Running head: GLOBAL LOGISTICS SERVICES (GLS) BUSINESS PLAN
Comprehensive Strategic Business Plan For
Global Logistics Services
Shad G. Smith
MSM 520
Bellevue University
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GLS BUSINESS PLAN
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Abstract
Business owners can use two methods to craft a business plan for their existing or start-up
business- the preliminary business plan primarily written only for the owner and the more
comprehensive plan used to attract investors and capital (Amerpohl, 2005). The Global Logistics
Services (GLS) business plan is a comprehensive document that includes an executive summary,
market assessment, competitive assessment, marketing strategy, operational requirements,
budget plan to include grow, and finally an outline of potential business risks. GLS will strive to
meet the standards and expectations set forth in this plan, but the reader must understand that
this plan, and any business plan for that matter, is just that, a plan. “Ultimately, the idea is to
strengthen your business by defining a path that will lead you there, be it through securing a
loan or just doing what you do better” (Amerpohl,2005). The reader should consider this
document a “living, breathing” plan that is customizable and flexible enough to change if
conditions warrant.
Global Strategic Logistics Executive Summary
With the operations in Iraq nearly complete and operations in Afghanistan coming to an
end in a couple of years, the United States and her allies are dealing with an austere environment
boarding on international economic crises. Governments will be forced to streamline and reduce
military and governmental assets that were aggressively built up over the last ten years. To meet
these challenges, countries will begin military draw-downs at levels not seen since World War II.
We are seeing this movement currently with our own military. Among the most critical functions
impacted will be those in the logistics arena. Governments will still need the ability to quickly
mobilize and deploy people and materials worldwide in order to meet and defeat threats to global
security and economic stability, as well as international aid missions.
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Global Strategic Logistics (GLS) will be an International Leader of Regional and
Theater logistical planning, support, and sustainment for all U.S. Government Agencies and
NATO Alliance Members. Our Mission is to provide expert logistical planning and management
services in support across the full spectrum of geo-political operations. We will accomplish this
by utilizing the expertise of our Logistics Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), all of whom are
logisticians who served honorably in the United States Military, representing every branch of the
Service. Our logistical experts planned and executed Multi-National level logistical operations in
both Afghanistan in support of Enduring Freedom and Iraq in support Operation Iraqi Freedom,
as well as logistical operations on every continent.
With reduced internal assets, government entities will need to rely heavily on third party
services to plan, execute, and sustain logistics during everything from full military operations to
natural catastrophe response and clean up efforts. GLS staff will be able to step in and offer a full
range of services for every dimension of logistics. Whether it is initial planning, concept
development or full-blown operations to include staging and moving supplies to anywhere in the
world, GLS will have the expertise to accomplish the mission. GLS experts’ experience and firsthand knowledge is unparalleled and unmatched in the industry. They have intimate knowledge of
international relations, international customs and shipping requirements, and security clearances
recognized at the highest levels of government. We will focus exclusively on logistics and will
do it better than anyone else. Our logistical SMEs and their experience are the strength of GLS.
Budgetary issues and start-up cost will be discussed later, but investors have all ready
pledged initial investments totaling five million dollars. GLS leadership is currently in
negotiations with the U.S. Department of Defense for logistical planning and support to re-
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deploy remaining coalition equipment in Iraq. We project this to be a nine month mission,
ending October, 2012.
GLS’s greatest strength and asset is its people. No other company in the world has a
workforce that matches the loyalty, dedication to the mission, and relentless pursuit of success as
GLS. These same people will allow GLS to expand and continue to offer world class logistical
services. GLS, by continually recruiting and retaining world class logistical experts, will cement
its status as the world-wide leader in logistical services. The global political and economic
climate will remain volatile and uncertain. Governments will continue to struggle with the
pressing domestic and international economic issues. As a result, they will focus more on these
issues and rely more on companies like GLS to perform logistical operations that they can no
longer internally resource and staff.
Market Assessment
The market assessment is a vital part of any business plan as it shows your potential
investors that you have done your research and have strategies in place to position your company
or product in the marketplace. “Here’s your chance to draw a picture for readers of how effective
your business can be in the marketplace” (Amerpohl, 2005).
GLS has closely examined the current market need and has utilized upstream marketing
to focus on key service areas. Upstream marketing is the process of identifying a customer’s
product or service need very early in the product or service development cycle. Basic steps
during upstream marketing include understanding what the market want or need is, and then
creating a product or service that fulfills that need. Upstream marketing can be initiated for
possible expansion of current products, or determining possible market segments for new
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services (Higgins, 2011). GLS has focused on the future needs of potential customers and is
working to develop services customized exclusively for this market segment.
The extreme climate of budgetary conservatism and military drawdown of forces by not
only the U.S., but by NATO forces as well, has created an opportunity for GLS to capitalize on a
service need not seen for the last twenty years. A significant portion of these cuts will come at
the expense of logistical support personnel who have the expertise to plan and execute logistical
operations in an austere environment. Military and governmental agencies will have less staff for
planning and execution of logistics operations and will be hard pressed not only to sustain
current operations but react swiftly and decisively to future mission demands.
Other companies, KBR, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, etc. offer logistical
services, but mainly in the area of transportation, i.e. hauling supplies and equipment from secure
assembly areas in the rear to forward deployed locations. These companies also offer services
such as engineering and contracting support for developing and maturing existing areas of
operations and logistical footprints. These are global, Fortune 100 companies with an
international presence that can bring personnel and equipment, via contractors and other means,
to many areas of the world. GLS will differentiate itself from these companies by providing
SMEs who will have the capability to actually integrate with internal planning staffs and assist in
the planning and execution of any type of logistical mission. Operations could resemble anything
from a full-scale military operation, peace keeping missions, and crises response/disaster
recovery operations, just to name a few. No other company currently in the logistics services
arena offers this in-depth logistical planning service. GLS will offer the additional advantage
that all GLS staff currently have security clearances recognized at the highest levels of
government. This means that there will be relatively few operations that GLS staff members
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can’t participate in or support. GLS will not attempt to insert itself into the international
construction and engineering services market which is controlled by the larger companies named
above and will not be in direct competition with any of these companies.
The current international market environment is in a dynamic state of change. As
mentioned above, military drawdowns and budgetary cutbacks mean that military planners will
have to do more with less. While able to support current operations, the reduction in forces only
means the ability to react to future, unseen operations, not to mention disaster recovery and aid
operations like Hurricane Katrina, Missouri River Basin Flooding, and the Japan Earthquake and
Tsunami will be severely hampered. Governmental agencies like Homeland Security and Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are experiencing the same austere budget and
personnel challenges that the military is. GLS will target these military and governmental
agencies as they will be the key customer target segment. GLS has an added advantage that
SMEs have maintained close ties and interpersonal relationships within many of the agencies and
much of the required networking, although ongoing, has been initiated.
GLS will also market and network extensively with military and governmental staffs of
NATO Allies. These nations are experiencing the same budget crises and need for reductions of
support and services that the U.S. is, possibly even to a greater degree. GLS will have to
aggressively recruit logistical SMEs from these nations in order to fully integrate services at
every level of government. Recruiting and staffing NATO personnel will have the added benefit
of addressing security concerns as well. By pursuing NATO clients as well as traditional U.S.
clients will enable GLS to be a truly international company that will quickly grow as the demand
for logistical planning services increases.
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The benefits to the customer are numerous, but key elements include the ability to reduce
staffs and overhead that are unaffordable and rely instead on GLS’s on-demand logistical
planning and support operations. Military and governmental agencies are increasingly
developing a need for a partner who can deploy at a moment’s notice to any region of the world
and provide critical logistical support and planning not only to initial operations, but future
operations as well. The current market situation for these types of services is just starting to
develop and will only mature further in the next twelve to twenty four months.
GLS recognizes the need for an aggressive and honest market strategy as venture capital
will be needed. “…venture capital is doing a disservice to entrepreneurs by funding them without
forcing them to undergo a tough, critical examination. In the long run, it cripples new
businesses” (Champion & Carr, 2000). GLS, by consistently performing market assessments,
will be able to offer very attractive investment opportunities for investors to take advantage of.
Competitive Assessment
In order for a start-up company such as GLS to be successful, it is critical that a
competitive assessment be completed to not only identify the strengths and weaknesses of the
competition, but also to position GLS’s strengths to take advantage of opportunities in the
industry. “The key to growth-even survival-is to stake out a position that is less vulnerable to
attack from head-to-head opponents, whether established or new, and less vulnerable to erosion
from the direction of buyers, suppliers, and substitute goods” (Porter, 1979).
The key differentiation and what will prove to be a key marketing message, between GLS
and its competitors is that GLS SMEs will provide initial logistics planning and management in
immature theaters of operation where other logistics companies are unable to operate. Further,
other logistics companies only provide logistics services in the areas of transportation and
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shipping, i.e. trucks for moving cargo and other materials from ports of entry to wherever they
are needed in theater. There are three companies that may have the potential to move into this
marketing segment once they see the success GLS has in these service offerings. These
companies where chosen for this assessment based on their current statuses as major contract
holders with the U.S. Government and their experience in the last ten years providing
transportation solutions in the Iraq and Afghanistan.
Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC (RTSC) has had proven success in the area
of “full-facility” military privatization projects (Raytheon, 2011). Full facility in this case is
defined as the privatization of a repair depot for example, that in the past had been manned and
operated solely by military personnel. Raytheon has a played a major role is depot, or high level,
helicopter repair and retrofitting for the U.S. Army rotary winged fleet. They were also a major
contractor for the Department of Defense (DoD) in the on-going drawdown of the American
military presence in Europe by providing base support and facilities engineering solutions on
American bases. RTSC boasts of large scale logistical hubs that consolidate and distribute
supplies and cargo to forward deployed military bases. RTSC is headquartered in Dulles, VA and
employs ten thousand people on seven continents (Raytheon, 2011).
RTSC, while obviously a major player in the international transportation and logistical
support arena, does not have a presence in the logistical planning and management phases for
military and governmental operations. Their operational planning focuses more on the technical
and training solutions for weapons and training systems all ready in place. GLS will be in a
market niche that RTSC currently does not operate in, that of actual operational logistical
planning conducted side by side with military and government agencies.
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Lockheed Martin is a Fortune 500 Company with headquarters in Orlando, Florida and
employs over one hundred and twenty six thousand people worldwide. Lockheed Martin’s
Logistics Support System (LSS), according to Lockheed’s company website, is an enterprise
wide information system providing comprehensive asset management, tracking, and visibility for
military operations (Lockheed Martin, 2011). LSS is a software and database solution that fully
integrates into existing military supply solutions in order to provide real time inventory tracking,
management, distribution, and a total life cycle cost application. LSS is designed to provide
“comprehensive asset management and asset visibility” which enables the end-user to better
understand what and where the resources are and how they can best be incorporated. Like RTSC,
LSS does not currently offer operational logistical planning services and management, which
GLS offers.
KBR is the third and last company to be covered in this assessment and has the largest
logistical services footprint in current forward areas of military operations. KBR is Fortune 200
Company with headquarters in Houston, Texas and employs over twenty five thousand
employees. KBR has had extensive experience and support in infrastructure improvement,
construction and engineering services, and logistics/transportation services in Iraq and
Afghanistan. KBR Logistical Support Division has had extensive experience in logistics hub and
transportation services with billions of dollars of contracts with the DoD for the transportation of
supplies from ports in Kuwait into the Iraqi theater of operations. KBR uses sophisticated
tracking and scheduling tools to transport everything from mail to tanks to U.S. troops in Iraq
(KBR, 2011).
KBR is the company we assess to be most capable of assuming a more direct logistical
planning and management role. This is based largely on their current footprint in the
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international logistics arena. They have a vast amount of experience in planning, building, and
managing theater level logistical services. Again, what makes GLS a unique and viable player in
the logistical support arena is our focus on integrating fully with military and governmental
planning staffs in the earliest planning stages of an operation. While the three companies
mentioned above have extensive resources, both internally and contractually, none of them offer
fully experienced, subject matter experts that work as liaisons and fully integrated advisors to the
military planning process.
GLS stands to further capitalize by building partnerships with companies like KBR in
order to offer a complete, plan - execution - sustain logistics lifecycle offering. Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon, and KBR all have extensive infrastructure in place to provide support for current and
ongoing operations. What they lack is a role in the initial logistical planning of these types of
operations. Likewise, GLS, while having the planning and management expertise, does not have
the transportation and sustainment networks of the other three companies. This is by design and
how GLS differentiates itself in the global marketplace. Whether these alliances happen or not
remains to be seen, but GLS is well positioned to obtain a footprint in the international logistics
arena where no other company currently is.
Comprehensive Marketing Plan for Global Logistics Services
Initial market targets will include the United States military and government agencies that
need logistical planning services. Such government agencies could include Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), and the Department of Homeland Security. These agencies are
targets as they are required to move personnel, equipment, and large shipments of supplies with
minimal notice and within large geographical areas. After GLS is established in these market
areas, we will focus on expanding into NATO Military Services, who are strong marketing
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targets as GLS Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) have built extensive relationships with these
entities while serving in the U.S. Military during the Global War on Terror. GLS will not seek
relationships with non-NATO countries as it could affect security clearance status, especially
when working with the U.S. military.
Timetables
GLS will need to set realistic schedules on what type of results we expect to achieve with
our marketing plan. GLS will develop measurable goals that implement immediate goals of one
to six months; short-term, six to twelve months; and long term, twelve to twenty-four months
(Anwar & Capko, 2001). The immediate goal will constitute two major military accounts
consisting of two to three GLS SMEs embedded into operational planning staffs. The short-term
goal will be to develop five to six U.S. Military accounts, plus one to two U.S. Government
Agency accounts. Long-term goals will be to grow the contractual size of each military and
government account and seek NATO country contracts for logistical operational planning.
Responsibilities and Progress Monitoring
Long-term marketing responsibilities will ultimately reside in an in-house marketing
department. In the interim, each GLS SME will be a marketing director for their own accounts.
The GLS Executive Staff, consisting of the Chairman and CEO, the Vice President for
Operations and Chief Financial Officer will have overall responsibilities for monitoring
marketing results. Monthly Visual Teleconferencing (VTC) sessions will be conducted with each
SME to track progress and account growth. These VTCs will primarily focus on growth areas
and opportunities in both existing accounts and net new opportunities. Key areas of focus will be
whether or not GLS service offerings are meeting the needs of our clients or are there additional
services that GLS can offer in order to grow the business? If, so how can we market these
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potential offerings to our client base? Conversely, are there services that our Clients are not
utilizing? If so, how can we improve marketing in these areas to improve the revenue? If not
practical, do we need stop offering that respective service?
Additionally, objectives and strategies will be established and charted on a monthly basis.
The marketing plan should be shared with everyone in the organization so that each team
member not only understands the marketing plan, but understands how to assist in measuring and
executing the marketing plan (Newman, 2006). The goal of this strategy is to understand what
marketing strategies are successful, and conversely, which strategies are not productive.
Budget and Resources
Since GLS is a new Company offering unique services, the initial marketing budget will
be approximately ten percent of gross annual income (Anwar & Capko). As the business grows
and GLS builds customer base after the initial short terms targets are achieved, marketing
budgets may be reduced to three to five percent of the gross annual income. GLS SMEs, through
the construction of robust referral networks, will maximize the effects of marketing, specifically
word of mouth, while keeping initial costs down.
Determining initial sales revenues is a challenging proposition at best. GLS will bill $150
per hour for GLS SME services. During a normal work week we expect one GLS SME to bill
out a minimum of $6,000. With an initial staff of four to five SMEs, we can expect monthly
revenues of approximately $30,000 per month. Weekly and monthly revenues could increase if
operations needs of the Client demands overtime and hazardous duty pay. While pricing is not
yet finalized for these areas, GLS anticipates ten to fifteen percent increases in billable hour
rates. As GLS builds its international client bases, an expected increase in revenues will result as
billing rates will mirror geographical distances and locations outside the continental U.S.
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GLS’s marketing plan aggressively targets new business growth in immediate and shortterm, while focusing on growing existing account revenues and international revenues in the
long-term. Keys to the success of this marketing plan will be disciplined revenue measuring tools
set in place which allows GLS to adjust the marketing plan to address weaknesses, or
opportunities for new revenues. Strict budgetary monitoring will focusing on insuring marketing
emphasis is focused on areas that are not meeting projected revenue targets. The marketing plan
will be a living document and philosophy, not a document that is created and stored in a filing
cabinet, only brought out on an annual basis for review.
Management Team: Skills and Experience
The GLS management team will mirror the following managerial structure:
GLS Organizational Structure
Each member of the organizational structure shown above, with the exception of the Chief
Financial Officer (CFO) is a retired military logistician with several years of strategic logistical
planning, operations, and supply management experience. The CFO is also a retired military
officer whose functional area of expertise is in military resources and capabilities. She is
intimately familiar with governmental funding and budgetary processes. This first-hand
knowledge will be critical in navigating the challenging world of Department of Defense (DoD)
contracting processes.
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Roles and Responsibilities
Starting from the bottom up, GLS SMEs will be the foundation of the company. As the
logistical subject matter experts, they will be embedded with the planning staffs of military units
and governmental agencies. GLS SMEs will be representatives of the entire company and will be
responsible for not only growing and expanding the business in existing accounts, but finding net
new business as well. One aspect of GLS’s strategic marketing plan for the SMEs, once they
have solidified their positions and responsibilities within in the account, is to find potential new
areas of growth. Additional staff will be added, if necessary, to assist the SME in the servings the
needs of his account. The SME will act as the Major Account Representative and will supervise
any additional staff as necessary.
The Chief Operations Officer (COO) will be in the general manager in charge of
operations, specifically in the supervision of the SMEs. The GLS SMEs will be direct reports to
the COO and report contract status, to include billable hours, on a weekly basis, or as needed.
The COO will be given great flexibility in managing SME operations, but will be highly
encouraged to travel extensively in order to spend time with each SME. The COO’s focus will be
to work with the SMEs in development of account strategies and revenue growth. The COO will
also oversee the small administrative functions that will be present at the headquarters location.
The CFO will have oversight over all financial aspects of the company, to include
contracts, billable hours, expenses, salaries, etc. The CFO will also manage GLS investments
strategies, which could include future acquisitions. Budgeting will be a central focus as well,
with special emphasis on growth budgets for future expansions. The CFO, working with the legal
team, will oversee the contractual processes with GLS clients and will have to be intimately
familiar with all aspects the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR). The FAR covers all aspects
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of Federal acquisitions and contracts and will dictate how GLS does business with the Federal
Government.
The CEO will have responsibility for all areas of the business, and will primary
spokesperson for the company. The organization is streamlined by design to ensure rapid
information flow, both bottom-up and top-down. He will also travel extensively and interact, to
the greatest extent possible, with the relationship between the SMEs and their clients. While the
CEO will be engaged in all aspects of the business, micromanagement is not a practice that GLS
follows or believes. In the demanding environment of military planning and operations, reaction
time is critical, thus the delegation of decision making responsibility to the SMEs. The CEO will
focus on Human Resource (HR) management, i.e. of attracting the best and brightest logisticians
in the field. “Companies that fail to invest in employees jeopardize their own success and even
survival” (Bassi & McMurrer). The strength of GLS will be its people, and CEO will make
recruiting and retention a priority.
Preliminary Budget Estimates
GLS, being a new start-up company, will need to place special emphasis on initial startup costs and possible revenues. As a dedicated, contracted strategic logistical planning and
management company is a relatively new concept, research will need to be conducted from other
comparative business models. “If you are in the midst of starting up your business and don’t
have previous averages to work with, consider researching the costs associated with your line of
business and creating averages based on your research” (Benoit, 2009). With that concept in
mind, a basic monthly budget for GLS is forecasted as follows:
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GLS Monthly Forecasted Expenses
GLS Revenues
The above spreadsheet documents a total monthly expense of $82,412.00. GLS will
charge $200 per billable hour for each client. For planning purposes, forty hour work weeks are
the basis for calculating revenue generation. While increased billable hours by each SME is
expected, especially for operations such as military contingency operations in austere
environments, expected revenues are forecasted as such:
GLS SME Generated Monthly Revenue
GLS estimates a gross monthly profit of $45,588 per month, estimates that it will take
approximately six to achieve the monthly income goals stated above. To cover the initial start-up
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period, GLS will acquire start-up loans and private investments in order to have operating capital
for the first six months. Since GLS SMEs are currently embedded with potential clients and can
initiate contracts almost immediately, the initial start-up period is not expected to exceed the
initial six months start-up period.
Budgeting Strategies
The key to successful budgeting is to include everyone on the team, to the greatest extent
possible, in the budgeting process. Successful budgeting cannot be conducted in a stovepipe
environment where managers engage in “turf war” and compete for resources. “Companies are
composed of silos- the marketing department, manufacturing and operations, research and
development, sales, and so on-which often are not effectively linked together to obtain revenue
growth” (Charan, 2004). GLS will utilize a system of budgeting called bottom-up budgeting,
where all levels of the organization participate in the budgeting and the information regarding
requirements is sent up the organizational ladder (Thornbory & Farley, 2007). Using bottom-up
budgeting creates buy-in down to the individual level and helps to hold key individuals
accountable for their financial forecasts. GLS SMEs will have key roles and responsibilities in
the budgeting process regarding their own expenses and profit margins and will feel more
ownership in the process and will be more compelled to meet budgetary objectives.
The GLS budget will be a “living” process that is continually monitored and adjusted as
necessary. “Adjust accordingly. During these tough economic times, entrepreneurs may be
seeking ways to trim expenditure to increase cash flow” (Benoit, 2009). A budget that remains
static and unchanging is doomed to fail as management needs to continually assess where the
organization is making money, but perhaps more importantly, where they are losing money or
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just breaking even. With this knowledge in hand, GLS will adjust as necessary to maximize its
chances for financial success and future growth.
External Risks
Logistical planning can be, especially in a combat zone or other type of austere
environment, and by the very nature of the business, a risky endeavor. GLS SMEs, as they are
embedded with planning staffs, will work closely with their military counterparts to identify risks
and implement the necessary control measures. The military uses a risk assessment matrix that
calls for the leadership to recognize the risks involved and institute control measures to mitigate
that risk before the operation begins. Risks are identified and assigned a risk level of lowmoderate-high- extremely high. Risk controls are then developed and initiated to lower the risk
level prior to the operation beginning. Residual risks are the remaining risk left after the control
measures are put into effect. The authority level for accepting risks goes up accordingly as the
residual risk factors increase. The contracts will be written in such a way that GLS SMEs will
accommodate and follow the published risk control measures to the greatest extent possible.
Reliance on a Few Key Staff
In more conventional organizations, there would be redundancies designed into the
organizational structure, such as succession plans, to lessen the impact of a key employee
leaving. This risk becomes even more of a concern if that employee is a key member or
facilitator of a project. GLS SMEs are the initial, sole GLS representative on any planning staff
and thus aren’t easily replaceable. If one leaves the company or is otherwise incapable of
performing their contractual duties, the company will be faced with a challenge of replacing that
person. In terms of SMEs leaving the company, a risk control measure will be a high starting
salary level with incentives to promote tenure. GLS will only employ a specific number of
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SMEs as contractual demands require. If one individual leaves or is incapacitated, then one of
the Senior Managers, being fully qualified and experienced logisticians, will step in and carry out
their duties until a suitable replacement can be found. GLS is assuming some risk in this area,
but with the ability to substitute personnel from one area to another, at least for the short term,
should be able to mitigate external risk to the greatest degree possible.
Reliance a Small Customer Base
Admittedly, GLS serves a very specialized cliental in the form of military planning
staffs and other governmental agencies. With reduced internal assets, government entities will
need to rely heavily on third party services to plan, execute, and sustain logistics during
everything from full military operations to natural catastrophe response and clean up efforts.
GLS staff will be able to step in and offer a full range of services for every dimension of
logistics. GLS is again accepting some risk in this area by creating a business model that serves
this very unique client base. The current international security environment is actually acting as a
natural risk mitigation measure that GLS has to use to its advantage. GLS will capitalize on this
fact by not only quickly establishing a client base, but rapidly expanding it as well. The military
and government agencies, being forced to do more with less and increasing economic
uncertainty, will more likely than at any other time in the last ten to twenty years to need the
services that GLS offers in order to meet a wide range of international security threats.
Partnership Difficulties
Despite the growing need for the logistical planning and sustainment services that
GLS offers, contracts and contractor relationships when dealing with governmental entities can
be tenuous at best. There is no better example than the current situation many government
contractors are facing right now. Military and government agencies, after the failed
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congressional budget agreement and current threat of sequestration and even more dramatic
funding cuts, are shedding military contracts at an alarming rate. This environment poses a very
significant risk to GLS, no matter how much its services may be needed. GLS will strive to
mitigate this risk factor by providing the most experienced, dedicated logistical SMEs available
to its customers. By making its services indispensible to its customer base, GLS will position
itself as one to the few contractors the government or military will fight to keep on contract.
Summary
The above document details the GLS business plan and is roadmap for the Company’s
success for the next five to ten years. It outlines a roadmap to follow in the areas of budget,
marketing strategies, competitive assessments, budgets and growth, organizational and
operational designs, and risk management efforts. “There is no cookie-cutter path to follow in
developing a business plan that works for your business. Ultimately, the idea is to strengthen
your business by defining a path that will lead you there, be it through securing a loan or just
doing what you do better” (Amerpohl, 2005). The GLS business plan is, by design, meant to be
customizable and adaptable to meet the company’s needs not only in the present, but five to ten
years in the future.
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