PrintingSolutions.com is a global Internet print shop that aims to reduce printing costs and facilitate business-to-business transactions for printing presses and the graphic art design industry. We offer website development and e-commerce services to stay competitive in the market. Our goal is to provide high-quality services at significantly lower prices compared to our competitors, helping start-up and existing companies save on printing and e-commerce expenses.
Key highlights of PrintingSolutions.com include:
– Creation of a unique website that offers various options for business stationery design, such as business cards, envelopes, notepads, and door hangers. We also have a graphic art design center for customers to create their company logos and other essential designs.
Our main competitor is iPrint.com, but we have the advantage of offering lower prices without compromising on quality. We understand that customers in this industry value both quality and price, and we strive to provide the best of both.
At PrintingSolutions.com, we have a highly skilled management team with industry expertise, extensive research experience, and unique administrative skills. Mr. Dalton Grant will lead our team.
In terms of revenue projections, we expect to generate $250,000 in the second half of Year 1. For Year 2 and Year 3, the projected revenues are $2.91 million and $5.82 million, respectively. To achieve our goals, we are seeking $830,000 in venture capital for establishing an organization and office presence in the United States and overseas, completing the development of our Internet print shop, and marketing our website, services, and products.
The mission of PrintingSolutions.com is to become a global company in online printing, website designs, and graphic art designs. The company aims to be the market leader and provide a B2B portal for the printing press and graphic art design industries. To achieve this, PrintingSolutions.com will offer high-quality workmanship at the lowest costs.
PrintingSolutions.com will be incorporated as a C-corporation with offices in Bluegene, Oregon. All operations, including administration and website development, will take place at a 1,000 square foot leased office location. The company also plans to establish an offshore office to control prices and monitor work quality.
The company’s product selection requires a low initial investment. The website development staff can handle various projects, and the printing materials have no expiry date and can be used for other purposes.
Start-up Requirements:
Office setup: $325,000
Marketing: $500,000
Other Administrative expenses: $25,000
Salaries: $10,000
Research and development: $20,000
Other: $0
Total Start-up Expenses: $880,000
Start-up Assets:
Cash Required: $950,000
Start-up Inventory: $0
Other Current Assets: $200,000
Long-term Assets: $0
Total Assets: $1,150,000
Total Requirements: $2,030,000
Services:
PrintingSolutions.com will be an online provider of printing and B2B print services, focusing on the business market. This will be fortified with the company’s graphic art and website design services.
The online print shop will offer customers a one-stop shop for addressing their printing needs. Customers will be able to easily design and order customization on thousands of products, primarily small-quantity printed products. By automating and enhancing the print order process and electronically connecting our online printing services to carefully-selected commercial print vendors, the company will significantly reduce the costs and inefficiencies associated with the traditional printing process. Our online print services are designed to be more convenient and cost-effective than printing alternatives provided through traditional print channels.
PrintingSolutions.com will simplify the design and ordering process, including the elimination of manual steps and handwritten forms used by traditional print shops. This will significantly reduce reprint-due-to-error costs and print wastage incurred by commercial print vendors. Exact re-prints of previous orders will be available at a reduced cost. The company will lower costs and improve capacity utilization for its commercial print vendors by electronically routing orders to vendors with idle capacity. PrintingSolutions.com also believes that these efficiencies, along with lower overhead costs due to the online nature and automation, will allow the company to be more cost effective than traditional printing alternatives. Additionally, the cost of printing will be greatly reduced by using the offshore printing press affiliate, Creative Designs and Printers.
In addition to providing customers with online print services through the PrintingSolutions.com website, the company will conduct B2B through PrintingSolutionsB2B.com.
Graphic Art Design: PrintingSolutions.com will provide a graphic art design center where customers will describe their company to enable a graphic art designer to create a logo for them.
Website Design: Customers will also be able to have website designers create effective websites for their company. Customers will choose from either a template or a customized website, whichever suits their business needs.
Business Stationery: This will initially include brochures, business cards, envelopes, writing tablets, door hangers, greeting cards, memo pads, letterhead, and logo designs.
Fulfillment:
All services provided by PrintingSolutions.com (business stationery products, website designers, and graphic art designs) originate overseas; when necessary, a United States-based team will provide assistance.
Customers will be able to work with the designers online for any changes or enhancements once the initial designs have been completed. Delivery of graphic art designs and websites will be done electronically, with the option of receiving a compact disk.
In the event that an error is made in printing an order, customers will have the option of returning it to have it reprinted. Otherwise, all sales will be final, since the printing will be customized and cannot be resold. Customers will not be able to cancel the order once the materials are printed.
Customers will be able to contact the company via the Internet through email, and interactive tools such as AOL instant messenger and Microsoft net-meeting. Additionally, the company will provide traditional telephone customer service.
Technology:
An online print shop faces challenges that other electronic commerce vendors do not face. PrintingSolutions.com will design its online print shop to address the challenges of selling custom printed products and to handle potentially large volume orders. The computer software architecture of PrintingSolutions.com, the related websites, and the design/order processing technologies integrate high-performance and proprietary software modules with technology licensed from third parties.
Challenges:
The challenges for an online print shop include customer-driven product creation. Customers do not order from a static, pre-set product catalog. Rather, customers can create sophisticated desktop publishing design projects, requiring the ability to freely mix text, graphic images, fonts, styles, and colors on printed items. PrintingSolutions.com believes that, with our technology expertise, we will be able to address these challenges while also handling large numbers of customer design sessions and orders. We feel this represents a competitive advantage.
Future Services:
Customized printing will be offered in the future on products including mass print materials (such as books and magazines), mugs, mouse pads, pens, rubber stamps, and labels. PrintingSolutions.com will eventually provide franchising opportunities.
Market Analysis Summary:
PrintingSolutions.com will focus on small and start-up business customers in the United States. We plan to aggressively pursue and acquire customers through direct business promotions and convert them into repeat paying customers. We will continually strive to provide consumers with more cost-effective avenues, offering substantial savings rather than just a few cents.
PrintingSolutions.com will also be configured to stay ahead of, and capitalize on, emerging market trends such as integration of information/markets and increasing sophistication of online offerings. This will provide a continuously improving, superior customer experience and grow value.
There is a benefit deficiency in existing “brick and mortar” printing establishments that create inefficiencies in the ordering and production process. Utilizing the benefits of Internet selling will eliminate many of these problems and create a lower-cost environment.
At present, PrintingSolutions.com faces major online competition from iPrint.com, an established online printer. However, iPrint.com does not offer the lowest cost products on the market, nor does it provide all of the printing services a business needs. Therefore, there is significant opportunity to gain market share.
Customers and Markets:
The company will primarily target small and start-up businesses in the United States, with plans to negotiate deals with big businesses. Vendors will include printers and graphic art designers around the world that will help define these markets using the PrintingSolutions.com B2B portal. While the primary focus will be on business customers, PrintingSolutions.com’s ability to print in small quantities will allow the company to service the printing needs of individuals as well.
To ensure success, the company will continuously attract new customers, many of whom may have personal and long-standing relationships with traditional print and design shops, catalog vendors, office supply chains, and stationery stores. Traditional print and design shops have advantages that PrintingSolutions.com cannot offer its customers, including physical proximity and interpersonal business relationships. In addition, catalog vendors may be better able to combine orders to achieve economies of scale and may be more convenient for customers who also want to purchase non-printed products, such as office furniture.
PrintingSolutions.com plans to aggressively pursue and acquire customers through promotions and convert them into repeat paying customers. Direct business promotions are the most important vehicle that the company will use to acquire customers. These promotions may include providing the customer a product, such as a mailing label at no charge, or charging the customer only for shipping and handling, to introduce that customer to our products and services.
PrintingSolutions.com plans to expand its business and customer base by offering business promotions on a continuous basis. The company will continually strive to provide consumers with more cost-effective avenues, offering substantial savings rather than just a few cents. Using offshore print companies as partners and having partners bid on jobs will ensure the best prices for our customers.
The projected number of potential customers in the United States by market segment:
– Small Business: 11,000,000
– Start-up Business: 500,000
– Large Business: 20,000
Note: The large business segment consists of the smallest number of businesses but generates the largest sales and revenues. The company’s ability to gain market share in the third category, "Individual customers," will be relatively small compared to the other two. This is due to the primary concentration of marketing efforts on the business segments.
Market Analysis
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Potential Customers Growth CAGR
Small Businesses Utilizing Internet 8% 4,970,000 5,342,750 5,743,456 6,174,215 6,637,281 7.50%
Large Businesses Utilizing Internet 6% 113,600 119,848 126,440 133,394 140,731 5.50%
Individuals Utilizing Internet w/Printing Needs 27% 5,430,000 6,896,100 8,758,047 11,122,720 14,125,854 27.00%
Total 18.75% 10,513,600 12,358,698 14,627,943 17,430,329 20,903,866 18.75%
4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
Printing Solutions has chosen to focus on the small business market segment as its primary customer base because these customers usually have the lowest switching costs, do not have long-term relationships with other printing companies, and are the most aggressive in searching for low-cost printing services. Furthermore, Printing Solution’s ability to route jobs of various sizes to printers with temporary excess capacity matches well with these companies, who usually desire smaller print jobs than the larger companies.
PrintingSolutions.com will also focus on large businesses. The advantage with this market segment is that each job usually offers a higher margin than the small business segment.
Finally, the company will also address individual needs. This is potentially the largest market; however, there is a relatively high churn rate in this segment that will require more extensive marketing efforts to attract new customers. This, in turn, lowers the margin and makes this segment the least attractive.
4.2.1 Market Trends
The evolution of vertical e-marketplaces
Today’s vertical e-marketplaces are young companies, with most websites possessing less than eight months of transaction experience. Forrester Research believes that these e-marketplaces will become highly competitive in a race for survival. They will grow to provide a single access point for commerce and information within an industry, combining multiple services like logistics, payments, and credit with real-time product offerings.
2000 To 2001: Racing To Establish Credibility
Over the next 12 to 18 months, e-marketplaces will continue their attack on industry inefficiencies by focusing on enhancing basic commerce platforms.
2001+: Building Value through Networks
Beginning in 2001, e-marketplaces will move beyond basic issues of critical mass and begin integrating more intensely with other product and service providers. They will configure comprehensive product/service bundles, fulfilling customers’ visions of one-stop shops by integrating services like risk management, financing, and logistics into a single flow.
4.3 Service Business Analysis
Market Description
Printing can be a major area of expenditure for small businesses. Based on data from CAP Ventures, Inc., the sales in the United States printing industry totaled $292 billion in 1998, of which $58 billion was derived from commercial printing operations. Short-run, customized items comprise a significant portion of these commercial printing operations. This market is highly fragmented, with an estimated 50,000 local and regional commercial printers in the United States.
The traditional process of purchasing short-run print items can be time-consuming and error-prone. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the number of small businesses engaged in e-commerce will grow from 400,000 in 1998 to nearly 2.8 million by the end of 2003.
The explosive growth of the Internet has enabled millions of people to interact electronically. The IDC estimates that there were 142 million Web users worldwide in 1998, and expect this number to grow to approximately 502 million by the end of 2003. The widespread adoption of the Internet as a purchasing vehicle has created a wealth of opportunities for businesses that offer products and services to small businesses and consumers.
Small businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities the Internet affords. The IDC estimates that the number of small businesses engaged in e-commerce will increase 47.1% annually, from 400,000 in 1998 to almost 2.8 million in 2003.
4.3.1 Market Highlights
Identifiable market sectors
Forrester Research estimates that there are approximately 70 identifiable vertical market sectors in the commercial business world today.
IDC predicts that, of the estimated seven million small businesses in the United States, the percentage connected to the Internet will grow from approximately 40 percent in 1996 to almost 70 percent in 2000. IDC estimates the number of users in the US accessing the World Wide Web will increase from approximately 63 million at the end of 1998 to 177 million by the end of 2003.
4.3.2 E-marketplaces
E-marketplace Reports
Research shows that e-marketplaces will be responsible for 53% of all online business trade. The B2B arena is reshaping e-marketplaces, with many-to-many interactions replacing one-to-one relationships. Vertical e-marketplaces will face a changing business environment as competition increases, and they will need to diversify beyond transaction fees.
4.3.3 Competition and Buying Patterns
The traditional process of purchasing printing can be time-consuming and error-prone. PrintingSolutions.com believes that consumers will choose products and services based on significant cost savings and convenience. The company aims to provide customer service through a combination of electronic and personal assistance, reducing reprint-due-to-error rates and print wastage.
4.3.4 Main Competitors
The prime competitive threat comes from iPrint.com, a company that currently dominates the market. Competitive threats also come from any company that is able to provide the services offered by PrintingSolutions.com at lower prices. PrintingSolutions.com will differentiate itself by obtaining a global demand for its services and leveraging highly-qualified professionals and offshore resources.
Strategy and Implementation Summary
The objective of PrintingSolutions.com is to become the leading online provider of printing and private-brand print services. As part of the ongoing strategy, the company plans to create new services and aggressively promote the PrintingSolutions.com brand through online and traditional media advertising.
Competitive Edge
Through the online print shop, PrintingSolutions.com will offer consumers a single location to satisfy the majority of their printing needs. The company will develop a user-friendly website for obtaining professional quality, mass-market printed products. This will provide customers a compelling alternative to traditional print channels.
Marketing Strategy
PrintingSolutions.com will strive to develop the most recognized and trusted brand for printing services on the Internet. The company plans to promote the PrintingSolutions.com brand through a combination of online and traditional media advertising, public relations, and trade show participation.
PrintingSolutions.com’ products and services will address the need for assisting customers in obtaining their business stationery, graphic art designs, and websites at affordable prices.
Pricing Strategy
The company sets its pricing based on competitors’ offerings, cutting that number in half. Website development will be provided at a flat rate, and additional changes will be billed at an hourly rate.
Sales Strategy
The company’s sales strategy will be minimal, as customers are expected to be attracted by marketing efforts. The benefits of convenience, customization, and low price will be the incentives to close a sale.
The projected sales and direct costs for the next three years are shown in the table and charts.
Sales Forecast
Sales
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Internet Printing Products $250,000 $2,910,000 $5,820,000
Other $0 $0 $0
Total Sales $250,000 $2,910,000 $5,820,000
Direct Cost of Sales
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Internet Printing Products $80,000 $125,000 $200,000
Other $0 $0 $0
Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $80,000 $125,000 $200,000
5.4 Strategic Alliances
The company has strategic alliances with Network Systems, Software Developers, and Custom Designs and Printers. These alliances are valuable to us because they allow the company to utilize the knowledge and resources of these firms at no additional cost. PrintingSolutions.com plans to form additional strategic alliances with search engines such as Yahoo! and Lycos to promote the website, as well as explore partnerships with content providers such as America Online.
The e-marketplaces will become an enduring reality in the business landscape. While their growth will spur continuous change, the company will participate in these e-marketplaces as buyers. PrintingSolutions.com will begin to experiment with online marketplaces with a minimum of 1% of its procurement dollars. This effort will optimize purchasing in a dynamic pricing world. There will be the added bonus of understanding different vertical markets for future strategic alliances.
The company also plans to pursue relationships with destination websites and media companies to increase traffic to its website. By aggressively pursuing new relationships, we believe we can accelerate customer acquisition and increase usage of our online print store.
5.5 Milestones
Sample Milestones topic text.
The milestones table and chart show specific details about program activities throughout the year. Each milestone has a manager, starting date, ending date, and budget. We will track implementation against plan and report on the timely completion of these activities.
Milestones
Milestone Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department
Sample Milestones 1/4/2008 1/4/2008 $0 ABC Department
Finish Business Plan 4/29/2009 5/29/2009 $100 Dude Boss
Acquire Financing 5/9/2009 6/28/2009 $200 Dudette Legumers
Ah HA! Event 5/19/2009 5/24/2009 $60 Marianne Bosses
Oh NO! Event 6/28/2009 7/3/2009 $0 Gloworm Nobs
Grande Opening 6/28/2009 7/3/2009 $500 Gloworm Nobs
Marketing Program Starts 5/29/2009 6/23/2009 $1,000 Glower Marketeers
Plan vs. Actual Review 10/24/2009 10/31/2009 $0 Galore Alles
First Break-even Month 2/25/2010 3/27/2010 $0 Bouys Salers
Hire Employees 1/24/2010 2/23/2010 $150 Gulls HRM
Upgrade Business Plan Pro 4/14/2010 4/16/2010 $100 Brass Bossies
Totals $2,110
Web Plan Summary
PrintingSolutions.com will offer printing, website, and graphic art design at affordable prices. The company’s proprietary product will be a website that provides customers an avenue to create business stationery. PrintingSolutions.com will allow customers to track their purchases from start to finish. They will be able to view their selections online and make modifications at any time. Customers will have access to service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
6.1 Development Requirements
The software supporting the online print shop is a collection of integrated software modules that enable PrintingSolutions.com to create, maintain, modify, or replace individual components quickly. PrintingSolutions.com will create proprietary software modules using development and technical standards and practices without significant dependencies. This allows the company to move software between different databases, operating systems, and web server products to upgrade capacity or take advantage of price or performance improvements.
The key software modules on the PrintingSolutions.com website are as follows:
Design Workshop: This incorporates features found in desktop publishing software that enable customers to easily create custom-printed products. Customers will be able to view and proof their orders before they are printed, reducing reprints due to design error.
6.2 System Standards and Integration
Design Standards
PrintingSolutions.com will offer the following design standards:
– High-speed operation.
– Optimized screens incorporating data from several modules on a single display.
– Great depth to handle sophisticated requirements.
– Tightly integrated standards to minimize errors, data entry, and time and maximize speed and information content.
– Consistent look and feel, uniform prompts and data flow for every module.
– User-friendly with helpful features such as help displays, pick boxes, and user-changeable options.
Depth and Integration
PrintingSolutions.com will have depth, allowing customers to go beyond the basics. This applies to each module individually. The company will have the ability to confirm customer information when processing an estimate, convert an estimate to a job, allocate inventory, verify credit limits, and automate billing and updating of related information.
Management Summary
Management initially consists of Mr. Dalton Grant, president and CEO, and the company’s webmaster, who will act as assistant manager. Additional management personnel will be hired as growth dictates.
7.1 Organizational Structure
Management philosophy will be based on responsibility and mutual respect. PrintingSolutions.com will maintain an environment and structure that encourages productivity and respect for customers and employees while allowing for creative independence. The organizational structure is illustrated in the Personnel table.
Personnel Plan
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Dalton Grant $34,785 $35,000 $47,825
Webmaster $52,175 $52,174 $52,174
Website developers $0 $50,000 $75,000
Marketing Coordinator $34,785 $34,783 $39,131
Outsourcing Coordinator $34,785 $34,783 $39,131
Office Assistant $17,390 $17,391 $17,391
Total People 5 5 5
Total Payroll $173,921 $224,131 $270,652
7.2 Management Team
Mr. Dalton Grant, President and CEO, will be responsible for the direction and overall performance of PrintingSolutions.com. Mr. Grant has previous experience as CEO of Delta Printing Services and Director of Network Systems Development at Nortel, leading a team of over 350 people.
Funding Requirements and Uses
The company is raising $2 million for the purposes of establishing an organization and office presence, completing the development of the internet print shop, marketing the website and services, and providing a world-class customer service website.
Start-up Funding
Start-up Expenses to Fund $880,000
Start-up Assets to Fund $1,150,000
Total Funding Required $2,030,000
Assets
Non-cash Assets from Start-up $200,000
Cash Requirements from Start-up $950,000
Additional Cash Raised $0
Cash Balance on Starting Date $950,000
Total Assets $1,150,000
Liabilities and Capital
Liabilities
Current Borrowing $500,000
Long-term Liabilities $450,000
Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) $0
Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) $0
Total Liabilities $950,000
Capital
Planned Investment
Investor 1 $400,000
Investor 2 $430,000
Dalton Grant $250,000
Additional Investment Requirement $0
Total Planned Investment $1,080,000
Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) ($880,000)
Total Capital $200,000
Total Capital and Liabilities $1,150,000
Total Funding $2,030,000
8.1 Financial Risks and Contingencies
PrintingSolutions.com has no operating history, which makes it difficult to forecast future operating results. The company will encounter risks and difficulties common to start-ups in rapidly evolving and competitive markets, including expanding certified commercial print vendors and improving technological and logistical connections to these vendors. Failure to address these risks successfully will harm the business.
Due to the nature of the internet business, quarterly sales and operating expenses will fluctuate depending on the market and competition. The success of PrintingSolutions.com depends on educating potential customers and addressing their concerns about quality, reliability, billing, delivery, and customer service in a self-service, internet-based print creation and ordering environment.
8.2 Important Assumptions
The financial projections are based on sales volume and present the company’s expected assets, liabilities, capital, revenues, and expenses. The projections reflect management’s judgement of expected conditions and actions based on hypothetical assumptions.
8.3 Break-even Analysis
The chart and table outline the break-even analysis for PrintingSolutions.com.
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