Final Project on Play Wood Toys

It is a partnership small business, established by five partners – Haroon Chaudhry, Muhammad Zeeshan Yaqoob, Muneeb Arshad, Zoeed Arshad and Moazim Hussain of manufacturing unique and specialized educational wooden toys, aside from providing fun, pleasure it is fostering creativity and sharing and providing the children with hours of entertainment. These toys engage the child’s imagination and creativity.

These toys are made for the children of age between 4 to 7years, and in keeping the point of view of the parents about what they want for their children. These toys can be dangerous to young children, especially children under three years of age. These toys are not for infants, toddlers and all children who still mouth objects. Children can play with these toys at every location: the nursery, car, daycare, school, babysitter's, grandparent's house, etc….

PLAY WOOD is making toys, for 4-7 years old kids, by keeping in mind the following:

Children can get as much fun and pleasure from playing with shoeboxes, car keys and saucepans as they can but they can provide harm to them, PLAY WOOD is developed with a purpose to provide children something which can improve their learning skills along with providing fun and pleasure and can be trusted by parents.

This small business is started with little money, the founders used their own savings but as the business grows bank loan would be a source of finance.

Encouraged by the desire of parents to push their children to learn things at ever younger ages, educational aids are being targeted at ever-younger audiences by this small business. Most of the money lavished on toys for very young children was spent on products claiming to increase their intelligence or enhance specific motor or cognitive skills. Parents who hope to boost the IQ levels of their kids; this business is developed to help them out.

This business is contributing to the economic growth by introducing new products. The jobs created by this small business are meant for carpenter and the painter. It has no factories and all its toys are made on contract by outside suppliers which give the flexibility to change its designs quickly.

Other than the manufacturing of the toys all other tasks are being played by the owner themselves, they may find themselves working 12-hr days week in and week out they may function as a financial planner, personnel manager even the owners themselves provide the carpenter with the wood and the painter with the paints but as the business grows number of employees will go on increasing. PLAY WOOD is meant for manufacturing specialized toys for 4 to7 years’ old school going children so it can compete successfully against rivals.

There is huge potential for the wooden toys in the Pakistan; a big part of the potential market is still un-served. PLAY WOOD is making educational toys for children between 4-7 years of age and in Pakistan after every 10 seconds a child is turning in to 4-6.

PLAY WOOD is making all the efforts to make its toy one of the best and one of the favorite toys of the children belonging to middle class of Lahore and the company expects its members (five partners) to contribute in the achievement of the company’s long term objectives and goals.

PLAY WOOD is informing the prospective customers about its wooden toys by emphasizing the Direct Marketing and the route through which its company’s products move to the final customers is the door to door selling. It is a for- profit-organization having goal to get maximum profit. But in the beginning the price of its toys is relatively less and it aims to provide its customers with maximum satisfaction at low prices.

To start the small business of making and selling wooden toys the first most important task is to analyze what type of wooden toys are required by the children and what kind of interests children have so that we come to what styles and what designs the wooden toys should have to attract huge volumes of the customers.

The partners come to know that there is a lot of potential in Lahore market for this particular segment so the partners of PLAY WOOD went to 2 toy shops, located in the Moon Market from where children belonging to middle class of Allama iqbal town mostly buy toys, and these shops have toys ranging from Rs 50 to Rs4050 including wooden, plastic, paper toys and most of them are those which can run only with batteries and electricity so they came to know that majority of children (both boys and girls) are attracted by colorful toys but parents only make the purchases of those toys which they think would not break up and of reasonable prices. Retailers told the partners that educational toys are mostly purchased by the schools but parents mostly buy such toys which are related to sports like for their baby boys they small wooden bats, wooden hockey, wooden cars and wooden horses etc. The light weight wooden toys which have alphabets over them with colorful and beautiful pictures painted over them have always been a part of the attraction of the school going children.

The partners visited school-- H.Q. School System 26- Shah Jamal Colony, Lahore where they came to know that most of the educational toys used by this school are made of wood having alphabets and beautiful colorful pictures over them. The nursery class teacher told them that toys make it easy for the children to learn about different things and toys also help teachers in telling children about anything as compare to the way of showing pictures printed on the books .For example she told them that she shows the students all together a wooden toy which has a picture of mango and asks the students what it is and in which season it is found then all the students together reply to it.

It is observed that toy industry of Pakistan isn’t in a good condition especially the wooden toy industry. How ever the local toy industry is progressing in a positive direction and creating a new trend in the children of Pakistan to play with wooden/ plastic toy rather than playing with electronic toys. According to SMEDA (Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority) the Pakistani government is to trying to provide a plate form to coordinate with the all efforts and utilize the small toys industry of Pakistan becouse there is a significant export potential particularly to Central Asian Republics and Dubai, our government need to help out these small industry in order to get the maximum benefits out of it. Now our government realizes that non- electronic and semi-electronic toys industry can make a great contribution to Pakistan’s GDP. BOI (board of Investment) Holds the views that “The export sales of toys from Pakistan can be improved with the recent efforts of government such as providing assistance to local manufacturers so that they should be able to improve their capabilities such as; product range, product quality, price, order size assortment, delivery time, total quality control, management system, and marketing activities.”

On the other hand The Pakistani child does not get enough toys. It is known that toys of certain types contribute to mental development such as educational toys that is why Toy factories are established by the state and their products sold cheap at subsidized rates or given free to the children of poor parents and government is also providing some subsidies to privately owned toy companies in Pakistan. Most of the education toys are imported from China and Thailand but these imports are still unable to meet the given requirement of toys of Pakistan plus a great portion of reserves is invested on it. That is why government is supporting the local toy industry of Pakistan to not just the local requirement but also export the non electronic and semi – electronic toys. The statistics of Pakistan’s population and the proportion of 0-4 and 5-9 children in it are shown down.

Now days the wooden toys are demanded domestically by some fast food restaurant and school, the parent want to buy such type toys for their children which are less in cost and which should also be helping to improve their children’s intellectual abilities and their child should enjoy it for long time. Children wants, toys which should be unique of its kind and it is observed that most of the toys are violating the patent and copy writes acts. This means that most of the toys are the same type and don’t represent an exclusive look, in this scenario a new, unique and educational toy can create a good market for it self.

The five partners came up with an idea of making wooden toys, which should be unique of its kind, which should sell in the market of Lahore for its first years because there is a lot of potential in Lahore market for this particular segment.

The legal form of the business is Partnership.

Ownership:

The partners are owners who start this small venture by their mutual coordination and have the equal responsibility of the business operations.

Management Control:

The owners will make all decisions with coordination and are responsible to rapid action immediately according to the change in the given market.

Sharing of profits and losses equally:

The owners will have to share the profits and losses equally.

The owners have the most control and flexibility in making business decisions.

“To be a most preferred company for our customers that best satisfies their’ requirements.”

“Our Mission is to provide the wooden toy trough the median of direct marketing with the combine use of latest technology, Classic Wood is socially responsible company which provides the opportunity for enrichment and growth of its employees. While maintaining the sufficient profitability”

Future success:

The company will be making all the efforts to make its toy one the best and one the favorite toys in Lahore and the company expects it’s all the members to contribute in the achievement of the company’s long term objectives and goals.

KSF (Key Success factors) :

The key success factors are those factors which can lead any company to success. We have categories our KSF’s in two basic Factors.

There are three most important factors under the personal process; these are the factors which will be brought in to the business entrepreneurs. The idea of starting up a business to satisfy the given need of customers can be our primary success factor, so we need focus that our this factor and it should be given priority upon both of the other success factors, means we will have to come up with new ideas when even there is need for it in the market.

There are four types of KSF’s which can be contributed by our process of the business, the quality product at the reasonable price can set fine bases for success of our this small venture, marketing and distribution are other two most important area which will require our attention on the regular bases.

The Company’s all the members are responsible to for the achievement of organizational objective.

However the responsibilities among the organization will be:

The Owners will be severing as the accounts manager, marketing manager, HR manager, other major tasks of developing, Implementing strategies, and controlling them will also be the equal responsibility of partners.

Strategic Alliance will have to perform their task with full responsibility and help to achieve organizational goals.

PLAYWOOD will be hiring employees with exact quality that are required for particular field. Currently company has 2 partners who are responsible for every task other than making of the toys and 1carpenter. In the future the company will hire 1more employee for production and one marketing personnel and management manager after 1 year (based upon the company’s overall performance i.e. number of units that company sells).

Owners

Manager

Marketing Personnel

Carpenter

The partners have learnt and developed the skills of managing new business venture in the effective manner, so they can help the manager to develop the new strategies and implement those strategies in the organization. The manager can help to spread the information in the whole organization as directed by the owners,( high level) plus he can serve acting as a mediator between the low level and the higher level manager. He will be helping to manage tasks such as accounts management, marketing negotiations etc. The marketing personnel will sell the toys to the retailer shop and will make good relations with them.

It is observed that toy industry of Pakistan isn’t in a good condition especially the wooden toy industry. How ever the local toy industry is progressing in a positive direction and creating a new trend in the children of Pakistan to play with wooden/ plastic toy rather than playing with electronic toys. According to SMEDA (Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority) the Pakistani government is to trying to provide a plate form to coordinate with the all efforts and utilize the small toys industry of Pakistan becouse there is a significant export potential particularly to Central Asian Republics and Dubai, our government need to help out these small industry in order to get the maximum benefits out of it. Now our government realizes that non- electronic and semi-electronic toys industry can make a great contribution to Pakistan’s GDP. BOI (board of Investment) Holds the views that “The export sales of toys from Pakistan can be improved with the recent efforts of government such as providing assistance to local manufacturers so that they should be able to improve their capabilities such as; product range, product quality, price, order size assortment, delivery time, total quality control, management system, and marketing activities.”

On the other hand The Pakistani child does not get enough toys. It is known that toys of certain types contribute to mental development such as educational toys that is why Toy factories are established by the state and their products sold cheap at subsidized rates or given free to the children of poor parents and government is also providing some subsidies to privately owned toy companies in Pakistan. Most of the education toys are imported from China and Thailand but these imports are still unable to meet the given requirement of toys of Pakistan plus a great portion of reserves is invested on it. That is why government is supporting the local toy industry of Pakistan to not just the local requirement but also export the non electronic and semi – electronic toys.

1) Pakistani manufacturers are not aware of international standards.
2) Quality of raw material is below standard.
3) Appropriate technology in terms of filling, fluffing and finishing is lacking.
4) Equipment and techniques, the core issues, need to be upgraded. Joint ventures with leading international manufacturers from China & other countries appear to be the answer.

Today, in Pakistan majority of the children are investing their time in playing with plastic, electrical, stuffed toys and video and computer games rather than wooden toys. Light weighted wooden toys are mostly demanded by the schools to help in teaching small children. There are164235 primary schools and 14,748 primary schools in Lahore. Where toys are being used to develop and improve the skills of children otherwise there are also some schools which are not aware of using toys to educate.

Play Wood* Viva Woods** Toy Vision***

In CPM the companies are rated according to the factors which are very critical for the success of future. After identifying the critical success factor we have rated them according to our power to grab these critical success factors, even our company is rated 2.6 which low as compare to our competitors, however our KSFs can become our CSF. Only if they are properly focused and utilized.

WT = weight RT = rating WS = weighted score

Age children of age between 4-7years

Par capita income of Pakistan in low which is 492$ but we can see in 2003-04 there is significant increase in the per capita income in Pakistan. Due to overall improvement in the national economy of the Pakistan, in last couple of years has given boost to per capita income in Pakistan by $160 in the financial year 2003-04 over the preceding fiscal year 2002-03. In percentage the per capita income is up by 32.5 percent in the last fiscal year over the preceding budgetary year. Pakistan has a 30 million strong middle class enjoying per capita incomes more than Rs48000-Rs60,000( a big portion is of Punjab)according to Dr. Ishrat Husain.In addition, Pakistan has a growing upper class with relatively high per capita incomes.