Starting a business is a courageous endeavor requiring proper planning and marketing to become profitable and sustainable. The entrepreneur must think of ways of obtaining physical resources and finance, recruiting competent staff, differentiation from competitors and abiding by the legal requirements. Despite the risks taken in setting up a business, there is always a potential to reap high returns. The owner needs to believe in their ability to efficiently run an enterprise after coming up with an innovative idea that has the potential to fill an existing market need. Moreover, motivation is critical for success, especially in the early stages, because the customer base may be small, leading to low profit. This report aims to critically analyze the progress and challenges of a start-up company-Boxconn. In addition, the paper will focus on the challenges of the marketing resource and the recommendations for future growth.
Brief Overview of Boxconn
Boxconn is a technological logistic company focusing on enhancing the growth and scalability of other enterprises by helping them deliver on-demand. The company was founded in January 2021 and is located in Accra, Ghana (Jackson, 2022). The initial capital of about $100k was by its investor and co-owners, Emmanuel Asamoah and Ibrahim Mounkoro, respectively (About Boxconn, 2022). At the point of starting, the company included a team of designers, marketers, engineers, and growth specialists (Boxconn, 2020). They have a mission of assisting all people in delivering whatever they wish to any place by democratizing logistics in Ghana. For the short time that the company has been in operation, it has made tremendous progress despite the high competition and challenges.
Progress of Boxconn
An analysis of strengths weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) can aid in analyzing the achievements of Boxconn (Figure 1). The founders of Boxconn invested in research, team players, and utilization of their competencies to have a good start. Notably, the two co-owners of this for-profit private company pride themselves on a combined fifteen years of experience in African technology and logistic. They invested in a business that they were passionate and competent to run. According to Jackson (2022), the investors saw a gap in the broken logistic system that was present in the country and the stress it caused to people and decided to establish a company that would solve the problem. In addition, the two founders ensured that they had a group of experts in growth strategies who provided recommendations for making initiatives that enhance the sustainability and profitability of the company.
Since its founding, the company has made significant progress in its operations. For instance, despite being in the industry for only one year and a few months, the company has already made at least 30,000 deliveries for more than 120 businesses (Jackson, 2022). It has even made deliveries to multinational corporations, including Jumia and KFC. The progress is due to its fantastic marketing strategy and embracing of modern technology. It provides fast response to its clients and offers 24/7 support to visitors to its website. Thus, the company is working out to make its brand stand out in the field of logistics.
Progress of the company is also evident from its internationalization within one year of operation. The company has entered neighboring Nigeria and Botswana (Jackson, 2022). The owners are familiar with the two regions and hope to continue adding value and making a profit. The company’s founder states that their enterprise helps customers save US$100,000, which would otherwise be lost through inaccessibility and commission (Jackson, 2022). Moreover, the company offers solutions for all levels of packaging and insurance for the goods (Boxconn, 2020). In turn, it continues to attract many customers locally and beyond.
Challenges Facing Boxconn
Marketing challenges are significant drawbacks for emerging enterprises, and Boxconn is no exception. One of the drawbacks it faces is finding talented marketers, especially now that it has internationalized in Nigeria and Ghana. The other challenge is that the internet penetration in rural places is still low, yet the primary means of finding new customers is through social media such as the company’s website. As is the case for many companies, Boxconn is risk-averse marketing when changing its strategy due to fear of upsetting the budget (Markovic et al., 2021). The current strategy alone may not reach some customer segments giving a leeway for the competitors to take advantage.
Moreover, the company has encountered a few challenges in its logistic operations. The poor road networks and inaccessible areas, especially in the rural areas, are a significant challenge. Some roads in Ghana and other Sub-Saharan countries have potholes and are generally poorly maintained. Such infrastructure may lead to the destruction of delicate goods and make the vehicles wear out quickly. The other challenge is the competition from companies already in the same business, including the Comexas Ghana limited, modern world logistics, Global Cargo and Commodities limited, FedEx Ghana, and Achievers logistics. Boxconn is competing with these organizations for the same customers, yet some are well established in the market.
Recommendation and Conclusion
Boxconn has many opportunities, all of which are good to embrace and enhance growth. The knowledgeable leaders and their innovative team should provide new experiences to customers so they can feel the difference from competitors. Moreover, to stay at the bar of the rivals, it is vital to continue embracing information technology for marketing while embracing the traditional marketing procedures. Moreover, the company should benchmark and learn from its competitors, especially those operating globally.
The company needs to continue offering excellent customer service to maintain customer loyalty. When there is a change in practice or pricing, it is vital to inform clients in advance. Notably, customers can be a good source of word-of-mouth referral if satisfied with the services they receive (Markovic et al., 2021). Moreover, when selecting the partnering drivers from the public, they should only recruit those with passion and high performance, not just any jobless person with a car. Increasing employee communication and coordination is also relevant in streamlining the business process. Lastly, the company should maintain an excellent inventory to know if it is making a profit.
References
About Boxconn. (2022). StartupList Africa. Web.
Boxconn | Faster last-mile delivery for everyone. (n.d.). Boxconn. Web.
Jackson, T. (2022). Ghanaian logistics startup Boxconn swiftly goes pan-African. Disrupt Africa. Web.
Markovic, S., Sancha, C., & Lindgreen, A. (Eds.). (2021). Handbook of sustainability-driven business strategies in practice. Edward Elgar Publishing.