Table of contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 3

2. Business proposal…………………………………………………………………….4

3. Environmental factors……………………………………………………………...5 3.1. Political legal………………………………………………………………5 3.2. Economic……………………………………………………………………5 3.3 socio-cultural……………………………………………………………….6 3.4. Technological……………………………………………………………..6

4. Internal management ……………………………………………………………..7

5. Supply chain factors…………………………………………………………………7

6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….8

7. References………………………………………………………………………………9

INTRODUCTION
Upon completion of my business course I have been tasked with the responsibility of conceiving a business idea upon which I will have to refer to my management 3010 lecture notes in order to get a managerial perspective on how the business will run in its existing environment. Hence this is a paper highlighting on the key environmental factors and supply chain factors which will impact my business of choice in an environment that is global, dynamic and ever changing and how my business remains competitive and profitable amidst all these factors.

Business proposal
“Road transportation of goods within the east African region with special emphasis of south Sudan as an emerging market”
In current economic times where the business fail rate is at an all-time high. One has to be very prudent and shrewd at the same time to ensure one comes out with a successful business
After carefully looking at various industries in the economy and looking for areas where potential businesses may arise I have come to observe that there is unborn opportunity in the transportation business. With the production capacity of the east African countries ever increasing there is a growing need of the transportation function of goods from one place to another.
Economic trading blocs such as the eastern African community have been revived hence this will make commerce between and among member states be easier than it ever was. With member states each endowed with different natural resources this therefore means there will be production of different goods which during trade will have to be transported from one place to another. The need of transportation of these goods will have to be satisfied. Hence with the right capital and infrastructure a transportation business will be ideal at a time like this to satisfy this ever growing demand.
The major concern of all transporters has always been the state of the roads. It is now more evident that the government is seriously addressing the issue of ensuring there are quality roads and with the support of lending institutions such as African development bank and World Bank we can expect even more and better roads to be constructed.
Key to all this is the just unveiled project of LAPSET with roads linking three countries Kenya, Ethiopia and south Sudan. With south Sudan just having got independence and knowing the abundance of natural resources they have been endowed with any entrepreneur should know that this is definitely fertile ground for starting a business venture.
ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS External environment
Political legal East Africa being a region comprised of third world countries all respective governments are geared towards enacting laws and providing a political environment that will make commerce and business activities more favorable. Currently it is working towards ensuring that there will be free trade among member states of the east African community. Kenya being a fully capitalistic country it is a favorable place for people who want to utilize and exploit wealth creation opportunities with minimal government intervention. Furthermore the Kenyan government has just allocated 10% of its budget to promote youth entrepreneurship and innovation projects hence the government is ensuring youth are able to access credit which is usually a big obstacle for young people looking to engage themselves in business ventures. As a transportation business we will ensure we exploit the available opportunities availed to us by the government to ensure maximum growth of our business.

Economic
Kenya had experienced a steady economic growth which was terribly affected by violence after the election in 2007. But there have being there have been various efforts to reverse this and now we are back on recovery. Economic cycles suggest that that after a recovery there is usually a boom. Hence we can hope and expect that in the very near future Kenya and the larger east African region will be at an economic time of prosperity. But regardless of that business ventures have also benefited by the ease of access of credit from banks which was never the case before this was especially the reason of high economic growth between 2003-2007 when interest rates were at an all-time low this will be good for my transport business which requires a large capital outlay just like any other. Nevertheless this kind of lending has also resulted to high rates of inflation which the government through the central bank is trying to keep in check. Hence as business we will keep our eyes and minds awake as we strive to adapt and change accordingly in ways that will ensure the business remains competitive and profitable.

Socio-cultural
Kenyans are basically known to be very good human recourse as they are generally very hardworking people with very good work ethic hence we don’t anticipate to have problems in getting the right kind of labor.
Also being a transportation business which will not be involved in any production of goods just transportation of them we don’t anticipate that we will be highly affected by various socio-cultural factors such demography, culture, age groups, ethnicity and religion. Despite all this we are aware of the areas with very low employment consequently leading to very high crime rates hence we will ensure we have insured all goods and vehicles as this will be a key risk management policy of the business to curb any threats of theft or any other risk that they may be. Technological
Our main capital being trucks, Lorries and pickups our main focus will be to ensure we maintain these vehicles in top notch condition and we will ensure to use any available technology to ensure they are as efficient as they can be. We appreciate that Kenya has a tyre processing plant in the name of Yana tyres hence sourcing for such items will be easily manageable.
Also other areas such as engine of the vehicles will have to be in line with the best there is as far as technology has produced such as using very good engine oils in the market. This whole effort is geared to ensure that the vehicles will be highly reliable and efficient as this will ensure we met client’s expectation.
Internal management
For this business to be as successful as it is expected to be it must be very well managed for instance we shall establish a good marketing department which core mandate will to be source for us clientele and also give us adequate feedback from our clients. We shall also set up a department to manage the whole fleet of the company to ensure all our vehicles are in perfect condition as we cannot afford to have delays in delivery of goods. Accountability we also be key to ensure that the business is financially healthy. We shall also have strategic planners to ensure that we achieve growth in every year as we will continue to strive to reach to new horizons.

Supply chain factors
Our key focus on the supply chain will be upstream (producers of goods) and downstream (sellers of goods). This is to say who will be requiring his products to be transported to a certain market and also which market will be requiring certain products to be transported to them. As a transport business we will act as a link between where the product has been produced and where the product will be sold. Hence we will consider both parties as our customers. As long as countries are producing different products our focus is to be the people who will be responsible for transporting these products from one country to another.

Conclusion
Businesses are geared in focusing their energies in the core production activity which is usually producing the desired product or rendering the desired service. Hence activities such as cleaning, security and transportation are being outsourced hence we have found a need where businesses want to get rid of the headache of transportation logistics of their products and want to outsource this service so as to focus on their core mandate, hence this is the basis of venturing in transportation of products of various industries. We will strive to capture this kind of clientele through our marketing department and ensure we always adapt and change to the various environmental factors to always ensure our business remains competitive and profitable.

Bibliography:
Management principles: a contemporary edition for Africa, 4th edition ; Pj smit, Gj de j Cronje, T brevis, Mj vrba

Kreitner management : 9th edition; Robert kreitner

Management in the 21st century: a handbook for managers, 2nd edition; R Thomas, W Kennedy