Strategic Planning of an International Trade Intermediary : Case Woodbe Oy
Matyushevskiy, Artem (2016)
Matyushevskiy, Artem
Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016112116618
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016112116618
Tiivistelmä
The intermediary company is a very important actor of supply chain because it facilitates trade between manufacturers and customers who cannot connect with each other because of physical, cultural or other obstacles. The facilitation of such kind gets even more important on international arena where cross-border obstacles can be tough.
The current thesis is dedicated to strategic planning of a newly established intermediary business dealing with timber products being sold from Russia to Finland. The research question I aspired to answer was how to plan the strategy of international trade intermediary having this specialization.
The research was done on the basis of case Woodbe which is the company owned and managed by myself. In order to answer the research question and simultaneously to work out a usable strategy for my own entrepreneurial goals, I formulated a framework which absorbed prominent theories, approaches and techniques found in academic literature on strategic planning. After that I utilized the framework embedding it into the specific business settings of Woodbe’s business inception.
In the empirical part of my research I demonstrated the flow of my strategic thought and the model of using theoretical knowledge for gaining practical result. As the result I presented the blueprint of Woodbe’s strategy which started with the evaluation of the company’s strategic capability and external environment situation and then showed the route of strategy’s implementation under four different scenarios.
My work can be interesting for the entrepreneurs who are starting international intermediary business in any industry because the framework can easily be adapted to other settings depending on the product or service. My experience of acting as a strategist which I described at the end of the current thesis can help even those entrepreneurs who are dealing with non-intermediary business. I discussed my considerations about the biggest challenges of strategic planning from beginner’s point of view and told about the things I had learned.
The current thesis is dedicated to strategic planning of a newly established intermediary business dealing with timber products being sold from Russia to Finland. The research question I aspired to answer was how to plan the strategy of international trade intermediary having this specialization.
The research was done on the basis of case Woodbe which is the company owned and managed by myself. In order to answer the research question and simultaneously to work out a usable strategy for my own entrepreneurial goals, I formulated a framework which absorbed prominent theories, approaches and techniques found in academic literature on strategic planning. After that I utilized the framework embedding it into the specific business settings of Woodbe’s business inception.
In the empirical part of my research I demonstrated the flow of my strategic thought and the model of using theoretical knowledge for gaining practical result. As the result I presented the blueprint of Woodbe’s strategy which started with the evaluation of the company’s strategic capability and external environment situation and then showed the route of strategy’s implementation under four different scenarios.
My work can be interesting for the entrepreneurs who are starting international intermediary business in any industry because the framework can easily be adapted to other settings depending on the product or service. My experience of acting as a strategist which I described at the end of the current thesis can help even those entrepreneurs who are dealing with non-intermediary business. I discussed my considerations about the biggest challenges of strategic planning from beginner’s point of view and told about the things I had learned.