International Consultancy Project Report, University of Salford Manchester

Assessment Information/Brief 2023-24

To be used for all types of assessment and provided to students at the start of the module. Information provided should be compatible with the detail contained in the approved module specification although may contain more information for clarity.

Assessment task details and instructions

Scenario

Since 1985 Valves Instruments Plus Limited (VIP) have been supplying quality engineering and plumbing products to the construction, process manufacturing (chemical, food, brewing) and HVAC* industries. As a wholesaler, VIP Ltd stock a large number of items from well-known and trusted manufacturers and provides customers with in-house technical back-up and expert support from a chain of extremely well supported manufacturers, thereby giving customers access to a vast knowledge baseand qualified expertise.

The company also sells its own brand products; it is looking to this portfolio of own-brand products – specifically expansion products https://www.vipltd.co.uk/Expansion/Expansion_Products.html) - as the main route into international markets, placing emphasis on good quality (‘Made in Britain’) and added value (knowledge and experience).

VIP Ltd has previously acquired 2 other firms as part of its growth strategyand is experienced at selling in partnership with product manufacturers.Although VIP Ltd currently does not have any staff who speak a foreign language, the company currently exports up to £20,000 of product each month and wants to further internationalise.

The company does not want to target markets where the products that VIP Ltd sells are manufactured (e.g. China, Malaysia) and neither does the firm want to target markets already flooded with suppliers (e.g. Dubai, Kuwait). Instead, VIP Ltd is interested in markets that have ‘cranes in the sky’ i.e. growing economies where investment is being made into buildings and
infrastructure within predominantly urban environments (as cities are the engine of economic growth). The company is particularly interested in exploring the viability of targeting a market either in Central/South America or the Far East.

You have been employed to act as a consultant for VIP Ltd (your Client). You are required to produce an individual 4000-word report for your Client, the insights from which will be used by your Client to develop an action plan for international expansion.

To produce the report, you are required to integrate theoretical knowledge (i.e. theory and models from the relevant modules on the programme), critical thinking and problem-solving skills to analyse the potential for the Client to expand into a new international market. You are required to undertake the following weighted tasks in your report:

1. Provide an overview of your client’s organisation and product portfolio; include a consideration of any international experience to date if appropriate. (10%, 400 words)
2. Comparatively evaluate 3 of the following markets in order to identify which market is the most attractive for your client to target.

• You must include 2 of the below markets from Central/South  America and 1 of the markets from the Far East in your comparative evaluation (30%, 1200 words; including completed
  table template as an Appendix – see Appendix A)
• This section must conclude with the recommendation of one of the three markets for the client to focus on