It is not difficult to add and subtract numbers. Most of us have learned that in elementary school. For instance, spreadsheets are a welcome tool - it does not seem very complicated… or does it?
A good preparation is key for the successful completion of a project. It all starts with your market, who do you wish to serve and what are they willing to pay for your product, when and in what quantity do they wish to receive it.
Growing in greenhouses
Competitiveness is very important, it is necessary to find your unique selling point in the market. For new companies this is often represented by the cost price of the produced product, which is also the most challenging part. Sometimes you can capitalize on local-for-local premium prices and reduced transportation costs. Growing products in a greenhouse is a challenging market were margins are thin.
Robert Heikens, project manager and consultant
“As they say, if you put garbage in, you get garbage out”, explains Robert Heikens, Project Manager and Consultant at AAB. “A business plan consists of quantitative (financial) and qualitative (technical) parts.”
The importance of the technical design
“AAB understands this well, you need a model to produce profit and loss accounts, but it is impossible to prepare a realistic business plan without a technical design. There is hardly any margin for errors in this marketplace. Our clients expect from us that we can predict the exact outcome and performance of their projects, this is sometimes a bridge too far, but we can come close to that. We use knowledge and experience from several departments to predesign a greenhouse facility. Our energy consultants prepare the base for the greenhouse type and energy equipment as well as its capacity. They are also able to model the energy consumption. The technical department prepares a predesign of the greenhouse, technical room, irrigation area, packing area cultivation system, and so on. We prepare a realistic CAPEX and OPEX budget. This and the market study are stepping stones for a reliable business plan in which we address the competitive advantage, risks and opportunities. We prepare many business plans every year, and in our experience, a good business plan takes time. With the amount of in-house experience we can decrease this time significantly, without compromising the quality of the business plan.”
“Master planning is not new, but more and more clients wish to plan ahead. We sit together with them to brainstorm future plans - we bring ideas to the table. We then analyze and study their demand and support the client with further project management. “
“AAB is a leading consultancy company with over 35 years experience in horticulture, is independent and works with all types of construction companies and suppliers. AAB designs horticultural projects from small research facilities to big production facilities. AAB prepares business plans and feasibility studies for their clients. Combining these disciplines guarantees the most reliable outcome,” they conclude.
For more information:
AABINT
+31 (0) 174 637637
info@aabnl.nl
AABINT.com