Jim Alsup has provided site planning and design services to Sandia National Laboratories and other facilities for over twenty years. A complete listing of his work at Sandia National Laboratories is at this link .
A national laboratory in New Mexico developed a replacement for liquid dyes in lasers for a military application. The liquid dyes were known to be a maintenance and disposal concern and not practical for military use. Due to policy changes, the government decided to release this proprietary technology to the public and abandon the military application. The principal investigator bought the license and made subsequent improvements to the technology.
The marketing plan researched the laser market to determine what opportunities exist for the technology, who the major liquid dye laser manufacturers were and what prices might be obtained for the rights to the technology. The subject area of lasers is complex, yet the plan effectively dealt with the complex nature of the subject. The plan was strategic in nature in that it addressed the potential actions by the owner of the technology. Outcomes ranging from manufacturing the rods himself and selling to laser manufacturers to selling his private company to a laser company. The final outcome was the sale of the company and technology to a major publicly held laser manufacturer. The owner of the technology also received a consulting agreement for continuing to advise the laser company.
Landscape Market
Installation Systems Inc. had been developing an alternative to conventional irrigation system design and installation. the Installation System Inc. method provides for using a specially designed vibratory plow to pull poly-tubing through the ground in lieu of trenching for an irrigation system. The irrigation heads are individually plumbed back to a manifold at the valve to reduce and equalize pressure loss. A special fitting system was developed to expedite connecting the tubing. Additionally, the company developed irrigation design software for the unique piping system.
The franchise plan explored how the firm could recoup its investment and various franchise strategies. The market segment size was determined in addition to a probable target number for franchises. The franchise price was determined by providing a profit to the franchise developer and allowing for an equitable return to the franchise owner for his investment. Price for the franchise buyer was a function of net present value of the profits and a reasonable internal rate of return. Considerable effort was directed toward buyer behavior-both the buyer of the franchise and the end consumer who buys the franchises services.
Real Estate Market
Keystone Homes
A small home builder, Keystone Homes, was concerned about it lagging sales in one of its developments. Sales of comparable homes at other communities had sold quite well. Buyer behavior was analyzed as was the demographics and other geographic factors. The summary conclusion was that Keystone Homes had bought lots in a subdivision where other home builders were also building. The smart consumer was pitting one builder against the other and also gravitating to the lower end of the price spectrum. Keystone Homes had slightly higher quality materials and prices that resulted in less sales. The target market for the homes did not seem to fit demographics of the neighborhood either. The solution was to begin there own small developments on in-fill sites and match home sizes and features to the surrounding markets.
Financial Modeling
Financial pro formas are prepared as part of larger land planning studies to determine potential reward of various development scenarios. One pro forma has over 30 program elements and a list of over 50 cost factors. The pro forma then is developed with each years costs and revenues and net cash flow expectations. The net result is a rather comprehensive summary concluding a net present value of the investment and the internal rate of return.
One of the key values of this activity is to be able to conduct "what ifs" with the pro forma. Various marketing and product strategies could be tested to see what conclusions could be made, based on the construction costs and different levels of completion of the project. By knowing how to manipulate both the construction variables and program elements, a much more exhaustive analysis can occur. One can see if the best financial return is to sell platted parcels with zoning on larger parcels, selling parcels with major streets built, selling interior platted parcels with minor streets built or building and developing the homes or apartments. Additionally, a developer can be shown how different densities result in different costs and income and what density returns the most for a given site.
This same technique can be used for larger development such as ski resorts and other long term developments. This process can be applied to any new product or service where costs and potential revenues can be determined.