1.Place an ‘X’ in the appropriate circle below to indicate where Planet Intra’s solution, Intra.net, is situated on the product life cycle curve.(2 MARKS)
2.What are the two (2) immediate issues in the case?(2 MARKS)Issue 1Issue 23.Are there any basic issues? If so, identify them in the space below.(1 MARK)
3.What does Alan McMillan want to do?(1 MARK|)
5.What does the venture capitalist (VC) want Allan McMillan to do? (1 MARK)
6.Internal Analysis For each of the following functional business areas –human resources, marketing, finance, operations –identify Planet Intra’s strengths and weaknesses. Based on your analysis, provide a brief (one or two sentence) assessment tof each business area.Human Resources(3 MARKS)Strengths Weaknesses Assessment
4.Marketing(3 MARKS)Strengths Weaknesses Assessment Operations(3 MARKS)Strengths Weaknesses Assessment
5.Finance(3MARKS)StrengthsWeaknessesAssessment7.Customer Analysis Describe the two (2) customer segments –small and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises–that use EIP solutions. In the second box, identify Planet Intra’s relationship with respect to each segment. Based on your analysis, provide a brief (one or two sentence) assessment of each customer segment in the last box.SMEs(3 MARKS)Customer Segment Description Planet Intra’s Relationship Assessment
6.Large Enterprises(3 MARKS)Customer Grouping Description Planet Intra’s RelationshipAssessment8.Trade Analysis(2 MARKS)Currently, Planet Intra offers two service options to its customers –the “hosted method” and the “enterprise version”. What factors, positive and negative, must Planet Intra consider if it follows through on the alternative of using value added resellers (VARs) as a channel distributor.
7.Competitive Analysis(2 MARKS)Describe the competitive position of Planet Intra relative to its large competitors.Describe the competitive position of Planet Intra relative to its small competitors.
8.PEST Analysis Where applicable, provide a brief overview of the external factors –political, economic, social, and technological that influence Planet Intra’s industry. Political(1 MARK)Economic(1 MARK)Social(1 MARK)Technological(1 MARK)
9.Firm Valuations(for information purposes)The financial figures below provide a valuation of the firm with respect to each of the four (4) alternatives listed in part 12. The valuations are based on price–earnings multiples and assume a multiple of 15. Unless otherwise indicated, all figures are in $millions.Alternatives Capitalization of Earnings($millions)Management Equity Share(65%)Venture Capitalist Equity Share(35%)Venture Capitalist Return on Investment (ROI)1.Status Quo$15.18$9.867$5.31351.8%2.Focus on Large Enterprises$10.65 to $15.27$6.929 to $9.926$3.728 to $5.3456.5% to 52.5%3.VARs$13.9 to $21.6$9.035 to $14.04$4.865 to $7.5638.9% to 116%4.Advertising Revenues Projected revenues of $100,000 for the upcoming year.
10.Alternative Assessment Matrix(Weights –2 MARKS; RANKING –2 MARKS)The matrix below provides the four (4) alternatives and decision criteria that Alan McMillan will use to assess his options. Your first job is to provide Alan with a suggestion of how much weight he should put on each decision criteria. Next, rank order,from 1 to 4,each decision criteria against the four (4)alternatives; where1 represents the best in class and 4 represents the worst in class.Alternatives Decision Criteria Revenue Growth(_____%)“Liquidity”(_____%)Infrastructure Costs(_____%)Sustainable Niche Development(_____%)1.Status Quo____________________2.Focus on Large Enterprises____________________3.VARs____________________4.Advertising Revenues____________________Use the revised assessment matrix below to calculate which alternative is preferred.(2 MARKS)Alternatives Decision Criteria Revenue Growth“Liquidity”Infrastructure Costs Sustainable Niche DevelopmentTOTAL1.Status Quo2.Focus on Large Enterprises3.VARs4.Advertising Revenues
13.Recommendation(5 MARKS)Which of the four (4) alternatives would you recommend? Explain. (Some things to consider in your answer include main goals of the key stakeholders, the capabilities of Planet Intra, the target market, the competition,external factors,and the earnings models.NOTE: you do not necessarily choose the alternative with the highest point total from part 12 above.
