of a single vendor.
• The industry's products are standardized or undifferentiated.
• Buyers face few switching costs in changing vendors.
• Buyers can credibly threaten to integrate backward and produce the industry's product themselves if vendors are too profitable. (Porter, 2008)

Coffee retailers’ customers are final consumers. Porter’s list pertains largely to business-to-business customers. The buyers in the coffee retail industry essentially have their power limited to switching vendors. Prices are typically not negotiated and the likeliness of many buyers to integrate backward is low. Therefore, buyers in the retail coffee industry have little power.

Porter, M. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93.

Greg's SWOT paper

The Great Cups of Coffee Company has become a local leader in an industry that has an ever increasing number of consumers and a steady increase in growth. Operations began in 1995 when four business partners decided to provide Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding area with “great coffee at a great price” (Great, 2006). Great Cups has continued to stay at the top of their local market due to many of their business strengths.

Strengths

Ever since the initial creation of Great Cups, their way of drawing in the customers, was to provide them with a cup of coffee that was distinctly different than their competition. This strategy has been carried out by providing the customers with a “great cup” of coffee, which are several different blends, which are served in coffee mugs two ounces larger than their competition. They have also combined with a roasting manufacture, so they can supply their stores with fresh roasted coffee on a 72 hour turn around period. These two measures combined have drawn in many customers, which have become life long consumers of Great Cups coffee. Another one of Great Cups’ strengths is their attention to the local community where the stores are located. Almost every single store front has a different interior and exterior design, which has been created to cater towards the given community. This is one of Great Cups greatest strengths because it allows every customer to feel more at home, while Great Cups can still manage to provide the consumer with a quality cup of coffee. Great Cups has also acquired two different specialty store chains that have also increased their strength in the market. In 2003, Great Cups of Coffee acquired the Great Scoops ice cream company in Pittsburgh, PA, and in 2004 they acquired a chain of stores that were similar to Great Cups of Coffee but some contained the added bonus of delis. This added to their strength because it has allowed them to venture into new markets and gain more consumers. The general idea of providing the customer with “great coffee at a great price” has still been maintained, but the new businesses have provided more channels or opportunities for Great Cups to do so. All in al Great cups have discovered their strengths, and have found ways to harness them and to turn them into profits (Great, 2006).

Weaknesses

Even though Great Cups of Coffee have discovered their strengths and use them to their advantage, they have also developed many weaknesses that are making it difficult to run the daily operations. One of the main weaknesses of Great Cups is that there are no formal channels for communication between all three of the states in which they operate. Managers at each store have different ways of training their employees, use different forms of communication, and many don’t know who to contact or to communicate with in order to solve their problems. All of this can stem from the fact that their HR department needs to be re-organized. There needs to be clear channels of communication created so that everyone is on the same page, and all managers should train employees with a corporation created training program. Another weakness of Great Cups lies within the financial sector. Financial reports are not being sent to key employees or executives, which is making it difficult for Great cups to pinpoint what is driving down profits and which stores are most profitable. Another problem within the financial sector is the fact that no financial analysis of the company has been done for the past couple of years, therefore making it extremely difficult to compare Great Cups with the rest of the industry and providing a road block for creating forecasts of future growth. Other Key weaknesses of the Great Cups Company are the fact that their information systems sector has no definition or compatibility what so ever. The original Great Cups of Coffee Company uses a different telecommunications carrier than Chicago and Pittsburgh. By doing this, it has made it almost impossible for Great Cups to create their own network or database to share information and store data. While the marketing team faces the biggest weakness, of deciding “whether they are one company or 273” (Great, 2006). Ever since Great Cups acquired the stores in Pittsburgh and Chicago, it has become very apparent that coffee has almost taken a back seat as their #1 business. All 273 stores sell the Great Cups brand of coffee, but at locations in Pittsburgh, Ice Cream takes dominance, and Deli items reign supreme in Chicago. For Great Cups to operate in a better manner, they first need to decide what their primary market is, whether it is coffee, ice cream, or deli items and then continue to work on communication channels between all 273 stores.

Opportunities

Great Cups is faced with many opportunities to increase its efficiency and profitability in the future. One of most significant opportunities is the opportunity to vertically integrate the roasting and distribution functions of the value chain. A ratio analysis of Great Cups, Starbucks, and Caribou Coffee revealed that Great Cups’ profit margin is well below the industry average. Higher COGS is one of the reasons for this. Starbucks and Caribou Coffee both roast their own coffee. Undoubtedly, fees paid for roasting account for a portion of Great Cups’ higher COGS. With Great Cups currently operating in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania the company’s home of Columbus, OH provides a geographical center for roasting operations.

Horizontal expansion is also an opportunity for Great Cups. This can be done by adding stores in current areas of operation, acquiring other competitors or complementary businesses, or expanding outside the current operating area. Indianapolis, IN is within the geographic region and shares many traits with Great Cups’ home of Columbus, OH. Expansion into this market seems like a natural fit.

Returning to the core business of selling coffee is another opportunity available to Great Cups. The additions of ice cream and deli operations have increased Great Cups’ product line over the past few years. However, given the high profit margin on coffee, it is possible that these additions have not increased the profitability of the company. Selling the Pittsburgh ice cream stores or the Chicago deli’s is one possibility, while converting these stores to coffee shops is another.

Several other opportunities are available to Great Cups. A few of them are; building the brand by having one name instead of three, decreasing employee turnover through human resource measures, and creation of an intranet to help with the company’s internal communication problems. Some of these opportunities are easier to implement than others. However, all of them deserve consideration.

Threats

Lastly, the final element of the SWOT analysis, which is the threats, associated with the external factors of the industry that would inescapably affect the bottom line profits of a firm. The threat of external factors surrounding a firms industry of choice would definitely affect the overall profits in a particular period or periods. External factors such as a rise in gasoline prices, and other operational supplies would indeed increase the overall cost of firms operations, and sequentially decrease the overall bottom line profits. Other external factors not related to cost might also affect firm’s abilities to achieve expected revenues in a given period, for example a change in consumer preference would also present a threat. In addition, it should be noted that all types of businesses possess threats of external factors in relation to their respective industries, and they should not be overlooked to promote efficiency with in a firm’s operation.

Threats of external factors associated with the coffee shops in the specialty eateries industry, are related to both cost and other external factors like consumer taste. In particular, Great Cups Coffee will most likely assume the threat of consumer’s changes in preference and taste. In addition, Great Cups and every other business have unfortunately been affected by the constant increase in gasoline prices, which is still expected to increase in the future. Great Cups will definitely have to pay more in transportation cost in the future, which will become a very heavy expense. In addition, the cost of coffee and dairy product will also present a threat if the prices were to rise, especially since Great Cups has expanded its operations outside of its original. Then a major question will be proposed “Who knows if the market for coffee will grow and stay in favour with customers, or whether another type of beverage or leisure activity will replace coffee in the future?” (Marketing teacher. 2008).

Great Cups has demonstrated several core competencies throughout its 13 year history. Additionally, several weaknesses have been identified. Operating in the highly competitive specialty coffee industry provides the company with many threats. However, many opportunities are also available. Using the information contained in this SWOT analysis helps to develop a clear strategic plan for Great Cups.

Budget Ideas Rough draft of Mission and Vision

Please think about what mode we want to use for advertising. Radio and Billboards have already been thrown out there. Provide per unit pricing for which advertising you prefer. This information will be helpful when coming up with our budget. Here is a rough rough draft of our vision and mission statement. Provide feedback.

MISSION STATEMENT:
Great Cups of Coffee and Cream is a company that is focused on providing a great value in a fun (or an enjoying) environment. We pride ourselves on our outstanding (unparalleled) customer service provided by our committed personnel (staff). For that reason, our expectation of having loyal customers and attracting new ones is anticipated.

VISION STATEMENT:
The vision is to become a known and respected brand within the community it serves. In order to effectively achieve this we will need to have:
Competitive training and benefits for our employees
Community involvement
Environmental/Social Responsibility
Listen to our customers

Another idea

Are we going to come up with personal profiles of each of us for the final submission?? Can we all have something written up by our meeting next Saturday??

HR recommendation and more logos for SOS

Ok, number one. The HR receommendation I had but couldn't remember it was this. If we are trying to get the BEST people possible to work at GC3, what is the screening process? Do they have to take a personality test or something?? Group interviews to see how people interact? Just thoughts.

Number two, here are the alternate logos my friend came up with. See if they are any better.

Logo Design

Just found this link going over the top trends in new logo design. For the team looking at the Great Cups logo this should come in handy.

http://abduzeedo.com/10-trends-will-define-logo-design-2008