Business Plan Analysis

The purpose of a business plan is to serve as a plan of action and a roadmap for an organization to achieve its goals. A global business plan therefore must include information and research on which an international business can be founded. The basic parts of the business plan remain the same whether it is national or global. However, the in-depth research and planning required to successfully take a company to a global level adds several additional sections or subsections to the standard business plan. This business plan analysis will review the standard business plan structure provided and add to the necessary parts to take it global.

The Executive Summary should culminate the direction, goals, opportunities, recommendations, and conclusions of the business plan. The global business plan should also provide recommendations of the optimal modes of entry into a host country, and conclude with a discussion of building on the foundation that has been laid. The Situational Analysis section of the global business plan must also provide an analysis the organization's ability to sustain the growth and demands that will be placed on it during global expansion. An assessment of how the organization is currently operating from financial, human resources, and customer satisfaction viewpoints will be helpful in determining what areas will require strengthening or possible reorganization to support the new endeavor.

Any experience the company has with exporting or foreign ventures should be included under the Company Background section. It would also be helpful to provide any education and experience the executive staff has in international dealings. This helps to bolster confidence in the company's ability to carry out the tasks necessary to make their global venture successful. If the company has multiple locations that also helps to show that, at least on a national level, it can manage several facilities at a time. It would be less likely that an investor or even a host country would be willing to extend itself to an inexperienced organization.

Under the Key Products and Services section, it is important to discuss the need or demand, if one currently exists, for the products and services the company offers in the potential host country. If more than one country is being considered, or the goal is to move into exporting to more than one country that should be specified in the Executive summary and clarification as to which products would be most popular in which countries is necessary. The competitive comparison must also expand to include foreign competitors, especially those within the host country if applicable. Establishing some data on international sources and distribution channels is very important as exporting products requires additional logistics procedures and adherence to the laws of each country the shipments will pass through, if a direct channel is unavailable.

The Country and Market Risk section