DHW Planning for Growth copy

Planning for Growth

October 2016

Sonoma State University Cohort 7 Consulting Group __________________________________________________________________________

Xochitl Prado · Shauna Finley · Nathan Bately · Michael Janezic · Brett Lear

Deaf Hand @ Work (DHW), Planning for Growth Page 1 Sonoma State University Cohort 7 Consulting Group October 2016 __________________________________________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

a. The Consulting Team………………………………………………….2

b. DHW Background……………………………………………………...2

c. The Scope of Work…………………………………………………….4

2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

a. Current Structure………………………………………………………6

b. Social Franchising……………………………………………………..9

c. Subsidiary……………………………………………………………....9

d. Recommendation……………………………………………………..10

3. PLANT AND EQUIPMENT FINANCE

a. Justification…………………………………………………………….11

b. Plant and Equipment Specification………………………………….12

c. Financing Options and Resources……………………...…………..13

d. Recommendation and Timeline……………………………………..14

4. ONLINE PRESENCE

a. Customer Identification……………………………………….. …….15

b. Current Online Experience…………………………………………..16

c. Growth Potential……………………………………………………...17

d. Considering Amazon.com…………………………………………...19

e. Recommendation and Timeline…………………………………….19

5. SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………25

6. APPENDICES………………………………………………………………..26




1. INTRODUCTION

a. The Consulting Team and Context of this Consultation

The Sonoma State University Cohort 7 consulting team, hereinafter referred to as “the

team” is a group of graduate business students enrolled in an executive Master of

Business Administration course at Sonoma State University. The team consists of five

business professionals from diverse backgrounds including but not limited to

quasigovernment agencies, the construction industry, the medical field, and the

manufacturing industry. The client for this consultation was Deaf Hands at Work,

hereinafter referred to as “the client” and/or “DHW.” The team approached the client

and offered its consulting services as part of its ongoing course and is very appreciative

of the time, effort, and information Mr. Nyakurwa has shared with the team in order to

assemble this document. The team has had numerous conference calls with the client

over the course of three months and visited one of the client’s construction division’s

projects in Caledonia, South Africa on September 21, 2016. This consultation has been

assembled based on information gathered during those conference calls, the site visit,

and the team’s own research. No financial documents, documents in general, trade

secrets, unique corporate practices, and/or letters of incorporation have been shared

between the client and the team, therefore all of the opinions expressed in this

document are based on verbal communications and emails between the team and the

client.

b. DHW Background

DHW, the client was founded as a “Hybrid Enterprise” in 2010 by Charles Nyakurwa.

Mr. Nyakurwa found the inspiration to start this enterprise in his own deaf brother. He

saw the need to provide job and skills training to other deaf individuals like his brother in

the Cape Town area of South Africa. The purpose was to provide lifelong skills to foster

independent living within the deaf population. After some struggles in 2012, DHW was

officially created as a NonProfitOrganization (NPO) and Private Company (Pty Ltd) in

South Africa. According to the current DHW website, the primary mission of DHW is to




“selfempower the hearing and deaf people of South Africa by providing training and

creating employment for deaf people irrespective of work experience, education, race,

denomination or nationality.” Per the client’s Facebook page the mission is as follows:

“ It is our mission to ensure DHW can provide every hearing impaired individual with the

skills necessary to launch their career regardless of the challenges faced by physical

limitations not ability.” It is also of note that the client is not focused strictly on profits,

but more on social impact and sustainability within the three pillars of “People, Place &

Planet” as being equal stakeholders. Increased knowledge of the social good created by

DHW is necessary as well as brand awareness, support of the deaf and disabled

community, and the demand for houses.

DHW provides a threeweek training and threeweek apprenticeship for deaf individuals

in order to enable each person to become selfsufficient and empowered, and over time,

to reduce the unemployment and illiteracy rates amongst the deaf and hard of hearing

population. DHW employs and trains deaf and disabled individuals to be competent in

the following industries: textiles, construction, maid services, furniture manufacturing,

and light fixture manufacturing. Awareness of deaf individuals' disabilities is promoted

through the teaching of South African Sign Language (SASL) to locals and businesses

who have regular interaction with the deaf community. Financial support for these

endeavours is provided by marketing DHW’s construction, Deafstyle branded tshirts,

deaf housemaids, furniture, light fixtures, products and services under the DHW brand.

To provide the historical context within which DHW exists it is necessary to

acknowledge that the hard of hearing and deaf communities of South Africa have a high

rate of unemployment. According to 2011 data provided by the South African Hearing

Institute, in South Africa about 7.5% of school children suffer from varying degrees of

hearing loss and 20% of the disabled population suffer from hearing loss due to

illnesses. As a result, this population suffers high rates of illiteracy and unemployment.

According to DHW, in the Cape Town region, 99% of the deaf community are




unemployed and 25% of this population is illiterate. Comparatively, South Africa

experienced an overall unemployment rate of 26.6%, as of July of 2016 and an 1

illiteracy rate of 7% as of 2010 . 2

c. The Scope of Work

The client has requested that the team explore ways in which DHW can grow its

enterprise. In discussion with the client, the team has expanded upon the notion of

growth as constituting an increase in sales of DHW products and services, an increase

in DHW’s overall presence within the community, and an increase in the number of deaf

individuals and businesses participating in DHW’s training programs beyond the Cape

Town area and throughout South Africa. Please see the scope of work below:

The Scope of Work

1. Consultants review of material, information and documents related to project.

2. Consultants site visit.

a. Meet with Charles Nyakurwa.

b. Site visit to DHW construction site in Caledonia South Africa.

c. Meeting with John Stayton, SSU EMBA Program Director, regarding site

visit and project.

3. Create a proposal including a recommendation on the following:

a. Development of social franchise or subsidiary model that empowers

additional deaf and disabled people to invest in DHW and enter into a

career with the organization. These entrepreneurs would then employ

others who are living with or affected by disabilities. This franchise model

would begin at a provincial level and then expand to a national level. The

purpose of the proposed model would be to recommend an organisational

structure that best suits the client’s mission.

b. Specific recommendations to improve website in order to market the Deaf

1 South Africa, Statistics South Africa. (n.d.). Quarterly Labour Force Survey: Quarter 2, 2016 . 2 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.ZS accessed October 31, 2016.




Hands at Work brand and provide a financially viable retail outlet for the

products manufactured by DHW while requiring minimal ongoing

maintenance by DHW personnel. The ultimate objective is to increase

DHW’s sales of its products and services and to promote DHW’s presence

within the community.

c. Provide viable options for acquiring a plant and equipment such as a

truckmounted construction crane with the purpose of increasing positive

cash flow for the client that can be used to further growth of the enterprise.

On September 21, 2016 the teamNathan Bately, Shauna Finley, Brett Lear, Michael

Janezic and Xochitl Pradocompleted a site visit to Deaf Hands at Work’s timber home

construction site in Caledonia, South Africa. Based on this site visit and subsequent

conversations, this report includes recommendations in the following key areas:

Strategic growth

Financing and funding of crane and truck

Branding, marketing, and online presence of DHW

The report also includes a recommendation for proceeding with the project over the

longer term and includes key Issues in areas that must be addressed to move the

project forward successfully. The SSU team considers some of the following ideas,

particularly those related to funding and website development, relatively easy to

accomplish with low costs. These ideas should be acceptable due to the fact that they

are scalable in order to allow for immediate implementation and progress.




2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

a. Current Organizational Structure

A review of the corporate structure of DHW has been completed and the team will

review in this section the current DHW structure, business model for DHW, and two

organisational structures that Mr. Nyakurwa has expressed some interest in: social

franchising and a subsidiary business model.

Per information compiled and provided throughout the consultation, DHW has the Pty

Ltd & NPO structures in place with Charles Nyakurwa as the founder. The client has

four business divisions that generate significant revenues: textiles, light fixtures,

furniture, and construction. We see each product line as complementary to the other.

The construction division is currently the main revenue stream for DHW and generation

of revenue within this division is important to continue bolstering the other divisions and

further the client's mission and growth goals.

The team sees Mr Nyakurwa as important to the current and future success of DHW,

due to his business knowledge, experience, and vision. He completed his graduate

studies, while working, in South Africa and currently holds an MBA with experience in

project management and accounting. He has firsthand experience in the difficulties the

deaf and disabled face because he grew up in a village in Zimbabwe with his deaf and

mute younger brother. As a result, Mr. Nyakurwa has become very passionate and

driven by the vision and growth of DHW, which drives his passion for longterm success.

The team believes that Mr. Nyakurwa and DHW’s social entrepreneurship is important

for South Africa and all those who benefit through training, longterm employments, and

the products and services created by DHW. Therefore, the team believes Mr. Nyakurwa

should continue in his principal management role at DHW.

Under the leadership of Mr. Nyakurwa, DHW is providing both products and services,

with himself acting as operations director of the construction business and overall




executive director of the DHW organization. The three additional product lines of DHW

(chandeliers, carpentry & sewing) have operations directors who oversee the daytoday

work of the employees of DHW. Please see the existing organisational structure figure

2.1 in the appendices. As a result, his ability to focus on growing the social impact of

DHW from a small area in Cape Town to all of South Africa is currently limited.

Per the requested outcomes expressed by the client, he is currently interested in

scalingup DHW’s business model, which goes hand in hand with the organization’s

online strategy. DHW wishes to build its expansion strategy with at least 40% of the

funding from online revenues from DHW branded products. Areas of focus for products

offered are housecleaning, sewing, construction, and chandelier production.

Currently DHW receives more than 60% of its revenue from DHW construction, 20%

from reclaimed furniture products, 10% from chandeliers, and about 10% from sewing

and clothing. Revenues from these business streams fund the employment of up to

sixteen employees and over sixty graduates of the DHW training and internship

program. DHW also teaches the South African Sign Language (SASL) to the deaf and

disabled population in targeted areas of South Africa. DHW also has a shop where

refurbished products are sold to raise money.

"Social Franchise" or “Subsidiary” Business Model Options

DHW is interested in establishing a longterm business goal and has shown interest in

both a social franchise business model and a subsidiary business model. The team

believes that both business models are approaches that would enable people within the

deaf and disabled community to work with/for members of the Cape Town community to

gain job skills and obtain employment. The model that is ultimately selected should align

with the values and vision of DHW’s founder, Charles Nyakurwa. Mr. Nyakurwa believes

that community action is the way to solve the major social issues of

unemployment/underemployment faced by deaf and disabled persons in South Africa.

His business model was developed to provide skills and training to members of the




hearing and deaf communities and place people in a position to secure longterm,

quality employment .

The revised DHW business model: 4 things to consider

1. Identify a product in the local township of Cape Town that is in demand, can be

readily outsourced (that is, performed by a third party), and would benefit from

the special abilities of DHW individualsfocus, attention to detail, persistence,

and honesty. Some examples are construction, carpentry, and sewing.

2. Ensure that practical, handson training is available and is appropriate for DHW

deaf and disabled individuals. In many cases, as for DHW, such training

programs will need to be created by an experienced individual in the field of

business. Mr. Nyakurwa has such expertise.

3. After individuals are trained, they will still lack experience on their resume and

confidence in their own abilities to do the job. An internship program should be

continued by DHW that allows the newly trained workforce to gain realworld

experience by working in a more supportive and understanding environment.

This may either take the form of employer contracts in which DHW establishes

MOUs with local businesses that agree to employee DHW individuals, or

partnerships with local businesses that involve the businesses supplying mentors

to the DHW trainees. These mentors would help the DHW trainees navigate their

way into the workforce. Such internships should last a minimum of three months

so that participants can gain the proper skills and selfsufficiency for future

employment.

4. Transition DHW individuals to open market positions in the chosen field of

carpentry, sewing, construction, or chandelier work. This needs to include

support for employers as well as program graduates, at least on a temporary

basis.




b. Social Franchising

In order for DHW to meet the requirement to be a social franchise both DHW franchisor

and franchisee must be a social enterprise with social purpose and should include:

Organization with social franchise business model or social franchisor.

A minimum of one social franchisee trained by social franchisor.

Social franchise should operate under one common brand.

Knowledge between members that follows business model.

Benefits of social franchising:

Responsive to local needs due to local ownership, and economies of scale are

created for a more effective development of enterprises.

Increased knowledge and experience between franchised organizations.

Awareness of brand.

Support between franchisor and franchisee organizations.

Shared services and training provided by franchise.

Ability to innovate due to sharing of ideas between franchised organizations.

Growth of awareness of social impacts to better serve the local communities.

c. Subsidiary

In order for DHW to meet the requirement to be a subsidiary, DHW must be the parent

company and should have operating companies operating as subsidiaries. The amount

of control DHW would have as parent (Note: parent in terms of corporate entity in

charge of subsidiaries) company will depend on the established management style of

the executives and shared ownership structure. In order for DHW to meet the

requirement to be a subsidiary, both DHW parent company and subsidiaries must

ensure alignment with the overarching social purpose and should include:

Organization with “Parent” subsidiary business model.

Establishment of role “Sole Corporate Member” in place of “Director of DHW.”




A minimum of one subsidiary trained by “Parent” subsidiary.

Subsidiaries should operate under one common brand.

Knowledge between members that follows business model.

Benefits of subsidiary:

Parentsubsidiary structure are separate legal entities and isolates risk.

Parent company may exercise control over subsidiary through the ownership of

stock.

Structure of operation does not require involvement of management from parent

company and as a result may increase efficiencies and diversification within

subsidiary.

Adopt structure for accountability and protection of “parent” company.

Creation of corporate boundaries for “parent” company against a lawsuit faced by

subsidiary.

c. Recommendation and Timeline

Going forward the client will need to evaluate the current business structure that DHW

has in place and review whether DHW meets the requirements to structure in South

Africa as a “social franchise” or “subsidiary.” In order for the client to scale up and

increase the social impact of DHW within South Africa, it is crucial that directors of each

business section and management staff be trained using the current business model in

place and restructure the organization for longterm impact. The skills, knowledge and

vision that the client brings to DHW are strengths of the organization and has positioned

DHW in the development of a new strategy to increase awareness and social impact of

the benefits of DHW to the South African economy.

As a shortterm goal throughout the restructuring process, the team recommends that

Mr. Nyakurwa take on more of a leadership and management role over the entire

organization and train directors and managers to then train other staff according to the




vision and mission of DHW. This shortterm goal should then dovetail into the longterm

goal of restructuring DHW into a “subsidiary” in South Africa using the business model

developed through the process. It is the opinion of the team that DHW restructure its

organisation with Mr. Nyakurwa being replaced as director of the construction division

and transitioning to a Chief Executive Officer position per the following chart in figure

2.2 . With this structure the team believes that Mr. Nyakurwa can focus his skills on the

continued growth of the organisation as a whole and achievement of the client's mission

by being freed from the constraints of also managing the construction division. This will

also allow for the creation of a new position within the organisation, the Director of

Construction. The individual placed within the new role will then be able to focus on the

expansion of the construction division without the hinderance of managing DHW as a

whole. The teams sees this recommendation as critical.

It is also recommended that the client explore partnerships with organizations with

similar missions and vision. These partnerships could provide insight to growth strategy

and/or the possibility of joint ventures. Please see figure 4.2 in the appendices and visit

http://www.goodwill.org/global/ to investigate becoming a Goodwill Global Partner.

Timeline: 1st Quarter 2017

3. PLANT AND EQUIPMENT FINANCE

a. Justification

During the site visit by the team, Mr. Nyakurwa indicated that he wanted to begin

constructing prefabricated homes. These homes would be manufactured at a central

site and then transported via a flatbed truck to the intended site of use. A crane would

then lift the modular pieces into place. Currently, DHW receives 60% of its revenue from

the construction portion of its business portfolio. With the appropriate equipmenta

flatbed truck and craneDHW will be able to build more homes and generate more




revenue than it is currently able to do with its builtfromthegroundup approach to

home construction.

b. Plant and Equipment Specification

Mr. Nyakurwa has indicated that he is looking for a 12 meter, rigid, flatbed truck with a

jib or knuckle crane. The client prefers the Mercedes brand. Isuzu, UD Trucks, and

Sinotruk also manufacture trucks suitable for mounting a flatbed and crane. The crane

can be purchased from companies such as Hiab. The costs of a truck and crane vary

greatly depending on whether the equipment is new or used.

A new truck with crane are available in South Africa for approximately 1.5 Million ZAR. (The Mercedes dealer in Cape Town is MercedesBenz Commercial Vehicles, Cnr

Freedom Way and Montague Drive, Montague Gardens, 7441. The phone number is

+27 21 550 9600 and the web address is http://www.mercedesbenz.co.za/content/

south_africa/mpc/mpc_south_africa_website/en/home_mpc/passengercars.html. )

Used trucks with cranes range anywhere from 130,000 ZAR to 800,000 ZAR depending on the make, age, and condition of the truck and crane. (OLX

( https://www.olx.co.za ) is a good website to explore the variety and prices of used trucks

with cranes. AutoTrader is a useful site as well ( http://commercial.autotrader.co.za /).)

Prices for Hiab used cranes begin around 220,000 ZAR and around 500,000 ZAR for new cranes. (Hiab South Africa is located at Cnr Forsdick and Aberdein Roads,

Roodekop, Germiston, Gauteng, 1422, South Africa. The phone number is +27 11 865

1425 and the web address is http://www.hiab.com/en/global/ .)




c. Financing Options and Resources

The client has a variety of financial options to consider.

Financing: This may occur through the dealership. For example, Mercedes Benz offers a variety of financing plans, including leasing and installment plans ( http://

www.sandown.mercedesbenz.co.za/content/southafrica/retailsandown/sandown/

en/desktop/trucks/financialservices/financialsolutions.html ).

The client may also wish to explore similar financing options—leasing, rentals,

installment—through a commercial bank such as FNB ( https://www.fnb.co.za/

businessbanking/finance/vehiclefinance/index.html ).

PeertoPeer Lending: The client may wish to consider various peertopeer lending options.

Peertopeer lending clubs such as RainFin ( https://rainfin.com/About/Corporate ) allow

investors to compete in lending money to firms. Loans are usually come with interest

rates lower than those of commercial banks.

Stokvels operate as invitationonly savings clubs in which members contribute a fixed

amount of money on a set schedule. Members then receive a lump sum on a rotating

basis and they are free to use the money for any purpose. Stokvels are beneficial in that

they pool money and therefore generate larger investment returns, and they encourage

members to save so that they meet their member contribution requirements. Further

information about Stokvels is available at the National Stokvel Association of South

Africa website ( http://nasasa.co.za/site/ ).

Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding platforms such as Jumpstarter ( http:// jumpstarter.co.za/ ) offer nonprofits an opportunity to mount a 60day online fundraising

campaign for their projects. This may be a viable option to consider for funding the truck




and crane. Such a campaign could be promoted through the DHW website. (The team

offers detailed recommendations on DHW’s online presence in the following section.)

Foundations: Numerous foundations offer support for NPOs and NGOs in South Africa. Web portals such as AdvanceAfrica.com

( http://www.advanceafrica.com/Grantsfor NGOsandOrganisations.html ) list these

opportunities. A subscriptionbased resource called Inyathelo ( http://inyathelo.org ) is

also an excellent resource.

Additional options: The client may wish to make direct contact with the owners of local commercial vehicle dealerships, share his remarkable story of the history of Deaf

Hands at Work, and ask the owner to make an equipment donation to DHW. One of the

consultants, Brett Lear, similarly approached an automobile dealership in the United

States and was rewarded with a minivan to use as a library bookmobile for children.

The client could also approach heavy equipment rental firms and likewise ask for

equipment donations to DHW.

Additionally, the client should investigate regional auctions of commercial equipment for

good deals on trucks and cranes. The S.A. Institute of Auctioneers lists upcoming

auctions on its website ( http://www.auctioneering.co.za/ ) as does the website The

Auctioneer ( http://www.theauctioneer.co.za/auctions ). Online auctions are also offered

by such groups as SA Auction Group ( http://www.saauctiongroup.co.za/ ).

d. Recommendation and Timeline

Going forward the client will want to evaluate his liquid capital and longterm assets to

help determine which financial option is most suitable for DHW with respect to

equipment acquisitions (the team has not done this and did not have access to DHW’s

financial statements as it prepared this report.) Time is also a significant factor: Is this

equipment urgently needed now, or does the client have a longer runway to work with?




If the latter, then the client may wish to further explore grants and foundations and

crowd funding. If adequate cash is available and time is limited, the client would further

explore leases, cash purchases of new or used equipment, and purchases via auction.

If cash is limited but the need is urgent, the client should consider leases and

peertopeer funding options. The team sees the acquisition of plant and equipment that

can add to the revenue stream of any of DHW’s divisions as critical in obtaining the

mission and goals of the organization but stresses that a cost benefit analysis and

return on investment analysis be completed thoroughly for any plant and equipment that

the client's considers acquiring. A chart of possible traditional financing options

available in South Africa has been included in the appendices figure 3.1 .


4. ONLINE PRESENCE

a. Customer Identification

Identifying customers of DHW products and services offers insight into a strategy for

online expansion. The client expects to grow sales geographically, first expanding to the

rest of South Africa and then internationally. The largest commercial markets in South

Africa are the regions of Western Cape, where DHW already has a physical presence,

and Gauteng. Additionally, both of these areas have the most robust Internet

infrastructure in South Africa, providing DHW with an opportunity expand its online

marketing and sales efforts.

Consumers who physically buy products from DHW may not be the same people who

will make online purchases. Considering the limitations of DHW’s current online

presence, Mr. Nyakurwa has identified an improved online presence as a way to expand

sales by utilizing eCommerce.




Awareness of South Africa’s infrastructure will allow DHW to concentrate its

eCommerce related resources toward consumers that have access to specific services.

Three important services are access to the Internet, ability to pay with credit cards, and

convenience of receiving deliveries.

In South Africa, the majority of online access occurs on mobile devices, which website 3

design should consider. Two design considerations include bandwidth and screen size.

Detailed graphics, that accompany photographs and videos, require larger amounts of

bandwidth and may limit accessibility on wireless devices. Meanwhile, screen sizes on

cellular telephones are smaller than laptop computers, affecting how a website will

appear on different devices.

The majority of eCommerce depends on the use of credit cards and South Africa is “the

most developed credit card market in Africa.” In order to access these customers, 4

DHW must have the financial means to accept online payments. Currently, the DHW

website does not provide an option to use credit cards, limiting its ability to reach these

consumers.

Finally, consumers who buy products online have delivery expectations. They anticipate

timely delivery and responsive customer service. Considering DHW does not currently

have an active online shop, procedures related to fulfilling orders, responding to

customer concerns, and mailing products are underdeveloped.

b. The Current Online DHW Experience

The client has already identified the Internet as a platform to assist its expansion,

especially through increased sales and improved marketing. Existing websites that

DHW controls include the organization’s own website, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

3 Mzekandaba, S. (2016, June 3). SA's Internet user numbers surge. ITweb . 4 Kiruga, M. (2016, May 10). Credit cards in Africa: Continent lagging behind...but that's great potential right there. Mail & Guardian Africa .




Other formats that currently exist, but do not allow direct control, include search engines

and media outlets. The latter two formats are important because it is possible to

influence search engine optimization (SOE) and utilize the media in marketing efforts.

The current DHW website provides a framework, encapsulating many of the

organization’s priorities. The website acts as a source of contact with both customers

and stakeholders. In its current form, it attempts to grab the attention of multiple parties

and solve numerous problems, limiting its effectiveness in all these aspects. Mr.

Nyakurwa asserts he would like the website to be a “world class presentation,” but he

believes it is currently lacking. Mr. Nyakurwa identified several limitations, which

include: (1) it has not been updated since 2012, when he and a friend first created it

“from scratch”; (2) there have been minimal changes since its creation, highlighting the

website’s inflexibility, (3) it is not aesthetically appealing, and (4) it includes an inefficient

online shop.

In contrast, the Facebook and Twitter pages are actively updated and modified. It is

apparent that these pages provide connectivity to stakeholders and brand awareness.

An important consideration is determining why these pages are actively utilized:

possibly because it is easy to use, because there is a perceived reward from customer

feedback, or other reasons? Furthermore, based on the way it is utilized, it is apparent

that the Facebook page allows DHW to provide brand recognition. While allowing

contact with stakeholders, the Facebook and Twitter pages also have limitations. They

do not provide businesses with simple solutions to directly sell products to consumers.

Considering eCommerce is an important part of online strategy development, the DHW

Facebook and Twitter pages do not fulfill this identified need.

c. Growth Potential

Current online sales are limited and DHW hopes to increase revenue from online sales

to 40% of total revenue. Options considered by the organization include selling products




from DHW websites or utilizing a third party online retailer, such as Amazon. Mr.

Nyakurwa expressed interest in developing multiple websites including a corporate

website and websites dedicated to specific products. While these options have their

merits, DHW’s limited resources should be considered prior to implementation.

There exist two identified limitations related to staff, those who would be needed to

update DHW’s online presence and others who would be needed to fulfill online

purchases. It can be expected that changes to the current online presence will create

more work. In fact, successful implementation of an eCommerce strategy will inevitably

require changes to organizational infrastructure to improve business processes.

Technical knowledge of the Internet limits how DHW can proceed. Considering how

cumbersome it is to update the current DHW website, it is important to minimize

unnecessary complexity. As an example, the current website attempts to fulfill multiple

needs; however, either developing one website focused solely on interacting with

customers or multiple websites devoted to individual types of products will allow focused

and controlled growth.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge that the current effectiveness of DHW’s online

presence at increasing revenue is unknown. While having the goal of reaching 40%

revenue is important, measuring outcomes of online marketing and sales efforts will

determine whether that revenue is profitable. Unless efforts are measured, the amount

of time and energy spent on improving online interaction and the value of these

changes will remain unknown. The measurement of these efforts is not solely limited to

the new websites, but also social media outreach. Time spent updating Facebook and

Twitter could potentially be more beneficial if spent in other efforts.




d. Considering Amazon.com

It is not recommended that DHW immediately pursue its online efforts by using Amazon.

The process of maintaining a presence on Amazon may be more administratively

involved than DHW anticipates. In the United States, there exist entire businesses that

specialize in selling various products on Amazon. Other companies that sell items on

the platform employ specialists who focus their efforts on managing how products are

advertised. These efforts are compounded by the international nature of Amazon.

The outcomes of these businesses efforts directly affect how products appear when

consumers perform searches for products. For example, simply using a keyword search

in Amazon for a “chandelier,” results in 591,760 available products. Other businesses

selling chandeliers actively promote products by utilizing Amazon’s “Sponsor” program,

managing customer service to become a “best seller,” offering free shipping, and

specially pricing their products. DHW’s chandeliers would be forced to compete with all

these other businesses in respect to paid advertising, price, quality, delivery service,

historical customer feedback, and other attributes.

Should the client continue its pursuit of selling products on Amazon, it is recommended

the company first develop its organizational structure to facilitate needed

responsiveness. By first developing an online strategy, improving its own website(s),

and analyzing the effectiveness of its social media efforts, the company will develop the

necessary skills to effective market products on online platforms, analyze customer

data, manage customer service, and fulfill orders. By taking incremental steps in its

online and eCommerce efforts, DHW will be better prepared for the increased

requirements to sustain an Amazon account.

e. Recommendation and Timeline

It is recommended that DHW pursue its online presence in an incremental manner,

measuring and analyzing the results as it expands. Four stages are described as they




pertain to the DHW online presence: strategy development, implementation, analysis of

results, and longterm operational management. Recommendations include specific

examples of services that DHW may wish to pursue to create its website(s); however,

other options were also explored and can be seen in figure 4.1 below.

Strategy Development : Instead of relying on its current website, the team

recommends DHW create a new website or websites, focusing on selling products. The

creation of a separate corporate website with focused attention on stakeholders is

highly encouraged. Such a website may be especially helpful when reaching out to

technologically savvy stakeholders, such as people involved in crowdfunding. Much of

this development will be revisited in later timeframes.

Determine the current available finances that can be dedicated to website

development and also ongoing available finances to manage website(s).

Determine content on the current website that should be retained for future use:

Much of this content represents DHW’s values and how stakeholders currently

associate the DHW brand. Because DHW uses the Facebook and Twitter to

interact with the community and maintain its brand recognition, some of this

information will likely have a positive impact at these locations. Furthermore,

some current content may be appropriate for a corporate website.

Develop processes to prepare products to be sold online: All products sold online

must be first prepared for marketing and order fulfillment. When these processes

are implemented, it should be expected that changes to processes will occur;

therefore, they may need to be developed broadly with flexibility in mind. It may

be beneficial to develop these processes for one product category at a time to

reduce initial complexity and maximize outcomes. It is recommended that this

effort be first implemented using low volume products, such as furniture. This will

minimize the need to immediately develop a complex fulfillment system. The

current website contains one picture of a chandelier and a shirt that is used by




market salespeople. In contrast, the new website(s) will require products to be

organized, photographed, described, stored, and ultimately delivered.

Consider how the organizational structure influences longterm operational

management of online marketing and sales: As items are sold and new ones

marketed, these items must also go through a similar process to be prepared for

online sale. Remember these processes may have to be repeated on a daily

basis depending on customer activity, DHW production volume, and levels of

sales.

Determine the use and content of the DHW website(s): Knowing how the

websites will be used by DHW, its stakeholders, and its customers will help the

organization decide which website development service is best suited to fulfill its

needs. It will be important to determine the number of websites being developed

(whether one or multiple), the quantity of products expected to be listed and sold,

and the level of customer service desired.

Develop ways to measure marketing efforts: It will be important to determine

what types of data about marketing and sales efforts to track, maintain record this

information, and later analyze data.

Prepare for increased staffing needs: While it may not be immediately apparent

how changes to DHW’s online presence will affect staffing, it is important to have

awareness throughout the process in order to make effective changes as

necessary. Expect to regularly update the website(s), list new products, take

photographs of products, track marketing efforts, organize product storage,

provide customer service, and fulfill orders. These activities and others will

require time. As previously mentioned in the organisational structure section

above, Mr. Nyakurwa’s time may be more effectively utilized in an increasingly

managerial capacity.





Implementation : Updating the DHW online presence is a multifaceted endeavor that

will require removing the current website, creating the new website(s), and developing

organizational infrastructure to support changes.

Remove content from current website: Depending on available finances and

costs associated with the current website, it may be beneficial to keep the current

website in a very minimalist and skeletal form that explains changes are being

made to the website with links to new websites as the are implemented.

Implement processes to prepare products for sale online: Remember, these

processes will inevitably change and evolve with experience.

Choose a website development service: A potential service for developing a

website focused on eCommerce is webs.co.za. The reason this website is 5

recommended is because it provides a simple pricing structure and a simple

format. Pricing is a flat monthly fee in a tiered manner, depending on the number

of products being sold, simplifying expenses. Services provided include hosting

and domain names. It provides a “complete turnkey online store,” minimizing the

need for ongoing technical expertise. It also provides receivables services,

mobile device responsivity, and training. For additional examples see Figure 4.1

below.

5 Website: https://webs.co.za/




figure 4.1

Improve consistency among online formats: This would make it potentially easier

for customers to locate DHW related website(s). For example, there are

differences among the website URL, Facebook page URL, and DHW logo that

may be potentially confusing to new customers. The website’s URL

(www.dhwsa.co.za) is different than the Facebook page URL

(www.facebook.com/deafhandsatwork). Meanwhile, the DHW logo appears as

“Deaf Hands @ Work.” If there are multiple websites based on different product

lines, a possible solution is to keep URLs consistent (i.e. dhw. co.za ,

dhwlighting. co.za , dhwconstruction. co.za , and dhwfashion. co.za ). Such a

differentiation between products would provide search engine optimization

(SEO). Of note, the mission statements on the current website and Facebook

page are also different. It is considered important to express consistency in the

mission and goals of DHW as stated in different online formats.

Timeline: 2nd Quarter 2017




Analysis of Results : Changing the company’s online footprint will inevitably change

many aspects of DHW’s infrastructure. An evaluation of progress by utilizing information

gathered throughout development and implementation processes will inevitably help

with ongoing longterm operational management and strategic decisionmaking.

Measuring whether these changes are helping or inhibiting goal accomplishment at

regular and consistent intervals will assist in making changes using available data,

instead of decisionmaking based on intuition alone.

Create ways to measure results: The efficiency of processes, from marketing

products to actual fulfillment, should be measured to determine areas that can

increase eCommerce effectiveness.

Determine effectiveness of social media efforts: Maintaining a social media

presence is time consuming and should lead to specific outcomes to facilitate the

accomplishment of organizational goals. An example of measuring social media

effectiveness is to offer a promotion separately on Facebook or Twitter.

Determining how many people view (it would be even better to determine how

many people purchase) advertised product(s) on different platforms. This may

help DHW determine the value of Facebook and Twitter in relation to its

eCommerce efforts.

Timeline: 3rd and 4th Quarter 2017

How DHW utilizes the Internet may change in the future as the business evolves and as

the interaction between the organization and consumers changes. It has been

recommended that DHW take incremental steps as it develops an online presence.

Advancing into the future, an incremental approach will likely still be appropriate.

Staffing considerations will likely become increasingly important as more products are

sold online. It is recommended that DHW utilize parttime employees and potentially




hire fulltime employees for labor. People who show proficiency with computers and

marketing may be utilized to maintain the different online platforms and provide

customer service, freeing Mr. Nyakurwa to focus on online strategy.

Timeline: Ongoing

It is also recommended that the client pursue its own empirical research into what other

enterprises of similar mission do to exploit growth opportunities online. A couple of

possible peer enterprises have been noted in figure 4.2 in the appendices.

5. SUMMARY

This report reviews the current challenges of Deaf Hands at Work as they relate to

growth and expansion. It provides an overview of the current DHW organizational

structure, needed equipment, and online presence. These three areas were identified

as essential to the continued growth and expansion of DHW and its social impact

model.The team feels all are equally important and has indicated a timeline for

implementation for each recommended action. This is summarized in figure 5.1 in the

appendices. The first, and most critical recommendation is for the client to transition

from a frontline management role with daily direct involvement in the operations to one

with a larger scope of focus on strategy and business development the position of Chief

Executive Officer. Next, equipment needs as identified by the client area addressed

with resources and options to fund and source the identified equipment. Lastly,

resources and options of increasing online presence are discussed. The team feels

these three areas if addressed as recommended, will perpetuate the continued

synergistic expansion that to date Deaf Hands at Work has experienced, allowing this

social enterprise to continue its missiondriven service for the deaf and hardofhearing

community in and around Cape Town.




6. APPENDICES

Existing Organisational Structure, figure 2.1

Recommended Organisational Structure, figure 2.2 (Changes Highlighted)




South African Finance Options, figure 3.1

Please note the team does not warrant the applicability of any of these products. The

client assumes all responsibility for product selection.




Peer Enterprises, figure 4.2

Implementation Timeline, figure 5.1

END OF DOCUMENT



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