Capstone – Project
Identify the best go-to-market pricing strategy for a competitive eCommerce fulfillment business
A Collaboration Between
As a warehousing and logistics start-up, our success depends on our ability to quote a price and execute profitably. Quote too low and we end up in a bad, low margin situation. Quote too high and we usually lose out on the opportunity to a competitor. We need to find a healthy balance based on all the potential variables and the competitive marketplace. It would also be helpful to better understand how our value proposition compares and what types of differentiation opportunities could exsist. We are looking to lock in our offering in 2022 and ensure we’re priced right for growth.
We could benefit from competitive analysis of the industry, pricing of competitive services, and a comparison of our offering to other similar companies. This will require internet research, interviews, and financial analysis.
– Perceptual Maps
– Pricing comparison by Service
– Recommended target customers or markets
– Go to market strategy
Project Topics
Growth Strategy
Marketing
Sales & Business Development
Company Information
| Company | PackDash |
| HQ | N/A |
| Revenue | N/A |
| Employees | N/A |
| Stage | Established Startup |
| Hiring Potential | Follow-on Projects, Formal Internship, Entry Level Full-Time |
| Website | http://packdash.com |
Company Overview
We provide e-commerce and retail fulfillment services for small to midsize cpg brands. PackDash warehouses inventory and integrates our warehouse management system (WMS) with a brand's online store to handle same-day order fulfillment. We also support wholesale purchase orders via wholesale platforms and EDI. Our model is unique because we use smaller warehouses that we call "micro-fulfillment centers" and support all customers with a dedicated Slack channel for each brand.
Experiential Learning Program Details
| School | Montclair State University |
| Engagement Format | Capstone - Small Team Consulting Project - Students work in consulting teams of 3-5 directly with faculty and client liaisons on developing real solutions to real-world challenges. |
| Course | Accelerated MBA Consulting Co-Op (Spring 2022) |
| Level |
|
| Students Enrolled | 5 |
| Meeting Day & Time | TBD |
| Student Time Commitment | 15-30 Hours Per Week |
| Company Time Commitment | 3-5 Hours |
| Duration | 13.43 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Key Project Milestones
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January 28, 2022 - Milestone One: Conduct a Deep Dive into PackDash
- What is the Company’s business model?
- What services do they offer their customers? What value can they provide their customers?
- What about the Company’s brand differentiates it from its competitors?
- How would you define the Company’s brand? How is the Company looking to influence brand perception as the result of this project?
Suggested Deliverable:
One page written overview and an infographic of PackDash
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February 11, 2022 - Milestone: Market Analysis for PackDash
- Define PackDash’s Customer by conducting a customer segmentation analysis. Where is the outside customer perspective coming from?
- What are the “must have’s” from the customer’s perspective?
- What features do customers expect and want?
- What are the expectations customers have regarding access and availability? eCommerce?
- Value? Are the services priced appropriately for the value the customer will get from them?
- How does PackDash meet customer needs? How is customer feedback obtained and used to make decisions?
- Who are the influencers in this space? Are there opportunities to partner with individuals or companies?
- What opportunities and challenges are presented for the PackDash as they look to expand? Are there customer needs/wants that are currently unmet?
Suggested Deliverable:
- Deliverable: Report highlighting understanding of products and customer segments relevant to the current project objectives.
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February 25, 2022 - Milestone Two: Conduct a Customer Profile Analysis
- What are the key and relevant demographic, psychographic, geographic and behavioral factors that can help the Company understand its ideal customer profile(s)?
- What market does the product best serve? How does the Company and the product meet the values, wants, and needs and expectations of their customers?
- How do customers interact with the brand? What is the customer journey like?
- How do they find out about and engage companies and products in this market space? How can they be reached?
Suggested Deliverable:
4-6 Distinct and Robust Customer Personas with corresponding Perceptual Maps
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March 11, 2022 - Milestone: Conduct a Competitor Benchmarking Pricing Analysis for PackDash
- From your research, who are the main competitors in the market?
- What unique offerings does each competitor have? How do PackDash’s, services and brand compare to these companies? How would you benchmark PackDash against competitors in these areas?
- Who are the top 5 competitors for PackDash in this space?
- How are are their services priced and structured? How do these pricing structures compare to those of PackDash?
- Considering pricing of services, what are the competitors’ current market advantages, weaknesses?
- Considering price, how do PackDash’s products services stack up against their competitors in the expansion marketplace? Are there customer needs/wants that are unmatched by competitors?
Suggested Deliverable:
- Deliverable: Competitor Pricing Benchmarking Analysis Report & Presentation; Perceptual map
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March 25, 2022 - Milestone Three: Conduct a competitor analysis for PackDash
- Who are PackDash’s key competitors in the industry?
- How might you analyze the key competitors’ positioning in the market and in relation to PackDash? On what criteria will you draw comparisons?
- How does PackDash differentiate itself from two of its top competitors in messaging and visuals?
- Considering what you learned from the customer profiles/personas, how do the results from the competitor analysis inform your understanding of the PackDash value proposition?
- How much money have the other companies raised and how are they deploying that capital?
Suggested Deliverable:
Competitor analysis and value proposition statement for PackDash (report and presentation)
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April 29, 2022 - Milestone Four: Propose a go-to-market strategy for PackDash
- Who should PackDash target in their campaign?
- For each customer segment:
- What specific strategy/ies do you recommend?
- Are there any unmet industry opportunities for PackDash services?
- What messages or content would be most effective? How can these educate consumers and emphasize the value proposition that PackDash offers customers, particularly in relation to other companies in the market space?
- What messages and content would be likely to motivate consumers to establish a connection with the PackDash, by utilizing their services?
- What communication channels would be most effective?
Suggested Deliverable:
Go to Market Playbook, with prototype messaging, channels and storyboards for customer journey
Academic Mentors
