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Manufacturing Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

manufacturing business plan template

Manufacturing Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their manufacturing businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a manufacturing business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your manufacturing business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a new manufacturing business, or grow your existing manufacturing business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your manufacturing business in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Manufacturing Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a manufacturing business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

Personal savings is the other most common form of funding for a manufacturing business. Venture capitalists will usually not fund a manufacturing business. They might consider funding a manufacturing business with a national presence, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual location could never achieve such results.  With that said, personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for manufacturing businesses.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Manufacturing Company

If you want to start a manufacturing business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what you should include in each section of your own business plan:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of manufacturing business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a manufacturing business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of manufacturing businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the manufacturing industry. Discuss the type of manufacturing business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target market. Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of business you are operating.

There are many types of manufacturing businesses, such as:

In addition to explaining the type of manufacturing business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the manufacturing industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the manufacturing industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of target market segments: wholesalers, other manufacturers, exports, retailers.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of manufacturing business you operate. Clearly, retailers would respond to different marketing promotions than export markets, for example.

Try to break out your target market in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most manufacturing businesses primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other manufacturing businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes manufacturers in other niches, as well as those vertically integrated businesses that make their own product. You need to mention such competition as well.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other manufacturing businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be house flippers located very close to your location.

manufacturing and production business competition

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a manufacturing business, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of manufacturing company that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to manufacturing, will you provide R&D, design, prototyping or any other services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your manufacturing company. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your manufacturing business located near a distribution hub, etc. Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your manufacturing business, including sourcing inputs, designing processes, managing production, coordinating logistics and meeting with potential buyers.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to secure your 1,000 th contract, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your manufacturing business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your manufacturing business’ ability to succeed, a strong team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing manufacturing businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in manufacturing or successfully running small businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you offer short-run production, or will you focus strictly on long-run? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your manufacturing business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a manufacturing business:

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your production facility blueprint, or capabilities specifications.

Putting together a business plan for your manufacturing business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the manufacturing industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful manufacturing business.

Manufacturing Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my manufacturing business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Manufacturing Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of manufacturing business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a manufacturing business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of manufacturing businesses?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.

Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Business Plan Template & Guide For Small Businesses

Business Plan for Investors

Manufacturing Business Plan

JUL.06, 2013

manufacturing business plans examples

Do you want to start a Manufacturing business plan?

Have you been thinking about starting a manufacturing business? It’s a great plan if you are. Some of the most profitable businesses happen to be in the manufacturing line. So, you don’t need to worry about market involvement. However, to create a successful business, you will need a manufacture business plan.

Though it is very profitable to start a manufacturing business, you need some money to get it off the ground. If you have enough money, then you’re set. However, if you need capital, you need to apply for a bank loan for business.

Once you’re all set with the financial part of the business, you need to start developing a business plan. You can learn how to write a manufacturing business plan by taking help from this document.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

Henry Works will be a startup manufacturing business plan started and owned by Henry Langerman. The business will provide manufacturing services to people in and around Oregon. It will offer services like the development of manufacturing chains in different companies. It will also handle manufacturing for small-scale companies while consulting with medium-level businesses.

2.2 Management of Manufacturing Company

Provided that you have an idea, you will need a manufacturing business plan proposal to make that idea a reality.

For guidance, you can go through manufacturing business plan examples or even a woodworking business plan . You can also take help from an investment group in this business as they can guide you better in the financial aspect of the business.

In this manufacturing business plan pdf, we are providing all the necessary details necessary to make a business successful from the start.

2.3 Customers of Manufacturing Company

The customers of Henry Works will primarily be other businesses who will buy raw manufactured material from Henry Works and develop it the way they want at their end. Our main customer groups, in this case, will be:

2.4 Business Target

Our primary goal is to become a trustworthy manufacturing business that can cater to the needs of its customers at all times.

The monetary targets we want to achieve within the first five years of starting are as follows:

Manufacturing Business Plans-3 Years Profit Forecast

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Henry Works will be owned by Henry Langerman, who completed his MBA four years ago. After graduation, he was attached to a large consulting and manufacturing company for three years, where he learned all the fundamental principles of business in the real world. He then left his job for helping his dream of manufacturing business to start.

3.2 Why the Manufacturing company is being started

During his BA, Henry had noticed that it is costly to come by bulk material in Oregon. And after some research, he understood that it was because of a lack of manufacturing businesses around Oregon. Therefore, he decided to start working on a business continuity plan template for manufacturing.

3.3 How the Manufacturing company will be started

Step1: Plan Everything

Before starting a business, you need to develop a good business plan. Whether it is a business plan for a metal casting shop or a manufacturer business plan, it will guide you in starting up your business.

If you are wondering how to write a business plan pdf manufacturer for your business, you can take help from this business plan. For general guidance, you can also refer to a business plan written for sewing or a small manufacturing business plan. Through these business plans, you will plan out all the major stages of starting your business. And this will help you be prepared for anything that may come up.

Step2: Define the Brand

Recognition is key to a successful business. You need to ensure that your customers pay attention to your products and services. Therefore, you will have to establish a brand for your business that will attract your customers to your business.

Step3: Establish Your Corporate Office

Henry decided to buy a warehouse in the outskirts of Oregon to start his manufacturing business. He will now determine the inventory needed to start the company and the workforce required.

Step4: Establish a Web Presence

Social media and general online presence have become necessary to the existence of a business nowadays. Therefore, Henry will not only have a website developed for his business, but he will also hire a social media manager to keep up a business profile for Henry Works on all Social Media platforms.

Step5: Promote and Market

The final step in starting a business is to promote it through a stellar marketing plan.

Manufacturing Business Plans-Startup Cost

To start a manufacturing business, you need to figure out the services you will provide to your customers. That way, you can plan the steps of developing your startup manufacturing ideas in a better way.

A strong business manufacturing plan will help you map out your business to make it more efficient. There are many types of manufacturing business, and each has its services. Therefore, you can take help from this manufacturing business plan template to develop your plan. Alternatively, you can also take help from other business plans like solid semiconductor business plan etc. for further guidance.

For business ideas manufacturing of Henry Works, the primary services are listed below:

We will offer manufacturing services to produce refined raw materials that can be used for developing other products. These raw materials will vary depending on our contracts with customers.

Henry Works will also offer the production of end-products with complete packaging facilities. However, if the product development involves complex or specific-domain processes, the work will be outsourced for retaining the best quality.

We will offer consulting services to manage production and supply chains for medium and large-scale companies so that they can obtain maximum efficiency at each stage.

We will offer services to develop and deploy a production chain that they can easily keep track of and stay independent for our small-scale business customers.

Marketing Analysis of Manufacturing Company

When you have decided to open a business, you will need to write a business proposal for manufacturing with a solid marketing analysis. Just like any other business, starting manufacturing business requires you to have an in-depth knowledge of your customers and market positions.

excellent work

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For writing a business continuity plan template manufacturing, you will need to pay attention to not only present market analysis but also information of past and future. If you want, you can take help from logging company business plan or diamond business plan or any other thorough business plan for further guidance.

Your business plan will help you identify your customer base, services, and how to attract the two. Therefore, focus on manufacturing definition business when developing your marketing plan.

Here, we have detailed the marketing plan and its details for Henry Works:

5.1 Market Trends

According to IBISWorld, there are more than 636000 manufacturing businesses, and they are increasing at a steady rate of 3.6% per year. According to NAM, the manufacturing industry also holds a market share of 11.39%. It means that the demand for manufacturing businesses is not going down any time soon. And you will have a good standing in the market for your business which will not decline in the coming years.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

The potential customers of Henry Works are divided into the following groups:

Manufacturing Business Plans-Marketing Segmentation

5.2.1 Distributors/Wholesalers

Our primary customers will be distributors or wholesalers to provide raw materials or finished products. These companies usually buy and sell in bulk, so they are expected to avail of our services frequently.

5.2.2 Retailers

Our second biggest customers will be retailers. We intend to sell to retailers directly for getting our products to the general public. We will also agree on contracts with retailers to produce products of their choice. Therefore, we expect to receive a fair amount of attention from these stores and companies.

5.2.3 Production/Merchandising Companies

Production and merchandising companies need raw materials to produce their specified merchandise. Therefore, we expect these customers to require our services quite often.

5.2.4 Small Manufacturing Units

Lastly, we will also offer our supplying and consultation services to smaller manufacturing units around Oregon to aid their production.

5.3 Business Target

5.4 Product Pricing

Our prices will be much lower than the imported materials brought into Oregon from other states. However, the quality will be the same or better but not lower. It will be one of the main standout points of Henry Works.

Marketing Strategy

To stand out amongst your competitors, you need to offer several advantages to your customers that the competition cannot. For this, you will need to refer to a business plan for manufacturing company. For general reference, you can also take help from business plan manufacturing and operations plan or business plan coal mining company .

Even If you want to open a small manufacturing business at home, you will still need a strong marketing strategy to make your business a success.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

6.2 Sales Strategy

6.3 Sales Monthly

Manufacturing Business Plans-Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

Manufacturing Business Plans-Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Manufacturing Business Plans-Unit Sales

Personnel plan

There are a lot of manufacturing ideas in the USA. But only a few are successful. That is because the value of a business is determined not only by the quality of its products but also by its workforce. Henry knew the importance of good employees. So, he incorporated strict criteria for selecting all company employees within the manufacturing business plan sample pdf.

7.1 Company Staff

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial plan.

When writing a business plan for manufacturing, you also need to focus on the monetary details. There are a lot of low cost manufacturing ideas in the world, but not all of them are beneficial to your business. Therefore, to ensure your company’s efficient and smooth working, you need to develop a detailed financial plan. A financial plan will guide you in managing the available resources in your company, thereby preventing your business from becoming a manufacturing business for sale after significant losses.

Here we’re providing the detailed financial plan made for Pro Cleaning Services so that you can get an idea of the business finances.

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 break-even analysis.

Manufacturing Business Plans-Break-even Analysis

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 profit monthly.

Manufacturing Business Plans-Profit Monthly

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

Manufacturing Business Plans-Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

Manufacturing Business Plans-Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

Manufacturing Business Plans-Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

Manufacturing Business Plans-Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

8.6 business ratios.

Manufacturing plans are just details laid out in a manufacture business plan that tell you how a business will operate.

To start manufacturing business plan, you have to figure out all the details of how your business will operate. For this, a business plan is usually drafted. For more information, you can refer to the template above.

There are different kinds of manufacturing businesses. One manufacturing business example is of electronics manufacturing business.

There are 3 types of manufacturing business:

Download Manufacturing Business Plan Sample in pdf

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manufacturing business plans examples

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Top 4 Business Plan Examples

Writing your first business plan be sure to review these four business plan examples from the startups community that really stand out from the crowd..

November 9th, 2022    |    By: The Startups Team

Founders have to learn so many new skills when they're launching a startup, and writing a business plan is a big one. When you're writing your  business plan  for the first time, things can get…  intimidating.

What do you include? What kind of wording should you use? What do you make sure not to include? Is a mid size business plan different than an enterprise plan or a scalable startup? Do I need to include financials like cash flow statements? What do investors want to see?

It's enough to make even a stalwart startup founder and management team throw in the towel before they've even begun.

Lucky for you — we've created a  complete guide to writing your business plan . Check it out if you haven't already. (And if a link from there brought you here, just keep reading!) We'll share some business plan samples so you can get started writing your own professional business plan.

But, while it's nice to be guided step-by-step, it can also really help to have concrete examples when you're approaching creating something for the first time.

So, with that in mind, here are four sample business plans from the Startups community that we think really stand out from the crowd. We hope that these will serve as a startup business plan template and make it easier to write your own. At a minimum, these will provide some great business plan ideas whether you are writing traditional business plans for an established business or biz plans for an innovative new startup. While we would of course suggest you use our business plan creator, Bizplan.com, you can use these examples with any number of business plan apps or business plan software.

Click on the below links to see fully formatted versions or continue reading for the text-only version of Culina's.

LiveShopBuy

Every good business idea needs a business plan. A traditional business plan can work for most any new business.

CULINA Executive Summary

Fast facts:.

Founded:  2013  Headquarters:  San Francisco, CA  Founder:  Kent McClure  Market Size:  $12.5 billion  Target Audience:  Homeowners; property managers; insurance providers.

Quick Description:

Culina is a San Francisco-based IoT and home automation company. We design an advanced smart hub technology that enables users to interconnect and remotely monitor all of their cooking devices and kitchen appliances through a single user-friendly platform.

Our Mission:

To make homes smarter, more connected, and safer for families while helping them save money and conserve energy through the power of affordable, automated technology.

Our Vision:

To become the leading provider of IoT technology for kitchen appliances on a global scale with applications across both residential and commercial properties.

Company Synopsis:

Culina Tech is the next leading name in home automation and IoT. We're committed to leading the charge in creating the ultimate smart kitchen for homeowners all around the world. Our revolutionary Smart Plugs enable users to make any kitchen appliance or cooking device intelligent. Compatible with all existing brands that plug into standard two or three-prong wall outlets, Culina creates an entire network of Wi-Fi-connected kitchen devices. The Culina App allows users to remotely monitor the status of and control all devices connected to our Smart Plugs. Whether it's remotely turning on the coffee pot after getting out of bed, turning off the stove if it was accidentally left on via smartphone, or switching on the crockpot before getting home from work, Culina is purpose-built to deliver unrivaled convenience and peace of mind.

With the ability to set energy usage caps on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, Culina helps homeowners stay within their monthly utility budget and save energy in the kitchen through more efficient use of the dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer, stove, and other common appliances.

When a device reaches its energy limit, Culina alerts users through their smartphone and is built with the ability to power down the device automatically if the user chooses. The App measures key usage metrics in real-time, allowing users to get an instant dashboard view of energy consumption as it occurs.

Our team has already finished the product development and design phase, with 3 prototype iterations completed, and we are now ready to begin mass manufacturing. We've also gained major traction among consumers and investors alike, with 10,000 pre-ordered units sold and $5 million in capital secured to date.

With this round of funding, our objective is to ramp up hardware manufacturing, improve software UX and UI, expand our sales and marketing efforts, and fulfill pre-orders in time for the 2017 holiday season. We are currently seeking a $15M Series B capital investment that will give us the financial flexibility to achieve these goals. On behalf of the entire Culina Tech team, we'd like to thank you for your time and interest in our company and this investment opportunity.

Funding Allocation:

⇾  30% Manufacturing  ⇾  25% Sales & Marketing  ⇾  25% Key Hires  ⇾  20% Operational

Team Overview:

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It's a quintessential gathering place where families and friends come together to break bread, be merry, and make memories. But the kitchen is also where tragedy often strikes due to misuse of appliances. Kent McClure and his team set out to make the kitchen a safer and more energy-efficient place for the family after a tragic fire struck his own kitchen in late 2012. Thankfully, no lives were lost and everyone in his family made it out safe and sound, but Kent couldn't help but wonder  “what if.”

With decades in the industrial design space, Kent knew he had the knowledge and the industry contacts to set out to improve upon home automation devices for the kitchen with a solution that not only made homes safer but also cut down on energy consumption and associated costs. In early 2013, Culina was born. Since that time, Kent and the Culina team have made it their mission to completely revolutionize the home automation and IoT space with innovative, AI-powered technology.

Kent McClure | Founder & CEO  Kent is a Carnegie Mellon graduate with over 10 years of executive leadership experience in industrial design and engineering. He has a successful entrepreneurial history, founding a prior tech-based startup which he grew to $100 million in revenue, followed by an acquisition in 2010 and then IPO shortly after.

Sherri Carlson | COO  Sherri earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She oversees all of Culina's ongoing operations and procedures and is responsible for driving Culina to achieve and surpass sales, profitability, cash flow, and business goals and objectives.

Martin Frink | CTO  Martin is a Stanford University alumnus with extensive technical expertise and over a decade of experience at venture-backed tech companies. He is responsible for Culina's technical vision, heading up all aspects of our technological development, strategic direction, development, and future growth.

Margaret Burns | CFO  Margaret earned her degree in Financial Management from NYU. Prior to joining Culina, Margaret spent seven years as CFO for a publicly-traded mobile tech company headquartered in Silicon Valley. She currently manages Culina's financial risks and handles all financial planning, record-keeping, and reporting.

Business plans should contain a company description, market analysis, financial plan, and mission statement.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Market opportunity.

An enormous need exists for dramatic reductions in energy consumption. Businesses alone consume 12-20% of the total US energy supply on food production, processing, manufacturing, distribution, and preparation.

On the residential side, the Energy Information Administration estimates that the average US household uses 11,280 kWh per year. Many homeowners are simply unaware of the large amount of energy consumed by many small household kitchen appliances:

Dishwasher:  133 watts  Television:  1,200 to 2,400 watts  Coffee Maker:  900 to 1,200 watts  Washing Machine:  350 to 500 watts  Toaster:  55 to 250 watts  Window Fan:  800 to 1,400 watts

The majority of US households now spend roughly 35 percent of their energy consumption on appliances, electronics, and lighting.

Most homeowners don't think about the little details that can help save them money on their energy bill. The vast majority of people keep the refrigerator or freezer too cold, fail to make sure refrigerator door seals are airtight, neglect to regularly defrost fridges and freezers, overload their dishwashers, and keep dishwasher water temperature too hot. As a result, energy consumption remains high, and energy bills remain high.

Not only do kitchens represent a primary source of household energy consumption, but also a primary source of house fires. More fires start in the kitchen than in any other room in the home, and household cooking appliances frequently account for billions of dollars in fire-related insurance claims every year. The number one cause of house fires and house fire injuries is the stove.

✓  46% of house fires caused by cooking equipment  ✓  62% of house fires caused by ranges or cooktops  ✓  $4,000 average fire and smoke damage repair costs

Culina is actively solving both of these common challenges caused by cooking equipment simultaneously. Our technology provides homeowners with immediate, real-time insight into their energy consumption by aggregating data for all kitchen appliances connected to our Smart Plugs while also delivering the preventative intelligence necessary to reduce kitchen-related disasters.

Key Features and Benefits:

We designed our Culina Smart Plugs to work in tandem with an intuitive, user-friendly mobile application — allowing users to gain a much-needed technological upgrade to the most popular room in the house.

Easy Setup:

Culina Smart Plugs work with standard two and three-pronged appliances and cooking devices. Simply attach the Culina Smart Plug to the appliance's electrical, plug it into the wall, download the Culina app, connect, and configure.

A one page business plan is a single page overview of your business plan format, logistics and operations plan priorities, and overall direction.

Constantly Learning:

Powered by machine learning artificial intelligence, our Intelligent Culina Response System learns user habits every time someone uses an appliance connected to one of our Smart Plugs.

Multi-Threat Sensors:

Our state-of-the-art sensors detect a variety of potential threats to the kitchen — including sudden and unusual temperature fluctuations, poisonous gas and emissions, toxic smoke, and more. Homeowners receive alerts whenever unusual activity is in progress such as a stovetop being left on for too long or during an unusual time of day.

Remote Monitoring:

Users can monitor all information directly from an easy-to-navigate dashboard in real-time using the Culina App for iOS and Android. Users can check metrics such as fridge and freezer temperature, cook time, and usage data as it is being gathered.

Remote Appliance Control:

With the Culina App, users can control all connected appliances and devices. If our Smart Plug is attached to a crockpot, for example, a user can add the ingredients before they head to work, activate the crockpot remotely, and come home to a readymade meal waiting for them the moment they step through the front door.

Free business plan templates are available online, or you can create your own business plan as the business owner if you don't want a traditional business plan.

Remote Shut-Off:

Not only does remote operation over appliances provide convenience, it also serves to prevent kitchen-related hazards. The Culina App includes auto shut-off capabilities allowing users to turn off appliances using their smartphone even when they're not at home. This is particularly useful in the event that users forget to turn off the oven or stove to prevent potential house fires.

Advanced Notifications:

In addition to notifying users if an appliance is left on by accident or if it detects a potential hazard, Culina also reminds users anytime regular maintenance is required.

Energy Consumption Data:

Users can also monitor energy consumption on a weekly basis right from the Culina App. By providing at-a-glance insight into whether energy use has gone up or down, users gain the ability to adjust their usage accordingly in order to conserve energy and ultimately save money in utility bills the long term.

Inter-operability:

Our cloud-based technology integrates with other popular platforms including Google's Nest and Lowe's Iris.

Cost-Saving Benefits:

Not only can users conserve money in energy consumption bills with Culina, but new insurance guidelines also provide significant discounts for homeowners who deploy smart technologies in their homes.

Pricing and revenue

Culina will initially monetize from hardware sales.

Our product will sell for $149 MSRP with approximately 40% profit margin. We will initially sell our product through popular e-commerce platforms and through our website — followed by brick-and-mortar outlets including Lowe's, Best Buy, Home Depot, and other major big box retailers.

5-Year Net Revenue Projections for business planning financial statements

Company Milestones:

With much of the heavy lifting already completed, Culina has laid the groundwork for rapid expansion going forward. Here's an overview of our accomplishments since first founding the company in 2013.

Consumer Validated:

Our first-generation product is market-ready and primed for commercial manufacturing. We have pre-sold 10,000 units, representing approximately $1,890,000 in pre-launch revenue. Our immediate customer base growing by the day and we have successfully proven that this is a product that consumers want and are enthusiastic about.

Investor-Backed:

We have secured a total of $5 million in funding from angel investors, founder capital, friends and family, and VCs.

Proprietary Technology:

We have applied for and have been granted a provisional patent for our Smart Plug technology.

Strategic Partnerships:

We are in the process of building relationships with notable industry leaders, influencers, and development teams in the home automation sector. We are also in advanced-stage partnership discussions with a number of major name insurance providers.

Press Mentions:

Culina has received coverage in many of today's most renowned tech and entrepreneurial publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, The Verge, WIRED, and Engadget, among others.

Manufacturing:

A US-based contract manufacturer has been secured and is ready to begin production with the capacity to produce around 50K units per month as we scale.

Culina Company Timeline: 2013-2017 — displaying competitive advantages to secure funding in possible future rounds.

Future Development

Our initial focus on the consumer space with our launch product is just the first step in our long-term roadmap to growth. In order to capture a larger market share and continue scaling the company exponentially, we are planning on rolling out a B2B model in the future. This will provide Culina with new revenue streams and will offer a valuable, tech-driven solution for businesses.

Commercial Kitchens:

Commercial kitchens consume a huge amount of energy — roughly 2.5 times more per square foot than any other commercial space, according to the EPA.

The Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) estimates commercial kitchen equipment is often only 50% efficient. The challenge with reducing energy consumption in commercial kitchens is that it's neither practical nor affordable to replace all kitchen equipment or redesign entire workspaces.

In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions, some governments are offering incentives to businesses that can cut back on their carbon footprint. In the UK, Enhanced Capital Allowances allow businesses to benefit from 100% tax relief on their qualifying capital expenditure on energy-saving equipment. This can provide a cash flow boost and an incentive to invest in energy-saving equipment which normally carries a price premium compared to less efficient alternatives.

Our 2nd generation product will represent a revenue-generating and energy-saving solution for commercial kitchens where equipment is frequently selected based on low capital cost with little regard to whole life-cycle cost and the resulting negative energy consumption.

Built on cloud computing, machine-to-machine communication, and information-gathering sensors, the Internet of Things market is rapidly making more and more commonplace devices “smarter.” Factor in the increasing prevalence of smartphones and tablets, and home automation and IoT products are now becoming much easier to use and significantly more affordable than they have ever been before.

What was once only reserved for the wealthy and tech-savvy, everyday consumers now have direct access to and can take advantage of a growing number of home automation devices. The evolution of the Internet of Things has enabled consumers to digitally connect and remotely control everything from their door locks to their thermostat to their garage opener and essentially everything else in between. Evidence of the enormous impact home automation tech has had in the consumer space can be seen in the enormous adoption of products like Nest and Amazon Echo.

The home automation market and Internet of Things (IoT) space is a thriving industry with growth expected to exceed $50 billion by 2020. This represents an estimated 300% increase from today's market of $12.5 billion. Around 8.4 billion connected devices will be installed globally by the end of 2017, representing a +31% increase in just one year. Around 63% of these devices will be used by consumers, with the remainder deployed by businesses.

Culina is perfectly positioned to capitalize on a major multi-billion dollar market opportunity to provide greater protection, actionable intelligence, lower energy consumption, and more cost savings to the millions of homes in the US.

Most every business plan template online will prompt to identify target market, a cash flow statement, and business structure.

Target Audience

We are directly targeting three specific target populations for our product:

Homeowners:

Homeowners are our end users and will benefit the most from our product. For homeowners, Culina represents safety, peace of mind, increased convenience, and an economically-wise investment that pays for itself over time.

Residential Property Managers:

Including apartment complexes and student housing owners. Culina offers increased owner ROI, occupant satisfaction, and significantly lower operational and maintenance costs.

Insurance Companies:

By reducing home fires caused by unattended cooking and the resulting billions of dollars in related insurance claims filed every year. Insurance companies can also leverage our technology to adjust homeowners insurance policy pricing.

Marketing Strategy

Culina has carefully developed a diverse marketing plan intended to keep our brand in the hearts and minds of our existing and prospective customers, enabling us to continue expanding our reach and grow our business. Between our massive social network followings and email database contacts, we regularly communicate directly with over 100,000 consumers.

SEO & Social:

We will drive traffic and conversions to our website using social media marketing via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and others. We are also exploring SEO and SEM.

Content Marketing:

We consistently release marketing content through our blog that aims to educate our audience about the value that our product provides. Our content marketing efforts aim to influence and persuade readers without having to rely solely on conventional direct selling tactics.

Influencer Marketing:

We will launch an initiative to guest blog articles and features in IoT, home automation, and startup tech publications like TechCrunch, Wired, VentureBeat, and other outlets in our industry.

Use an example business plan to get your information down — make sure to include market research, balance sheet, financial projections, and industry trends.

Competitive Landscape

Primary competitors for Culina include other companies that are currently operating in the home automation and Internet of Things space, such as Nest Labs, Amazon Echo, and Wallflower Labs.

Leading home automation company Nest introduced its first product, Nest Learning Thermostat, in 2011. The company was founded in 2010 by former Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Nest was acquired by Google on January 14, 2014, by Google for $3.2 billion and still operates under its own brand identity.

Nest Labs designs programmable, self-learning, sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats, smoke detectors, and other security systems.

The 3rd generation Nest Thermostat prices at $249; Nest Indoor and Outdoor Cams are $199; and their Smoke & CO Alarm retails for $99.

Key Weaknesses:

After Nest's acquisition, the company has underperformed in sales and fallen below the expectations that Google set for them when it purchased the startup.

Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo, also known as Alexa, is a voice command device powered by artificial intelligence and designed by mega online retailer Amazon.com. The smart home hub was initially released in November 2014.

Alexa is a voice-activated virtual assistant housed within the Echo smart speaker. Users simply say her name and then ask a question or give a command.

The Amazon Echo retails for $99 for Amazon Prime members and $170 for everyone else.

However, some users have noted the uneven sound quality and limited “skills” capabilities. Users can also only interact and communicate with Alexa in English and German.

Founded December 1, 2013, Wallflower Labs is a Charleston, MA-based startup that designs an internet-connected smart plug that works with any freestanding plug-in electric stove. The company's founder previously founded Yap — a speech recognition technology that was acquired by Amazon in 2011 to help develop Alexa. The startup has raised a total of $2.5 million from three rounds of equity funding to date, with the most recent funding reported at $1.5 million via a convertible note on August 30, 2016.

The smart plug sounds an alarm and alerts homeowners via smartphone when the stove is turned on, someone forgets to turn it off, when a cooking time expires, or the smoke alarm activates.

Because Wallflower Labs are still in the pre-launch phase, the company has not yet publicly released consumer pricing information.

Unlike Culina, which connects with all smart appliances and cooking devices in the kitchen, Wallflower Labs is solely focused on monitoring stove usage.

How Culina Measures Up:

Competitive Analysis - Competitive Landscape table — included in a business plan template.

Differentiating Factors

Culina maintains a unique competitive advantage over other existing home automation and IoT products in several categories. Our biggest differentiators include:

Diverse Product Capabilities

Culina makes it possible to gain an across-the-board view from an entire network of interconnected devices. Whether they're connected to the refrigerator, gas or electric-powered stove, microwave, or dishwasher, our Smart Plugs can deliver insight into everything from smoke and gas detection, to temperature changes, and usage metrics — regardless of the brand and through a single, user-friendly app.

User-Friendly

Our technology is easy to use and doesn't require any technical-savvy. Setup and configuration are simple, users are able to be up and running out of the box in approximately 10 minutes, and software updates are deployed over the air.

Affordability

Culina is priced below our competitors' products while delivering superior functionality and value. This will be an essential factor in helping us continue to gain market share nationally.

Team Strength Our team is comprised of industry veterans who bring decades of experience to the table across industrial design, mobile tech, cloud-based technology, artificial intelligence, and more.

Our leadership team has a history of starting and leading companies to successful exits and has established valuable relationships with industry leaders along the way that will help us strategically position Culina as a market innovator in the days ahead.

Investment Opportunity

Culina is currently seeking a total of $15M in  Series B equity financing  to fuel the next stage of company growth — including manufacturing, pre-order fulfillment, ongoing development of our platform, and marketing efforts in order to continue expanding the Culina brand. Any remaining funds will be allocated as operating capital.

Why Invest in Culina? With Culina, investors have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a company that's positioned to grow into a leading innovator in the home automation and IoT space.

With Culina, we've tapped into something truly extraordinary that's being celebrated by both early adopters and investors alike. With 10,000 units pre-sold and $1.89M in pre-launch revenue , we've already successfully demonstrated validation in the consumer space. With over $5 million in funding secured across several financing rounds, we've already proven that investors believe in our company, our mission, and our ability to succeed.

We've also established a scalable business model and robust product pipeline that will prime us for widespread expansion in the days ahead. We're now seeking investors who share our passion and commitment to pushing the boundaries of what home automation can be and do through nextgen technology.

We're looking forward to working with you in accelerating Culina's growth to become a dominant player in the booming global home automation and IoT industry.

Business plans are essential to any business. We hope this example business plan article guides you through your own business plan process.

In Conclusion

We hope these  business plan  examples will get you started on the right path in getting your business idea into a full-on company. Keep in mind that these startup business plan examples are not a uniform guide for every business, and some information may vary. You may need a 5-year business plan template, or perhaps just some business plan examples for students. Make sure to remember this as you start writing your business plan, and comment below to let us know if these examples of business plans for startups were helpful in your startup journey.

For more helpful founder information: check out our podcast! The No BS version of startup life you've been looking for:  Startup Therapy .

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The Top 7 Business Plan Examples To Inspire Your Own (2023)

Image of a woman planning her business plan on a white board with post its and annotations from examples she has found

Any aspiring entrepreneur researching how to start a business will likely be advised to write a business plan . But few resources provide business plan templates and relatable examples to really help guide you through writing one of your own.

That’s why we took some real-world and hypothetical examples of product-based ecommerce businesses to show how you can write your business plan.

7 Business plan examples: section by section

The business plan examples we’ll look at below follow this example template:

Below, we have some real-world and hypothetical examples of each of these sections to show you how a business plan comes together.

Your executive summary is a page that gives a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. It’s easiest to save this section for last.

In our business plan template for Paw Print Post , the executive summary is four paragraphs and takes a little over half a page:

example of an executive summary in a business plan

You might repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your about page, social media profile pages, or other properties that require a boilerplate description of your business.

Soap brand ORRIS has a blurb on its About page that could easily be repurposed for the company description section of its business plan.

Orris company description

You can also go more in-depth with your company overview and include the following sections, like we did for Paw Print Post:

Your mission statement may also make an appearance here. Passionfruit shares its mission statement on its company website, and it would also work well in its business plan example.

Passionfruit's mission statement

The market analysis consists of research about supply and demand, your target market, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. You might run a SWOT analysis and include that in your business plan. Here’s an example SWOT analysis we did for an online tailored-shirt business:

SWOT analysis in market analysis

You’ll also want to do a competitive analysis as part of the market research component of your business plan. This will tell you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to differentiate your brand. Your competitive analysis might look like this:

competitive analysis

This section of your business plan describes your offerings—which products and services do you sell to your customers? Here’s what we wrote for Paw Print Post:

Products and services offering

It’s always a good idea to develop a marketing plan before you launch your business. Your marketing plan shows how you’ll get the word out about your business, and it’s an essential component of your business plan as well.

For Paw Print Post, we focused on four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place. However, you can take a different approach with your marketing plan. Maybe you can pull from your existing marketing strategy , or maybe you break it down by the different marketing channels. Whatever approach you take, your marketing plan should describe how you intend to promote your business and offerings to potential customers. It’s OK to go high level here.

Financial plan

The financial plan provides a breakdown of sales, revenue, profit, expenses, and other relevant financial metrics related to funding and profiting from your business.

Ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy’s financial plan breaks down predicted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

financial plan

It then dives deeper into the financials to include:

You can use this financial plan template to build your own income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement.

financial plan template

Types of business plans + what to include for each

A one-page business plan is meant to be high level and easy to understand at a glance. You’ll want to include all of the sections, but make sure they’re truncated and summarized:

A startup business plan is for a new business. Typically, these plans are developed and shared to secure outside funding . As such, there’s a bigger focus on the financials as well as on other sections that determine viability of your business idea—market research, for example.

Your internal business plan is meant to keep your team on the same page and aligned toward the same goal.

A strategic, or growth, business plan is a bigger picture, more-long-term look at your business. As such, the forecasts tend to look further into the future, and growth and revenue goals may be higher. Essentially, you want to use all the sections you would in a normal business plan and build upon each.

Feasibility

Your feasibility business plan is sort of a pre-business plan—many refer to it as simply a feasibility study. This plan essentially lays the groundwork and validates that it’s worth the effort to make a full business plan for your idea. As such, it’s mostly centered around research.

More resources for validating your ideas:

Set yourself up for success

Building a business plan serves as a roadmap you can use for your ecommerce business at launch and as you reach each of your growth goals. Business plans create accountability for entrepreneurs and synergy among teams, regardless of your business model .

Kickstart your ecommerce business and set yourself up for success with intentional business planning—and with the business plan examples above to guide your own path.

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Production Planning in Manufacturing: Best Practices for Production Plans

ProjectManager

As the creation of products and services has become more extensive and varied, the manufacturing industry has become more competitive. There are many things to keep an eye on such as material requirements planning, supply chain management and inventory control. Operations continue to become more complex, and this means manufacturing companies require more thorough production planning.

A production plan is the best way to guarantee you deliver high-quality products/services as efficiently as possible.

What Is Production Planning?

Production planning is the process of deciding how a product or service will be manufactured before the manufacturing process begins. In other words, it is how you plan to manage your supply chain, raw materials, employees and the physical space where the manufacturing process takes place.

Production planning is very important for manufacturers as it affects other important aspects of their business such as:

ProjectManager is a project management software that helps manufacturers cover every aspect of production planning. Plan with Gantt charts, execute with kanban boards and manage your resources along the way. No other software offers sophisticated project and resource management features in one intuitive package. Get started today for free.

Production plan on a Gantt chart in ProjectManager

Why Is Production Planning Important?

If a manufacturing operation wishes to expand, that evolution demands careful production planning and production scheduling. Someone must take on the responsibility of managing resources and deciding how they will be allocated. This process is a big part of capacity planning —how much can be made in a certain period of time, with the available resources?

Without production planning, it is easy to use too much of a resource for one product and not leave enough for another, or fail to schedule your resources properly, which results in delays that affect your production scheduling. It’s just as easy to let resources go to waste. These issues indicate a lack of efficiency in your production planning process.

No matter the product or service or the size of the operation, production planning is the best way to ensure resources are used appropriately, products and services are high-quality and nothing goes over budget .

Types of Production Planning

Every operation is unique, and the same production plan isn’t right for everyone. In order to get the most from project planning, you need to decide which method is best for your manufacturing process. That said, here’s a quick intro to the different types of production planning.

The job method is often used when manufacturing a single product, for which a unique production plan is created. This production planning method is generally used in smaller-scale productions, but it can also be applied to larger manufacturing facilities. The job method is especially advantageous when a product or service requires specific customizations.

Batch Production Method

Batch production consists in manufacturing goods in groups, instead of being produced individually or through continuous production. This method is useful when manufacturing products on a large scale.

Flow Method

The flow method is a demand-based manufacturing model that minimizes the production lead time by speeding up the production line. The manufacturing process starts based on work orders, and once it starts, it doesn’t stop until all finished goods are produced. This is called continuous production and it’s achieved by using machinery and little intervention to minimize waiting time.

Process Method

The process method is more or less what most people picture when they think about production—an assembly line. With the process method, there will generally be different types of machinery completing separate tasks to put together the finished goods.

Related: 10 Free Manufacturing Templates for Excel

Mass Production Method

The mass production method is primarily focused on creating a continuous flow of identical products. It’s similar to the flow method, but at a much bigger scale, which cuts production costs. When uniformity is just as critical as efficiency, you need to use “standardized processes” to guarantee all products look exactly the same.

What Is a Production Plan?

A production plan is a document that describes how production processes will be executed, and it’s the final outcome of the production planning process. It describes the human resources, raw materials and equipment that will be needed and the production schedule that will be followed.

A screenshot of the Kanban board project view

The person responsible for production planning must also be very familiar with the operation’s inner workings, resources and the products/services they produce. This usually entails collaborating with people on the floor, in the field or in different departments to create products and deliver services.

How to Make a Production Plan

When you set out to create a production plan, make sure to follow these 5 steps to make it as robust as possible.

1. Estimate/Forecast Product Demand

Understanding product demand planning is the best way to decide which product planning method is the best choice for your operation. From here, you’ll be able to estimate which resources are required and how they’ll be used in the manufacturing process.

2. Access Inventory

Accessing inventory is about more than simply taking stock: you should make an inventory management plan so that you don’t experience shortages or let things go to waste. For this step, focus on the inventory control and inventory management techniques you can use to handle inventory in the most efficient way possible.

3. Resource Planning

A successful production plan requires you to be familiar with the resource planning details of the manufacturing process. Note the minimum number of people and raw material requirements necessary to create a product or execute a service. You need to also consider what machines and systems are essential for executing your production plan.

Related: Free Resource Plan Template for Excel

4. Monitor Production

As production takes place, monitor how the results compare to the production schedule and resource management projections. This is something that should continually take place and be documented during the production process. Monitoring production is especially important for the fifth step in the production planning process.

5. Adjust the Plan to Make Production More Efficient in the Future

The final step of production planning is to reflect on the information you gained in step four and strategize what can be done to make the production plan run more smoothly in the future. Production planning is about manufacturing a product or service, yes, but it should also be a learning experience for creating even better production plans for next time.

Common Production Planning Mistakes

As you go through the production planning process, you must stay vigilant of common missteps. Here are three mistakes often made during production planning. Luckily, they can be prevented.

Not Expecting the Unexpected

This means having risk management strategies in place if things go awry. The goal is to never have to employ them, of course, but it’s better to have them and not need them. Production planning is not complete if it doesn’t anticipate risks, issues and changes. When you plan for them, you’re ready to problem solve if and when they happen.

Getting Stuck Behind the Desk

You should work with intelligent production planning tools, but that doesn’t mean you should only rely on an enterprise resource planning software for production planning and not oversee resources and operations in person. When production planning is only done from behind a screen, the end result will not be as informed as it could be. The best production planning is active and collaborative.

Neglecting Equipment

Regardless of the product or service, manufacturing means using tech. In order to get the most from your equipment, you need to take care of it. This means tracking usage and keeping up with regular maintenance. This looks different depending on the industry and product or service, but the principle is the same: continually take care of your equipment before it becomes a problem that will slow down production.

Screenshot of the inline banner ad for the manufacturing ebook by ProjectManager

Production Planning Best Practices

No matter what product or service is being manufactured, there are many tried-and-true best practices that set your operation up for success. When creating a production plan, keep these two in mind.

Make Accurate Forecasts

When you don’t properly estimate the demand for your product or service, it is impossible to create a detailed production plan. Demand planning is never static. You need to consider buying trends from previous years, changes in demographics, changes in resource availability and many other factors. These demand planning forecasts are the foundation of skillful production planning.

Know Your Capacity

Capacity planning means knowing the maximum capacity your operation can manage—the absolute most of a product or service it can offer during a period of time. This is the only way to anticipate how much of each resource you will need in order to create X amount of products. When you don’t know the production capacity, your production planning is like taking a shot in the dark.

Use ProjectManager for Production Planning and Scheduling

As the nature of manufacturing goods and services changes, you need modern tools to plan production and make schedules. ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that offers all the tools you need for excellent production planning and scheduling. With it, you can plan projects, create schedules, manage resources and track changes with one tool.

Plan with Gantt Charts

Manage your product manufacturing across a timeline with our Gantt chart view. With it, you can view your resources (such as raw materials) tracked by cost to make sure you’re never overspending. You can then link any dependent tasks to avoid bottlenecks in your manufacturing.

ProjectManager's Gantt chart

Get a Birds-Eye-View

To keep your production plan on track, you need to have a high-level view so that you can pinpoint setbacks before or as they occur. Our real-time dashboard collects your data and converts it into colorful graphs and charts that give you at-a-glance analytics.

ProjectManager’s dashboard view, which shows six key metrics on a project

Easily Measure and Report Your Progress

Any operation will have stakeholders, and they want to be kept in the loop. ProjectManager’s project status reports make it easy to share key data points. They can be generated in a single click, making it simple to generate them before important meetings.

ProjectManager's status report filter

Related Production Planning Content

Manage every detail of your operation with ProjectManager’s powerful cloud-based project management tools. Our suite of tools is trusted by tens of thousands of teams, from NASA to Volvo, to aid them in the planning, scheduling, tracking and reporting on the progress and performance of their production plans. Our software makes lets you get out from behind your desk and make adjustments on the go. Try it for yourself for free for 30 days!

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Machine & Equipment Manufacturing Business Plans

Did you know each of these plans was created in LivePlan? Learn More

Aircraft Equipment Maker Business Plan

Stretch 'r Wings, Inc. is a start-up business that will develop and market medical interiors for aircraft and helicopters.

Commercial Catalog Sales Business Plan

JTB Industrial Sales offers B2B catalog orders and consultation for supplies and parts to multiple industrial clients.

Electronic Engineering Business Plan

Rosafarbenes Nilpferd & Sons Engineering, Inc. is an electronic engineering firm providing specialized components to the high-tech manufacturing market.

Heavy Equipment Maker Business Plan

Tricky Widgets Manufacturing is a start-up manufacturer of heavy equipment machinery.

Internet Media Advertising Business Plan

Truckbay, an established company providing online advertising solutions for the global heavy truck and equipment markets, adds new services such as online auctions.

Machine Tooling Business Plan

Machine Tooling is an established company specializing in designing and building machines, machine tools and automated systems.

Manufacturing - Custom Parts Business Plan

JTB Products and Services designs and delivers custom parts, supplies, and new technology to industrial clients.

Solar Water Heater Distributor Business Plan

Sun Heat is a start-up company offering solar water heating systems to California residents.

Surveyor Instrument Business Plan

Bottlieb Innovations manufactures digital measuring instruments for surveyors.

Tracking Device Maker Business Plan

RQM Technologies (RQM) is a start-up company which will develop and distribute miniaturized Personal Locator Devices.

There are plenty of emerging and traditional industries in need of equipment manufacturers. Companies that can do it better, faster, cheaper, or more specifically to suit their needs.

If you’re familiar with a specific industry and have ideas to improve manufacturing, you may want to consider starting a business. Download one of our machine and equipment manufacturing sample business plans today to get started.

If you’re looking to develop a more modern business plan, we recommend you try LivePlan . It contains the same templates and information you see here, but with additional guidance to help you develop the perfect plan.

manufacturing business plans examples

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Business plan templates take your business to the next level

If you’re starting a new business, or changing or expanding an existing one, it’s critical to have a solid plan to guide your decisions. A Microsoft business plan template can help get you started. Business plan templates offer step-by-step instructions and prefabricated slides for your executive summary, company overview, financial plan, and more. You’ll even find a business plan template for specific industries including business plan templates in Word for healthcare providers, professional services, and retail. Enlist your management team, or for a sole proprietor, trusted family and friends, to contribute to your plan using a checklist business plan template in Excel. Assign tasks and deadlines to keep everyone accountable and on track. There are also free business plan templates to help you determine your business’ legal structure, define your target audience, and map out your marketing plan. Explore all the business plan template options to find what suits your needs.

manufacturing business plans examples

Manufacturing Business Plan

manufacturing business plan - free download

Use this manufacturing business plan as your template to start and grow your manufacturing company. This business plan for a manufacturing company includes market analysis, strategy, and more.

Download this Manufacturing Business Plan free for easy editing in Microsoft Word, Google Docs or Apple Pages:

Download Now

Also Read: MoreBusiness.com’s Free Starting a Business Guide

Table of Contents

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 company.

Titus Mold Manufacturing, Inc. designs prototypes and molds, which are used by production manufacturers to fabricate consumer products. We are a start-up company that developed and patented revolutionary design software called Virtual Design Center. Our initial plan is to create a precision manufacturing facility to produce prototypes and molds for clients. Our goal is to provide our customers with fast turnaround, exceptional quality, unparalleled customer service, and competitive pricing.

1.2 PRODUCTS & SERVICES

We design and manufacture prototypes and molds. By utilizing Virtual Design Center, we will work in real-time with our customers to meet their design needs, which will reduce errors and detect design flaws early in the process. In turn, this will save the customer time and money. We plan to position ourselves as a forward-thinking company that continually invests in new ideas and technologies – unlike our competitors, which are similar mold manufacturing facilities. Because of our unique software, sophisticated technology and efficient processes, we will be in a position to potentially compete on price and quality. As this manufacturing business plan will outline, our unique Virtual Design Center gives us a definitive advantage.

1.3 MARKET ANALYSIS

The U.S. manufacturing industry makes up a substantial portion of the GDP, and the mold-manufacturing sector generates sales of more than $5 billion. Manufacturing drives the U.S. economy more than any other industry. Within that enormous industry, we have identified two strong markets with very high growth potential – automotive parts and medical devices manufacturing. As new car companies respond to shifting consumer demands for more fuel-efficient cars, and as the medical community develops new technologies, the need for new parts, designs and molds grows.

1.4 STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION

To achieve our business goals, we will create a high-tech, precision manufacturing facility and will implement highly efficient operations processes. We plan to promote Titus Mold Manufacturing and our proprietary Virtual Design Software with an aggressive, targeted marketing campaign. This will include a media campaign, print and online advertising and a targeted direct-mail campaign. In addition, we will focus heavily on establishing our presence within the industry at relevant trade shows.

1.5 MANAGEMENT

Our leadership team currently consists of Chief Executive Officer John Baker, President Michael Smith, and Vice President Susan Jones. Additional key leaders will include directors of finance, marketing and sales, human resources, information technology and operations. While these positions remain unfilled at this time, we do have several extremely qualified candidates interested in joining with us in this new venture.

1.6 FINANCIAL PLAN

Our Company will earn revenue from the sale of design services and manufactured molds. The attached Income Statement demonstrates that our gross profit margin will exceed 72%, and we will achieve break-even with sales of $XXX,XXX. We expect to reach profitability by the middle of Year 2.

1.7 SOURCES & USE OF FUNDS

Titus Mold Manufacturing, Inc. requires $4,450,000 to launch. At present, we have raised $150,000 in venture capital funds. In addition, co-owners John Baker, Michael Smith and Susan Jones have each invested $100,000 into the company. We are currently seeking funds from outside investors and business loans.

The start-up funds will be used to cover the facility, build-out costs, equipment, software and initial operating costs including payroll, taxes, and utilities.

2.0 COMPANY

2.1 company & industry.

Titus Mold Manufacturing, Inc. is located in Molder, Missouri. Our company designs and manufactures prototypes and molds for use in casting metals or forming other materials, such as plastics, glass or rubber. Our business operates within the manufacturing industry and is classified under NAICS code 333511 – industrial mold manufacturing.

2.2 LEGAL ENTITY & OWNERSHIP

Titus Mold Manufacturing is an S-Corporation that was formally organized in Missouri. The company’s principal owners are John Baker, Michael Smith and Susan Jones, who hold equal shares of ownership in the company.

2.3 COMPANY HISTORY TO DATE

Our company is a new business that will create prototypes and quality molds, utilizing the latest design software, e-commerce technology, high tech machinery and innovative operations processes. As the company’s founders and owners, we have a combined 40 years of experience in software development and the manufacturing industry. Our experience includes product research and development, engineering and production management. After recognizing the need for and value of creating a more efficient customer experience to secure and retain business, we decided to create Titus Mold Manufacturing, Inc.

2.4 FACILITIES

Our company is preparing to lease a manufacturing facility in Molder, Missouri. We are presently operating out of temporary administrative offices at the Barton Business Incubation Center.

We are working with a local realtor and BBIC to identify potential industrial space available for lease. We require a 10-12,000 sq. ft. facility to accommodate product development and engineering, a mold shop, a tool shop, quality assurance area, inventory storage and administrative offices. As the business grows, we intend to add injection-molding capabilities.

2.5 KEY ASSETS

Titus Mold Manufacturing holds a patent for its revolutionary Virtual Design Center (VDC). The VDC combines the best of virtual and in-person presentations and meetings, allowing customers to work in real-time with our design engineers. This allows us to serve clients nationwide.

3.0 PRODUCTS/SERVICES

3.1 description.

Titus Mold Manufacturing, Inc. will make prototypes and molds for the manufacturing of consumer products. A mold, which is usually made from aluminum or steel, is a hollow form that gives a particular shape to a product while it is in a liquid state. The molds are used for products made from plastic, glass, metal or other raw materials.

There are three main phases to manufacturing a prototype or mold. First, engineers and product developers create a design. Titus Mold Manufacturing is able to complete a design from start to finish for a customer. If need be, Titus will work with the customer through the design process via our one of a kind Virtual Design Center. Secondly, we make test molds. We then inspect and test the molds for quality assurance. Finally, we manufacture prototypes and molds based on specific design specifications, using precision machinery to form the desired prototype or mold.

3.2 FEATURES & BENEFITS

Virtual Design Center will be the key to distinguishing and drawing attention to our company. Once we have a particular industry or customer’s attention, we will sell them on our fast turnaround, exceptional quality, unparalleled customer service and competitive pricing.

Obviously, speed, quality, service and price are qualities most of our competitors will list in their mission statement. However, Titus Mold Manufacturing will – from the beginning – invest in top quality, highly sophisticated machinery as well as implement innovative operations policies. These steps will ensure our ability to deliver beyond normal industry standard and surpass our customers’ expectations saving them time and money.

3.3 COMPETITION

Our competitors are companies that provide similar types of design and mold-making services. There are far too many competitors to list specifically in this manufacturing business plan. To their advantage, they have an established customer base. Further, many mold-making companies also have injection-molding machinery, which enables them to manufacture actual products.

However, the vast majority of our competitors are not taking full advantage of current technology, nor are they implementing modern operational systems. Their waste is ultimately passed along to the customer via longer turnaround times and higher overhead costs .

3.4 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE/BARRIERS TO ENTRY

By relying on our technology and an activity-based costing system, rather than a time-based system, we will be able to maintain competitive prices and sustain high profitability. Our technology and systematic efficiencies will allow us to have advantages in cost, speed and design capability. Ultimately, these advantages will quickly come to define Titus Mold Manufacturing as an industry leader.

Our Virtual Design Center technology gives us a significant advantage over our competitors, and our patent prevents others from being able to replicate the services we offer.

3.5 DEVELOPMENT

As our company grows, we plan to expand our facility and create an injection-mold manufacturing plant. At that point, we will be able to control all operations in-house from initial design to mold creation and even mass production of the finished products. In addition, we will stay atop technology trends and upgrade equipment and processes as needed and can be afforded. We will also continue to research and pursue shares of existing markets such as packing, defense, electronics and telecommunications and update portions of this manufacturing business plan accordingly.

4.0 MARKET ANALYSIS

4.1 market size.

The US manufacturing sector includes more than 300,000 companies with combined annual sales of about $4 trillion. Furthermore there are approximately 2,500 mold manufacturers with combined annual sales of more than $5 billion. To capture a portion of those sales, Titus Mold Manufacturing will utilize a targeted industry approach to pursue specific, definable, market segments.

4.2 TARGET CUSTOMER

After extensive research, we decided to initially pursue market segments in the automotive and medical devices industries. These are two very distinct markets with very different needs. While the automotive industry’s purchasing decisions are driven primarily by price, the medical device industry focuses on a fast turnaround time and quality to make purchasing decisions.

The U.S. automobile manufacturing industry includes about 160 companies with combined annual revenue of about $250 billion. While the majority of those sales are swallowed up by a handful of major car manufacturers, there are thousands upon thousands of parts needing to be manufactured for each vehicle. By specializing in manufacturing molds for certain parts, we will establish our niche in the market. Our research indicates this is a perfect time to assimilate into this industry as carmakers make dramatic shifts in design and efficiency to address rising fuel costs.

The medical devices industry is by far one of the most forward-thinking, always-evolving industries. Researchers and product developers are continually striving to improve products and procedures. With this constant change and product evolution comes the constant need for new product molds. Couple the advances in medical technology with an increasingly aging population, and it’s clear the healthcare industry as a whole is a solid market and mold manufacturers will reap the benefits.

4.4 SWOT ANALYSIS

The SWOT analysis for this manufacturing business plan is as follows:

Opportunities

5.0 STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION

5.1 philosophy.

Titus Mold Manufacturing’s business philosophy is to make the needs of our customers our main priority. It is our mission to provide our customers with fast turnaround, exceptional quality, unparalleled customer satisfaction and competitive pricing. With the introduction of our patented Virtual Design Center program and the unveiling of our modern design and manufacturing facility, we will position Titus Mold Manufacturing as a superbly innovative company and a future industry leader.

To achieve this position, we will implement our company’s plan to create a state-of-the-art mold-manufacturing facility and invest in the most accurate precision machinery available. We will implement the most comprehensive design software and set the highest standards of operational systems and quality control.

5.2 INTERNET STRATEGY

Our plan is to position Titus Mold Manufacturing as a technology-driven innovative company within the mold-manufacturing sector of the manufacturing industry. To do this, we are putting forth a great amount of time and resources into developing a premiere Web site. We are working with a design firm and have secured a domain name – TitusMolds.com. We have already initiated the process of integrating our Virtual Design Center into the site.

In addition to describing our manufacturing processes and design capabilities, we will feature numerous success stories and images of prototypes and molds we have produced. Our site will also include a simple online form to complete for custom quotes as well as a generic form to submit questions and comments.

Our vision is to create a Web site that will become an integral part of our marketing, sales and daily operations. We will use Wix to set up our site. This tool has all of the features we need, including the ability to create and edit the site very quickly. It also has ecommerce and other capabilities. Using Wix will also enable us to save money since we can create the site ourselves and will not have to hire a web designer.

5.3 MARKETING STRATEGY

Titus Mold Manufacturing recognizes the critical importance of marketing. We will require a properly designed and executed marketing plan to ensure market penetration and business success. Until we hire an in-house sales and marketing team, we will work with a marketing and public relations firm. Once a sales and marketing staff is in place, we will reassess the need for an outside firm.

In addition to conveying to our potential customers the fast turnaround, exceptional quality, unparalleled customer service and competitive pricing offered by Titus Mold Manufacturing, we will also position our company as future-minded and a leader in the integration of innovative technology into the mold manufacturing process.

Our marketing plan will include an initial publicity campaign that introduces our company and patented Virtual Design Center. Further, we will launch a comprehensive advertising campaign in automotive manufacturing and medical devise trade publications and related Web sites. The publicity campaign will be closely followed by a direct-mail campaign to targeted customers.

The other main component of our marketing plan will be to attend trade shows which will require booth construction and maintenance, marketing materials such as brochures, and promotional items such as pens with our logo.

To increase local awareness of our company and to foster a positive public perception, we will participate in and sponsor local charity events such as Walk for the Cure and March of Dimes and youth sports teams. We will also reach out to local high schools and colleges to offer internships and promote careers in manufacturing.

5.4 SALES STRATEGY

Titus Mold Manufacturing will build a sales team focused on securing new business in the short and long term. The sales team will be motivated by commissions and performance-based bonuses.

Under the direction of executive management, we will employ an outside sales staff as well as an inside sales staff, which will be cross-trained to handle general customer service calls. The outside sales staff will focus primarily on trade show attendance, comprehensive follow up, relationship building, closing deals, and securing referrals.

5.5 STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

We plan to develop strategic alliances with local and regional injection-molding manufacturing facilities that do not have mold-making capabilities within their facilities. One such alliance has been developed with Hilden Manufacturing Company located within our region. More are developing.

5.6 OPERATIONS

Our facility’s space will be divided in proportion to our needs and will include product development and engineering labs, mold shop, tool shop, quality control and testing area, inventory storage and administrative offices. Each area will be staffed with trained employees and wherever possible factory-floor technicians will be cross-trained. Our administrative offices will include space for executive, marketing and sales, accounting, information technology, security, maintenance, and human resource departments. To become a fully operational mold-manufacturing facility, we will require the following machinery and software.

By utilizing the latest precision machinery and software and superior operational and quality control processes such as LEAN Manufacturing, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing, and Six Sigma , Titus Mold Manufacturing will control costs while ensuring quality. Additionally, once we are operational, our company will become ISO 9001-2000 certified. Titus will also follow FDA requirements and comply with Medical Directive standards to further ensure quality control.

Operationally, our strengths lie in our knowledge and expertise within the manufacturing industry. We know what fixed assets we require and what regulations we must adhere to. However, while we cannot know for certain the quality of our managerial team at this point, we expect to hire and implement a top notch team. As previously mentioned, we have several promising prospects and will, of course, strive to recruit top talent.

The following is a list of business goals and milestones we wish to accomplish within the next three years.

Our first major milestones will be securing funds and setting up our business. This is our primary focus right now. In three years, we hope to have established our company in the community and within our industry.

5.8 EXIT STRATEGY

Should management or our investors seek a business exit, there are several options we would be willing to pursue. Our company could most likely be sold to a manufacturing company that does not already have mold manufacturing capabilities. A management buyout could also be pursued once our business credit is firmly established.

6.0 MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

6.1 organizational structure.

Titus Mold Manufacturing understands the importance of a loyal and enthusiastic team to reduce turnover and increase productivity. Our company’s management philosophy will encourage responsibility and mutual respect. While we will present a strong decisive management team, we will also foster an atmosphere of genuine employee appreciation and open communication.

6.2 LEADERSHIP

Our company will be managed and run by our executive staff including Chief Executive Officer John Baker, President Michael Smith, and Vice President Susan Jones, as well as our Board of Directors. Our management staff of directors and supervisors will oversee daily operations. However, as a small manufacturing facility starting out, the CEO, President and VP will be responsible for the majority of purchasing, hiring, training, quality control, and additional day-to-day duties.

Additional key leaders will include directors of finance, marketing and sales, human resources, information technology and operations. While these positions remain unfilled at this time, we do have several extremely qualified candidates interested in joining with us in this new venture.

As we start our mold manufacturing business, we will implement a plan to hire management and production staff first and fill in with mid-level management and administrative staff as our budget and needs change.

6.3 BOARD MEMBERS & ADVISORS

Our Board of Directors is not yet fully formed. CEO John Baker will serve as Chairman. The board will consist of company owners (shareholders), officers and directors.

Duties of the Board of Directors may include:

We will actively seek individuals to sit on our Board of Directors who will have the ability to add to and advise our organization such as lawyers, accountants, and professionals in the automotive or medical fields.

7.0 FINANCIAL PLAN

7.1 requirements.

Titus Mold Manufacturing, Inc. requires $4,450,000 to launch and operate. We are currently seeking funding from outside investors and business loans. We are also looking into additional options including supplier financing, deferred rent, subleasing space, partnerships, vending and client advance payment.

At this time, we have raised $450,000 in working capital and are seeking the additional funds to start our business. We have raised $150,000 in venture capital funds. In addition, co-owners John Baker, Michael Smith and Susan Jones have each invested $100,000 into the company.

7.2 USE OF FUNDS

The start-up funds will be used to cover operating costs including payroll, taxes, and utilities. Start-up funds will also be used to purchase capital expenditures such as leasehold improvements, software and machinery, which will produce future benefits for the company. Approximately forty percent will be spent on assets, while the other sixty percent will be spent on operations until we realize profitability.

7.3 INCOME STATEMENT PROJECTIONS

The accompanying income statement demonstrates our company’s profitability. Our income shows a gross profit margin of seventy-two percent. Our monthly operating expenses average $116,325. Projected net income will average $54,075 per month in our third year.

After completing a comprehensive break-even analysis, we will achieve our break-even point by the middle of year two.

7.4 CASH FLOW PROJECTIONS

The nature of our business requires that our company collect payment after the product is complete. So we have included the accompanying cash flow statement, which projects our monthly flow of cash. While we expect to reach break-even by our eighteenth month, it will take nearly two years to become cash flow positive.

7.5 BALANCE SHEET

Our balance sheet will depend greatly on our sources of capital. We expect to raise approximately $1.5 million through loans and $2.95 million through equity capital.

Our assets will be comprised of cash, leasehold improvements, equipment, software and other tangible assets.

7.6 ASSUMPTIONS

Our projections are based on the assumption that the manufacturing industry, particularly the medical and automotive industries, will continue to follow present trends. Industry regulation and government legislation is always poised to interfere with business projections, but there are no indications at this time to expect any negative influence to our projections. Additionally, we are not relying on new regulations or the passage of new legislation to enable our company to reach our projected numbers.

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Examples of Manufacturing Business Ideas

Are you good with your hands? Do you prefer to make something instead of buying it? A Manufacturing business idea could be the opportunity for you.

By Nicole Crampton • Jul 24, 2019

You're reading Entrepreneur South Africa, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

There are many small-scale manufacturing business ideas that can you can convert into a sustainable and profitable business. There's a market for you whether you're launching a manufacturing business that makes shoes, wigs or cosmetics.

Here are 10 examples of manufacturing business ideas that can give you insights into starting your own manufacturing business:

1. Baked-goods

If you love to bake and create new and interesting edible treats, this could be the manufacturing business for you. If you can't afford to open a permanent location just yet, you can launch your business online and start delivering to your customers.

Before you get busy baking, here is an example of a successful business you can learn from:

Business Name: The Gingerbread Lady Bakery

Website: http://www.thegingerbreadlady.co.za/

Established Date: 2015

About the business:

The Gingerbread Lady Bakery focuses on making cakes that have nostalgic homemade flavours, with a contemporary twist on every flavour and design . They specialise in stylish buttercream cakes, fresh French macarons and other sweet confectionary.

Related: 11 Uniquely South African Business Ideas

Their mission is to offer their customers delicious, beautiful and memorable sweet treats for any occasion.

Innovative business offering

In addition, they are sought-after for their gourmet cupcakes, and they also specialise in beautiful wedding candy tables. By focusing on and being specialised in a niche selection they ensure their offering is backed by more experience and technique than their competitors.

2. Shoe Manufacturing

There is always a demand for shoes, but everyone has their own tastes and you'll need to make shoes that appeal to a large market. Here is an example of a shoe manufacturing business that you can gather insights from to ensure your business remains profitable and sustainable:

Business Name: Bolton Footwear

Website: http://www.bolwear.co.za/

Established Date: 1859

Bolton Footwear in the 1990's focused its activities on footwear to concentrate and expand that portion of the business. They are now one of South Africa's foremost footwear companies, focusing on defined market niches, competitively priced and manufactured from high quality materials.

Additionally, Bolton Footwear is committed to the environment and the surrounding communities it operates in. It also supports several local non-profit organisations and community activities.

3. Grape Wine Production

Do you have land available to you? Are you in the right region to grow grapes? You could start your own wine label. Before you start planting your new crop, here is a manufacturing business you can learn from to ensure the profitability of your new business:

Business Name: Namaqua Wines

Website: https://www.namaquawines.com/

Established Date: 1947

Namaqua Wines aims to care for and extract only the best from their vineyards. They make each wine with the same attention to detail, and each yield gives the unique expression of its environmental conditions.

Related: 25 Of The Most Successful Business Ideas In South Africa

Since 1992, Namaqua Wines have been exporting their wines abroad to increase their customer base and reach a larger target market.

4. Soya Chunks Processing

Soya chunks can be one of the most profitable food processing businesses you can start with a modest capital investment. If this sounds like the manufacturing business idea for you, you'll need to research your competition before you launch.

Here is an example of a manufacturing business you can learn from before you start your business:

Business Name: Irwing

Website: https://www.irwingsoya.co.za/

Irwing focuses on producing a range of wholesale soya bean products including soya mince and soya grits. Once produced they also make it widely available to blue chip businesses and those involved in the food manufacturing and agricultural industry.

Irwing has expanded its range to also offer high-quality soya animal feed to the livestock and poultry markets. This allows them to increase their customer base and ensure they have multiple revenue streams.

5. Candle Manufacturing

For many in South Africa candles are the only source of light during the evening, considering the increase in load shedding and power outages over the past few years, candles will continue to be in high demand.

Here is an example of a successful manufacturing business you can gain insights from before you launch your business:

Business Name: Soy Lites

Website: https://www.soylites.co.za/

Established Date: 2007

Soy Lites started in a small room and has grown into a manufacturing entity with 7 permanent staff. They continue to focus on educating consumers about the advantage of soy candles, which is part of their growth strategy.

In addition to their candle products, Soy Lite also manufactures body and massage soy balms, and package various raw materials. They also offer African Botanical oil blends, hydrosols and soy wax crayons.

6. Cosmetics Manufacturing

Do you love make-up? Does it excite you to start your own cosmetics manufacturing business? Then maybe this is the manufacturing business for you.

Related: The Ultimate 101 List Of SA Business Ideas To Get You Started

Before you start mixing colours and solutions, here is an example of a manufacturing business you can learn a few strategies from to ensure your business remains sustainable and growing:

Business Name: SwiitchBeauty

Website: https://swiitchbeauty.com/

Established Date: 2014

Rabia Ghoor started SwiitchBeauty from a 4 square meter area in her bedroom at 15 years old. Since then the SwiitchBeauty team has grown to 6 permanent staff members and countless products.

The strategy that Rabia Ghoor attributes to their initial and ongoing success is their social media presence. She started her marketing strategy by becoming a social media influencer in the South African beauty industry.

This positioned her as an industry expert, and when she could introduce more products, she already had a fan-base to introduce them to.

7. Wigs, Weaves and Hair Extensions

If you have the interest, experience and skills to manufacturer high quality wigs, weaves and hair extensions you can tap into a growing market. There is a constant demand for wigs, weaves and hair extensions, so if you can offer a high-quality product, you'll have plenty of customers.

Before you launch your business, you'll first need to know what your competition is doing. Here is an example of a manufacturing business you can learn from:

Business Name: Erabella Hair Extensions

Website: https://www.erabellahair.com/

Established Date: 2017

Erabella Hair Extensions focuses on having the highest quality hair extensions, made from 10A grade, 100% human hair, allowing their customers to use heating tools as if it were their own hair. They offer easy and free shipping depending on their customers location.

They offer a variety of hair extensions from clip-in hair, to wefts and fake lashes. They also offer reseller options for salons, as well as training for those who want to know how to insert hair extensions.

8. Towel Manufacturing

There will always be a demand for towels as people continuously use them. You can manufacture, plain, pretty and customised towels in large numbers, for a minimum investment.

Related: 10 Business Ideas Ready To Launch!

Before you launch your manufacturing business, here is an example of a successful towel manufacturer you can gain insights from:

Business Name: Towel Warehouse

Website: http://towelwarehouse.co.za/

Established Date: 2006

Towel Warehouse started out as a factory outlet store selling second-grade towels. It has now grown into a leading supplier of towels to small and medium sized business within the hair, beauty and hospitality industries.

Towel Warehouse focuses on small and medium sized business that use towels and linen as part of their offering. Their stock availability has meant that even their competitors have had to buy from them to meet demand.

9. Carpentry

There is a continuous high demand for homemade, custom items. If you have carpentry skills you can start your own manufacturing business making anything from furniture, decorations and containers. Before you launch your start-up, here is a manufacturing business you can gain insights from:

Business Name: Durban Joinery

Website: http://www.durbanjoinery.co.za/

Established Date: 1987

Durban Joinery has built up its name in the construction industry as a manufacturer of quality wooden architectural pieces. They pride themselves on using a "no short cut" approach to the crafting of their products.

To reassure clients of their quality they are invited to their workshop so that new and repeat customers can see their quality and services for themselves.

10. Jewellery manufacturing

Customers are looking for unique, one-of-a-kind items, and jewellery is no exception. You can start a lucrative business by manufacturing jewellery.

Business Name: Eternity Manufacturing Jewellers

Website: https://emj.co.za/

Established Date: 1985

During three decades in operation, Eternity Manufacturing Jewellers have acquired an extensive knowledge and expertise, through training and developing a group of specialist craftsmen. Their team consists of specialist goldsmiths, silversmiths and diamond setters.

Their goal is to ensure they consistently exceed their customers expectations by creating unique designs.

To ensure they handle every aspect of their customers' piece, they have all their own staff, equipment and material, which means customers never need to wait for a third party to complete their part of the project, and the piece never leaves their premises at any stage during the production process.

Related: 20 Innovative Business Ideas Doing Well Overseas (That Could Make You Money In SA)

Entrepreneur Staff

Sales Enablement - Content Developer

Nicole Crampton is an SEO specialist who contributes to Entrepreneur.com/za. She has studied a BA Journalism at Monash South Africa and has continued her studies with a Creative Writing degree from UNISA. Nicole has completed several courses in writing and online marketing, and continues to hone her skills and expertise in digital media, digital marketing and content creation.

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Start-up business planning.

Are you setting up a manufacturing business? We’ve created an example business plan to help you get started.

Are you manufacturing goods from home? Want to move to the next level and ramp up your business’ production? Starting to write a business plan will help you identify your markets, outline potential risks and understand the cash flow for your business.

To help you get started we’ve created an example business plan for the manufacturing industry. Our example focuses on producing high quality leather accessories, but it will work as a framework regardless of the specific business you are considering. Click the Download Tool  button to gain access to the word document.

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manufacturing business plans examples

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15+ Manufacturing Business Plan Templates

If you’re striking out on your own to start a business, whatever sort it might be, you will benefit from having a business plan template to work from. Such a tool will aid you in your crucial planning and takeoff stages. But there’s more to a business than getting started, and how you proceed from there will largely grow out of the conditions you’ve set for yourself in your business plan. This becomes especially important when you are getting into commodity production. Nowhere else is your command of production lines, personnel, and funding going to be so hard-pressed as in a simple manufacturing business.

manufacturing business plan templates

Manufacturing Business Plan Template

manufacturing business plan template

Factory Business Plan Template

factory business plan template

Business Plan Outline in Word

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Simple Business Plan Template

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Business Continuity Plan Template

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Editable Marketing Business Plan Template

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Retail Business Plan Template

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Food Manufacturing Business Plan Template

food manufacturing business plan template

Clothing Manufacturing Business Plan Template

clothing manufacturing business plan template

Brick Manufacturing Business Plan Template

brick manufacturing business plan template

Manufacturing Business Continuity Plan Template

manufacturing business continuity plan template

What Goes into a Manufacturing Business Plan?

Garment Manufacturing Business Plan Template

garment manufacturing business plan template

Furniture Manufacturing Business Plan Template

furniture manufacturing business plan template

Manufacturing Business Marketing Plan Template

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manufacturing and operation plan template

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  1. Manufacturing Business Plan Templates

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  1. Production Planning Challenges & Recommendations!

  2. Business Process Model

  3. Creative Ideas for Food Packaging from Famous Brands

  4. Components of Business Plan

  5. Business Plan Short Set

  6. The Role of Manufacturing in Small Business Growth

COMMENTS

  1. Manufacturing & Wholesale Business Plans

    Cosmetics Manufacturing Business Plan Diaper Manufacturer Business Plan Pet Products Manufacturer Business Plan Soap Manufacturer Business Plan Water Purification Business Plan Clothing & Accessories Manufacturing Business Plans Artificial Flowers Import Business Plan Food Manufacturing Business Plans Furniture Manufacturing Business Plans

  2. 500+ free business plan examples to help write your plan

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  3. Manufacturing Business Plan [Free Template]

    If you are planning to start a new manufacturing, fabrication, or production business, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our Baggit - manufacturing business plan example created using upmetrics business plan software to start writing your business plan in no time.

  4. Manufacturing Business Plan Template

    The following are examples of target market segments: wholesalers, other manufacturers, exports, retailers. As you can imagine, the customer segment (s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of manufacturing business you operate. Clearly, retailers would respond to different marketing promotions than export markets, for example.

  5. Manufacturing Business Plan Sample 2023

    For guidance, you can go through manufacturing business plan examples or even a woodworking business plan. You can also take help from an investment group in this business as they can guide you better in the financial aspect of the business.

  6. Top 4 Business Plan Examples

    Dishwasher: 133 watts Television: 1,200 to 2,400 watts Coffee Maker: 900 to 1,200 watts Washing Machine: 350 to 500 watts Toaster: 55 to 250 watts Window Fan: 800 to 1,400 watts. The majority of US households now spend roughly 35 percent of their energy consumption on appliances, electronics, and lighting.

  7. The Top 7 Business Plan Examples To Inspire Your Own (2023)

    Financial plan. The financial plan provides a breakdown of sales, revenue, profit, expenses, and other relevant financial metrics related to funding and profiting from your business. Ecommerce brand Nature's Candy's financial plan breaks down predicted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs. Financial plan.

  8. Production Planning in Manufacturing: Best Practices for Production Plans

    A production plan is a document that describes how production processes will be executed, and it's the final outcome of the production planning process. It describes the human resources, raw materials and equipment that will be needed and the production schedule that will be followed.

  9. PDF A SAMPLE BUSINESS PLAN FOR

    Manufacturing Plans Pro Forma Financial Analysis Contingency Plans Many business plans will also include appendixes with additional information related to the business, its operations, its owners/managers, marketing/promotional plans, etc. Of course, the best way to illustrate a business plan is to provide one. The

  10. 5 Types of Production Planning (With Examples and Tips)

    Here are the five types of production planning, with an example of each: 1. Flow. The flow method involves smoothing the connections between manufacturing stages and steps to prevent bottlenecks or delays. Flow manufacturing often involves thorough standardization and intensive quality control.

  11. Machine & Equipment Manufacturing Business Plans

    Manufacturing - Custom Parts Business Plan JTB Products and Services designs and delivers custom parts, supplies, and new technology to industrial clients. Solar Water Heater Distributor Business Plan Sun Heat is a start-up company offering solar water heating systems to California residents. Surveyor Instrument Business Plan

  12. Manufacturing & Wholesale Business Plans

    Manufacturing & Wholesale Business Plans Manufacturing Business Plan Furniture Manufacturing Business Plan Furniture Store Business Plan Brewery Business Plan Winery Business Plan Solar Farm Business Plan Dog Kennel Business Plan Clothing Manufacturer Business Plan TShirt Business Plan HVAC Business Plan Did you find what you are looking for?

  13. Business plans

    A Microsoft business plan template can help get you started. Business plan templates offer step-by-step instructions and prefabricated slides for your executive summary, company overview, financial plan, and more. You'll even find a business plan template for specific industries including business plan templates in Word for healthcare ...

  14. manufacturing-business-plan-example.pdf

    We made business planning easy with prompt help and examples on every step of your business plan writing. See How It Works Conduct accurate financial projections Do not worry about not having accounting skills.

  15. Manufacturing Business Plan

    Manufacturing Business Plan 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 COMPANY 1.2 PRODUCTS & SERVICES 1.3 MARKET ANALYSIS 1.4 STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION 1.5 MANAGEMENT 1.6 FINANCIAL PLAN 1.7 SOURCES & USE OF FUNDS 2.0 COMPANY 2.1 COMPANY & INDUSTRY 2.2 LEGAL ENTITY & OWNERSHIP 2.3 COMPANY HISTORY TO DATE 2.4 FACILITIES 2.5 KEY ASSETS 3.0 PRODUCTS/SERVICES

  16. Business Plan Samples For 500+ Industries

    LivePlan's sample business plan library has real business plans from over 100 industries. You can see the complete list here. Even if you can't find an exact match to your business, that's OK. You don't need an exact match for a sample plan to be helpful. Instead, look for a plan that's closely related to the type of business you're starting.

  17. PDF Manufacturing Business Plan Example

    professional business plan with automated financial forecasts. You can also do: 200+ Sample business plans Get access to hundreds of sample business plans covering almost all industries to kick start your business plan writing. This helps you to get an idea how the perfect business plan should look like. View Sample Business Plans Step-By-Step ...

  18. Examples of Manufacturing Business Ideas

    Here are 10 examples of manufacturing business ideas that can give you insights into starting your own manufacturing business: 1. Baked-goods If you love to bake and create new and...

  19. Manufacturing Business: Business Plan Example

    Business Plan Examples Manufacturing Business: Business Plan Example Are you setting up a manufacturing business? We've created an example business plan to help you get started. Download Tool Are you manufacturing goods from home? Want to move to the next level and ramp up your business' production?

  20. Manufacturing Business Plan Templates

    Nowhere else is your command of production lines, personnel, and funding going to be so hard-pressed as in a simple manufacturing business. 568+ Plan Templates in Word 568+ Sample Plan Samples Manufacturing Business Plan Template Details File Format Google Docs MS Word Pages Size: A4, US Download

  21. Individual Development Plan (With Template and Example)

    An individual development plan is a customized agreement between an employee and their employer that details new skills to be acquired or learned and how performance can be enhanced within a specific time frame. It also includes an action plan for these goals. By creating a documented process, the plan lays out an employee's perceived ...